Christina Waters

The San Francisco Opera’s new production of Das Rheingold — the first of Richard Wagner’s four “Ring” cycle masterworks — is musically mighty, but dramatically thin. Woeful set design — presumably by a last-minute committee of amateurs — caused almost fatal dissonance with an outstanding orchestra, playing music to end the world by for three straight hours.
A decent cast, with the unfortunate exception of Mark Delavan’s wobbly Wotan, did its best to overcome a rickety set of cardboard props, direction by Marx Brothers surrogates, and a set that could only have been some sort of 21st century WPA project. The allegedly innovative digital backdrops made embarrassing references to every PBS science special you’ve ever seen, while the raked stage floor sabotaged grace, causing loud “thumps” and “oomphs” during the changing of the scenes. Actors stumbled, wandered aimlessly, (more…)

From the volcanic soils of Tenerife - largest of the Canary Islands - comes this seductive white wine. 2006 Tajinaste Valle de la Orotava Blanco, Spain, is the official label - but actually it’s magic realism in a bottle. The grape is Listan blanco, the flavor is salty peaches, wet stones and ozone. Laced with minerals and citrus, but mysterious primal elements as well. (At 11.5% alcohol, this could be breakfast.)
It can be found at Soif for under $20. And besides, when was the last time you tasted a wine from the Canary Islands?

Avanti that is. A few very hot nights ago we gave up on the whole idea of cooking and headed over to Ristorante Avanti where the evening specials dazzled.

Under the expertise of lead sauté cook Roberto Serna, two entrees and one shared salad said everything about the season, the imagination of executive chef Ben Sims, and the ability of a known quantity to surprise us all over again.

The meal began with a salad of adolescent arugula, bathed in a sherry vinaigrette that allowed the fruity olive oil to take the major role. Shaved parmesan - not tons of it, just enough to add some salty sparkle - joined toasted almonds and (more…)

Cholula - yes, the deliciously picante Mexican chile sauce that offers flavor interest as well as kick. Thanks to the piquin and arbol chiles it contains, this eye-opener bursts into full flower powered by an under-current of vinegar.

Watch scrambled eggs take on new life. Rekindle the love you once felt for left-over brown rice. Turn shredded chicken into the stuff of dreams. Modest dreams, perhaps. But still - it’s the bomb. And you can find it everywhere. Get some to add to your condiment stash, and do it now!

Judy Schultze of Windy Oaks Estate Vineyards emailed to remind me that the charmingly rustic facility — which just squeaked through the recent south county fires unscathed — will be open during the rest of June (hurry!) for tastings of what many argue is one of the top Pinot Noirs in California. (more…)

If there’s a legal thrill that comes close to great, live opera - I haven’t found it yet. And last Sunday’s opening matinee performance of Ariodante just proved it all over again.

Written seemingly to twist Baroque-era vocal chords into rococo pretzels, Handel’s 275-year-old masterpiece is your basic love, betrayal, revenge, death and happy ending opera seria, loaded with soprano parts written for men and sung by women in 18th century drag. Got that? Think of it this way: Handel was the toast of Europe when Ariodante debuted in 1735. It was created for the male (castrato) soprano superstar Giovanni Carestini — written by a German (Handel) living in London, set in Scotland and sung in Italian. Ben Franklin very likely saw this opera. Twice.

Sunday’s performance was by every benchmark a knock-out, bringing the San Francisco Opera House audience to its feet at least three times during the 3 hours of killer vocal pyrotechnics — imagine all those serious, white-haired opera buffs screaming, cheering and stomping their approval. Delicious. (more…)

More will be written - by me among others - about Range, a slender slice of culinary chic at 842 Valencia in the Mission District. But for now let me just give you the short description of our two desserts.

One was a thin, thin wedge of fresh rhubarb tart. The thin slices of rhubarb had been woven into a beautiful chevron mosaic, glazed with (probably) strawberry jam and then baked on the finest pastry crust known to woman. On the side was a single scoop of (be still my heart) pink peppercorn ice cream.

Okay.

The second dessert was a classic - only better than classic - strawberry shortcake with geranium-infused whipped cream. Somewhere in there was a whisper of Meyer lemon.

This is part of why Range has a Michelin star to call its own.

As if Gabriella chef Sean Baker weren’t busy enough - the word is that he’s the culinary wunderkind putting together the menu for a new winery cafe. . . . Meanwhile, we’re told, Jessica Yarr (formerly of Theo’s and Gabriella) has taken her pastry expertise to the fabulous River Cafe, where desserts already set incredibly high standards. Yarr emailed to tell me that she will be returning to Theo’s this summer to finesse even more pastry pyrotechnics, so now would be a great time to make a reservation at the Soquel landmark restaurant.

Rumors exist to be confirmed, so email me if you’ve got any supporting data, when you’re not busy watching the fires and floods on TV.

A decent bottle of red wine. And real glasses, stemware — we got ours at the St. Vincent de Paul store in Paso Robles. $1 each. Wrap them in a tea towel, throw in a bottle opener and a bag of pistachio nuts, and voila! instant happy hour. This sort of emergency travel gear can liven up even the most flourescent Travelodge room. . . . And for the actual driving part, we always stock bottled water, travel cups of hot coffee, plus a large stash of high quality trail mix.

My current favorite is the organic blend of nuts and dried fruits from our very own Pajaro company, Sunridge Farms. Easy to eat, concentrated fuel, organic ingredients and delicious. This beats stopping for fast food any day of the week/year/decade.

On the way to the Mojave — a stunningly beautiful and difficult expanse of geological wildness — we always stop for the night in Paso Robles. Once simply a cow town next to a mission, now a cow town with wraparound vineyards, fine restaurants and a charming grid of 19th century Western architecture, Paso Robles is worth a look.

Artisan and Bistro Laurent are our favorite dining spots. Always top quality, with excellent listings of local wines. At Bistro Laurent we sampled an updated French classic of stewed rabbit with mashed potato cake, and another entree of seared scallops topped with a crispy risotto frittata. Both exceptional, as were the Liberty School Cab and the Eberle Syrah that accompanied.

On the way back from the desert, we dined at Artisan — louder than professional basketball, but excellent. I always order the appetizer of seared ahi, with crisp green tomato fritters. An entree of wild boar with oricchiette and English peas was amazing.

Moving on the next morning, we took a break (along with everyone on the way to LA) at the Hwy 46 exit just before the massive I-5. Here at the friendly, over-the-top candy, gasoline & pee stop that is Pilot, we found something so horrifyingly silly that we were stopped in our tracks. So THIS is how America gets so fat, we thought, as we considered a display of “BigAz” Fiesta Biscuits the size of a BarcaLounger. (more…)