Food

  • We Celebrate (with) Tenuta Montemagno’s New Dry Sparkling Bruts!

    Prosecco from northeast Italy has attained such an affection (or affectation depending on the view) that is is always been the first to come to mind when you think of Italian sparkling wine.    Yet the Barbera variety that makes up  TM24 and TM36 shows how a historic, versatile and  charming bottle-ferme...

  • Master Chefs Cook Ethnic Classics in Futuristic “Thermomix”

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) All it took for the Thermomix ® to win me over was watching it transform hard cheese into snowflake like flurries. I I had almost broken other sturdy food processors.  It even weighed them before going into the machine.  And this is only one of so many uses.   Thermomi...

  • Master Baker Alex Peña’s Heavenly Pan de Muerto

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) Master Baker, Alex Peña’s Dia de los Muertos holiday bread, Pan de Muerto, may look like dough but it literally looks like a cloud in his hands.   It is considered an honor to be gifted with this confection. The bread is elaborate, decorated with skulls and bones, and sprinkled with sugar or covered...

  • Safe! At Our Elegant, Al Fresco Ethnic (Italian, naturally) Dining Choices

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) A toast to San Antonio Winery for our first lunch outside since March! Thank you, Barbara Hansen, for a perfect first pre-Halloween restaurant outing to  our last shopping stop before lockdown in March. Now perfectly prepared for safe outdoor dining that makes any day special, owner Santo is on hand to gree...

  • Slow Food Conference 2020 Offers Virtual Seminars

    (Gerry Furth-Sides, content and photos provided by Slow Food Conference 2020) The ongoing health crisis has refocused everyone’s attention on the central role of food and the importance of the food chain, in all countries around the world. On World Food Day, it is necessary more than ever to think about the food system, f...

  • Surprising New Treats for October’s National Dessert Day or Any Day

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) October’s  National Dessert Day this year features classic and new desserts, many that can be prepared with healthy snacks designed for the increase in demand due to more at-home lifestyle.  This includes a sorbet sundae with healthy, flavor-infused nuts, for example. Vegan-friendly Maple Flavoured Bo...

  • Gina Homolka’s skinny taste MEAL PREP cookbook is Your New Virtual Assistant

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) Skinnytaste Meal Prep: Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Freezer Recipes to Simplify Your Life,  the new cookbook by  #1 New York Times bestselling author Gina Homolka, does just that by becoming your  virtual shopping and meal planning assistant.  It takes away all the guess work, and Gina guides you in cre...

  • Seattle’s new Spice Bridge is the UN of Cuisines

    (Gerry Furth-Sides, content and photos courtesy of Spice Bridge in Seattle) Touted as the UN of cuisine, Seattle’s new Spice Bridge  features a new market concept focused global cuisine by those who know it best, cooks from the country of origin.  Eight stalls are in place.  The best part? Businesses are immigrant and ref...

  • San Diablo Artisan Churros Bring a Classic Mexican Street Food Indoors

     (Gerry Furth-Sides)  You may have already guessed it already: snack food has become the fastest growing item in sales and online delivery  these days.  The surprise is that while wonderfully crowded street life is at a minimum, innovative companies are bringing historic street food snacks indoors Churros, one of the most po...

  • Historic Long Beach NOMAD asian bistro’s New Look

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) NOMAD asian bistro in Long Beach, long a cornerstone of the exploding Long Beach community dining scene, has also been worthy of a destination dining as the only halal Chinese restaurant in North America.  Manager Cary Huynh, who is a chef himself, exemplifies the hospitality and outstanding service.   Bo...