Is it just me or are the wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains getting better? And better.
A few months ago, for example, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, awarded 30 gold medals – including four “Best of Class” awards – to SCM wines. Thirteen of these golds went to local Pinot Noirs. Yes, it is a big deal. A record 4,736 wines were entered by wineries from all over the United States. (more…)
First day of spring – last day for lunch at downtown’s amazing Gabriella Cafe.
Owner Paul Cocking admitted that since not enough ladies were lunching, Gabriella’s mid-day menu is “going south with the American economy.” The restaurant will unleash chef Brad Briske‘s full creative attention on dinners Tuesday through Sunday, and weekend brunches.
Probably a wise move, given the obvious. Thank God we still have some terrific downtown lunches options, including Oswald, Soif, Clouds, El Palomar and The Bagelry.
Sure, you could dumb down your choices – save pennies, clip coupons, consume something that makes you hate yourself in the morning. Or you could have a meal that stimulates all your senses. That makes you feel glad about spring, living at the ocean, being alive.
Dungeness crab with shaved fennel, baby cress and organic arugula, studded with a few Gigante beans, Meyer lemon aioli and a lavish, intense pool of squid ink vinaigrette.
I don’t know – it sells itself.
Gabriella.
Lofty ceilings, rivers of sunlight, polished earth-toned floors — New Leaf unveiled its newest store on the Westside this morning to the obvious delight of a full house of discerning consumers. Glittering displays of fruit, seafood, and pastries joined an entire alcove of wines, islands of nutriceuticals, cafe seating, a refrigerated flower chamber — and the sleek shelves were still being stocked on opening morning.
I was so happy to see my favorite deli gals — here’s sandwich princess Lauren Ward (r.) and colleague — that I ordered a mammoth tuna sandwich to go as I made my inaugural tour of the amazing and quite beautiful new store. If it feels a bit like one of the Whole Foods emporia, that’s because 
interior architect Steven Crocker, of C/D/M Construction, spent ten years designing for Whole Foods.
More to see, more to buy, and more to just plain be happy about — the Westside can be proud, and kudos to Scott Roseman and Rex Stewart. New Leaf actually lives up to the “bigger and better” hypola. The parking lot is not only huge, but it conveniently adjoins Bonny Doon Vineyard winery and its new gala tasting room. Go check out the very chic, industrial moderne structure at the corner of Ingalls & Fair.
What prompted winemaker Jeff Emery, award-winning winemaker for Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, to start up yet another line of varietals called Quinta Cruz?
“Two trips to Portugal,” Emery responds without missing a beat. “I fell in love with the wines, and by chance I saw a listing for these Iberian grapes,” grapes with melodious names like Touriga, Tinta Cão, and Tempranillo. A recent planting of these Portuguese varietals in Monterey’s San Antonio Valley now powers these intriguing, aromatic and immediately accessible new wines.
The distinctive label for the new Quinta Cruz line — which includes a 2005 Tempranillo, a 2006 blend of two Touriga varieties, and a voluptuous Douro-style blend called Concertina — shows a sepia-tinted drawing of a graceful rabelo sailing ship. Rabelo boats (more…)
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.