Another terrific dining spot—also a great bar scene—next to La Scala and around the corner from my hotel in Milan was the Trussardi Cafe, downstairs from the more formal Michelin spot. Airy and accessible, the Cafe was always open for espresso, wine and...

Location is everything, especially when traveling alone. Planning for my trip to see Wagner's incomparable "Ring" cycle this summer in Milan, I made sure I found a hotel situated within easy walking distance of the opera house, a few choice restaurants, and art works...

Il Trussardi is so stylish it makes your teeth ache, and your palate whet. I had made my lunch reservation online, timed for one of the days off from my "Ring" marathon at Teatro alla Scala. I was personally escorted up one floor by a young woman in a snug grey suit,...

Why am I not surprised that a man who has been in therapy for 50 years is committed to the past as destiny? And when that man is a master filmmaker, well the results are either nihilism, existentialism, or....a Woody Allen film. Blue Jasmine—powered by Cate...

Channel your inner Zorba and come join the feasting, singing and dancing the weekend of Sept. 6-8.  That's when the Santa Cruz Greek Food & Cultural Festival fills the corner of Church & Center streets with the sound of bouzouki and the aromas of moussaka,...

Richard Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years, 1953-1966. Like all Bay Area fans of Diebenkorn's über Californian abstract expressionism, I went to see the deYoung partial retrospective (the Ocean Park/LA period of the painter's life is not included) with high hopes. And...

Basil panna cotta. Fresh strawberry and plum garnish. Topping of pistachios. Sauce of nectarines. @ Gabriella.

A succession of beautiful dishes arrived at our table at Gabrilla Cafe last Friday night, and some of our favorites turned out to be as delicious as they were good-looking. After a salad of mixed butter lettuces, melon and hazelnuts we turned our attention to a split...

Now that I've been back for almost two weeks, the glow is beginning to fade. Milan's architecture bears the legacy of northern European rulers, hence the faux Viennese appearance. Save for Leonardo's justly famed Last Supper, (or il Cenacolo Vinciano) it hardly...

Former Santa Cruzans Catherine and Brian Faris fell in love with southern Italy many years ago. Many of us have done the same. But few of us have followed through and actually pulled up stakes, moved to Puglia, purchased an olive orchard, and proceeded to create a...

Haven't yet tried the Roman-style breakfast pizzas topped with fried eggs, but I plan to. Very soon.  Pizzeria Avanti's breakfast window of opportunity runs from Friday through Monday, and dinner of course happens nightly. Living on the Westside does have its perks.

Well, okay, so far it has hit the stands only in the UK. So far. But local literaturista Lisa Jensen's latest foray into the wilds of fantasy historical fiction should prove a timber shivering experience. Alias Hook tells the juicy, oft bloody, always action-packed...

A wine from Sicily is always something mysterious, suggesting volcanic minerality and citrus perfume. This beauty from Tascante offers all of that and more. Hints of Mediterranean herbs, burnt orange peel, pepper and gorgeous red tannins make a volatile flavor...

On Memorial Day, the long, linened "Outstanding in the Field" dinner table was cradled by redwoods and grapevines, the ocean in the distance, apple orchards filled with baby piglets and enormous sows, and roving bands of plump, beautiful chickens. The spot was Fogline...

It was like old times, having lunch at Burma Superstar with my old friend filmmaker Saul Landau on the main street of Alameda (which actually is an island). The food was brilliantly spiced Burmese cuisine, flecked with red chiles, handfuls of fried garlic, tendrils of...

I love this wine! Not the least bombastic, but not "invisible" either, it gives Santa Cruz Mountains winegrowing region yet more luster. The wine in question is a lovely, highly affordable ($22+) 2009 Pandol Pinot Noir made from Regan Vineyards grapes by Jennifer...

We split this salad of crisp Bloomsdale spinach, pancetta, egg, sherry vinaigrette and shaves of Parmesan Reggiano, at Pizzeria Avanti last Friday. And then we had a splendid pizza topped with arugula and prosciutto. With glasses of Spanish garnacha. All better than...

Unikyu, hamachi nigiri, saba nigiri, and—of course—tekka maki with shiso leaf. Sushi smiles of a summer night. At Totoro on Mission St.