Food, Wine, and Spirits

Imbibery highlights and culinary delights!

Monterey County, California [dailyblender.com]

The Wines and Winds of Monterey County

Two lanes of paved road wind through the valleys near Monterey, agriculture and activity on every side, lettuces and vines. In late fall, harvest is still afoot…

Offal Good: An Interview with Chef Chris Cosentino

Chef Chris Cosentino’s Jackrabbit does business at a clip. Now more than a year in business, the anchor spot of the gilded Duniway Hotel in downtown Portland bustles from morning to night with hotel guests and locals alike.

Bourbon and Beyond: A Weekend in Louisville

There’s never been a debate in our house on how to pronounce Louisville. When I was a kid, my stepfather made frequent business trips south, guiding his Kentucky sales team on the best practices for selling snowblowers before the Midwest winter began.

Steven Soderbergh and his Singani 63 at Expatriate. [dailyblender.com]

Screenplays and Singani 63: An Interview with Steven Soderbergh

If you didn’t know who you were looking for, I’m not sure you would’ve even noticed him standing there on the sidewalk. Pacing back and forth along the curb, a phone pressed to his ear, he had a black cap pulled tightly over his head, black jacket, black shirt, black pants.

Toronto, Canada [dailyblender.com]

Love and Layovers in Toronto

It was tough to sleep on the red-eye from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Toronto, Ontario. When I initially booked my tickets from Portland, Oregon, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the cheapest route put me through Canada, which I certainly didn’t mind. A short jump to Vancouver, a red-eye flight, and a day to play in Toronto before I boarded for Brazil.

Boise and Snake River Valley [dailyblender.com]

On Boise and Snake River Valley Wines

Aside from your relationship with potatoes, you hadn’t really crossed my mind over the years, your state little more than a hostage to the French fry existence. As it turns out, there’s more to you, with over 180 agricultural products, a top producer of Austrian winter peas, trout, barley, sugarbeets – and yes, potatoes. You also have a serious relationship with wine. Who knew?

Frichette Winery [DAILYBLENDER.COM]

Exploring Tri-Cities, Washington, and the Red Mountain AVA

My knowledge of the Tri-Cities area had been somewhere between the Hanford Site and the Kennewick Man over the last fifteen years of my Northwest residence. It seemed a flat, uninteresting corridor in the lower middle of Washington state with nothing but space to offer, overshadowed by the evergreen of Seattle further west.

Agritopia's Joe Johnston [dailyblender.com]

Daily Blender Exclusive: Restaurateur and Agritopia Founder Joe Johnston

Developed in the early 2000s, after a string of successful coffee shops made Joe Johnston a local celebrity of sorts, it is an oasis in the desert, an agricultural Utopia. A working farmland sits at the heart of the property, with Joe’s Farm Grill, a small Farmer’s Market, and a coffee shop (packed with yoga Moms and strollers at 11 am) perched on one side.

Quick Spin Interview: Chef Richie Nakano

San Francisco chef Richie Nakano is as widely known for his opinions as he is for his ramen. An online biography describes the cocksure chef as “the expert of kitchen trash talk”, his regularly updated Twitter feed peppered with sideswipes at everything from local regulations to “Best Of” lists.