September 9, 2025 – Roslyn Anderson has more patience than most East Coasters I know, but being 5th generation Italian (Naples), and growing up above her father’s bakery in eastern Pennsylvania, she knows good things are worth waiting for.  “I would wake up every morning

September 9, 2025 – What a difference a decade makes. When I got news of the impending demise of the Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association—an organization I’ve had the great pleasure of working with over several decades—my first thought was, “What would Richie

Sept. 5, 2025—The bread will get you on sight, smell and (eventually) texture and taste. But what gets me is the white board. The board hangs on a side wall at Otto’s Bread Company bakery, in its Oldtown Salinas bakery, not far from Main

Seeing how wines develop from barrel tasting to their finishing school best—long before they are bottled and then go off on their own to be the grown-up versions of themselves—is always fascinating.  Wines sometimes have such strong personalities, you can’t forget them. As you

Sept. 2, 2025—Ultimately summer, like brunch, is a state of mind. Yet some humans, constrained by man-made creations like time and calendars, observe Labor Day as a conclusion of the season. Melissa Kirsch evaluates the sitch with wisdom, noting Labor Day arrived early, “like

September 2, 2025 – It doesn’t even seem possible that 20 years could have sped by that fast, but when Denis Hoey told me he was celebrating the 20th anniversary of Odonata, I had some reckoning to do.  I flashed back to one of the

Aug. 29, 2025—The “meat and three” represents a regional eating experience that belongs on your bucket menu.  It’s a pillar of lunch life in the South, a wonderland of unapologetically rich proteins (Fried catfish! Fried chicken! Meatloaf!), paired with a trio of hand-picked—and similarly

August 29, 2025 – Now in its 46th year, the annual Mendocino Wine competition was held in a novel, parallel fashion. Last year, there was no professional judging component, for the first time in the event’s history.  This year, courtesy of the Mendocino Winegrower’s Board

Aug. 26, 2025—Call it a case of following gourmet bread crumbs. Details on the new occupant of the former Izakaya West End, which departed Ingalls Street in Westside Santa Cruz at the end of last month, were sparse. But there was a whisper from

August 26, 2025 – More than 40 years in the making, La Bahia beachfront luxury hotel in Santa Cruz is getting ready to welcome guests beginning September 8. City officials from the past several decades, along with hotel management and owners gathered Wednesday for