by Christina Waters | Mar 20, 2007 | Art, Home |
Annieglass always knocks me out. The sensory thrill is total at this temple of artful glass tableware, accessories and jewelry. Just looking in the window makes me feel good. Well Ann Morhauser not only makes art, she supports the arts. For many years now she’s been hosting visiting musicians each season who come to play in the Cabrillo Festival. In fact Morhauser likes the summer celebration of fine contemporary music so much that she’s throwing a party at the Annieglass store, 110 Cooper Street in Santa Cruz, next Saturday March 31 from 10am – 5pm. It’s free and will offer a chance to inspect two new patterns of tableware, like the ultramarine glass “boats” pictured here, as well as all those unbelievable earrings. Ten percent of the store proceeds that day will go to the Cabrillo Fest — so this is the day to snap up some of the beautiful gift items you’ve been drooling over.
by Christina Waters | Mar 20, 2007 | Home, Travel |
Every time I visit my great friend Laurel, we stop for a mid-day feast at the Parkhouse Eatery, always buzzing with action and sensationally intense flavors. Eccentric and colorful, like the bohemian University Heights neighborhood itself, Parkhouse occupies a funky vintage building (formerly a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store) and specializes in large creations involving oodles of fresh salads, no-holds-barred burgers and fries, and exotic variations on every great food idea southern California can hold.
The breakfasts are legendary, but last week it was lunch that called us. We managed to work our way through some, but not all, of a juicy, pink lamb burger, slathered with gorgonzola, olive tapenade and tomatos, with home-made ketchup. This arrived with a flotilla of fries and a large lemonade. I sampled a cup of the famous grilled shrimp and potato chowder. It was melt-in-your-mind good, as if someone’s mother had whipped it up from scratch — lots of butter, herbs, ribbons of leek, creamy potatoes and yes, grilled shrimps.
I also attempted to do partial justice (sounds like the theme for our current federal administration…) to a mammoth crab cake sandwich, but I failed. So Laurel took half of it home for dinner.
Oh yeah. We also worked our way through a single “Everything But the Kitchen Sink Brownie.” Served in a warm bowl, this is the ultimate, multi-layer, nut-encrusted, granola-enhanced, chocolate-studded brownie, topped with vanilla ice cream and more chocolate. The excellent Parkhouse coffee helped us make inroads on the decadent dessert. Like a trip to an x-rated chocolate bathhouse . . . . So next time you’re in the Balboa Park/University Heights region of San Diego, don’t miss Parkhouse. You could spend some quality time in the nearby art and antiques places too. So that’s Parkhouse Eatery, serving breakfast, lunch AND dinner daily at 4574 Park Blvd.(619/295-7275).
by Christina Waters | Mar 20, 2007 | Home, Travel |
I love beautiful Balboa Park — you can always separate the great cities from the wannabees, by their parks. The Spanish Baroque “leftovers” from the 1915 Panama-California International Exposition, fill Balboa Park with graceful buildings and tropical gardens inviting leisurely strolling and picnicking. But the place is also filled with serious cultural diversions, from the Mingei Museum of international crafts, and the legendary Zoo, to the Aerospace Museum and the ornate Museum building, surrounded by gardens, fountains and even an old-fashioned organ pavilion, always well-used by lavish Mexican wedding parties.
My mom and I checked out the much-hyped Annie Liebovitz show, loaded with celebrity photos and intimate family vacation portraits. I found out more than I needed to know about every single hotel room in Venice that Liebovitz and her partner, the late Susan Sontag, had shared. And in all, it seemed more pop-star voyeurism trumped up as “art” than anything genuinely revealing about the human animal. A notable exception was a poignant photograph of Johnny Cash, not long before his death, looking at his wife, June Carter as she played the autoharp on their rambling front porch. His life was rolled into that single look of love and regret. Would that more of Liebovitz’ images on display had held as much.
There’s nothing like a line-up of Vanity Fair covers to work up an appetite, so we next hit the user-friendly Tea Pavilion dining patio, and swilled down udon noodles and teriyaki tofu rice bowls, washed down with green tea. This little al fresco spot, wedged conveniently between the main museum and the rose-filled Japanese Friendship Garden, offers friendly staff, fresh Japanese foods and low prices.
by Christina Waters | Mar 20, 2007 | Home, Wine |
That would be the current sale of Truchard Syrah 2000 for $12.99. You heard me. A seven-year-old killer wine from Carneros, Napa’s fabled domain of volcanic soil and deep terroir, for under thirteen dollars! It’s at Shoppers Corner right now (corner of Branciforte and Soquel for those out-of-town readers), and just so you know that I put my money where my mouth is, I just bought a case of the stuff myself. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Mar 14, 2007 | Home, Movies |
Digitally-manipulated postmodern super-hero mythology — yeah, baby! I am disgusted with myself, but I must confess up front. I wallowed, blissfully, in this two-hour exercise in visual S&M. I’m referring of course to 300, a graphic novel (i.e. adult comic book) by Frank Miller, brought to the screen (whether it needed to be or not) by Zack Snyder and company. A truly phenomenal bit of blood porno, 300 retells the legend/hype of 300 warrier-maniac Spartans making a stand against tens of thousands of Persians at Thermopylae. The real skirmish happened around 480 BC when Persian king Xerxes sent his bigger-than-God army to conquer Greece. But he didn’t count on the foolish bloodlust of the Spartans, who make their stand at the mouth of a narrow canyon, where they can maximize their numbers.
Yes, it’s a suicide mission — but god-almighty it offers a wild ride for the neural synapses. Making full, even ridiculous, use of leading-edge digital technology, the production breaks into visual territory that actually has no precedent. Sure there are the slow-motion, stop-action effects we’ve seen in Crouching Tiger, or The Matrix. And there are dazzling color effects — draining out everything except bronze and sepia-tones, and then pumping up the reds for all they’re worth — we’ve seen in recent work, such as Pan’s Labyrinth. But the overall package — artfully packed with more 12-pack abs, thighs of steel and just plain ripped-and-cut male bodies than I would have thought even existed on one small planet — is thrilling. Yes, I’m aghast that I am confessing this. Blood porn, to be sure. But in a socio-political era (ours) that is fast outpacing even Nero’s Rome for decay and decadence, 300 provides a splash of much-needed catharsis. And I must quickly point out that masculine beauty aside, there are scenes of breathtaking poetry in which the potential of digital sculpting is pushed way out to the front of the wave. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Mar 14, 2007 | Home, Wine |
Great red wine for under $10: It’s my new house red wine, the wittily-labelled 2004 Syrah, Domaine des Blagueur from Bonny Doon Vineyard, where every bottle comes with a witty label. Big, but not aggressive – full of fruit, yet well-mannered as a partner for foods, and most of all delicious. This Syrah is loaded with insistent tones of cassis, pepper, licorice and a whiff of rust. A mineral back, if you will.
Ralph Steadman’s label drawing of a joker with attitude says it all. Rustic sophistication, and despite the “here’s blood-in-your eye” label, this wine is no joke. Thirteen percent alcohol makes it an easy rider with everything from roast pork to striped bass, and the screw-top cap makes it even easier to access. French grapes (from the Languedoc in SW France), BD finesse. Allez vites! and get yours!
