by Christina Waters | Mar 28, 2011 | Home |
If you had told me I would have to go to the Jersey Shore to experience manicotti so good that it would make a goodfella cry, I would have told you to “fageddaboudit.”
But I did. And at Joey’s, a big, friendly, non-designer pizza and pasta joint in Manahawkin, NJ, I had manicotti from heaven, and more. Ravioli stuffed with ricotta and smothered in a serious meat sauce. Chicken breasts simmered in garlic and mushroom sauce that had me ready to genuflect. Each of these dishes was under $10 btw – no I wasn’t in California anymore.
But if you ever (more…)
by Christina Waters | Mar 27, 2011 | Home |
Maybe I’m catastrophizing, but you know. . . .So we’re taking the red-eye to Philly and need something to hold us until dawn. Presto! Tomokazu, a nicely-run sushi bar in the International terminal at SFO fit the bill nicely. We shared some sake, spicy tuna tekka maki and these delicious and colorful futomaki rolls, dredged through the required sinus- clearing combo of wasabi and soy.
by Christina Waters | Mar 27, 2011 | Home |
When in Philly, I always try to stop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (yes, the same one whose monumental front steps were immortalized in Rocky). I visit the van Eyck St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata, the magnificent Roger van der Weyden Deposition, and then head straight for the downstairs restaurant.
A serene oasis of smart menus and sophisticated wall decor (I had lunch under a sinuous Brice Marden etching), the restaurant always (more…)
by Christina Waters | Mar 18, 2011 | Art, Home |
Santa Cruz-based author and coffeehouse habituée, Carolyn Burke, has done it again. Deepening her reputation as an historian of French modernism, Burke has published an accessible and richly-detailed saga of the life, loves and career of French chanteuse Edith Piaf.
Burke will appear at 7:30pm on May 5 at Bookshop Santa Cruz to talk about her literary quest for details, friends and lovers of the iconic “little sparrow” who defined world-weary toughness and courage during the war years in Paris.
No Regrets is a work of scrupulous research—though it must have been a biographer’s dream to interview some of Piaf’s many lovers. Detailed yet absorbing, Burke’s new book will thrill fans of the colorful cabaret star and will appeal equally to those who barely know of the legendary French songstress.
Without descending into gossip, Burke’s research uncovers the lurid longings as well as the almost superhuman stamina of Piaf, signature traits which fueled the singer’s eventual decline into drug and alcohol excess. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Mar 17, 2011 | Home, Wine |
Don’t miss next week’s Pinot Paradise festival, March 26-27, which begins with a self-guided tour of the region’s pinot-producing wineries $25, and culminates on Sunday with the Grand Cruz Tasting at Villa Ragusa in Old Town Campbell ($55/65). Find all the details you need at SCMWA website – or by calling (831)685-8463.
