What’s not to love?
Cynthia Sandberg, heirloom tomato queen and agri-artist, is the entrepreneuse of Love Apple Farm. You knew that. But what you didn’t know is that Love Apple has been chosen by David Kinch to be the exclusive kitchen garden for his two-Michelin starred Manresa...
Hot Soup!
Wally Goldfrank, sociologist and bon vivant, has returned from November in Madagascar raving about the local, regional spins on French cuisine — “profiteroles in the tropics.†Visualize mango tarte tatin! But more. Wally loves a good bowl of soup on a chilly...
Babes in the Arts: 3
Fran O'Neill is a ferociously talented painter. She's also a high-energy Australian working at the New York Studio School in Greenwich Village. O'Neill's muscular paintings, especially the watercolors, are so dense you can practically chew them with your eyes. See for...
Now, That’s Italian!
Chef Alert! I just got a call on my food hotline from a fan of Italian cooking, and the news is GOOD. For all of you who loved the cooking of chef Giovanni Di Maio at the former, splendid Caffe Bella Napoli, take heart. Di Maio has now taken over the stoves at...
Welcome to 2007!
Let me hear from you in 2007, a year which has already seen an interminable series of expensive symbolic rituals - i.e. the various post mortem rites for Gerald R. Ford, (paid for by your tax dollars) whose funeral lasted longer than his presidency. Is it just me or...
On Babel
Once upon a time all humans spoke the same language. Really. It says so in the Bible. But then humans transgressed and did something silly. They built this really tall tower and since God had told them not to build it, he had to punish them. Right? So He created many,...
Art Attack
Last night's reception for the Intimate Landscape painting show and Laura Parker's "Taste of Place" soil installation - at UCSC Sesnon Gallery - brought out a fairly hefty contingent of Santa Cruz arts movers and shakers. Curated by Frank Galuszka and orchestrated by...
Slacker-speak
"You guys – hey, you guys. Have a good one, guys." Language abuse in America is becoming more prominant than Nancy Pelosi's bosom. Either the revenge of machismo, or the triumph of feminism – it’s unclear which – the prevailing omni-use of “guys†to denote...
Postcards from the Food & Wine Trail
O'Mei Update: It's true - no more lunch at O'Mei. Roger Grigsby, that maverick political hothead and tireless culinary tinkerer emailed me (and believe me an email from Grigsby is a lengthy affair) to say that things are going well now that he has discontinued lunches...
La Posta: Second Visit
So I took Jack, who lived in Rome for a few years and is very picky about his wood-fired pizzas, over to La Posta for a light meal this week. We sat in the front in one of the deep windows that make La Posta such an architectural treat. Service - right on. Wines —...
Stupid Restaurant Speak
1) "No Problem." “No problem,†says your server, when you request more bread. Well, thanks for the reassurance – that really takes a load off my mind. I’ve been sitting here consumed with anxiety over whether my requesting bread, or a refill of water, might...
Dishing Dirt
Eco-artist Laura Parker blurs the boundaries between art and cuisine with an irresistible installation called Taste of Place, which makes a strong case for the unique terroir of a region as a mineral flavor. And to prove her point, her installation offers nothing less...
A There in Oakland
Hot Discovery: the East Bay’s Pizzaiolo, where Tai and I recently had killer pizza as good as in Rome – the kind with the thin, delectable crusts, and sensitive, deeply delicious toppings. Mine had ricotta and wild nettles – Tai’s was a classic Margherita with...
Babes in the Arts: Susan Moore
Top Spot: Susan Moore is a wickedly gifted painter. She's also a professor at the prestigious Tyler School of Art and a total babe. Check out her new website, fully locked and loaded with sensuous images. Susan's intense portraits (see below) have long been famed in...
Patron No-Nos
There's one in every crowd: The loudmouth, I mean. The person whose voice can clear a room. It is rude beyond belief that people will sit down in a public place - in this case a restaurant - and proceed to hold every other diner hostage simply by talking nonstop, or...
Snacks
David Jackman from the irresistible house of Chocolate (1522 Pacific Avenue) called me to remind everybody that when the weather is cold and rainy, don't just walk on by this chic little cafe. "Lots of people think that without the outdoor tables and chair, there's no...
A Little New Year’s Resolution
George Eliot is famously quoted as having said “It's never too late to be who you might have been.†And if the Victorian writer didn’t actually say it, someone surely did. Exiting the state of denial for one brief moment — humor me — most of us will admit to...
Babes in the Arts: Part 2
Sara Pringle, UCSC art graduate and rising New York art scene star, can paint her way out of a paper bag. Mad about color, Pringle is busy morphing her style from portraiture, to mega-abstractions into something on the far side of Jawlensky on psylocibin. Her new...
About Town
Babes in Boots: I joined every liberal in the county worth her Birkenstocks for a festive roast of outgoing Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt up at The Attic. It was a terrific spread laid out by the cozy upstairs eatery, and the populi loved it. Here's Mardi showing off her...
Attention Servers!
More No-Nos: Please don’t swoop down on my table the minute we’ve sat down and ask, “Would you like something to drink?†Chances are we would, but how can we possibly know until we’ve had a minute to look at the wine list? Clearly this swooping maneuver is...
Restaurant No-No’s
I can't take it anymore! Surely this has happened to you. You are out dining, enjoying your main course and your server comes by the table and asks: "Are you guys still working on that?" I am always put off by such rude and inappropriate behavior. Doesn't anyone train...
More Wines!
I give you two local reds, both roughly $16 a bottle, supple and complex enough to redeem even the driest roast turkey. We love the Ridge Vineyards 2004 Three Valleys blend, from Paul Draper, whom the San Francisco Chronicle recently dubbed winemaker of the year (and...
Oral Oracle
Oral Update: It takes a dentist. And that’s not a book by Rick Santorum. Like my dentist, bon vivant William Christie, a guy who does lunch in a big way. So I checked in with the doc about the new place in the downtown Santa Cruz Art Center, Center Street Grill,...
Why I Live Here….Wilder Beach
This is easily one of the most beautiful places on earth. Not convinced? Click on the image for a more sweeping vista of Wilder Beach, looking toward the Carmel Highlands and Monterey.