by Christina Waters | Aug 14, 2015 | Home |
Is it too late for Shakespeare? I don’t mean the powerful texts themselves, the probing psychological depths, and brilliant literary analysis of what it is to be human—you know, the stuff that William Shakespeare, hard-working playwright, bequeathed to everyone who loves the English language.
No. What I’m asking is, is it too late for young, Selfie Generation audiences to actually sit through a performance of a Shakespeare play? Have they the attention span? Are they capable of submitting themselves to un-ironic moments of joy, sorrow, terror? Do they even know what the words (or scenarios) mean?
Since I’m asking, I’ll answer: not “no they don’t,” but “hell no they don’t!”
Given what I’ve seen lately in a certain redwood glen very very close (more…)
by Christina Waters | Aug 13, 2015 | Home |
While no one—and I mean no one—will sympathize with me, it’s tough being a critic. The smaller the arena, the harder it is to tell the truth. Why? Well, because essentially no one wants to hear it.
Oh everybody wants to hear the good news. They insist on teasing out the positive soundbites, the lines that can be pulled out and used for advertising purposes. Or to put on their Facebook site. Or to tear out of the paper and carry around in their wallets for the rest of their lives.
Yes, everybody thanks me when I provide feedback that supports their claims to be great at what they do. That’s when people are glad they can point out that someone whose opinion is respected has just praised them.
That’s what words of praise are: rewards for work well done.
So it only undermines genuine praise if (more…)
by Christina Waters | Aug 10, 2015 | Home |
We abandoned our usual order of the caprese sandwich and dove into a bowl of housemade pozole topped with slices of ripe avocado and joined by a wee biscuit, spiced and seasoned into something both tender and tasty. Good, good, good!
When at Iveta, we always order a tall, cool, muddled lemonade!
by Christina Waters | Aug 7, 2015 | Home |
I had an unsatisfying dinner the other night at a place out in the Pleasure Point neighborhood. New chef offering a new ambitious menu. But from start to finish things were just off enough to make me regret the $100 spent on dinner for two.
Red wine served much too warm—and this is a problem for many restaurants. Please treat wine with respect, and don’t make the patron have to reach into the water glass for an ice cube.
Wait staff untrained. Bringing an appetizer before bringing plates for sharing, not knowing details of the menu.
Make sure that whoever is cooking actually tastes the food before sending it out. We had a paté that was dry as styrofoam. It wouldn’t have taken much to whip up a mustard sauce, or an aioli, or even a chutney to provide along with the dish. But nothing accompanied the paté to help coax moisture into the experience. Clearly no one in the kitchen realized just how dry it was.
An entree of flat iron steak arrived almost cool to the touch, practically raw (I had asked for “between rare and medium rare”), and accompanied by legumes that lacked any seasoning whatsoever. Again, no one is tasting the food.
When I asked our waiter if the steak could be cooked a bit more, I was told “that is medium.”
Stop right there! No restaurant employee—manager or waiter—should ever tell the customer (more…)
by Christina Waters | Aug 7, 2015 | Home |
Randall Grahm’s dream for a New World vineyard with spectacularly here and now terroir is already 40% funded, and you can be part of this project! Act fast – only 14 days left.
The ante has been upped on the great Grahm Cru IndieGoGo initiative—your support can now procure a grape named after yourself, or dinner with Randall Grahm and über chef Mario Batali, at Batali’s Babbo in Greenwich Village, or dinner for two at Sally Clarke‘s glam restaurant in London, or dinner for two at Chez Panisse.
Are you ready for this? RG is even offering the eccentric, arguably beautiful one-of-a-kind “spaceship” created by Michael Leeds for the original Bonny Doon Vineyard Tasting Room and restaurant on the Westside.
Find out more about Grahm’s dreams for a vinous future—my cover story in this week’s GTWeekly.
