Hunter Hill Soirée
Wraparound grapevines created a soothing, green backdrop to the al fresco wine dinner we sampled last weekend at Hunter Hill. Chef Michael Clark brought some of his Michael's on Main team up to the outdoor grill and patio area facing the award-winning winery, and...
The Kids are All Right
Written with a crystalline ear for everyday miasmas, Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg dive deftly into the depths of contemporary family ties. The Kids are All Right stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a longtime lesbian couple whose teenaged children are...
Main Street Garden Cafe
A bit more of what chef Brad Briske is up to in his new kitchen at Main Street Garden Cafe in Soquel. Cured with ginger, liqueurs, orange peel, smoked salts and other exotic, experimental ingredients, Briske's house-made salames, coppacola, prosciutto arrived served...
Inception
Still haunted by Leonardo diCaprio's beautiful face, taking on gravitas with time, I find it difficult to know where to start with Christopher Nolan's hugely entertaining Inception. From the director of Memento and The Dark Knight, this dream-within-a-dream caper is...
Tilda’s Neck
Backlit by a throbbing, surging, overripe score from opera composer John Adams, and wandering stylishly through the mother of all Milanese mansions, Tilda Swinton & company offer much in the way of visual opulence, in the new Italian chick flick I Am Love. Tall,...
Bean There . . .
Verve fresh roasted coffee beans are electrifying our morning ritual. Pungent and toasty, yet completely free of that burnt charcoal finish that haunts many french roast beans—these are light, rich and deliver nuanced flavor. For $10ish for 10 oz, the French Roast...
Wine Trails – Passport Saturday, July 17
The scenic Santa Cruz Mountains viticultural region opens up its winery tasting rooms this Saturday for the July installment of the Passport tasting cycle. Over 40 wineries, each distinctive, each showcasing handmade premium wines and the ineffable terroir of this...
Toy Story 3
They're all here again, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie the cowgirl (Joan Cusack)), Hamm, Bullseye, Barbie, and of course Andy the boy who loves all of these spunky toys. In the third installment, Andy has grown up and is just about to leave for...
Bevete piu Birichino!
Italian for "rascal," birichino is also the name of a highly drinkable malvasia bianca busy quenching discerning thirsts all over central California. Impish and bone dry, this ultra-crisp white wine has been orchestrated by oeno oracle John Locke from Monterey grapes....
Eastman @ Carrillo Gallery
A suite of vibrant paintings in various media by Kit Eastman, is on display through August at the intimate (i.e. tiny) Eduardo Carrillo Gallery. Eastman, a UCSC alumna, works in expressive layers of impasto loaded with gesture, color and the invisible presence of Bay...
Soif’s Italian Accent
An evening of Italian wines with Amanda Rehn was not only full of vibrant conversation and saucy wine lore, but provided a dozen of us the chance to actually learn a lot about what's going on in contemporary Italian winemaking. Three whites and four reds crossed our...
Dessert to Die For
The reigning dessert of summer—a deconstructed bread pudding, ultra-rich, joined by succulent ripe peaches and blackberries, and encircled by lavender-scented crème Anglaise. The light perfume of the lavender propelled all the elements into culinary orbit. Kudos to...
Gabriella evolves
An appetizer of beets, throngs of beautiful beets on a field of greens.
and yet more Gabriella
Chef Michael Kilmartin anoints a perfect pork chop with sauteed fresh cherries, and presses it into a bed of polenta, with perfect carrots and roasted infant cabbage.
Summer & Smoke: Vintage 2008
The 2008 installment of Bonny Doon Vineyard's Le Cigare Blanc has been released just in time for serious summer relaxing. An initial tasting provided an opening hit of honeydew, chased with sea salt and finished with some quince, lime and light jasmine. At 57%...
Kelly’s Dinner Market – Sat. June 26
Ceviche tostados from H&H Fresh Fish—sausage sandwiches from El Salchichero - brie and olives from New Leaf - and Kelly's cream puffs with fresh strawberries for dessert. This is only part of the al fresco menu coming up this Saturday at the expanded Dinner Market...
Gourmet Gossip
Okay, not really gossip, just more like mini-updates. Bites, if you will. I'm hearing very good things about Brad Briske's new gig over at Main Street Garden Cafe (the old Theo's). And I'm hearing them from extremely discerning gourmets, such as Windy Oaks' Judy...
Summer & Grenache
My two new summer tipples include a gorgeous persimmon-hued Grenache 2008 made by Denis Hoey of Odonata Wines. Full of pepper and berries, it stands up to king salmon as well as grilled chicken and chile verde. Dreamy and local. The other comes in blush form, namely...
Persian Cuisine in San Diego
Last week my great girlfriend Laurel and I headed over to Bandar Persian Restaurant in the bustling Friday night heart of old San Diego for a terrific and authentic meal of middle eastern flavors. Our starter, an eggplant appetizer slow roasted with fresh garlic and...
Karate Kid Kicks
Kung fu king Jackie Chan, arguably the best-known human on the planet, was once a kung fu prodigy following in his father's swift footsteps. At 12, Jaden Smith is also a child star, following in his talented father's footsteps. And even if the dangerously cute son of...
An Irish Tea Room in Bethlehem
Last week we headed for the east coast and a family wedding in Bethlehem, PA, home to steel mill ruins and an 18th century utopia built by Moravian colonists. Blindingly green, the Lehigh Valley in June can be hot and humid. And it was. But we found relief in a...
Dads Hit the Wine Trail – June 19 & 20
Sure you could get him another tie and then throw some burgers on the Webber, or.....you could take Dad out for a little something different this Father's Day weekend, June 19 & 20. How about a scenic wine trek through the Santa Cruz Mountains? The Summit to Sea Wine...
Breaking News
El Salchichero, Chris LeVeque — with a bit of help from his organic grower parents — is deep into the renovation of the former crafts studio at the top edge of Kelly's Ingalls empire. What will emerge, soon, is the talented meat guy's enormous charcuterie works....
Morning at the Cloisters
The Certosa di Galuzzo is an enormous cloister dating from the 1300s located about three miles up into the hills above Florence. In other words, it is situated on one of those stereotypically picturesque Tuscan hillsides dotted with tall black Lombardy cypresses and...