The notice popped up on my phone: “Package delivered.” That was weird because I have a large sign posted on my front door that reads “Ring doorbell” when delivering packages. But it’s actually not …
It’s pumpkin pie spice season, if you haven’t noticed. It’s on all the grocery store shelves; it’s featured in commercials, and it’s even in your latte, which is a real shame because what if …
The couple came sweeping into the room like they were Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, or even Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds — only they weren’t. But just try telling them that. Festivals brin…
It wasn’t really raining, more like a misting sprinkle. In fact, for those of us who live in the fog of California, it really wasn’t much different than a thousand other days except for one thing: …
Often in the world of cocktails, people will get caught up in the main ingredient and then skimp on the accoutrements. By now we know that the perfect garnish might be the difference between a grea…
On Sept. 2, the Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC) will complete its departure from the largest liquor market in the United States: California. The withdrawal of one of California’s largest …
Recently, I received an email from a reader: “I loved your July 27 column on the multitasking Lothario who spent half the night — and a considerable sum —juggling two concurrent dates, without gain…
National Tequila Day was July 24. Tequila is the second-bestselling spirit on the United States market — again — according to the Spirits Business publication. Vodka still dominates the market, but…
The two women had been at the bar for nearly an hour. They had enjoyed drinks and appetizers. They weren’t in any rush, and we weren’t there to rush them. But things do progress. Nothing is ever st…
There I was, at 7 a.m. on a Monday morning, pulling on rubber boots alongside Highway 1 in the parking lot at Schoolhouse Beach in Bodega Bay. The sun had just come up, and the minus tide was going…
The man in front of me had just rendered his own “War and Peace” in the form of a food order that covered the front and back of the little notebook I was holding. “Oh wait,” he said. “N…
I’m not sure where he came from or how he got there; all I knew was that he was there now. I was shaking the Manhattan with one hand and stirring a martini with the other. We have two hands for a r…
“What are you guys doing here?” asked someone who appeared to be the bellhop. And he didn’t say it in the way that one would expect from someone attempting to be hospitable. But we were seven days …
Spring brings with it a sense of hope, new beginnings and spaghetti straps. Maybe not in that order. But certainly it was the case on this Wednesday night. When you observe humanity in the abstract…
“May I get you something to drink?” I asked the standing woman, just like I had asked the previous three standing people who had been in front of her. One chardonnay was ordered, poured and served.…
The lights were bright and blinking everywhere I turned. In the labyrinth that is a casino floor, one can quickly become disoriented, which almost seems like the point. The only thing not readily v…
Marin County and its immediate appellate environs — Carneros, the Petaluma Gap, the Sonoma Coast, etc. — produce quite a few pinot noirs and plenty of chardonnay. So, it’s odd that there isn’t more…
The couple was fighting. It was obvious to anyone who looked. Her shoulders were pulled back in her short-sleeved black shirt and the look on her face could only be described as tense. It was a res…
It was a lovely spring afternoon, the kind of afternoon that just screams spring cleaning — or spring repairs, in my case. I was the only person standing in line at the local lumber/hardware store,…