Daytripping: Winters in the Summer

 Last weekend, the whole family hopped over to the town of Winters for a visit with family. (We just so happen to be related by marriage to the Mayor....our BIL Mike Martin of the Walnut Ranch Martins!) Tim's sister is lucky enough to have married Mike....or should I say he is lucky enough to have married her? Either way, they are both lucky, and we are lucky to have them as family.  All of Tim's sisters (three) and Mom were in town, and Mike played the perfect host. We have been to Winters many, many times, but Saturday we decided to walk the downtown area so I could show all of you what a charming place this is.

Winters incorporated as a city back in 1898, and is lucky to have many of its historical building intact. It is charming, and is getting more so every time I see it.

 The main street has some great restaurants including the Buckhorn, famous for their steaks, and yes....I can say first hand they are delicious. Lots of outdoor seating on the main street, and some great events take place here as well. ....like their annual Earthquake Festival....oh, those crazy Californians!

I realized on our stroll that Winters has a bit of a European flavor to it. Perhaps it comes from the families that first started the Walnut farms in the area, or the influx of wine growers in more recent years. Whatever it is, it works for the romantic in me.

It did strike me fully when we went to Ficelle for dinner, a Spanish Tapas restaurant. The owners had traveled to Spain to study the cuisine and it was very good! We ordered one of everything...sometimes two. (There were 12 of us...don't judge).

Everything was being devoured so quickly, it was hard to get photos, but here are a few of the delectables:

After dinner, one of Tim's sisters took the kids out to the Walnut Ranch to drive the "gator" around the the orchards while some of us strolled over to taste a little wine and play some bocce ball at Main Street Cellars Wine Tasting Room, the newest of the tasting rooms in Winters......ahem....did we not have enough with dinner? Apparently not.

Great atmosphere,  very nice wine selection, and they serve beer too! 

We worked it off with a very strenuous bocce match...

Next up, a peek at Preserve Public House, a restaurant and bar that specializes in .......preserves....and cheese made right here in Winters. This place has been on my radar ever since I had heard of it a few months ago.  Next time for sure! 

Loved the industrial chic decor...lots of reclaimed woods, metal table tops and very cool one of a kind metal and leather chairs.

A look at the Preserves Room.....

Wine staves create an arch down a corridor...

Woven wine staves front the bar. I have seen these stools before, but not with the leather cushions....

There was a case full of vintage cameras...I was mesmerized...I was almost left behind just gazing....

We continued our tour passing the outdoor pizza oven in front of the Putah Creek Cafe.....always a winner...

....and on to the Turkovich Wine Tasting Room. They are doing well and expanding their tasting room. Good things have a way of flourishing.

We had to look in the window at Arc Guitar. Tim plays a bit and they make their own guitars here. If they had been open, I suspect Tim would have been plucking away still.

But we were full and sleepy from our dinner, our wine and our stroll....happily so.

It was time to collect kids and drive home.....

I had to make one last stop to see the community garden right across the street ....

It is one of those places where one thinks, "I could live here..." ....in a day dreamy sort of way. I will be back this Fall with the change of season when the leaves on the walnut trees turn and the roadside farm stands sell pumpkins and gourds.

 If my little story hasn't tempted you quite yet, hop on over to the Fare to Remember blog for stunning photos of Winters that put mine to shame.

40 Years with Chez Panisse

 Flowers by Susie Ho of Mend Etc.

My how time flies. Just yesterday I was having my first meal at Chez Panisse in Berkeley California with my mother. Mom was always in the know about everything having to do with food, art, gardening and design. I was probably about 22 at the time, just having graduated from college and living in the Bay Area. Mom had come to visit and took me to Berkeley for dinner. I was wrapped up with a new job at the time. Ironically, I was working for the head of the business department of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, marketing food related products for the gourmet food industry, but I had never heard of Alice Waters or Chez Panisse. I had graduated with a Business Degree after all....not food. Mom rightly felt it was time for my education in the world of food. I think it was about the same time she gave me a subscription to Gourmet magazine ( I am not sure if it was at the same time that Ruth Reichle was the editor or not, but she and Alice Waters were quite good friends.)

My mother was a avid reader of anything M.F.K. Fisher. We had grown up in the same area as Fisher, and Mom was fascinated with everything she had written. Mom was following the rise in popularity of good food raised locally and was by then very familiar with Alice Waters and many of her apostles. I have since read many of M.F.K. Fisher books, own many of Alice Water's Chez Panisse cookbooks, and have read Ruth Reichle's books, Tender is the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples. My education in food had been launched.

Those days are long gone......it all happened before my education in design even began....almost 30 years ago now. (Geez....dating myself here!) It is so wonderful to see that Alice Waters had it right then, and still does. Food is better, so much more delicious, when picked right before eating....which means local is better. Better tasting, better for you, better for the environment, and better for local economies.

 Alice Waters and the Levi's brand have partnered to celebrate this 40 year anniversary of the "Delicious Revolution", and I was lucky to receive photos of a beautiful event that took place on Wednesday, August 24th. The event was put on at San Francisco's Maiden Lane and featured organic, locally sourced box lunches that looked mouth wateringly delicious! Beautiful wildflower displays were put together by Susie Ho of Mend Etc. (Check out her website! Lovely interiors!)

