A landmark for 17 years, Gabriella is charm itself, but that’s just the beginning.
Articles by Christina Waters
Pearl in an ocean
Spice-laden vegetarian dishes are the specialty at this tiny Sri Lankan dining room
Masterful Fusion at Soif
Never better, Soif’s new menu perfectly matches the diversity of showcase wines
PLATED: Drink up!
After the opera last week, we headed for Oswald for something cold and wet. Behind the bar was owner Keet Beck-Brattin with just what the doctor ordered (in this case, the doctor was me). It was something called “the Cooler” involving Sapphire Bombay gin, muddled fresh cucumber and a generous squeeze of lime. A tiny bit of sugar took the highest edge off the lime and a slice of cucumber completed the bracing picture. A thoroughly adult, i.e., not sweet, cocktail, it was soothing and refreshing—especially after four hours of Handel and the drive up and back from the City.
PLATED: The Dinner Will Be Televised
After more than a decade on the Pacific Avenue mall Hoffman’s Bakery and Restaurant, built with hard work and persistence by June and Ed Hoffman, is enjoying a renaissance of interest sparked by the recent re-model filmed for the Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible.”
The Front Page Views of Xiaoze Xie
In Xiaoze Xie’s large-scale oil paintings, future history is spied through stacks of folded newspapers, their headlines and front-page photos only partially visible to our eyes. Xie’s work is alternatingly soothing—thanks to the artist’s color choices and flattened gesture—and confrontational. Our response, to be lulled as well as shocked, mirrors world events as well as the emotional interior of global citizens of crumbling political infrastructures. Just as the artist intended.
PLATED: Fall Feast
Poached lobster tail in consommé with gewürztraminer, cabernet franc with house-made duck sausage and black trumpet mushrooms, grilled lamb chops and currant cous cous—these are only some of the intriguing dishes that will be showcased by the advanced culinary arts students at Cabrillo College at the Oct. 27 Jazz-N-Juice dinner.
Thad Nodine: Visionary
This beautifully written first novel by Santa Cruz author Thad Nodine is a rare experience. A road trip about a blind protagonist and his ramshackle journey through the deep South, Touch and Go bristles with ingenuity and style. It’s Jack Kerouac meets Huck Finn, with a dash of 21st century Tennessee Williams.
PLATED: Strong Presence
With the original 41st Avenue site humming along, the co-owners of Verve Coffee Roasters are in expansion mode—a second shop just opened smack dab in the middle of the funky industrial zone off Seabright and Murray and a third location is slated to open downtown in November.
PLATED: Grape Expectations
Having a Cigare (or 16) with Randall Grahm; Seabright Brewery breeds Best Young Chef in the World.
