When I’m staying at a hotel for the first time I consider it a bit of an adventure. You can get recommendations and read reviews, but you never know what your actual experience will be. That is half the fun of visiting a city for the first time. Recently I was in Victoria and discovered…
At home, I’ve always had a wide assortment of exotic red, green, white, and black peppercorns on hand to spice up my cooking. Lately, I’ve added on a whole shelf of specialty rainbow- colored salts. But alas, while traveling I had to make due with a shake of plain ol’ S & P–that is until…
Scandinavians take their sauna seriously. The world’s first sauna gondola has been built in the Lapland ski area of Yllas, Finland. Doppelmayr’s sauna gondola lets skiers warm up during a 13 minute round-trip ride. Guests strip down to swimsuits in the main station and then relax in the warm cabin while it’s attached to the…
My past experiences with Filipino food could be summed up in two words: Lumpia and Adobo, which were always served lukewarm and swimming in grease, from the steam-table of some bare-bones divey restaurant, on the streets of Manhattan, close to a hospital. No wonder I thought I didn’t particularly care for the cuisine. But after…
If the recent Slow Food Festival in San Francisco, just whet your appetite to taste and learn more about delicious, nutritious, sustainable, organic, fair trade food and beverages then you’ll want to check out the British Columbia’s, EAT! Fraser Valley, with its multitude of exhibitors, many based in the Fraser Valley, who are coming to…
Hi, I’m Gil and I’m a Chocoholic. This is my first meeting… But September 6th and 7th, I’ll be feeding my habit with thousands of other chocolate addicts as we flock to the 11th Annual Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival, benefiting Project Open Hand. We’ll enjoy activities for the entire family including chef demonstrations, an ice…
Le Seigneur des Agneaux Le Seigneur des Agneaux began life five years ago as a sheep farm until Annick Balayer was bitten by the donkey-bug which happened quite by accident. Her precious sheep were being killed by the coyote,so she brought in a couple of donkeys to protect them and it was love at first…
Yes visit shouldercandy and you can borrow that Chanel, Luis Vitton, or Chloe bag among others. Do you have a special occasion? Then borrow one for a week or if it’s really want you want keep it for months. Want to borrow more than one? You can but with a maximum of two at a…
Here are some of my fave Eastern Township stops: Domaine Pinnacle Domaine Pinnacle is a family owned orchard and cider house, where you can learn, tour, and taste, as well as stock up on their smooth, sweet, lush estate-bottled Ice Wine. This award-winning golden nectar is created from a blend of six different apples and…
If you drive about an hour from Montreal, heading south on Hwy 10, you come to The Eastern Townships, an idyllic region of Quebec tucked into the Appalachian foothills. Back in California, I’ve been describing it as, “picture the town of Napa with a New England backdrop, add a French accent (along with oodles of…
Sometimes I discover a charming off-the-beaten track country inn or a hidden cubby of a restaurant that serves French Laundry caliber food for “Golden Arches” prices that I am really torn about divulging because after the swarms of people attack,inevitably prices go up, service goes down, reservations are needed…blahblahblah. But in this case, it won’t…
Starting tomorrow, 50,000 people will participate in the first ever Slow Food Nation, boldly heralded as the “largest celebration of American food in history.” Held throughout San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza Farmer’s Market, City Hall, Herbst Theater, and Fort Mason Center from August 29st through September 1st, tickets are going fast for all events.