1. Santorini
(LIFE/Latest)

..., and order her favorite dessert without skipping a beat. Then there's Themi, the caretaker and master food-ordered. Nothing escapes his specificity when it comes to ordering a meal. I don't know wha...

2. a piece of heaven
(EAT/DRINK/Flavor Spot)

So nothing makes one's head spin faster than being in the presence of greatness - to see a glimer of the fantastic and know what it tastes like, which in this case would be the taste of Renaud's almon

3. Christmas and New Years
(LIFE/Latest)

... kinds of dim sum we'd been making on the weekends - now that was awesome! Our guests brought plenty of food and fun and it was a successful soirée. ...

4. Don't Stop Believin' (by Journey)
(LIFE/Esprit d\'escalier)

...ile walking my dog on the beach - and no one can stop me;-) Like i said "scary!" And the food? Fabulous! ...

5. Californication
(LIFE/Esprit d\'escalier)

... my last day here in the valley and i'm cooking a Cornish game hen and grazing on the odd assortment of food left in the house - whole wheat East Indian rotis, sweet pickles and some Spanish cheese. I...

6. The unexpected weekend.
(LIFE/Wildly Facinating)

So it was another happenstance weekend where the bits and pieces of chaos finalized into a kick-ass, land-of-plenty, show-me-the-money, moments of delight day; a great day. It was a slow start after t

7. The Lazy Roaster
(EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

It's true. I was sooo lazy this weekend that i didn't want to roast my last 1.5 lbs of green coffee beans separately (1/2lb each of Rwanda Butare Bourbon, Classic Italian Espresso Blend, and Puro Scur

8. I am a junkie
(EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

This weekend has been a highly caffeinated experience since roasting a blend of Zimbabwe Dandoni Estate and Sulawesi Toraja. I couldn't' stop drinking it! It's a caramelly, deep toned syrupy coffee wh

9. Tomatoes from my garden
(EAT/DRINK/Today's Menu)

There's really nothing better than these Eva Purple Ball heirlooms from Germany. Tasty, perfectly round, and delicious perfection.

10. The first rule of "Dinner at Itsy's" is we don't talk about "Dinner at Itsy's."
(EAT/DRINK/Today's Menu)

Yes it's true. I'm the kind of friend who will invite you over for dinner so you can do all of the heavy-lifting while i drink wine and yap. Still, knowing this, people come over... and I happily put

11. Itsy's House of Wine
(EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

My wine experiment is down to its final stages. Today I siphoned off a bottle each of the Tempranillo and the Cabernet Sauvignon from the 5 gallon carboys they are in so i could add French oak as the

12. Well at least one thing is going right...
(EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

This Sunday - my latest and greatest roast of coffee beans, Guatemala Fraijanes - Finca Aqua Tibia. Sweet baby jesus - this bean is wonderful! Tangy chocolate notes with an intriguing finish of cider

13. Love is like oxygen (or chocolate covered orange sticks).
(LIFE/Love)

...requently these days since her wedding and subsequent honeymoon. It's a site about her love affair with food, life, and newish husband whom she met through her blog (the whole story is delightful).&nb...

14. He's not naked - only nude;-)
(LIFE/Joie de Vivre)

... ever see on my site - a photograph of my beloved friend Jerry. We decided at 11pm to camp, packed some food and left Del Mar, driving like Themla & Louise into the desert mountains for a few hour...

15. Lovely Summertime Harvest
(EAT/DRINK/Today's Menu)

These are my gorgeous tomatos... a pound each at least!

16. Puro Scuro Blend
(EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

So i'm getting better. My last roast was a 1/2 lb of Sweet Maria's Puro Scuro Blend. Here are the results!

17. Garden Dog
(APERTURE/Photography)

My first roll of 120 film out of the Yashica is back and... other than this photo of my beloved and adorable and completely self-absorbed dog, they are uninspiring. The colors are off... squelched or

18. Transformation...
(LIFE/Esprit d\'escalier)

...pass before us like easy conversation, time creasing our faces, weathering our hands, silly laugher and food on both... always knowing we knew too much to walk away, then one day knowing you can do no...

19. Chez Itsy's Smoked Pork Tacos
(EAT/DRINK/Today's Menu)

I smoked a small pork roast for an unbelievable 11 hours on Sunday in my Stella and - WOW - what came out was sublime pork heavenly-goodness. Even though my (spur-of-the-moment) decision to take a din

20. Garden of Love
(LIFE/Esprit d\'escalier)

None of my ramblings on coffee or food today - instead, a poem by British born Kathleen Raine and intriguing paintings by Luke Chueh.  I know, i'm such an odd sap. This month has brought much to

21. When Pigs Fly
(EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

People ask me all the time "Why? Why do you do it? What is the point?" And yes, that's understandable, i mean, i can buy perfectly roasted beans from my absolutely favorite roaster (fyi: thi

22. Morning Harvest
(EAT/DRINK/Today's Menu)

Romas and Million Bells from my garden. Every day a treat of some sort emerges from my little 4' x 10' ft garden. Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers... it's truly the best part of summertime.

23. Cold Brewed Coffee
(EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

In an effort to make use of the beans rendered almost undrinkable due to my poor coffee roasting skills, i took the advice of a friend and created some cold brew coffee goodness. After soaking 1/5lb

24. Two Girls and a Lobster
(EAT/DRINK/Flavor Spot)

...community to indulge a hankering for the best dang Spicy Lobster in the universe - it's at Newport Seafood.  Well the other fabulous reason to visit would be for a Tibetan Herbal foot massage -...

25. Coffee Roasting, Part II
(EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

Well i found something i am not good at and it's coffee roasting. I have eight pounds of assorted green coffee beans from Sweet Maria's to burn through (literally) and hopefuly by then i shall have a

26. Coffee Roasting
(EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

Yesterday at lunch i was inspired to roast my first batch of green beans from Sweet Marias. Anyone who knows me knows that i live to learn and love to try new things all in the name of research and

27. Good times in SB
(LIFE/Joie de Vivre)

Steven, Barb, and Rob at Brophy's. They are all so cute in this photo! I always have a great time visiting Santa Barbara.

28. Old Friends...
(LIFE/Joie de Vivre)

On Saturday I drove up to King Estate Winery south of Eugene to see my old friend Don. It's been twelve years and he hasn't aged a bit! Amazing. We worked together in San Diego and played together in

29. Armenian Yard Long Cucumber
(EAT/DRINK/Beyond Words)

This year i decided to add the Armenian cucumber to my garden with spectacular results. The cucumber has a slight melon flavor and is very crisp and tasty. (Basically it's a hummus delivery system.)

30. Tiffin Lunch Box
(EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

So i looked hi and low for something reusable to bring lunch in and found these stainless steal tiffin boxes. I love them! I was inspired to find out more about them after reading how dabbawallas deli

31. Duane's Big Night
(Archived/EAT/DRINK/Foodie Research)

images/stories/food/img_3475.jpg Day 1: Duane has been prepared Zuni Cafe style and is ready to dry in the fridge for a few days. images/stories/food/img_3476.jpg Day 2,3: Here's Duane a

32. Another Year, Another Turkey
(Archived/EAT/DRINK/Today's Menu)

Every year i receive a frozen turkey from my employer and every year i find a new way to torture my little guest. This year was no different and i took my special dinner guest "Alfie" on a

33. This Side of Paradise
(Archived/LIFE/Daily)

...l is made more so when i consider the daily antics of life... the spam, advertising, commercials, fast-food promotions, and latest celebrity buffoonery. None of it makes any sense. Death in the cont...