by Christina Waters | Feb 8, 2007 | Food, Holidays |
Immodest Proposals: Where to go for romantic V-Day dining? Here’s my answer. Gabriella Cafe chef Rebecca King and her sous-chef, Ben Howard (both veterans of Chez Panisse) offer lovers a four-course Valentine’s odyssey, accompanied by two glasses of Italian bubbly, for $85 per person. And since Gabriella Café, 910 Cedar Street, is arguably the most romantic dining spot in Santa Cruz (as Theo’s is to Soquel), one must reach immediately for the phone to make February 14 reservations, at (831)457-1677. And speaking of Theo’s, Roger Romano tells me that reservations are rapidly filling up. V-day dinner — $75 per person, not including tax & tip. Just know that chef Nicci Tripp will make the experience a benchmark in romantic gastronomy. Feast on the Valentine’s menu at www.theosrestaurant.com/ and then pray there’s still a table! Theo’s, 3101 N. Main – Soquel: 831.462.3657. . . Since hyper-romantic (in that nostalgic way) Shadowbrook has probably long since stopped taking reservations for dinners, I can pass along a tip. Try grabbing a seat in the upstairs Rock Room Lounge, where Terry Riversong will be singing on Valentine’s eve. There’s a wood-burning oven, and a separate food menu, plus with the first come/first served, no res policy, this is a great option for those who couldn’t get a dining room reservation. Vibrant and definitely romantic atmosphere. The Shadowbrook, at 1750 Wharf Road, in Capitola: 831/ 475-1511.
by Christina Waters | Feb 8, 2007 | Art |
Martha Mayer Erlebacher is a leading Philadelphia-based
babe in the arts.
Currently showing at New York’s
Forum Gallery, Erlebacher specializes in ultra-realistic nudes and still-life paintings. Monumental and mythic in mood, these are works by an astonishing artist, in the tradition of Renaissance masters. (Erlebacher also makes a mean Bolognese when she’s not out on the tennis courts.) Take a look at what tenacity and breathtaking ability can create.
by Christina Waters | Feb 8, 2007 | Wine |
I remember over-hearing my uncles trying to outdo each other with the rallying cry: “I’ve got a bottle of Hallcrest in the closet.” Uncle Harold always made points when he played the Hallcrest card. That was the first time I heard the name, which was the family code for classy red wine. Well, that was the old Hallcrest, the experimental gleam in the eye of Santa Cruz Mountains proto-winemaker Chaffee Hall, and the wine was fabled — a tradition continued under the steady eye of current winemaker, John Schumacher. A visit to the Hallcrest winery on Empire Grade (a few blocks up the hill from downtown Felton), is a step back into the old west, complete with horses in the meadows just below the redwood-framed vineyards.
The Hallcrest I’ve recently fallen in love with — and which makes edible poetry joined with rare lamb loin and a ripe Camembert for dessert — is the winery’s 2002 Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir. An exquisitely clear, ruby-hued wine, weighing in at 14.1% alcohol, from Ciardella Vineyard grapes grown on slopes facing Corralitos, it expands into a bouquet of plums and black cherries. The structure holds from the first sip to the last drop in the bottle. For well under $20 it is a liquid treasure. Go get some.
by Christina Waters | Feb 8, 2007 | Art, Home, Travel |
I’ve never met a museum cafe I didn’t like, and the Art Museum Cafe, run by Giuseppe Restaurants at La Jolla’s lustrous Museum of Contemporary Art, is no exception. Housed in a corner wing of the Robert Venturi-revamped, seaside mansion, the Cafe offers glamorous al fresco dining under the wisteria-draped pergola, or in the frescoed dining room. So completely Italian is this setting, watched over by the drop-dead handsome Giuseppe himself, (more…)
by Christina Waters | Feb 1, 2007 | Home |
O’Mei entrepreneur, Roger Grigsby, shared this gem with me. He overhead a former waiter approach a table about a month ago and actually ask the patrons, “You guys hangin’ in there OK?.” A true indication of just how genericized ordinary language has become.
I am about to give up my crusade to ban “you guys” from public communications, especially since I attended a lecture last week at Cowell College and heard the distinguished guest speaker begin his remarks with, “How are you guys tonight?”
Even ruder was the family I observed dining at Avanti two weeks ago, who allowed their “darling” 3-year-old to scream, bang spoons, wriggle (more…)
