by Christina Waters | Mar 7, 2013 | Home |
No foodie with a pulse could fail to be seduced by the smart menu created by Soif Chef Santos Majano to accompany a roster of wines made by Windy Oaks Estate winemaker Jim Schultze. Next Wednesday, March 13 at 6pm, those devoted to great food, nuanced wine and prosperity consciousness will be treated to one of the best-looking menus I’ve seen in years.
Consider this: Windy Oaks’ splendid 2010 Estate Chardonnay wil be joined by Dungeness crab, quail egg, and lemon sabayon. The next course featured pan-roasted sea bass, brussels sprouts and Meyer lemon gelée paired with 2010 Diane’s Block Estate Pinot Noir. An entree of crispy duck, porcini gnocchi and nettle purée with glazed carrots joins a 2009 100% wild yeast Estate Pinot Noir and a 2010 Estate Cuvée Pinot Noir. A final cheese course will be served with 2009 100% Whole Cluster Estate Pinot Noir.
This should be a fantasy experience for fans of truly Burgundian-style Pinot Noirs, as well as the seasonal creativity of Soif’s kitchen. Jim and Judy Schultze will be on hand to explain the fine points of pinot noir. The cost for this remarkable line-up is $85 per person (exclusive of tax & gratuity), and I suggest you grab that cell phone right now—831.423.2020—for reservations.
by Christina Waters | Feb 25, 2013 | Home |
My favorite Oscar moment?
When Shirley Bassey stepped out of the past and belted out “Goldfinger”—who wasn’t singing along with her?
by Christina Waters | Feb 25, 2013 | Home |
The Academy opted for youth market over cinematic brilliance and replaced judgement with cowardice. Let me deconstruct that for you.
Chosen Best Director Ang Lee, a visionary filmmaker to be sure, was (I guess) the safest mid-way point between the non-nominated Ben Affleck and the overly-powerful Steven Spielberg. (What is this need for Hollywood to loathe the director who has given so many masterpieces to the industry?)
Jennifer Lawrence—who gave a terrific performance—beat out the “older” nominees, and even the child candidate. Again, it will bring in young blood to Oscar awareness.
Christoph Waltz is an uncanny actor, but to have beaten Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tommy Lee Jones, and Robert deNiro? Give me a break.
Sally Field was utterly robbed!!
Only the choice of the magnificent Daniel Day Lewis as Best Actor offered a ray of redemption in the strangest blend of class and tackiness in recent memory. It was also an historic win, since now the Irish-born actor is the only man to have won three Best Actor Oscars.
So let’s review: I was wrong about the Best Picture; wrong about the Best Director; wrong about the Best Actress; wrong about the best supporting Actor & Actress.
I was right on one count alone—Best Actor. This is all simply proof that my radar isn’t on the same wave of mass mediocrity as that of most media consumers. Were the Oscars always political (i.e. about $$$$)? Or am I just now noticing?
by Christina Waters | Feb 22, 2013 | Home |
While it isn’t exactly a conspiracy theory, it should be pretty obvious that a lot of the loud buzz about Argo has to do with catering to—and hence attracting—the youth market, the 20somethings who are busy avoiding movie theaters and texting their way to oblivion.
I have adult friends who actually complained that Lincoln was “about history” and they grimaced as if swallowing echinacea straight from the bottle as they said this. Yes, it’s true Abraham Lincoln hasn’t been alive for a long, long time. Does that make Spielberg’s masterpiece somehow dismissible?
Are we so postmodern that even a film about a historical figure is considered incapable of moving, entertaining, enlightening?
But I digress. Back to the hypola around Argo.
Part of it is to whip up the younger market. Another part is to slap around (more…)
by Christina Waters | Feb 17, 2013 | Home |
It’s that time again – time to pretend you don’t care about the Oscars and then sit for hours glued to your screen.
Who can resist the fawning hypola of the Red Carpet? Stars dressed to the nines in borrowed gowns, borrowed jewels, and borrowed hair extensions. Gushing reporters, screaming fans, wardrobe malfunctions, enough toupées to pave Hollywood Boulevard, yes, it is great to be an American during this four-hour metaphor for everything we have come to stand for. Excess, superficial eye candy, plastic surgery, make-up, and occasionally…..talent.
So who do I think will win?
All the snubbing by other awards processes can’t stop Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln from racking up much deserved Oscars, including Rick Carter (UCSC alum) for Set Design, and Sally Field for Best Supporting Actress.
Best Picture? Ack—that’s a tough one. I’m convinced there was no “best picture this year. There were brilliant small ensembles, such as Argo, or Exotic Marigold Hotel, or Silver Linings Playbook. But not one “big statement” movie. And I have to include Lincoln in this list of almost successes, given the woeful (more…)
