by Christina Waters | Mar 14, 2007 | Home |
Oswald has decided on its next home — at the corner of Soquel and Front Streets, home of the former Garage sports bar. And the deal just needs a few tweaks to be finalized. Downtown Redevelopment Director (and killer bridge player) Ceil Cirillo is, in a word “stoked” about the prospect of having a terrific bistro as the entrance to downtown Santa Cruz. “I am excited about the potential for everyone,” Cirillo told me. “We intend to build out the rest of the garage frontage on Front Street so that Oswald’s won’t be alone. They intend to close the entrance from the garage and only have an entrance from Front Street. It’s exciting!”
Also excited is Oswald’s Eric Lau, who concurs that the lease negotiations are in process, and prophecies, “probably 4 to 6 months until completion – though it’s hard to speculate.” Lau believes the whole Front Street area is “improving a lot,” pointing to plans to turn the former Santa Cruz Hardware into a clothing store, and the Octagon into a coffeehouse. Like many of us, Lau looks forward to “a cleaner, more friendly downtown.”
Whoa. Did he say “Octagon into coffeehouse?” Yes he did. And here’s why. Lulu’s @ the Octagon is almost a reality as you read this. Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of Lulu’s proprietor, Manthri Srinath, in alliance with the Museum of Art & History, the old 1882 Hall of Records at the corner of Front & Cooper Streets is being transformed into a showcase for artisan roasted coffees and selected organic foods. Things are definitely looking vibrant for the Abbott Square area, especially with Vinocruz in the act.
After your cappuccino at the new Lulu’s @ the Octagon, rush on over to the corner of Soquel and Front Streets and see if you don’t think Oswald will make the perfect entrance to downtown.
by Christina Waters | Mar 14, 2007 | Home |
The Westside Farmers Market continues to win hearts, minds and taste buds at the foot of Western Drive every Saturday morning. I ran into farm fanatic and photo princess Tana Butler last week and we strolled around the stalls, talking collard greens and organic growing. And cute farmers. . . .
The gorgeous orange and pink beets from Route One Farms knock me out. And the pepper cress from Happy Boy Farms must be sampled to be believed. It will put a distinctive spin on your next salad. Fabulous tulips are on offer for astonishing prices from Dirty Girl, and those mighty H&H fishing folks are still well-stocked with wild seafoods. Ultra fresh. Which is the whole point behind the open-air, grower-direct farmers markets.
You’ve got one near your house — go there every week and watch spring turn to summer.
by Christina Waters | Mar 14, 2007 | Home |
Remember the delicious culinary moves of Bella Napoli founding chef Giavanni Di Maio? (I still miss that place.) Okay, now recall that I recently re-discovered Di Maio cooking in an underwhelming setting? Right. Well, Di Maio has just taken over the kitchen at Greg D’Innocenti’s delectable Star Bene on East Cliff. Authentic Italian comfort food made by an authentic Italian is yours nightly from 5pm, or at lunch on weekdays. Di Maio is 100% Neapolitan and specializes in the sauce-intensive, luxurious dishes of southern Italy. The Pasta Norma, oh God. The veal marsala, mi piace moltissimo. Star Bene, easily one of the prettiest little dining rooms in the county, is still located at 21245 East Cliff Drive (between the Yacht Harbor and 17th Avenue). 479-4307. Bring a big appetite. And just say “Ciao!”
by Christina Waters | Mar 13, 2007 | Home, Movies |
Opening this Friday at The Del Mar is an exhiliratingly odd and haunting underwater monster sci-fi thriller called The Host. The work of South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, this is an all-you-can-eat package of film genres crammed into a juicy two hour ride. A dysfunctional family forms the centerpiece of what is sometimes an existential gloss on contemporary alienation, sometimes a delicious parody of Godzilla, Monster from the Black Lagoon and that grainy footage from Roswell. What starts off as a scream-fest when picnickers are attacked by a mutant monster-fish rising up out of Seoul’s polluted Han River, quickly morphs into ironic comedy as we meet precocious Hyun-Seo, her slacker father Gang-Du (who runs a snack shop by the river with his father), plus Gang’s brother — an unemployed university graduate and his sister, a champion archer. Relax, it’s easy to understand when told by Joon-ho’s uncanny, often poetic camerawork.
The film is stained a dozen shades of urban grey punctuated with the pop colors of Korea’s youth culture, and everything turns suddenly alarming when the government puts the feckless family into quarantine. Terry Gilliam meets Art Bell (more…)
by Christina Waters | Mar 10, 2007 | Home |
to see my article on Love Apple Farm grower, Cynthia Sandberg in the March 8 GT Weekly. Great photos throughout the Dining Special, by Kelly Vaillancourt.
by Christina Waters | Mar 8, 2007 | Home, Wine |
As wineries all over California are busy retrofitting their vineyards in order to pass Demeter biodynamic certification, the Fetzer family’s Patianna winery is already making killer wines that would make Rudolph Steiner proud.
Biodynamic techniques rule at the Mendocino estate where proprietor Patti Fetzer and winemaker Mike Lee are turning out wines as good for the earth as they are good for the connoisseur. Biodynamic techniques —which stress meticulous attention to seasonal and lunar cycles, hand management of vines, companion planting and artesenal composting — yield wines rich with the unique terroir of the land on which they are made. Here’s my favorite new example: Patianna’s much-praised 2005 Sauvignon Blanc. This gorgeous white wine weighs in at medium alcohol and major complexity, loaded with crisp tones of lemon, sage and mineral essence. It’s also got one of those very sexy, very easy-to-use screw-tops. I’ve preferred this grape to the oft-flabby chardonnay for many years. Patianna’s version will make a believer out of you. Available at Shadowbrook’s Rock Room lounge. And at Shoppers Corner for just under $17.
