The crisp, briny, mineral-driven Albariño from Bonny Doon Vineyard. Chill like crazy, and sip often. $18.

A favorite dining strategy of ours involves transforming one night's main course into a dinner salad the next night. And example is a recent dinner of local King salmon. I always roast enough for a second night. In this case we added sauteed mushrooms (leftovers),...

I'm still wrestling with this new Ridley Scott film, the alleged prequel to his astounding sci-fi masterpiece, Alien. Stay tuned.....

An appetizer to sigh for, these lightly toasted baguette slices topped with pureed favas and mint, joined by pungent soft goat cheese. We loved it with a distinctive white wine, Coenobium—a blend of three Italian grapes, including Trebbiano and Malvasia—and made...

Dee Vogel is currently eating her way through Croatia, but did take time to send a few typical plates of the Dalmatian Coast. I can practically taste this platter of fresh cheese and red peppers sprinkled with olive oil and probably oregano.

Eleanor Hilberman, in France for the wedding of her niece, stopped sampling the culinary temples of Paris long enough to send me this mouthwatering image of salmon on a stack of endive and spring vegetables.

Two splendid dishes we sampled at La Posta last week included a gorgeous wedge of local King salmon on a bed of new peas, warm fingerling potatoes and a tasty horseradish sauce. But the duck salad! Sometimes a combination of flavors can go super-nova. These did. A bed...

Banking on a guaranteed youth audience eager to see Kristen (Twilight) Stewart, director Rupert Sanders and his henchmen have taken a timeless fairytale and twisted it into a vapid exercise in stuntwork and computer-generated predictability. Ablaze with nothing but...

Half glasses of Bordeaux reds. A succulent terrine of artisanal chicken confit, with a fluff of frisée and quince paste. A highly shareable platter of oven-fresh flatbread topped with smoked duck prosciutto, blueberries, onions and arugula. All sexy. All delicious....

This haunting digital projection installation by Miguel Libarnes is one of many highlight of this year's confident Irwin Scholars Art Exhibition at UCSC's Porter College. The current crop of awardees: Chelsea Cramer, Gina Farkas, Ari Finkelstein, Kristen...

A subtle and memorable chocolate experience is this beautiful creation from Richard Donnelly, in which dark chocolate has been infused with cardamom, every bite a slow trip to the Spice Islands. Terrific mouthfeel, yet with substance. Available everywhere chocolate...

Little Women, an opera by exciting contemporary composer Mark Adamo, plays at the Music Recital hall from May 31 - June 3. Super talented singers and musicians from the music program, under the direction of Brian Staufenbiel and with maestra Nicole Paiement at the...

The place was the upper garden terrace at Love Apple Farm, high atop Vine Hill overlooking the ocean. The chef was Josiah Citrin, whose 2-star Michelin Santa Monica dining room, Melisse, belongs on your short list of where to dine in southern California. The...

Once in a while—but almost never—I have come across a dish that seemed created by sorcerers. Every detail harmonizing. Each ingredient energizing the whole. The Iconic Chefs Dinner on Sunday offered one of those rare encounters. (Thank you Josiah Citrin.) It is...

Just watching the mixologists at Oswald inspires awe. An intriguing array of ingredients—fresh mango puree, a wide range of bitters and herbal diffusions, muddled and minced fruit, citrus and botanical garnishes—wow, this is the sort of adult flavor-play that...

Here's one of our recent dinner salads—variation on a niçoise-with fresh local albacore and all-organic everything else. Some marinated cippolinis and artichoke hearts. Major delicious.

Here is one of the recent dishes I've enjoyed at the smartly re-branded Le Cigare Volant. And for juicy details, check my review in the current Santa Cruz Weekly—or online. Here, for example, is a robust beef loin entree, sided with feisty peppers, marrow bone and...

Here's a surprising bit of feistiness from Vine Hill Winery—a Chardonnay that acts like a Sauvignon Blanc. And that's a very good thing! I always expect drinkable and lovely Pinot Noirs from winemaker Sal Godinez. But I was charmed recently by his racy, minerally...

A dessert by Le Cigare Volant pastry chef Yoomi Shelton riffed on the theme of Live Earth Farms rhubarb. From left—panna cotta topped with rhubarb coulis. In the center a rhubarb crisp topped with ginger foam! and on the right, jasmine ice cream on a brilliant...