Holding down a central spot in the warehouse district next to Pacific Edge climbing gym and behind Day’s Market, the spacious new coffee roasting plant for Verve also boasts a very very tiny espresso counter, with a few stools at the bar and unlimited schmoozing space in the “front yard” parking lot.
The macchiati are terrific, and the ambience is as close to Milanese industrial chic as it’s possible to get on the pacific rim.
I am so tired of people complaining that dining out in restaurants is just too expensive.
Is it really a big savings if you clip coupons like a mad woman and save $$$ on food you wouldn’t normally buy? Are you being totally smart by eating cheap junk food, or GMO-riddled highly processed items made by the Friends of Monsanto? Just because they’re “on sale”?
Maybe you could get a bit more creative with slow-cooked stews and pastas most of the week, and then go out to your favorite restaurant feel terrific afterwards?
Point is, dining is not pigging out. It is entirely possible (and satisfying) to have a light dinner of appetizers joined by a glass of interesting wine. That won’t break your budget but it will make you feel a lot better about Life and the state of the world. Burger King mega-calories are not part of prosperity consciousness. Neither is an endless procession, night after night, of frozen mystery entrees from Costco.
Scrimp somewhere else. (more…)
From the looks of it Santa Cruz Restaurant Week succeeded brilliantly in getting diners out of their kitchens and into some of the top eateries in the county.
We stopped by La Posta for three interesting courses, from pizzetta to an imaginative artisanal cheese platter accompanied by whole walnuts, housemade quince confit and thick local honey.
Kudos to chef Katherine Stern and her hard-working kitchen crew. (more…)
It surprised even me that of oh say a dozen vintages sampled last week of Le Cigare Volant—that sensuous blend of syrah, grenache, mourvedre and cinsault—I would find myself leaning into a glass of one of Randall Grahm’s white Rhônes. But I did. (See post below.)
The single vineyard—Beeswax Vineyard, Arroyo Secon, San Benito County—has yielded a formidable 2009 Le Cigare Blanc, made of 57% Grenache Blanc and 43% Roussanne, loaded with tannin and haunting violets and quince, possibly a hint of madrone, perfume. An autumnal green-gold in hue, this is a Byronic riff on central coast terroir. Well worth sitting down and spending some quality time with.
Try it at the Bonny Doon Vineyard tasting room, if you haven’t already scored some for your home cellar.
A recent vertical tasting of Le Cigare Volant—the Bonny Doon Vineyard flagship creation—showed off the evolving style, and substance, of vintage 1993 through 2009 of Randall Grahm’s main squeeze.
Incidentally the odd-numbered years showed especially well. Doubtless something astrological.
Also showing well was the handiwork of The Cellar Door‘s creative culinary team, especially in a gorgeous array of halibut cheeks, scallops and prawns with aioli, sumptuous cheese and fig platters and killer fig and Stilton pizzettas.
The loquacious winemaker, who walked us through the wine cellar interior for a sneak sip of 2010 and even infant 2011 vintages, was in top form. Those who haven’t been to the tasting room lately will want to pick up some of the gorgeous biodynamic produce (more…)
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.