I've spent a goodly amount of time in the company of wine connoisseurs, but I can't claim to have distinguished myself in this field. I'm still known to make purchases based on label design -- I li  

Have It My Way Recently I had the dispirited experience of settling into a comfy table at one of my favorite local restaurants, only to have the first moment of pinot noir therapy obliterated by  

In the movie Sideways, wine is the unbilled costar of this road film about two buddies off on a bit of a tear for a week in Santa Barbara's wine country in search of wine, women and themselves. Whet  

Old is the new new. Brussels sprouts are hot! No wait! Kale is the new Brussels sprouts, and sauerkraut is sexy. What was once bad for us became good, and what was good is now bad. (Thank some of th  

Will Wrk 4 Democracy If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? -- Rabbi Hillel You've turned to this page expecting to read about food and, being a   

Mullane's is apparently serving their last supper on Thursday. According to owner Audrey Cobb, "Our business has been steadily declining since April 2001." While lunches are "pretty reasonable," din  

It's a given that as humans we are, by nature, social creatures. But in the same way that we should all take a casual afternoon nap, go barefoot more often and get regular massages, we should make i  

No matter where I've lived -- whether I've gazed out over bucolic acres or had no more than a fire escape to define my outdoor living space -- I've made room for growing edibles and flowers. In par  

Trying on a bikini under the fluorescent lights of a department store fitting room after a solid six months of comfort food hibernation is analogous to mainlining a hypodermic syringe of low self-es  

In an attempt to indulge in procrastination and divert attention from the work I knew I should be doing, I climbed into bed the other evening with a glass of a good Oregon pinot noir and a grilled c  

As I rub a bar of chocolate soap up and down the legs of my shower mate, I hear one of the fundamental principles burned into my psyche from childhood: "Don't play with your food!" (Hah! I am playin  

Recently I attended a four-course dinner in the dark. Not low lighting, mind you. I mean pitch-black, could-not-see-my-food-or-hand dark. It was delicious. Oh, and the food was great, too. Popular   

This year, I'd like to fight the obligation to make sanctimonious, magnificently philosophical resolutions. No danger of hyperbolic grandeur here -- the guilt incurred from having failed to end worl  

I love the holidays. Really, I do. It's just that this is the time of year I feel intense competitive stress with several of my friends who are so skilled at creating the warm and fuzzy stuff that g  

Whoever said "the public is an ugly beast" must have spent time as a server. Although the majority of restaurant customers are wonderful (or tolerable), there exists a small percentage of butt-ugly,