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The Quilt
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Breathing Room
The Vinturi really works, and not just because a dozen winemakers told me so. I got one. I tried it. It delivers. Purists may scoff, but this clever glass device instantly aerates newly-opened wine, softening the finish and opening the flavors — as if the wine had...
New World Sangiovese
Buy this wine! Having said that, let me briefly explain why $9.99 was never better spent than on the freshly-released Ca' Del Solo Sangiovese 2006, from Bonny Doon Vineyard. Such liquid epiphany reminds us why our Italian brethren often know best, to wit the mighty...
Cinematic Journey: Bill Raney’s Book
In 1967-68 Nickelodeon Theater founder Bill Raney took off in a VW van - with his wife JoAnne and their infant son, Zerky — for a year of quintessential hippie adventures around the world. Literally. From Portugal to Greece to Afghanistan to Thailand, with pitstops...
Whole Hog @ Whole Foods
(thoughts out of season) I was sure I spotted Marie Antoinette next to the sliding glass entrance yesterday. She was tossing huge slices of creamy tiramisu out in the direction of the parking lot. Inside, guys in togas were serenading shoppers with violin music....
Big Box Bite Back
One disgusted consumer suggested a catch phrase for "Whole Hog" could be: "Where the gluttons go to gobble!" He continued: "WH is over the top — there's enough food in that store to feed Darfur for a year! Geez! Maybe a small % of their profits could go to Darfur?"...
Goodbye to Theo’s – Another One Bites…..
Back when it was the local hotspot of California Cuisine, Theo's thrilled the entire central coast. Who could forget the irrepressible (!) Ethan Hamm? Well now Theo's is closed. Owner Roger Romano was unavailable for comment this morning, but the word is that the...
Assemblage @ Santa Cruz Art League
A particularly juicy collection of eye candy loaded with intriguing psychological backstory - that's the current Assemblage + Collage show filling the vintage digs of the Santa Cruz Art League, at 526 Broadway. The Art League's installment of this multi-venue show —...
Pinot Paradise – March 29
Pinot Paradise really IS paradise for lovers of the seductive grape of Burgundy. Especially as expressed by the singular viticultural landscape of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. Devoted entirely to the complex pinot noirs being made from Santa Cruz Mountains grapes,...
Blazing Pinots!
Is it just me or are the wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains getting better? And better. A few months ago, for example, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, awarded 30 gold medals - including four "Best of Class" awards - to SCM wines. Thirteen of these golds...
Last Lunch @ Gabriella
First day of spring - last day for lunch at downtown's amazing Gabriella Cafe. Owner Paul Cocking admitted that since not enough ladies were lunching, Gabriella's mid-day menu is "going south with the American economy." The restaurant will unleash chef Brad Briske's...
Can Your $11 Do This?
Sure, you could dumb down your choices - save pennies, clip coupons, consume something that makes you hate yourself in the morning. Or you could have a meal that stimulates all your senses. That makes you feel glad about spring, living at the ocean, being alive....
A Newer Leaf
Lofty ceilings, rivers of sunlight, polished earth-toned floors — New Leaf unveiled its newest store on the Westside this morning to the obvious delight of a full house of discerning consumers. Glittering displays of fruit, seafood, and pastries joined an entire...
Quinta Cruz: SC Mtn’s Iberian Accent
What prompted winemaker Jeff Emery, award-winning winemaker for Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, to start up yet another line of varietals called Quinta Cruz? "Two trips to Portugal," Emery responds without missing a beat. "I fell in love with the wines, and by chance I...
Best Pasta in the Universe
The food at Gabriella has never been better than it is now with Bradford Briske in the kitchen. The word "young" comes to mind when you meet the new chef at our downtown dining treasure, but "accomplished" is the word for Briske's gorgeous food. The best plate of...
Plum Line
Back when most people grew their own crops and made their own sauces, pies and jams, some gifted artisan with a slow hand and an open heart might have made this jam. (Shown here on my breakfast table already half-consumed along with coffee, eggs, toast and butter.)...
A Better Rosé
Unti - a label to remember. This blush creation of grenache and mourvedre is crisp, complex, spicy and somehow ethereally robust. It's made from Dry Creek Valley grapes and you can sample it at Gabriella. Nothing less than a complete revelation. Imagine a cross...
Kinch Rocks Iron Chef: March 15
Update: Kinch Won! Sizzling Saucepans! Chef David Kinch of Manresa battles chef Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America. Tune in on Sunday, March 15 to see if Kinch's two Michelin stars can take the heat! Chef/surfer Kinch of Manresa, Los Gatos, will challenge celebrity chef...
Big Basin @ Soif: March 28th
Come meet winemaker Bradley Brown, of Big Basin Vineyards, and sample some of the assertive, engaging, terroir-driven Pinot Noirs he is creating up in the mountains above Boulder Creek. Here he is working his way through 50 SC Mtn pinot noirs. Brown joined a dozen of...
A Better Dejeuner
If you thought that Soif was simply a brilliantly-stocked wine store and glamorous boite, then think again. Soif not only serves enlightened, affordable lunches but now - gasp! - it is offering Salad Lyonnaise ($9) for lunch. A complete euro-meal in a single dish, the...
The Wrestler: Pulp Friction
Randy "The Ram" Robinson is a broken-down hack, prolonging his former pro circuit glory days with the help of drugs, booze, pain-killers, and sheer grit. As embodied by former wunderkind Mickey Rourke, The Ram is a born loser who knows how to do just one thing —...