3 New Foodie Reasons to Revisit Yountville this Spring

I honor the French Laundry as much as the next farm-to-table food fanatic. When it opened in 1994, I was travel editor at San Francisco magazine, and practically levitated with excitement when I visited for the first time along with a bunch of other San Francisco staff. But some years ago, when people started to talk about re-christening the town "Kellerville" in acknowledgement of the great chef's dominance of restaurant row, I began to wonder. After all, as my beloved Julia Child-inspired grandmother used to say, "there's always room for more cooks in the kitchen."

So I'm happy to report on new arrival Cantinetta Piero in the just-opened Hotel Luca at the north end of town. And to use this as the occasion to mention again how much I loved the food at Bardessono, which opened last year just off the Washington Street strip, while also touting Farmstead, which just opened (finally!) two weeks ago. And to talk about some other lesser-known happenings in the Yountville food and lodging scene. So, 3 food-related reasons to  plan a getaway to Yountville this spring:

1. Cantinetta Piero
 As of today, the newest arrival is Cantinetta Piero, the northward outpost of David Fink, who's best known for two Carmel favorites, Aubergine and Cantinetta Luca. And in fact, Cantinetta Piero's kitchen is helmed by chef Jason Balestrieri, who comes up several days a week from his sister restaurant. While Bay Area foodies might chafe at the idea of a top Napa Valley restaurant being run by a part-time out-of-towner, the truth is Balestrieri's  menu of Italian-inspired dishes nevertheless takes much of its inspiration from local produce, cheese, beef and pork. And I thought his approach was a breath of fresh air - hearty, lively, informal, fun, and anything but pretentious.

Meat is the operative word here, as Balestrieri's house-made salume is the undisputed star of the show. A plank-laid selection of eight varieties, six of them cured on premises, is a must-eat unless, of course, you're vegetarian. In which case the local muscles and other seafood are given similarly inspired attention.

Cantinetta Piero has plenty of modern flourishes tucked within the trappings of tradition. Visitors are greeted at the entrance with a stunning wine display in which choice bottles are framed by striking tile mosaics. One entire wall is made up of floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that let in the Tuscan-inspired golden light of the courtyard and in good weather allow the courtyard to be an extension of the dining room. The courtyard also features a Scottsdale-style outdoor fireplace lounge, the perfect place to retire to with your after-dinner drinks.

2. Bardessono
Chef Sean O'Toole is as Irish as his name suggests, hailing from the Boston area. But you wouldn't know it from his food - just as you wouldn't know he spent almost 20 years perfecting French cuisine at places like the Ritz-Carlton, Fifth Floor, Masa's, Alain Ducasse's Mix, and in France itself. Because the food at Bardessono, located in the ultra-green Bardessono Hotel and Spa, isn't noticeably French. Nor, despite the hotel's Italian name (which comes, actually, from the family name of the property's former owners), is it Italian.

Instead, it's an eclectic collection of dishes so "locavore" in nature that most are named after the farms, ranches, and oceans from which their ingredients hail. There's the "Star Route Farm beet salad," the "Fort Bragg sablefish," the "Pozzi Napa Valley lamb," the "Liberty Farm duck," and the "Marin Sun Farm beef." Having spent many hours at the Star Route Farm produce stand at my local farmer's market and having waved at the cows of Marin Sun Farm while visiting Pt. Reyes, I'm touched by the nods to local farm families.

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Treating Yourself to the Treasures of Tribal Arizona

 Imagine having a Native American healing based on traditions so secret and private that a panel of tribal elders had to approve the course of treatment ahead of time. That's the lure of the Aji Spa at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass, the only luxury resort in the U.S. located on an Indian reservation and designed by the tribe to showcase native arts, history and traditions.

Located on the Gila River Indian Community just 15 miles southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass is deeply infused with the history of the Pima and Maricopa tribes who've long occupied this land and who created and run the resort. It's a fasinating hybrid: A luxury hotel branded with the signature Sheraton service and attention to detail, yet run and managed by native people whose pride envelops you throughout every aspect of your stay.

 The Pima and Maricopa were agricultural tribes that once farmed a verdant valley on the shores of the Gila River - until upstream ranchers dammed the river and diverted the water. After that bitter poverty descended, and the resort is a chance for the tribe - which won its water rights back after a decades-long lawsuit -- to return dignity and economic stability to its children. (To represent the importance of this long-gone river, the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass is surrounded by a man-made replica, banked by willows and providing a home to ducks, birds and geese.)

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My Top 5 Travel Blogs for 2010 (So Far)

I'm addicted to travel, and when I'm home I'm addicted to reading about travel. Lately my passion has taken the form of finding new travel blogs to follow. Don't get me wrong, I love a good travel magazine, with big glossy pictures, a can't-stop-reading narrative and lots of helpful boxes to cut out and save. (And of course I write for lots of travel magazines, so I enjoy reading them to stay current on what my editors and fellow writers are up to.) But a good travel blog has an immediacy, a personal voice, a "you-are-there-right now" feeling that gets me going in the morning like nothing else.

So here, in no specific order, are the travel blogs and websites I find myself checking in with most often.

1. Jaunt Magazine. Editor in chief Layla Revis is a pro, and it shows in this elegant site, which is really more online magazine than blog. Revis's voice has a breezy intimacy, though, and her personal asides give Jaunt a blog-like sense of serving as the sounding board for someone stylish and savvy.

