by Christina Waters | Jul 9, 2008 | Home |
Here’s the dinner menu for the recent G8 summit on the Global Food Crisis:
Corn and caviar
Smoked salmon and sea urchin
Winter lily bulb
Hot onion tart
Kelp-flavored beef and asparagus
Diced tuna, avocado and soy sauce aspic
Boiled clam, tomato and shiso in jellied clam soup
Prawns with tosazu vinegar jelly
Grilled eel and burdock
Fried goby fish with soy sauce and sugar
Grilled bighand, thornyhead fish with pepper sauce
Milk-fed lamb with herb and mustard
Roast lamb with cepes and black truffles
Cheeses, lavender honey and caramelized nuts
But that’s not all! There were four more courses, followed by G8 “Fantasy†dessert. All of the above was served with six wines, including French champagne and burgundy, Ridge Monte Bello 1997 (one of our Santa Cruz Mountains own!), Isojiman Shuzo Shizuoka sake and a Tokji Esszencia 1999 dessert wine.
It’s entirely possible that this dinner caused the global food crisis. I can only hope that at least some of the G8 reps sitting around that table last week felt deeply ashamed.
The word “disgusting†comes to mind.
by Christina Waters | Jul 5, 2008 | Home |
Manny Santana, who died this week at 81, was large in every way. He was generous to any who needed a lift, a good meal, an extra drink, or a reason to get through the day. An exuberant artist and bon vivant, Manny gave incalculable gifts to our community — the Cabrillo Music Festival, two vibrant restaurants, support for the arts. But mostly Manny was gifted at being a human being. His very presence on this earth was uplifting. And yes, he did look just like an Olmec god! – as this photo of him with his wife Alice, on his 70th birthday, amply demonstrates.
When he walked into the room, the testosterone level soared. He was unbelievably attractive – to men and women alike, all of whom were drawn to that something, that blend of play, wisdom and high spirit that Manny owned in spades. I had many a great glass of wine (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jul 5, 2008 | Food, Home |
Here’s our new favorite breakfast treat — something as old as the gods of Olympus.
Greek-style yogurt from the clever marketing minds of Greek Gods Yogurt. Greek yogurt is yogurt the way the gods intended it – full fat and ultra creamy. So yes, there are a few more calories in the container of Greek Gods Yogurt with honey, than in the unsweetened, non-fat version. But I’m thinking, why choose? Why not have the best of both worlds?
So I bought one container of the plain, non-fat, and another of the ultra-creamy, full fat with honey – and mixed the two. You can imagine this amazing combination of tart and cream right now, can’t you? It tasted just like the thick, tangy yogurt I had on Crete.
But without the jet lag. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jul 1, 2008 | Home, Wine |
Four years ago legendary wine pioneer Ken Burnap sold his Jarvis Road estate – site of the oldest wine grapes planted in the Santa Cruz Mountains – to a group of wine entrepreneurs led by Nick Guerrero. Under the Wines of Vine Hill mantle, Guerrero’s group has been making increasingly interesting wines — so far using two labels — from a variety of California grapes. Winemaker Salvador Godinez, most recently from Saintsbury in St. Helena, is the man responsible for a distinctive 2005 Pinot Noir, from Corralitos’ Raffaelli Vineyard. Under the Cumbre label, this hard-to-find gem makes me eager to see what will happen with Godinez harvests the Vine Hill estate pinot grapes – in two years time.
All of the ridge-top estate grapes from the late 60s (planted by Santa Cruz Mountains wine pioneer, David Bruce) were torn up and replanted with 6.5 acres of pinot noir, and 1 acre of Syrah, by vineyard manager Rachel Ormes, a UCSC Agroecology program graduate. The young vines will be ready for their first vintage in a few years, but meanwhile Godinez is working with pinot noir from Hicks Vineyard and Raffaelli. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Jun 30, 2008 | Food, Home |
Smart plates in a sleek, sophisticated setting. (Nothing beats alliteration – nothing.) Anya and I checked out the brand-new lunch menu at Soif last Friday and were treated to some lovely stuff in the way of a chopped salad of romaine entangled with crisp red cabbage, zest of salami and parmigiano, flecks of Kalamata olives, a few chick peas (okay, more than a few) and even goat cheese as well.
This massive portion — easily enough for three women or two surfers, or Kobe Bryant — ran $9. We also shared a sensuous panino of jamon serrano and fresh figs, all gooey and decadent thanks to melted mozzarella, for $12. This baby was one of those monuments to Italian sandwich genius – high fashion on a plate, yet a little impractical in the actual eating. One bite and the opulent contents began to ooze out both sides. So we adjusted the interior as we ate. With the sandwich, I ordered a cup of the day’s soup, 
a pale yellow fresh corn puree — sweet and creamy — laced with slices of yellow and red cherry tomatoes.
And to drink, I had a hefty glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade, full of fiber and rustic, tangy lemon flavor. Anya had an espresso.
Soif’s lunch menu is simple and direct. Three salads, three panini, a soup du jour and a daily quiche.
Cool beverages, coffees and eight wines by the glass. Soif has done all of the thinking for you — you need only show up.
Soif for lunch is a great downtown place to take your finicky out-of-town guests. On Walnut Avenue, next door to every woman’s fashion pit-stop — Shandrydan.
by Christina Waters | Jun 30, 2008 | Food, Home |
The word is that Oswald is definitely still in the pipeline. Yesterday there were two trucks out front, at the corner of Soquel and Front Sts., plumbing guys doing something to the interior. So that looks promising. When? Well, you might think about Thanksgiving in a new setting. . . . The word is good on the new Khyber Pass, where Afghan and Pakistani cuisine share the billing. Flavor-wise this makes good sense and since I love the mint-inflected foods of Afghanistan, I’m getting down there very soon. . . . Gorgeous foods, casual setting — that’s the off-beat, high contrast ambience of Fusion at Pearl Alley, where the trained hand of chef Robert Morris (formerly Blacks Beach Cafe) is making plates so pretty you can hardly bear to take a bite. . . . And lunches at Soif now provide a sophisticated downtown setting for smart plates to match the smart pours. Soif does lunch Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 2pm. 105 Walnut Ave in Santa Cruz.
