Chocolate Fantasies – Citrus Dreams
Guess where these incredible ganache-frosted chocolate merlot cakes are being created? (Answer: read my upcoming Metro Santa Cruz profile - issue of February 6.)
We spent a knockout birthday dinner at the very new, very accomplished Limoncello (503 Water Street, on the site of the former Bella Napoli). Thanks to chef Giovanni di Maio, every course was solid — as satisfying as it was beautiful. From creamy buffalo mozzarella...
Chocolate for Grown-ups
Maybe it was the understated crimson wrapper. Maybe it was the elegant matte finish. Maybe it was the prospect of dark chocolate inflected with something dramatically different. Whatever it was about that bar of Café-Tasse artisenal chocolate I saw at Shoppers, I...
Dream Ticket – A Modest Proposal
What's wrong with a Clinton/Obama ticket, with Hillary on top? The O man gets down with 8 years of solid, on-the-job training - and then slides on into the Oval Office right after that..... Last night's debate looked a lot like prom night courtship behavior to me. If...
Rare Tipple
It was Capricorn Birthday night at the Ideal Restaurant, and I joined a small band of other January birthday boys and girls for the super dooper Prime Rib dinner — free to patrons with birthdays in that month. Do I need to tell you that the place was packed to the...
Inside the Flame
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.