Forget Meat and Potatoes: Veggies Rule Chicago
Although folks hailing from Chicago and other parts of the midwest often complain about the traditional meat-and-potatoes diet they grew up with, it seems clear by now that the Chicago of today, almost Parisian in its sophistication, has outgrown those limitations. I noticed the foodie-ism immediately; even chains like Corner Market were touting farm-fresh berries [...]
An Alternative Approach to Ashland Shakespeare Festival
For several years, my daughters and I have made an annual summer pilgrimage to Ashland, Oregon to catch as many plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival as we can possibly cram into a few days and nights. But thanks to our love of the outdoors and our extremely lean budget, we don’t “do Ashland” like [...]
Real Food, Local Color at Seattle’s Pike Place Market
To tell you the truth, I didn’t want to go to Seattle’s Pike Place Market; I pictured a big tourist trap with all the original history drained from it, like Fisherman’s Wharf in my hometown of San Francisco, which I avoid at all costs — unless I’m showing around first-timers or want to catch the [...]
Microbreweries Make News: Pints to Sample in SF
At brand new Social Kitchen and Microbrewery, which opened in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco last week, the concept of handcrafted microbrewed beer is getting a dose of “slow food” style refinement. Owner and brewmaster Rich Higgins is chief of the San Francisco Brewing Guild and takes the art of locally made and [...]
Three Days in Tuscany an Hour from Home
Harvest time in the Italian countryside functions as a collective fantasy; we all share the same longing for that iconic vine-encrusted, ochre-colored Tuscan barn set amid golden fields. Of course, the one larger image is in fact a collective of smaller, more disparate images: A round-shouldered squash, a bottle of red wine, a round of [...]
Highway 116 Revisited: A West Sonoma Escape to Foodie Heaven
I’m very lucky; I don’t have to go far for one of most soul-soothing, health-enhancing, consciousness-raising adventures on this beautiful planet. All I have to do is drive north on 101, turn off on 116 north through Sebastopol, and suddenly I’m passing apple orchards, heirloom plant nurseries, bakeries, even a crazy hippie café with a [...]
Going Green in Napa At Long Last
The Napa Valley is known the world over for wine making and grape growing, but oddly, it’s never been a particularly environmentally enlightened region. For one thing, growing grapes requires a great deal of water and — unless they’re organic — quite a lot of pesticides, too. Not to mention that the sheer number of [...]
In Portland, Even the Food Is Progressive
Three days in Portland can be summed up like this: 2 Thai restaurants, 2 eclectic fusion cafes, 1 waffle shop, 2 organic fruit markets, 5 amazing coffee houses (all serving Stumptown coffee), countless vintage and junk shops, and the best used bookstore bar none. Names to remember: Pok Pok, Bread & Ink, Laughing Planet, My [...]
Ingredients for a Perfect Weekend: Fresh-Off-the-Boat Crab, Eucalyptus-Fired Sourdough, and Family
I pride myself on knowing the best purveyors of various delicacies throughout the northern San Francisco Bay Area; it’s a natural outgrowth of my combined love of eating fresh, straight-from the farm food, and my obsession with finding small, family-owned businesses deserving of recognition. But I’ve been to Bodega Bay many, many times and never [...]
Parisian Desserts Without A Continental Shift
Next time you visit New Orleans, add a visit to Sucre to your must-do list, right after the cemetery tour and before the Mardi Gras museum. This Parisian-style patisserie serves the most decadent chocolates and cream-filled gateaux, not to mention the most divine caramel mousse torte you’ve ever tasted. The see-and-be seen atmosphere in the [...]
