First Thoughts on Genoa
It will take another week to sort through all of my tasting notes from the recent week in Genoa, but I can state my case in a single word — pesto. Here on the beyond beautiful Ligurian coast of Italy, pesto isn't remotely like the rather tedious glop of green-tinged...
Serious Sausage
Justin Severino is an old-fashioned food maverick. The former chef - Bernardus, Manresa - is currently into handcrafted charcuterie and traditionally butchered meats. Primarily pork, which he gets from pastured, free-roaming pigs raised on TLC Ranch. What Severino...
Brownie Scout
And who isn't on the look-out for some chewy, tender, deeply rich, barely sweet chocolate brownie? Even in a field littered with killer brownies, one stands out bigtime. Yes, I do mean the heavy, yet tender, intensely dark chocolatey brownie from River Cafe (also...
Chocolate Chronicles
Cocoa d'Arriba is yet another designer chocolate bar, priced at just under $3 and situated near enough to the check out lanes to tempt even the St. Anthony's among us. We succumbed. At 77% cocoa and inflected with orange liqueur, this elite treat is ultra smooth and...
Last Week @ Avanti: Read the comments!
Grilled sea scallops on a bed of Israeli cous cous, with ultra fresh snap peas and fava beans, micro bits of Meyer lemon all tossed in olive oil and Meyer lemon juice, with nano-strips of fresh basil. It is literally the month of May on a plate. Thanks to Avanti chef...
Hog Heaven
How unfair that we compare gluttonous humans to pigs! Pigs are absolutely sensational creatures — playful, intelligent and curly-tailed. I love pigs and I love pork. So that means I was curious to see TLC Ranch, home to a hundred free-spirited, free-range pigs. TLC...
Fieldwork 101
If you've never indulged in the exquisite sensory array of one of the "Outstanding in the Field" farm dinners, you have missed something wonderful. Imagine dining at a long, linen-draped table, placed out in the open next to a swath of atmospheric fields. Now add a...
Journey to the East
Despite my motto, "The East has ceased," it was a delicate springtime that greeted me in Pennsylvania and New Jersey last week. Dogwood in bloom, azaleas purple through the tracery of pale green just beginning to burst into sight - really lovely. That's the grey-green...
The Wild Soif
Downtown Santa Cruz' impossibly chic and appealing boite, Soif, continues to make us happy. Wine-wise, we've been having lots of fun with whites from Slovenia, and reds from Sicilia. Food-wise, the Soif kitchen — under the guidance of chef Chris Avila — references...
Curry on King Street
Steve Spill is an ace photographer, bon vivant and, as it turns out, can whip up some mean curries when he wants. And he wanted to last week, in the professionally equipped kitchen of the King Street bungalow he shares with his Sylvia. Munching pappodoms and an array...
Hot Tomatoes!
Amish Gold, Amish Paste, Ananas Noir, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Aunt Ruby's Cherry, Azoychka, Barad's Yellow, Basinga, Berkeley Tie Dye, Big Beef, Big Rainbow, Big White Pink Stripe, Black Cherry, Black Ethiopian, Black from Tula, Black Krim, Black Plum, Black Prince,...
Tapas @ Bistro Al Mar
Thank God! After years of waiting for something more like the Westside's old Aldo's Cafe (brainchild of the original Sestri chef), our waiting is over. Bistro Al Mar specializes in tapas so authentically Old World we thought we were in Madrid last week, sharing a...
Gabriella Does Burgers!
Lunch at Gabriella with Gayle Ortiz — of Gayle's Bakery & Rosticceria — satisfied my on-going cravings for loads of local gossip, plus fresh, seasonal culinartistry by chef/earth goddess Rebecca King. How was I to know that I'd find the best burger I've had in a...
Unexpected Pizza
At the Shadowbrook - yes, that Shadowbrook - last week, I had pizza so amazing that I found myself comparing it with the thin-crusted, sophisticated, completely addictive varieties I tasted in Rome. (Or, for that matter, at La Posta.) Shadowbrook may not be known for...
Grigsby Profile
Check out my profile of O'mei restaurateur and cultural analyst Roger Grigsby, on p. 37 of the March 1 issue of GT Weekly.
Fresh Mint – Frozen Sin
Thanks to gourmet realtor Dee Vogel — a woman tireless in her quest for a better mouthfull — I discovered a wicked new way to give my mouth a treat. And thanks to those merciless Ciao Bella gelatistas, I now know about Fresh Mint. Forget about that goopey, green,...
Rose Jelly & auld lang syne
A small plate of cheese. And figs, and quince paste. And especially rose jelly. Jelly that tastes and smells like roses in some English garden. This was 'dessert' at Soif last week, where I toasted the passing of a long-lost friend.
Food of the Gods
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...
Lunch @ Soif: Week One
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,...
The Word
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...
Soif’s Up for Lunch
Starting Wednesday, June 25, Soif is open for lunch. See my post at the top of the page. That's right, wine fans. Now you can enjoy chef Chris Avila's lunches, Wed - Sat, from noon to 2, at Soif, located at 105 Walnut Avenue, in downtown Santa Cruz (831-423-2020) Be...
Never Better
Avanti that is. A few very hot nights ago we gave up on the whole idea of cooking and headed over to Ristorante Avanti where the evening specials dazzled. Under the expertise of lead sauté cook Roberto Serna, two entrees and one shared salad said everything about the...
Range Rover
More will be written - by me among others - about Range, a slender slice of culinary chic at 842 Valencia in the Mission District. But for now let me just give you the short description of our two desserts. One was a thin, thin wedge of fresh rhubarb tart. The thin...
On the Road: don’t leave home without. . .
A decent bottle of red wine. And real glasses, stemware — we got ours at the St. Vincent de Paul store in Paso Robles. $1 each. Wrap them in a tea towel, throw in a bottle opener and a bag of pistachio nuts, and voila! instant happy hour. This sort of emergency...
Mojave Field Trip
On the way to the Mojave — a stunningly beautiful and difficult expanse of geological wildness — we always stop for the night in Paso Robles. Once simply a cow town next to a mission, now a cow town with wraparound vineyards, fine restaurants and a charming grid...