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Add This to the "Before You Die" List: The Maligne Canyon Ice Walk

"The obvious question is, why isn't the river frozen? Does anyone know the answer?" The eight of us huddled in our down parkas and snow boots on the banks of the river look at the water tumbling between banks thick with snow and shrug helplessly. Even the Canadians who live just forty miles away have no ideas. Given the below-zero temperature and the knee-deep snow, it certainly seems a mystery.

The explanation, it turns out, is the key to why the Maligne Canyon Ice Walk -- the outdoor adventure on which we've just embarked -- is so utterly and completely unique. In fact, there's nowhere else in north America where you can see what we've donned rubber boots and cleats to see here, which is why we've come all the way from various parts of the U.S. and Canada to see it. (See below for practical tips on how to visit Maligne Canyon and Jasper National Park.)

The answer, when it comes, is geology. Geology having to do with underground springs and fissures in the rock. This area of Jasper National Park, which also contains Medicine Lake, a lake famed for disappearing mysteriously at the height of the summer glacier melt despite having no outlet, is riddled with underground springs. And of course underground springs don't freeze. So even during Rocky Mountain winters during which temperatures can hover around zero for months at a time and entire lakes freeze solid within weeks, the Maligne River does not freeze. Or at least it doesn't freeze solid.

Instead, the water freezes bit by bit in shallow layers of ice that builds itself into waves, swirls, sheets, and waterfalls that are spectacular to see. It's as if nature put on an ice carving show deep in a canyon with nothing but the foxes, elk and bighorn sheep to witness it. There are waterfalls of ice 30 feet high, icicles taller than I am, and caves walled by solid ice that drips bit by bit from rock overhangs. Going inside the caves, accessed through tunnels of ice,  is like seeing what it would look like inside a gigantic diamond.

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Seven Foods That Help You Lose Weight

Explanatory note: This is an article I originally wrote for Caring.com, which then got picked up by MSN Health. (Both versions are linked here for proper credit, since I was paid for my work.) Don't get me wrong, this kind of exposure is great, and much appreciated. What isn't so great is that bloggers across the globe (seriously) have picked up my story verbatim and posted it on their sites, often with minimal attribution. (Example here for shaming purposes.) So I figured, if other bloggers were getting tons of hits with my story, why shouldn't I share in my own wealth? So here it is.

It's easy to buy into the idea that food is your enemy when you're trying to lose those winter pounds. In fact, it's just the opposite: Befriend the right foods, and the pounds are much more likely to peel off than if you just try to cut calories across the board. Here, seven foods known to nutritionists to boost your body's fat-burning potential.

1. Oats

Don't get sucked into the idea that food is your enemy when you're trying to lose weight. In fact, it's just the opposite: Befriend the right foods, and the pounds are much more likely to peel off than if you just try to cut calories across the board. Here, seven foods known to nutritionists to boost your body's fat-burning potential.

Wait a minute; aren't oats a carb? Yes and no. Oats are a whole grain, and they're high on what nutritionists call the "satiety index," meaning oats have tremendous power to make you feel full. Not only that, they're also high in soluble fiber, so they cut cholesterol and blood fat. Oats digest slowly, so they don't raise your blood sugar, and they keep you feeling filled up well into the late morning. Old-fashioned steel-cut and rolled oats, with up to 5 grams of fiber per serving, are best, but even instant oatmeal has 3 to 4 grams of fiber per serving.

2. Eggs

Nutritionists have been trying for some years to restore the reputation of the lowly egg. No longer thought to be a cholesterol-booster (eggs contain a different type of cholesterol than that in humans), eggs are a concentrated form of animal protein without the added fat that comes with meat. Dietary studies have repeatedly found that when people eat an egg every morning in addition to (or instead of) toast or cereal, they lose twice as much weight as those who eat a breakfast that's dominated by carbs.  

3. Apples

To keep the pounds at bay, eat an apple—or two—a day. Numerous studies have found that eating an apple a half hour to an hour before a meal has the result of cutting the calories of the meal. Why? The fiber in the apple makes you feel full, so you eat less. Recent research suggests eating apples has other benefits, too; the antioxidants in apples appear to prevent metabolic syndrome, the combination of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and prediabetes that tends to accompany thickening around the waist. Also, apples are high in pectin, which binds with water and limits the amount of fat your cells can absorb.

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Top 5 Spa Trends: Las Vegas Shows the Way to Relaxation

I just returned from Las Vegas, where the over-the-top new CityCenter development boasts not one, not two, but three elegant new spas, each in the character of the hotel that houses it. The quest for distinction goes deeper than style, though; each of these spas also offers innovative new treatment rooms that borrow from the wellness traditions of countries around the world. A few trend-pushing examples:

1. Salt Room at Aria Spa
This innovative treatment room features an entire wall made of salt bricks; the light fixtures continue the effect with bulbs heating large crystals of salt. The idea is that breathing salt-infused air clears the respiratory system. If that weren't enough, the room features vibrating massage chairs fitted with headphones; the vibration occurs in sync with the rhythms of the music.

2. Hydrotherapy Jacuzzi at Mandarin Oriental
The oversize jacuzzi features metal loungers with the jets directly placed underneath the reclining chairs. When you lie on your back, the jets bubble soothingly under your spine and sore muscles.

Hotel Review
Las Vegas

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