by Christina Waters | Jan 19, 2011 | Home |
With its cavernous ceilings, sleek sophisticated surfaces (thanks to Mark Primack) and wine list studded with euro-stars such as Grüner Veltliner and various Austrian reds, Laili could be the east-Asian sibling of Soif.
We checked out the new Afghani dining room for my birthday last week and found it bracingly Palo Alto in feel, a neat trick considering my grandfather used to have an account in this former County Bank building. Excellent service and beautiful presentation were the stars. Both of our lamb dishes hit the spot, yet were curiously monotone after (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jan 18, 2011 | Home |
Paradise Beach Grille knows how to have a good time. Playoff games on the flat screens. Live music in one corner, and the blue Pacific in the other. Winemakers pouring top premiums and a kitchen turning out gorgeous (see the image) dishes showcasing fresh Dungeness crab.
Capitola never looked better – it always thrives in warm weather on sparkling clear days.
That was what I did last Sunday. What did you do?
by Christina Waters | Jan 18, 2011 | Home |
Savannah-Chanelle is one of the top Santa Cruz Mountain wineries, and their elegantly robust red wines usually end up on our table on a regular basis.
I made a very happy discovery this past weekend as I ate plate after plate of local Dungeness crab (somebody’s gotta do it) as a judge for the SCMWA’s Wine & Crab Taste-off.
There were the S-C folks pouring an unoaked, non-malolcaticized Chardonnay. The grapes hailed from the celebrated Tondre’s Grapefield in the Santa Lucia Highlands, so I was very intrigued. I fell for it immediately. No huge overinflated toast and butterscotch. No over-the-top oak koolaid flavors. Just crisp acidity and sparkling notes of stone fruit and minerals.
The 2009 Savannah-Chanelle Chardonnay is a very very appealing wine, one that actually partners food brilliantly. It’s enough to make a grown woman put down her Sauvignon Blanc! (Well, almost.) It retails for a budget-friendly $24 too.
Definitely one to try.
by Christina Waters | Jan 12, 2011 | Home |
Painting in a dozen shades of sepia, the Coen brothers take us back into the last century when there was plenty of frontier still left in Arkansas and the law was still a gleam in Wyatt Earp’s eye.
Our first glimpse of Jeff Bridges as the “one-eyed fat man” Rooster Cogburn is a long slow shot across a smoky courtroom. You have to look twice to recognize him through the unmistakable ghost of John Wayne, who is given a moment of homage by the Coens in their slim, lyrical telling of Charles Portis’ tale.
Sticking close to the book in words and unvarnished attitude, the Coens and their cinematographer Roger Deakins take us into what must have been an all-too-common world of of post-Civil War desperation, (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jan 12, 2011 | Home |
Devotées of Randall Grahm’s unquenchable and distinctive gabbiness will want to feast over the latest e-blast from the man who gave us Bonny Doon Vineyard and all of its delicious acts of terroir.
Check this link to read more than you ever thought possible about the state of RG’s new San Juan Bautista vineyard.
