Best Pasta in the Universe

Best Pasta in the Universe

The food at Gabriella has never been better than it is squid.jpgnow with Bradford Briske in the kitchen. The word “young” comes to mind when you meet the new chef at our downtown dining treasure, but “accomplished” is the word for Briske’s gorgeous food.

The best plate of pasta I’ve had outside of Italy is Briske’s housemade squid-ink fazzoletti – a silken, wide-body pappardelle – bathed in an inspired sauce of tomato, garlic, mint and Calabrian chili. The outstanding pasta was tossed with tender local calamari, fat nuggets of Dungeness crab and slices of scallop. It was so good I went back last week and finished off another bowl.

From a superb opener of scallops on a cushion of fennel puree, to a whole roast (more…)

Plum Line

Plum Line

Back when most people grew their own crops and made their own sauces, pies and jams, some gifteddamson1.jpg artisan with a slow hand and an open heart might have made this jam. (Shown here on my breakfast table already half-consumed along with coffee, eggs, toast and butter.)

Damson plums — organic ones — and sugar. That’s all Heidi Schlecht used to stir up this deeply rewarding preserve of late harvest fruit, more tart than sweet, whose flavors go all the way into a new dimension. For $10 or so you can obtain a 9.8oz jarful of last summer, spread it on some toast and pretend its the 19th century when flavor trumped convenience and quality ruled.

I get mine at the Westside Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. But you can find these handmade organic jams at Schlecht’s River Cafe & Cheese Shop too.

A Better Rosé

A Better Rosé

unti.jpgUnti – a label to remember. This blush creation of grenache and mourvedre is crisp, complex, spicy and somehow ethereally robust. It’s made from Dry Creek Valley grapes and you can sample it at Gabriella. Nothing less than a complete revelation.

Imagine a cross between a blanc de noir and sunrise over the Sierras. Yes. Like that.

Kinch Rocks Iron Chef: March 15

Kinch Rocks Iron Chef: March 15

Update: Kinch Won!

Sizzling Saucepans! Chef David Kinch of Manresa battles chef Bobby Flay onkinch.jpg Iron Chef America. Tune in on Sunday, March 15 to see if Kinch’s two Michelin stars can take the heat!

Chef/surfer Kinch of Manresa, Los Gatos, will challenge celebrity chef Flay on the popular Food Network cooking competition TV show. You know how it works. Based on a secret theme ingredient, each show features a challenger chef competing against a resident Iron Chef for an action-packed hour of intense, competitive cooking that will hopefully impress a panel of discerning food critic judges. Kinch will be joined in Kitchen Stadium by his talented chef de cuisine John Paul Carmona, and his former chef de cuisine James Syhabout. David Kinch cooks adventurous new contemporary cuisine at his Michelin-starred restaurant Manresa, while Bobby Flay is best known for his Southwestern style of cooking and his flair with a barbeque grill. Which chef has the chops to rule? Tune in to the premiere of the Flay vs. Kinch episode on Sunday, March 15. The episode repeats at various times during the week. Check listings for local show times.

Big Basin @ Soif: March 28th

Big Basin @ Soif: March 28th

bradley.jpgCome meet winemaker Bradley Brown, of Big Basin Vineyards, and sample some of the assertive, engaging, terroir-driven Pinot Noirs he is creating up in the mountains above Boulder Creek.
Here he is working his way through 50 SC Mtn pinot noirs. Brown joined a dozen of his oeno-colleagues last week at an all-pinot noir tasting and vetting at the historic one-room schoolhouse-turned-winery, Burrell School Vineyards.

At Soif’s new Local Winemaker Tasting Series, Brown will pour his newly-released Big Basin vintages on Saturday March 28, 5:30-7pm. The event happens upstairs where there will be appetizers of crostini, salami and cheese as well. $20/person, with a $10 refund when you purchase, oh and you will, $60 or more.

Reservations are strongly recommended, call (831)423-2020 or e-mail luke@soifwine.com to sign up. Soif is still located at 105 Walnut Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz.