Christina Waters

Maybe it’s just me, but it’s going to take more than three bright green patio umbrellas and a glut of signage to convince me that Mex-Italian cuisine is a sound idea.

When a restaurant, for all the good will in the world, is consistently empty….it might occur to the management that “it’s the concept, stupid.”

A feast for the mind as well as the eye, the shabby paranoia of Cold War espionage makes a bracing cinematic cocktail, neither shaken nor stirred. A dirty patina of brown and grey adheres to every engrossing scene of this version of John LeCarre’s spy saga Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Relinquish any fears that the indelible performance by Alec Guinness as spy master George Smiley in the archetypal 1973 BBC series might upstage this film version. The confidence of director Tomas Alfredson and his astonishing cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema will dispel all doubts

Even for those who have read the book and gorged upon the multi-part television series, Le Carré’s tale is dense and labyrinthean as only a cold war spy tale can be. This is, after all, a tightly buttoned world in which there are no good guys. The ugly underbelly of bureaucratic betrayal makes a bracing cautionary bulwark for those still under the illusion that espionage is glamorous. There are no Sean Connerys here.

We meet the career MI6 agents—a sorry lot of paranoid professionals who have sold their individual dreams to a collective nightmare—just as a secret deal to bring in a high-ranking Soviet defector has gone horribly wrong. (more…)

The short analysis: too much liquor.

Here’s the play-by-play description of our New Year’s Day sampling of Aunt Chris’ Fruitcake.  After 5 weeks, it was time to unveil the slumbering fruitcakes.

Carefully unwrapping layers of cheesecloth—utterly dripping with spice-scented Jim Beam (apologies to those who knew better)—and confronting the heavy brown loaves, I carefully made the first slice. The perfume of high-octane alcohol filled the kitchen.

Armed with cups of hot green tea, we took to the dining room table with a single slice of fruitcake, cut into two pieces. Dense with spices, figs, raisins, ginger, almonds, walnuts and many other items, each bite was overwhelming. Mainly it was difficult to detect individual flavors and textures, so riddled with weekly dousings of booze was each atom of this creation.

“I feel like an archaeologist,” my sweetie ventured, (more…)

Yes we all know that the world is scheduled to bite the dust on the 21st of December, 2012 (according to those playful Maya astronomers).

Better sit down for this one.

Combining the edgy visuals of comic cult legend Charles Burns and the micro-brews of Seattle’s Elysian Brewing Company, a series of twelve beers will be released on the 21st of each month in 2012 featuring the uneasy label artwork of Burns and the well, unusual herbs, spices and rare yeasts used by the Elysian brewmasters.

January will bring the release of Nibiru, named for the mystery planet beloved of conspiricists the world over. See for yourself.

A spectacular presentation of pan-roasted black cod utterly festooned with spun daikon, carrots and cucumbers, and sauced with soy, mirin, sake and mustard. The secret weapon was home-grown red chiles and cilantro, plus caramelized garlic and shallots.

Where did I dine?  At the home of Steve Spill, a home chef willing to tackle just about anything.

Here’s a vintage portrait of the highly independent woman whose fruitcake recipe I used, with much variation, in my own recent effort.

According to her niece, Lisa Jensen, this portrait of Anna Augusta Kirstine Jensen was taken in 1920 or 1921, “when Chris would be 18 or 19 years old.”

Her fruitcake heyday happened much later, when she retired to Hermosa Beach, California.

Thanks Aunt Chris!

A packed house of friends, family and wine club members greeted the unveiling of the chic, friendly new tasting room showcase for Vine Hill Winery varietals. Finger food catered by Kelly’s—divine wood-fired pizza topped with sweet caramelized onions and olives, plus cheese, chevre-stuffed red potatoes and charcuterie platters—was joined by a very long list of wines created by Sal Godinez and his team.

Architect Mark Primack and designer Lore James (also Vine Hill’s marketing director) shared the spotlight, and kudos, for their clever interior (more…)

If you need any further proof of John (Soif) Locke’s unerring wine sense, here it is. Last weekend Soif hosted former UCSC student-turned wine grower Kenny Likitprakong of Hobo Wines. Two days later I find that the SF Chronicle has named Likiprakong’s 2009 Ghostwriter Woodruff Family Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir one of the top 24 pinot noirs of 2011.

Grown from old vines from the Corralitos corridor, this earthy, spicy pinot is currently available for $45 in the Soif retail shop. I’m getting mine today. After I occupy a few banks.

I thought I was going to see George Clooney win an Oscar. I didn’t. He won’t. But The Descendants stayed with me and continued to spin out and unfurl deep-tissue feelings and puzzles and bits of beauty long after I left The Nick last weekend and headed out into the blustery twilight.

The camera loves Clooney almost as much as it loved Marilyn Monroe. There simply are no bad angles on this beautiful man. And while it’s clear he can hold the center of a film, he does so by sleight of hand. He is a quiet vortex around which all of the action, the drama, the storming and revelation takes place. Somehow his winning features—the thoughtful brow, the sensitive facial muscles, the glowing eyes, the gorgeous legs—get close to the point, but never quite land on it.

He doesn’t convince me, even though his character—an Hawaiian heir to a huge land trust, with two out-of-control young daughters and a dying wife—did.

From Birichino comes this wide open bouquet of spices, pepper and black cherries, Grenache Vielles Vignes 2010, Central Coast. At 13.5% alc. it moves all those bright fruit flavors deep into the center of your palate.

The brilliant cherry red wine spreads out horizontally and persists all the way to the end—to the end of that pork loin roast, or pizza, or cheese platter.

Retailing in the $15-$16 ballpark, this lovely wine (perfect for the holidays) is loaded with character and immediate appeal. Look for it at Soif, New Leaf and other enlightened wine shops.