la Campana – Rome
The meal ended with very tiny, almost fairytale sweet fragoline – served with only a light dusting of sugar and squeeze of lemon.
Why Volterra?
Many reasons. It's a hilltown atop ancient Etruscan cemeteries. With a population of barely 1000, it's walkable, accessible and open-armed. The Saturday we arrived, the old medieval marketplace was filled by a - market - in full swing. Huge porchetta, wild hogs, had...
Why Volterra?: Part II
Views like this.
Etruscan Calories
In the ancient walled hilltown of Volterra, sangiovese grapes sprawled on hillsides, ready to be harvested and we couldn't get enough of the fresh porcinis, wild boar and chianti classico. Centuries of artisanal pride and culinary savvy was showcased in every...
Italy – a few more tastes
So how was this latest trip to Italy? Here are a few choice images - words to follow. Mint tagliarelli with fresh porcinis — at La Bussola in Firenze. Quite possibly the finest plate of pasta I've ever had.
Late Harvest Salad
While quaffing a bracing bit of white wine from the French Savoie, I inhaled my new favorite appetizer at Soif. Served in a rustic glazed dish, fat gigande beans were joined by pancetta and those sexy end-of-the-season tomatoes that taste like a Mediterranean smile....
Late Harvest Tomatoes
Worth waiting for! These are luscious examples of what a Mediterranean climate, ingenuity and lush, organically-composted soil can do. They come from the sun-drenched Ben Lomond gardens of my friends Mateo and Francesca. Green Zebra, Matina, Heart of Compassion, Black...
Man on Wire
There's a bit of cinematic poetry now showing at The Nick - for the last week! - called Man on Wire. In spellbinding moves, the film tracks the planning behind an astonishing feat of mad, bravura creativity by French wire walker Phillipe Petit. With the help of...
Fall Attractions: TomatoFest
Pomodori Time! The 17th Annual NatureSweet Carmel TomatoFest®, happens once again on Sunday, September 14, 2008,12:30 pm, at the magnificent Quail Lodge Resort in Carmel.Founder/Director of the TomatoFest®, Gary Ibsen, announced that 60 of America’s finest chefs...
Flying High
The infamous Le Cigare Volant, now in its 21st vintage, was the wine that launched Rhône Ranger Randall Grahm into the oenological stratosphere. A brilliant riff upon the Châteauneuf-du-Pape blend of grenache, syrah, mourvedre and a few dabs of this and that, the...
Snowden Cooks!
Hands-On Sensations: Foodwise, you need to make plans to join mega-food instructor, menu designer and restaurateur Mimi Snowden at one of her upcoming Cooking Classes. Sept. 18th & 19th- "An Indian Summer," an end of summer BBQ with succulent bbq lamb. October 23rd &...
Tropic Thunder
The capsule view of Ben Stiller's in-your-face comedy of egos goes like this: an inconsistent, multi-genre amalgam that delivers some inspired riffs, a Disneyworld of offensive stereotypes, Grade A men-in-groups horseplay, a rousing, shorts-sucking send-up of...
Corralitos Wine Trail Time
Wine lovers will hit the trail on Saturday, September 13, Noon-5pm, for the vineyard pub crawl known as the Corralitos Wine Trail. At this popular event, inquiring oenophiles can visit all four Corralitos award-winning wineries Alfaro Family Vineyards, Nicholson...
Culinary Changes
The talented Nicci Tripp, whose sophisticated orchestrations of fine, seasonal ingredients helped reinforce Theo's culinary reputation for the past seven years, has left the Soquel landmark to become General Manager and Executive Chef at Vida, located at 1222 Pacific...
Nicci Tripp @ Everett Family Farm – Sept. 14
An alfresco dinner prepared by chef Nicci Tripp (see post above!), and matched by wines from downtown Santa Cruz' enoteca VinoCruz will include a farm tour guided by organic growers Rich and Laura Everett. The wine pairings to accompany each of six courses, will be...
Fusion Reaction
The subtext behind complaints about multi-cuisine restaurants (see my mini-rant below) is not only that it's incredibly difficult to get one culinary genre right, much less two or three. But that calling a place, e.g. an "Asian Restaurant" implies that there is such a...
Victoria May @ Don Soker Gallery
Santa Cruz-based, mixed media artist Victoria May creates exquisite, hand-wrought creations. Her uncanny blends of richly-worked fabric and photoemulsion tend to push viewers to the edge of their art vocabularies. And that's exactly what solid artwork should do. So...
Grahm Does Manresa
The irrepressible Randall Grahm, winemaker of Bonny Doon Vineyard will lead gastronomes through a memorable evening of wine and cuisine at Manresa, in Los Gatos, on September 7. Chef David Kinch will prepare a four-course dinner at his Michelin-starred landmark,...
August To-Do List
You're going to be very busy on August 24, what with the big fat Kitchen Tour lined up from noon to 4pm, and the UCSC Farm & Garden peak gardening workshop "Planting the Thanksgiving Feast" from 10am to 1pm. The 1st annual Santa Cruz Literacy Program Kitchen Tour,...
Burrell School Wines @ The Roadhouse
Starting at 6pm on Friday, August 29, join winemakers David and Ann Moulton of Burrell School Vineyards at the Davenport Roadhouse, on Hwy 1. The winemakers will present four luscious wines — three reds and a Chardonnay —available by the taste, glass, and bottle,...
A Fusion Too Far?
"Chinese-Japanese Cuisine" says the sign on the old China Station building at Fair & mission, which is currently being revamped for a future opening. Huh? The Westside is prime restaurant territory, where roving foodies (not to mention ravenous students) eagerly await...
Salad Daze
Ben Sims at Avanti made my new favorite summer salad last week. Fresh local albacore confit, shredded into unctuous morsels and then arranged with organic green beans, heirloom baby tomatoes and a garlicky, fresh aioli garnish. Consumed with something in the key of...
Another Reason to Live
At this week's SCMWA professional wine judging, Lionel Le Morvan of Ma Maison Restaurant laid out a spread that was truly choice. Giant shrimps from French New Caledonia, coucous with succulent chicken and fiery harissa, housemade lamb sausages (tdf!), gorgeous...
Sizzling Syrah
Wondering what to have with that grilled lamb burger? Wonder no more. Help is available in the form of Gatos Locos 2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Syrah. Big, but not too big (13.8% alc.), spicy but not whimsical, this luscious red wine offers a center of leather and plums....