Christina Waters

How unfair that we compare gluttonous humans to pigs! Pigs are absolutely sensational creatures — playful, intelligent and curly-tailed. I love pigs and I love pork. So that means I was curious to see TLC Ranch, home to a hundred free-spirited, free-range pigs. TLC Ranch overlooks the pastoral paradise that lies somewhere between Aromas and Watsonville. On the generous easements of a 200 acre spread, rancher Jim Dunlop raises hundreds of chickens, lambs and pigs. Big fat gorgeous Berkshire and Blue Butt pigs. All of these animals live in ways that would make even animal liberationist Peter Singer happy. The word “free-range” doesn’t begin to describe the prime wandering, foraging, rooting and lazing around Dunlop’s animals enjoy on their idyllic acreage.

I’d been interested in the pastured products of TLC Ranch since discovering them at the farmers markets last year, so I jumped at the chance to join a dozen or so folks, plus plenty of kids, for a walking tour of the Ranch, which is tucked into acres devoted to horses, organic strawberries and raspberries. Under the oaks, nestling in the soft dark forest floor of ponderosa groves, the fabulous pigs slept, ran around and rolled in deep troughs filled with mud. Weighing in at up to 400 pounds, the animals forage their way through one section of the property, and then are moved to another where their ability to eat anything is put to good use. Dunlop describes them in colorful ranchers’ terms, as “bulldozers with manure spreaders on the back.” (more…)

If you’ve never indulged in the exquisite sensory array of one of the “Outstanding in the Field” farm dinners, you have missed something wonderful. Imagine dining at a long, linen-draped table, placed out in the open next to a swath of atmospheric fields. Now add a variety of local wines, complete with local winemaker to discuss them — add five courses, each one paired to a wine, and to the season. Each course prepared on site, with chatty tasting notes from the chef. Complete the picture with 60 or so vivacious fellow diners, each one of them as seduced by the beautiful setting and the robust flavors as you are - and you have something close to the picture.

On July 1, this long, leisurely, utterly memorable moveable feast unfurls at Route One Farms, just north of Santa Cruz (seen above in the photo by earth entrepreneuse Tana Butler). Foods prepared by the expert hands of Oswald chef Damani Thomas will be matched by wines from Zayante Vineyards, presented by winemaker Kathleen Starkey. Your farm host for the afternoon will be Jeff Larkey, and a tour of the fertile fields is included in the $150 per person price. The event begins at 4pm, with wine, munchies and the start of the tour. This summer is the time to treat yourself to the ultimate experience in fresh, fresh, fresh flavors. How fresh? Well, you will be literally dining in the very fields that produced your salad. That’s how fresh.

For the complete 2007 Season schedule of al fresco dinners, go to the “Outstanding in the Field” website and make plans! These matchless multi-course culinary odysseys sell out quick - so get moving!

A mighty creative team comprised of some of UCSC’s most sparkling theater talent collaborates for San Jose Repertory‘s current production of Rabbit Hole, by David Lindsay-Abaire. Following the bittersweet fortunes of a couple on a journey through the highs and lows of the human condition, Rabbit Hole won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was a 2006 Tony Nominee for Best Play. Whew! Now, add to that the impressive, locally-based credits of director Kirsten Brandt (a Theater Arts lecturer slated to direct The Tempest at this year’s Shakespeare Santa Cruz); scenic design by Theater Arts professor Kate Edmunds, costumes by SSC’s incomparable B. Modern, lighting by UCSC professor David Lee Cuthbert, with music and sound by Theater Arts lecturer Jeff Mockus.

Rabbit Hole runs through June 10. For reservations, contact San Jose Repertory Theatre, located at 101 Paseo de San Antonio, (between 2nd and 3rd) in downtown San Jose. Ph: 408-367-7255

It was my friend Mateo who came up with the perfect description for this fine young Sauvignon Blanc. “It’s the perfect summer gardening wine!” And it is (though let me take a minute to acknowledge the only-in-California phrasing of that line.) He referred to the Santa Ynez Valley Winery Sauvignon Blanc with the colorful label - vintage 2005 - 13 % alcohol, and moderately packed with fruit and nuts. I’ll be more specific. We found a cantaloupe and citrus opening, with a hint of jalapeño smoke in the center and a walnut finish. It tastes as interesting, but not as multi-media, as that description indicates.

Here’s the most interesting part. The $6 price tag. Available at Trader Joes, the wine is inexpensive enough to play a starring role in your next outdoor picnic, bbq or garden party. You have been advised.

I’ll be dishing it out this Thursday. Literally. Soupline Supper, to benefit the Santa Cruz Homeless Services Center will serve soups from the area’s top restaurants, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17, at Holy Cross Parish Hall, 170 High St. in Santa Cruz. Celebrity politicos including Neal Coonerty, Emily Reilly and John Laird, as well as smart-mouth pundits and foodies, like me, will be dishing out the array of soups at the Parish Hall. Beautiful breads and pastries, plus the soups and beverages are all donated by Bittersweet Bistro, Café Cruz, Pearl Alley Bistro, Chaminade, Clouds, Shadowbrook, Gayles and many more of your favorite restaurants and caterers. A terrific event since it gives neighbors a chance to get together, dine well, and give all proceeds to the Center — the Soupline Supper is now in its 8th year. Join us! Tickets are $20/person or $40/family. Available at the door or you can reserve by calling 458-6020, ext. 2123.

