This intricate plate involved a gossamer tempura treatment of very long, very delicious green beans, cradling two puffs of equally gossamer tempura'd cippolini onions. All of this atop a lagoon of aioli punctuated with brilliant red pickled cabbage. Quite lovely. But...

This year give the gift of chocolate so decadent it should be illegal. My friend Rita, now my official chocolate procuress, gave me a few of these beautiful, red-cellophane wrapped chocolates last week. One bite and my hair stood on end. From the Italian house of...

Made by jewelry artist Faye Augustine, the new bracelet sports the title of Lisa Jensen's forthcoming book, Alias Hook. It adorns her wrist right next to the bracelet commemorating her last book, Sea Witch. Ah authors and their jewelry.....

That would be the succulent, hearty, beautifully-executed pizzas at Pizzeria Avanti, such as this beauty topped with fresh mozzarella, fresh heirloom tomato sauce, basil and housemade Italian sausage. $12 for the pie + $4 for the sausage. What's not to like?

We scored a table at last week's boisterous opening of Bantam pizzeria, where we shared appetizers of pickled carrots and turnips, as well as two house pizzas washed back with delicious Sicilian Nero d'Avola. The Margherita was pretty classic—tomatoes, mozzarella...

The Hostess Twinkie—about to take its place in the fading memories of baby boomers whose lunches were crowned by the Hostess Cupcake with white icing loops on top; the iconic Ding Dong, and by the cream-filled spiral chocolate HoHo. But mostly by that plump...

Why is this man smiling?........ You'll find out right around Thanksgiving. Uh, right about now.

Part Arthurian legend, part religious allegory, Lohengrin is a dreamy stormy creation for supersized orchestra, invisible brass quartets, singers with superhuman stamina, and audiences lucky enough to catch a rare production of Wagner's romantic classic. From the...

I know many of you are über home chefs who think nothing of whipping up a killer cranberry dressing from scratch for your Thanksgiving dinner. But not me. I have suddenly hit upon the obvious, no-brainer and yet under-appreciated alternative to full-on cranberry...

The way most Americans envision that first Thanksgiving, through a haze of richly spun sentimentality, it went something like this: Plucky white Pilgrims--mostly guys--set out across the Atlantic Ocean and were rewarded with an entire continent of untold wealth that...

It's Wednesday. You want to go out for dinner. Consider Shadowbrook, where tonight Jim and Judy Schultze will be pouring four of their all-estate pinot noirs, including new 2010 releases. Sample a flight with complimentary appetizers - starts @ 5pm. [Atmospheric pinot...

Long Beach Island's exquisite coastline as I saw it only four weeks ago.

Inside the musings and tinkerings of physics world-changer Albert Einstein, we wander and play thanks to the uncanny simpatico of Robert Wilson, Phillip Glass and Lucinda Childs, who 35 years ago collaborated on an avant-garde performance piece that announced the...

Halloween is our excuse to escape to Avanti - and this year we chose to return to one of our favorite neighborhood spots, now transformed into Pizzeria Avanti. Let's just say that it was great to be back. Very little has changed, except for some appetizers, salads...

Zameen—the latest mobile unit offering up big, fresh Mediterranean/Middle Eastern hand foods—shown here with owner/entrepreneur Ed Watson. And this baby was designed expressly to cater to the food needs of UCSC students who tend to hang out around the Performing...

From emerging filmmaker Sasha Friedlander comes that rare documentary film managing to combine cinematic savvy, memorable subjects, and jaw-dropping visuals. Where Heaven Meets Hell—sure to be the hot ticket at this year's Pacific Rim Film Festival—follows the...

With the face of a gaunt, young Richard Burton by way of Neal Cassady, Paul Newman, and Montgomery Clift—Joaquin Phoenix sails beyond mere Oscar contention in The Master, and into an electrified circle of hell. The latest film from Paul Thomas Anderson—who has...

From the looks, and aromas of it, Saturday's Pepperfest at the Westside Farmers Market was a big, colorful success.  Every farm booth was overflowing with red, orange and green peppers of every size and variety. Gorgeous! Orin Martin, of the UCSC Chadwick Garden, was...

Mark your calendars now! Pacific Rim Film Festival - October 22, 4:30pm. That's when you'll be able to enjoy the ethnographic journey of a new documentary on Peruvian fireworks makers, called Jugando con Fuego, a collaboration by photographer/explorer Keith Muscutt...