Christina Waters

The place was Fort Mason.

The day was perfect — a blend of fog and brilliant sunlight playing tag with the Golden Gate bridge in the distance.

The excuse was the American Craft Council design show and a chance to learn some tricks of the trade from my designer buddy Kate.

After feasting on handmade jewelry and textiles from the top artisans in the country, we cooled our heels (along with throngs of visitors) at Greens, where I’m happy to say both food and service at the legendary restaurant have never been better.

We started with a shared plate of warm grilled Blossom Bluff Farm peaches, shown here with Bellwether fromage blanc, More…

UC Santa Cruz offers a Fall Gardening Workshop on Saturday, August 28, from 10am until 1pm.

Planting a late-summer garden is a great way to save money on your fall and winter grocery bills, so come get some tips on growing a great fall and winter vegetable garden. Join gardener Trish Hildinger for a lecture/demo on “Planting the Thanksgiving Feast” at the UC Santa Cruz Farm on Saturday, August 28 from 10 am to 1 pm.

Included in the workshop will be information on vegetables that perform well in the Monterey Bay region, direct seeding and transplanting techniques, and soil preparation for fall planting.

Cost of the workshop is $15 for members of the Friends of the UCSC Farm and Garden, and $20 for the general public, More…

A bit more of what chef Brad Briske is up to in his new kitchen at Main Street Garden Cafe in Soquel. Cured with ginger, liqueurs, orange peel, smoked salts and other exotic, experimental ingredients, Briske’s house-made salames, coppacola, prosciutto arrived served with spiced plum mostardo and a creamy fresh buratta.

The reigning dessert of summer—a deconstructed bread pudding, ultra-rich, joined by succulent ripe peaches and blackberries, and encircled by lavender-scented crème Anglaise.

The light perfume of the lavender propelled all the elements into culinary orbit.

Kudos to Gabriella’s pastrix April Zebron.

An appetizer of beets, throngs of beautiful beets on a field of greens.

Ceviche tostados from H&H Fresh Fish—sausage sandwiches from El Salchichero - brie and olives from New Leaf - and Kelly’s cream puffs with fresh strawberries for dessert.

This is only part of the al fresco menu coming up this Saturday at the expanded Dinner Market at Kelly’s on the Westside.

Along with wines (and beer) from all of the outstanding artisanal wineries who share this lively block, from Bonny Doon to Vino Tabi, the Dinner Market is THE way to see your friends, organic farmers, favorite restaurants, and even enjoy some live music and dancing.

It all starts at 5:30pm - admission is free. You pay vendors as you choose your dinner items—don’t forget to bring glasses, plates & utensils.402 Ingalls St @ Swift, in Santa Cruz. Questions? call 423-9059, ext. 102.  See you there!

Okay, not really gossip, just more like mini-updates. Bites, if you will.

I’m hearing very good things about Brad Briske’s new gig over at Main Street Garden Cafe (the old Theo’s). And I’m hearing them from extremely discerning gourmets, such as Windy Oaks’ Judy Schultze. . . the word I’m getting is cautiously optimistic about the new Burger joint (literally, “Burger” is the name) housed at the corner of Bay & Mission (former Kawa Sushi) . . . and a reminder that cooking ace Marilyn Emery has moved her delicious kiosk Al Fresco up Pacific Avenue. Now she’s whipping up fresh and spicy wraps directly in front of Bookshop Santa Cruz. . . . And finally, I’m going to be checking out the latest new chef at Gabriella, Michael Kilmartin, who stepped in after the departure of the recently-hired Kynan Campisi. Details at eleven.

El Salchichero, Chris LeVeque — with a bit of help from his organic grower parents — is deep into the renovation of the former crafts studio at the top edge of Kelly’s Ingalls empire. What will emerge, soon, is the talented meat guy’s enormous charcuterie works.

LeVeque, an emerging maestro of salume, prosciutto, bresaola, and artisanal lard as pure as the driven snow, is poised to open his retail salchicheria (house of links) next month. Let the salivating begin. . . .

And here’s the other OMG tidbit: Brad Briske told me he will be leaving Gabriella to take over the space formerly known as Theo’s. More…

The Certosa di Galuzzo is an enormous cloister dating from the 1300s located about three miles up into the hills above Florence. In other words, it is situated on one of those stereotypically picturesque Tuscan hillsides dotted with tall black Lombardy cypresses and lots of villas with red tile roofs. Mustard and bougainvilla was in bloom everywhere, quinces falling from the trees and the vineyards were a minute away from harvest.

We took a cab up to the huge stately compound, and the bus back into town a few hours later. In between we joined a tour, along with seven other people, through the opulent chapel, private cells of the Cistercians who still live and work there, and saw the magnificent, faded frescoes made by Pontormo during the plague years in the 16th century. They were astonishingly original - so utterly unlike any of the work done during the same time by Pontormo’s colleagues that they appeared as modern as they were idiosyncratic. Back out into the sunlight, we stopped at the certosa’s distillary shop to purchase some of the liqueurs made by the brothers - including an herb-laced fernet I can’t wait to try.

Wandering over toward the Palazzo Strozzi after our return, we decided to try a new wine bar that served us one of the best pizzas of our lives. It’s called Bussola, and they served us a pizza topped with pecorino, cherry tomatoes and wild boar sausage along with a huge glass of Chianti Classico from the surrounding hills, vintage 2006. The pizza had that very thin, crisp crust — no tomato sauce, no gooey mozzarella — that distinguishes northern Italian pizza. Absolutely outrageous - and perfect for a light lunch for two.

Over at Gabriella, owner Paul Cocking has already scored a new chef — Kynan Campisi— formerly of Michael Mina in San Francisco. “He’s energetic, organized and intelligent,” says Cocking of his latest chef. “All the things you want.”

Can’t wait to sample the new hand at the helm. Stay tuned.