Christina Waters

It happens @ Vinocruz, after hours. Farmgirls School of Food & Wine. And it is the vivacious brainchild of wine czarina Amanda Rehn and fromagista Tabitha Stroup.

The plan is simple and appealing. The duo will work you through the history, nuances, terroirist variations and highlights of wines of our own Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. They will do this while pairing all wine tastings with choice, and appropriate cheeses. You simply absorb all of this wisdom in the good company of fellow aficionadoes.

Starting today, May 4, the Farmgirls School of Food & Wine, convenes at Vinocruz every Wednesday in May, beginning at 6:30pm. Get in there right now and reserve your place. Here be the website.

Sean Baker, former chef at Gabriella and now in charge of Berkeley’s Gather, is featured in the current issue of Sunset Magazine (photo:Drew Kelly). Reminds us of just how creative and fertile that kitchen on Cedar St. really is.

Chefs who have paid their dues at Paul Cocking’s tiny hearth include Jim Denevan (Outstanding in the Field), Rebecca King (Garden Variety Cheese), Brad Briske of Main Street Garden Cafe, Chris La Veque of El Salchicherro.

The ever-vigilant Tana Butler reminded me of two more - brilliant Catherine Stern of La Posta and Kendra Baker of Penny Ice Creamery.

More?

It’s hard to make green food look appetizing in reproduction, otherwise you would see a gleaming pool of tomatillo salsa illustrated here.  It is the tomatillo salsa from Coldwater (formerly Hawgs) on Mission Street.

My favorite appetizer with a cocktail at this handy pit-stop is the shrimp quesadilla. Terrifically hand-friendly, delicious and enough for two people to share. But the secret weapon of this dish has got to be the better than good tomatillo salsa, loaded with the citrusy mystery of this cousin to the tomato, a peppery kick and plenty of garlic.

According to our very helpful wait person, the house tomatillo is from a family recipe of one of the cooks. Thank you to that cook and his/her family. Tomatillo salsa worthing getting out of bed for.

Somehow this neighborhood dining room continues to disarm us. Last night four of us enjoyed a flawless series of plates, from a pizza bianca with crust as thin as a fashion model’s thigh to a sensational emerald appetizer of wild nettle sformato custard smothered with thin shaves of asparagus, arugula and infant pecorino. Tiny allium blossoms added a light onionesque topnote.
While my companions feasted on lamb sausages, buttery halibut and perfectly prepared spring vegetables, I went supernova over a plate of maltagliati (”freeform”) pasta tossed with fava leaves, anchovy, pine nuts, currants and pecorino romano. Literally a perfect plate of pasta. With glasses of the excellent house montepulciano, we dove straight into Tuscany for a few happy hours. Kudos to chef Katherine Stern and company.

Thank you Kelly Porter Sanchez for deciding three decades ago to do exactly what you wanted to do, and to do it your way. No compromises, no complaints.

Congratulations!
You’ve made a lot of people so happy that they barely realized how much went into their favorite coffee, lunch, meeting spot. The bread, croissants, cakes, and did I forget to mention those poached eggs on polenta?

The pear tart. The caramel almond ice cream.

Thank you, thank you.

The chef with the intriguing name has moved into the top slot at Gabriella, after a year getting to know the kitchen and clientele.

We sampled some of Delosil’s beautifully presented plates last night and came away smiling. Gorgeous beets, gemlike Dungeness crab involtini, and an astonishing plate of risotto laced with wild nettles and golden chanterelles.

To create the clever involtini appetizer (shown here), chef Delosil tucked fresh crab into curls of watermelon radish, (more…)

Persian New Year comes to India Joze restaurant on Sunday, March 27, 2011 from 4-8 PM with a special evening of Persian food, poetry, and dance. If you think chef Joseph Schultz does Thai and Indonesian cuisine brilliantlyl (and he does, oh he does), then you’re in for a big treat.

He has no rivals in wok’ing the middle eastern culinary landscape, and the upcoming, multi-course feast should prove gastronomically enchanting. Make reservations @ the India Joze website.

Once again proving that some pastas ARE better than others, the kitchen at La Posta wow’d us last night with this plate of succulent pappardelle verde laced with housemade sausage and braised wild nettles. Tangy, buttery, utterly delicious, it had the four of us vying for each tender slippery bite.

Here is something rococo—and delicious—we sampled last week from the hand of Cellar Door chef Jarod Ottley.  A froth of tender local squid, accompanied by pink grapefruit and pea sprouts dotted a long mound of quinoa. Brilliant crimson beet puree accompanied and a slick of rich date confit provided the sweet visual accent.

A lot going on. All of it good. We partnered our meal last week with glasses of never-better Nebbiolo and Cigare 2006, from the oeno-mind of Randall Grahm. And yes, Cellar Door service is outstanding.

My current favorite, guilt-free, dining addiction.  And here’s my appetizer order, minus the three dumplings I inhaled within moments of their arrival.@ O’mei.