Red Oil Dumplings
My current favorite, guilt-free, dining addiction. And here’s my appetizer order, minus the three dumplings I inhaled within moments of their arrival.@ O’mei.
Cabrillo Does Chowder
Congratulations to Cabrillo culinary students and to Mike Wille, instructor at Cabrillo College’s Advanced Culinary Arts program. Wille’s inventive chefs-in-progress made a brilliant showing at this year’s Clam Chowder Festival – taking First Place in the “Best Restaurant Boston” category, Second in “Best Restaurant Manhattan” and won the “Overall People’s Choice” award in the Professional category.
Wille admited that these recent awards were an honor for his talented students, and that he was “excited about the quality of this year’s entries.”
So you have even more reasons to dine at Cabrillo’s Piño Alto dining room.
Staff of Life
Most of Santa Cruz swooped down on Staff of Life’s humongous new digs last week, to check it out and to start getting familiar with their new neighborhood natural foods emporium.
I spotted two more reasons to head over to Staff – fresh duck breast and fresh spot prawns. Not your grandfather’s natural foods market. Wow. Impressive already, and there’s still plenty of shelves to be filled.
Corner of Darwin and Soquel on the Eastside. Stop by for coffee and pastries on the front patio.
Top Dish: O’mei
Too tired to rustle up something decent for dinner? Me too, which is why I find myself running over to O’mei, and either dining in the restaurant or picking up a few favorite dishes to take home.
Here’s our go-to dinner: Rosemary Chicken with Mushrooms (pictured here), preceded by an order of those irresistible Red Oil Dumplings. Add a glass of Ahlgren Semillon, or maybe an easy-sippin’ Cinnabar Mercury Rising. Major spicy flavors for not many $$$.
Justin Severino Update
You remember the guy who gave us that sensational charcuterie a few years back?
Justin Severino from Severino’s who sold terrific artisanal meats at the farmers markets here in Santa Cruz?
Justin just emailed to tell me that his highly-regarded culinary style at Elements Contemporary Cuisine in Pittsburgh, PA, is up for Food & Wine magazine’s Top Chef/ Mid-Atlantic Region competition.
Success couldn’t happen to a nicer, smarter chef — too bad he’s not still dazzling our tastebuds here in Santa Cruz.
Check out Severino’s award-winning menu! Your mouth will water, I guarantee.
[photo: Tana Butler]
Red Velvet Valentines
Music department manager Thomas Pistole sure knows how to pamper his UCSC faculty & staff. Cupcake Diva Pistole uses any holiday as an excuse to break out his trusty cupcake carrier and fill it with colorfully-decorated, to-die-for pastries.
These are his latest – red velvet topped with cinnamon-flavored hearts.
A good man to know, especially around Halloween when his fabled carrot cupcakes with orange frosting are available.
Inside the Flame
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.