by Christina Waters | Jan 9, 2012 | Art |
A sweeping show of coastal landscapes will fill the Davenport Gallery, starting this Saturday, January 14 (reception from 4-7pm).
The exhibition will offer works by top area painters including Andrew Purchin, Frank Galuszka (Cliff, o/c, r.), Ray Ginghofer and others, including a rarely-seen artist who moonlights as a wine writer. Take advantage of the spectacular weather—and the spectacular coast. Davenport Gallery is next door to the Roadhouse, on Highway One.
Davenport Gallery – 450 Highway One – open Wed – Sun, 11am – 5pm
by Christina Waters | Jan 3, 2012 | Food, Home |
Maybe it’s just me, but it’s going to take more than three bright green patio umbrellas and a glut of signage to convince me that Mex-Italian cuisine is a sound idea.
When a restaurant, for all the good will in the world, is consistently empty….it might occur to the management that “it’s the concept, stupid.”
by Christina Waters | Jan 2, 2012 | Home, Movies |
A feast for the mind as well as the eye, the shabby paranoia of Cold War espionage makes a bracing cinematic cocktail, neither shaken nor stirred. A dirty patina of brown and grey adheres to every engrossing scene of this version of John LeCarre’s spy saga Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Relinquish any fears that the indelible performance by Alec Guinness as spy master George Smiley in the archetypal 1973 BBC series might upstage this film version. The confidence of director Tomas Alfredson and his astonishing cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema will dispel all doubts
Even for those who have read the book and gorged upon the multi-part television series, Le Carré’s tale is dense and labyrinthean as only a cold war spy tale can be. This is, after all, a tightly buttoned world in which there are no good guys. The ugly underbelly of bureaucratic betrayal makes a bracing cautionary bulwark for those still under the illusion that espionage is glamorous. There are no Sean Connerys here.
We meet the career MI6 agents—a sorry lot of paranoid professionals who have sold their individual dreams to a collective nightmare—just as a secret deal to bring in a high-ranking Soviet defector has gone horribly wrong. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jan 1, 2012 | Home |
The short analysis: too much liquor.
Here’s the play-by-play description of our New Year’s Day sampling of Aunt Chris’ Fruitcake. After 5 weeks, it was time to unveil the slumbering fruitcakes.
Carefully unwrapping layers of cheesecloth—utterly dripping with spice-scented Jim Beam (apologies to those who knew better)—and confronting the heavy brown loaves, I carefully made the first slice. The perfume of high-octane alcohol filled the kitchen.
Armed with cups of hot green tea, we took to the dining room table with a single slice of fruitcake, cut into two pieces. Dense with spices, figs, raisins, ginger, almonds, walnuts and many other items, each bite was overwhelming. Mainly it was difficult to detect individual flavors and textures, so riddled with weekly dousings of booze was each atom of this creation.
“I feel like an archaeologist,” my sweetie ventured, (more…)
by Christina Waters | Dec 14, 2011 | Food |
Cupcake freaks (you know who you are) will want to check out the luscious array of cupcakes on offer at Starz‘ new outlet. It’s inside the Yogizmo located at 1717 Mission Street (next to Avanti).
Imagine getting to wrap your mouth around cupcakes, made-from-scratch, totally decadent —even the non-sugar ones, and the gluten-free ones. Here’s the “Elvis” – a sweet, creamy tribute to bananas and butter.