Alice Water and Robert Hanson, Levi's Brand Global President wearing their T-Shirts

 T-shirts were designed in limited edition by Alice Waters and other creatives such as David Bryne, Sofia Coppola, Dave Eggers and Maira Kalman. Proceeds from the sale of these T-Shirts support the Edible Schoolyard Project, a national organization dedicated to bringing garden and kitchen education into grade school curriculum. Check the T-Shirts out HERE on the Levi's website!

There was also a book signing for Alice Water's new book, 40 Years of Chez Panisse, The Power of Gathering. Another "must have" for my culinary library!

Well......I did not get to attend this luscious event myself, but I was there in spirit. We had out own little "Ode to Alice" dinner with almost every ingredient found locally:

We started with an Arugula, Pear, and Gorgonzola Cheese Salad with Pine Nuts.... Local Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar Dressing with Dill from the garden.....

BBQ Spare Ribs rubbed with BBQ spice blend from my good friend Diane's Heart Rock Herb and Spice Blend Co. and Corn Succotash made with tomatoes from our garden, green onions and red peppers.....

.....And my youngest daughter is following in her big sister's footsteps and becoming quite a baker. She made orange cupcakes with orange zest butter cream frosting, orange sugar sprinkles and orange peel "twists" on top.

I am counting the hours until my next trip to the Farmer's Market!

OH! One last note.....One Kings Lane is having a sale on everything ALICE.... which also includes signed copies of Alice's new book. Hop on over HERE to see what you can buy from Alice's Pantry!

Wishing you all a Delicious Weekend!!

FISH: It Must Be Friday

Whenever in Sausalito, I always try to make it over to one of my favorite restaurants. This restaurant specializes in, you guessed it....FISH. It follows that it is aptly named.......FISH.

Since it was Friday, I felt it was appropriate to let you know where the best fish on the Northwest coast of California could be found. A couple of weeks ago, Tim and I made it over to FISH and I had the most incredible trout I have ever had. Moist, tender and a hint of smokey flavor, this trout must have been 15" long. It was served on what was really a platter, not a plate, with grilled corn on the cob and beet salad. We also got a side of succotash made with the sweetest corn, fresh baby tomatoes, green and yellow string beans and fresh basil. FISH is a place that takes pride in local and sustainable ingredients and has amazing specials every day. (I also had the Sweet Potato, Pea soup with Creme Fresh). It is a very casual setting, but do not be fooled. The food is creative and perfectly prepared.

I could have settled in at the picnic table outside the restaurant and nibbled on the delicious fish all day while watching the boats come in and out of the marina. Hope you have a chance to stop in!

Happy Friday Everyone!

10,000 People

Last Saturday, after visiting all of the homes that were on the Curtis Park Home Tour (More on that next up!!) we were a tad hungry and decided to take the light rail to Midtown Sacramento and get a bite to eat at the Sacto MoFo . What is THAT you might ask. Well, let me  tell you! Sacto Mofo stands for Sacramento Mobile Food....ahem...not what you might have been thinking. Sacramento has an ordinance restricting the amount of time that a mobile food truck can stay in one area. They can only park for 30 minutes at a time, which means they can feed perhaps 6 customers at a shot before they have to move on. Even with Facebook and Twitter updates on their locations....it is a ridiculous arrangement for a purveyor to have to get up and move just when people realize they are  ready for business.

 Many other large cities have a thriving gourmet mobile food business atmosphere, and Sacto MoFo has organized to get Sacramento "mobilized" to get the ordinance changed. They planned an event at Midtown Freemont Park where mobile trucks parked all around the perimeter. They were expecting a nice day with people strolling by snacking on all of the yummy offerings....from Indian Curry to French Baguettes and Brie, to Tacos and Mini Burgers. 

......... What they got was a crowd of 10,000 supporters all willing to stand in lines as long as two to three hours for lunch.

 It is apparent that the dining public was sending a message.....we are people on the go, but we still want great food and lots of variety! We would like to see lots of bright, colorful trucks with gourmet offerings parked all over in Sacramento!

 Mobile Food trucks made the trek to Sacramento from the Bay Area in support of the ordinance change. There are many who would argue that mobile food trucks offer aspiring restaurateurs a venue to show their stuff without the costly overhead of a brick and mortar location. Smart thinking in the present economy, yes?

 On the flip side, local restaurateurs who have invested in such things argue that their business might be hurt. A valid argument perhaps. However, many brick and mortar owners are jumping on the "band wagon" and buying their own mobile food trucks to join the party. For example, Whole Foods was in attendance.

 I say, let the public decide, and let the sweet potato"chips" fall where they may! What do you think?

Here are some of the trucks in attendance: 

This truck had so many customers they had to close up early....they ran out of food!

The lines snaked back and forth through the park....and waits were long. But everyone seemed determined to get a meal.

For more information about Sacto MoFo, check out their website HERE!

Get your Food on!