Despite my motto, “The East has ceased,” it was a delicate springtime that greeted me in Pennsylvania and New Jersey last week. Dogwood in bloom, azaleas purple through the tracery of pale green just beginning to burst into sight - really lovely. That’s the grey-green Atlantic Ocean you see on my masthead this week. And there was terrific food and some memorable museum-going. But it’s nice to be home.

Fans of the bizarre and medically wierd will definitely want to visit Philadelphia’s venerable Mutter Museum. Founded as part of the august College of Physicians by close personal friends of Ben Franklin’s several hundred years ago, the extraordinary teaching museum has been updated and expanded over the years. Today the collection of medical oddities, mostly housed in an old Victorian library lined with glass display cases, still packs a macabre punch. Yes, two-headed babies, mesmerizingly grotesque skeletals remains, and all that, but the museum is especially strong in its collection of rare and antique surgical implements. Makes me wonder how any of our ancestors survived! And if as a kid, like me, you were fascinated by Eng and Chang, the original Siamese twins, you’ll find much here to satisfy your curiosity. Claudia and I absorbed as much as we could before heading off for lunch. That evening, we sampled the new Susanna Foo dining room in Radner. (more…)

Once upon a time, Conchahocken was a blue collar, wrong-side-of-the-tracks ‘burb of Philadelphia. But no longer. Thanks to some stylish urban upgrading, the 19th century neighborhood now offers a lot for visiting diners.

Blackfish, brainchild of chef Charles “Chip” Roman, is the noisy home of some of the most creative cooking I’ve ever tasted in this country. Roman was most recently sous-chef at Le Bec Fin, where he studied for many years with Philadelphia’s George Perrier. It shows. But so does Roman’s own impish expertise with very fresh, very pretty flavor combinations. Six of us sampled a substantial cross-section of the early spring menu at Blackfish last week, and - noise aside - we were impressed. (i.e. blown away).

Our dinner started off with an amuse of intensely sweet/tart beet gastrique, served to each of us on individual spoons. A sexy start. Very service-intensive, the long corridor of dining rooms was packed by 8pm, with waiters busily opening wine bottles. Blackfish is BYOB, no corkage, so we laid out an array of Chilean cabernets and Australian shiraz to accompany our dinner. My wine tip for you is to hunt down Casillero del Diablo 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, from Concha y Toro, produced from grapes from Chile’s Maipo Valley. Two appetizer soups of pureed fresh carrot gazpacho and tangy green herb were poured into huge bowls from vintage tea pots. A trio of day boat scallops sat on a pillow of trumpet mushrooms, surrounded by a circular necklace of balsamic reduction thick as jam.

My appetizer left me practically speechless. As beautiful as it was innovative, it involved a small, creamy pyramid of parmesan panna cotta. This was adorned by a crisp savory tuile, cubes of roasted ruby beets and pickled ramps, a local delicacy this time of year. A fluff of daikon sprouts crowned the beets and across the width of the plate a rich, glaze of blackberry reduction. Try to imagine these flavors all conspiring — the creamy, cheese custard, pungent wild leeks, and deep purple berry juice. (The idea of a savory, appetizer panna cotta has taken east coast restaurants by storm, for example Per Se is currently running a cauliflower panna cotta on its ultra-pricey tasting menu.)

The beauty of Roman’s approach is his sensitivity to the role of very fresh, specifically chosen vegetables —light-years away from the idea of “side dish.” His care with imaginative produce gives them a starring role on each plate. They are part of the conceptual design, and not just an obligatory accompaniment.

Entrees also brought surprising flavor strategies. A square of perfectly pan-roasted Alaskan halibut arrived with a rhubarb puree and tart verjus emulsion. Another dish of red snapper offered infant fava beans, baby squashs in a small pool of star anise broth. Long Island duck breast fanned out over a fresh stew of various shell beans and favas, sided with house-made duck sausage. My roasted line-caught striped bass sat on a bed of crisp asparagus and trumpet mushrooms, framed by an emulsion perfumed with curry. This dish was elegant as well as effortless to enjoy — the buttery, moist fish was a sumptuous match for the delicate asparagus and ethereal froth of curry. Mother of God.

Two desserts and six spoons arrived — one a perfect lemon tart (pictured above) ringed by fresh berries and a thin curl of dark chocolate, the other a radical creation of pistachio creme brulée topped with freshly-whipped cream. For some at our table, the delicious custard tasted “too much like peanut butter.” But I thought it was daring and wonderful. The entire dinner was a tribute to Springtime in the northeast of North America. With some carpeting and some wall coverings - perhaps a line-up of original artwork - the nighttime noise level of Blackfish might lower to the point of comfort. Even though I was unable to hear any of my companions’ conversations throughout dinner, the food was sensational. Fresh, sexy, utterly surprising — exactly what imaginative dining should be. Blackfish. When in Philly……

Downtown Santa Cruz’ impossibly chic and appealing boite, Soif, continues to make us happy. Wine-wise, we’ve been having lots of fun with whites from Slovenia, and reds from Sicilia. Food-wise, the Soif kitchen — under the guidance of chef Chris Avila — references the season with a luscious roasted cauliflower gratin that is downright irresistible. Small plates of those sensuous fresh sardines, boquerones— on a thick slab of aioli-topped crostini, make magic with glasses of anything involved the syrah grape. Ditto the crostini topped with sauteed arugula. A substantial appetizer of super-sized sea scallops on a bed of that amazing cauliflower, kept us company last week as we sampled our way through some excellent red wines.

Soif host, Hugh Weiler sets the tone (pictured above with server Ceci Coon, who like all the house staff, manages to be sensitive, charming and informed - all at once).