The Cocktail Glass Collection: The Ha-Ra Club, San Francisco

Another neon cocktail glass sign to add to my growing collection. (This is No. 21. For more, use the "The Cocktail Glass Collection" tab to the right.) This is the Ha-Ra Club, at 875 Geary St., in San Francisco. This one looks generic, just popped on top of the Ha-Ra sign.

[Update: In November 2017, I happened to drive by the place at night. Below is a shot of the sign lit.]

For more, click the "Cocktail Glass Collection" label at right at the top of the page.
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The Cocktail Glass Collection: Pasquini's, Live Oak, CA

On a recent short jaunt up towards Sacramento and Redding I passed through Yuba City. On the outskirts of the town I saw this neon cocktail glass sign at Pasquini's. This one is fairly simple, but the glass is a shape I've never seen before, suggesting it was custom made. Although I seemed to be in Yuba City, the Pasquini's website gives the address as 6241 Highway 99, Live Oak, CA 95953.

For more, click the "Cocktail Glass Collection" label at right at the top of the page.
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The Cocktail Glass Collection: West House Cocktail Lounge, Roseville, CA

On a recent trip up north as far as Redding, California, I spied this neon cocktail glass sign in front of the West House Cocktail Lounge, at the corner of Atlantic St. and Washington Blvd., in Roseville, California. I don't think I've ever seen one like this before--with the glass hanging down from the bottom. This is one of my favorites.

For more, click the "Cocktail Glass Collection" label at right at the top of the page.

Birds I'm Watching: Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbirds are very common in Northern California. They come to garden flowers and often sit resting in low trees, making all manner of squeaky sounds that don't really sound like birdsong. They can be quite unconcerned by people at close quarters. Yesterday, this fellow posed for me about four feet away while I made a portrait of him against vivid yellow autumn leaves.

For more about birds and bird watching in Sonoma County, see my Website Sonoma County Bird Watching Spots.

Wines I'm Drinking: Coq au Vin and Pinot Noir (November 21, 2012)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I plan to make coq au vin--that venerable French chicken stew that always puts me immediately in mind of a Hugh Johnson remark about the dish. In the 1997 edition of his Pocket Encyclopedia of Wine, he said "Coq au vin: In an ideal world, one bottle of Chambertin in the dish, two on the table." This is not quite an ideal world. While I do have at least one bottle of old Gevrey Chambertin to serve tomorrow night (if not Chambertin proper), I don't think I have two--and, frankly, the mature wines I have tucked away would do less well in a coq au vin, I suspect, than something younger and more vibrant. I picked up two bottles for use in the pot tomorrow. I went looking for inexpensive Pinot Noir (relatively speaking) that would still be good enough to add some worthwhile flavor to the cooking. I sampled them this evening--not one to miss a chance to taste a couple of new wines. Brief tasting notes follow.

2011 McManis Family Vineyards California Pinot Noir
A fairly deep carmine hue. Light raspberry scent on the nose. Fairly simple, clean fruit scents but with a suggestion of vanilla. Doesn't jump out of the glass. Later develops some citrus hints. Quite tart. Has an underlying core of fruit tending toward cherries, but the fruit is masked by the rather bright acidity--at least at first. Not especially long, but has some interesting, lingering bitter almond flavors on the finish that mingle with the tartness. I decided to leave this open for while to see if it might evolve into something a little softer and more approachable. Coming back to the wine after an hour or so, the mid-palate cherries seemed laced with vanilla, but the wine still seemed mostly distinguished by its tartness. Not in any way unpleasant, but seems in no way special either. Suitable for everyday drinking, but there are other wines I'd rather spend $11 on. I'll cook with this tomorrow, but I'm not likely to buy it again for drinking. Still, this is a decent wine given the price. $10.99 at Santa Rosa Whole Foods.

2010 A to Z Oregon Pinot Noir
A medium-pale garnet color. Oak and smoky scents on the nose rather than fruit. Hints of something tropical that put me momentarily in mind of gardenia--not a scent I usually associate with Pinot Noir. Orange rind in the background and also something bitter--like Campari. Musky hints too, but not classic Burgundy barnyard either. A moderately complex, if unorthodox nose. First impression on the palate is one of tartness and little else, but quite fruity and momentarily sweet on the mid-palate before developing slightly woody, herbal flavors on the finish, which is of moderate length. The finish is marked also by a fairly strong dose of oaky vanillin. Like the McManis wine, solid but not exciting. I probably won't buy more of this one either, although it was ultimately the more interesting of the two wines. I will mostly use it in tomorrow's coq au vin. $19.99 at Santa Rosa Whole Foods.

For the record: Yes, I know it's NOT true that cooking wine can be any old wine. As many have pointed out before me, when you cook with wine, you boil off the water and the alcohol for the most part, and what you're left with is precisely what makes the difference between a good wine and an ordinary one. Thus, it makes sense to cook with the best wine you can afford to use. That said, I can't bring myself to pour an entire bottle of Gevrey Chambertin into the pot. We'll be opening old Burgundy tomorrow to drink.

(I have no financial connection with any producer or retailer of wine.) 

On the Road: Carmel, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles (July 2-4)

Wine and Missions--and a pair of California Condors. En route to Paso Robles to do a little wine tasting I stopped for a night in Carmel. Having arrived rather late in the day on a Sunday, there wasn't much to do but browse a few shops and look at the sea--but those are pleasant enough diversions. I stopped in at The Weston Gallery, which always has good photography on display. The highlight of any stay in Carmel, though is an opportunity to eat at Casanova, probably my favorite restaurant in the immediate area (along with Taste Bistro). I enjoyed a very tasty Verdicchio from Sartarelli--crisp, clean, and refreshing, but with real character. The spinach gnocchi I had were a delight.

At the Mission in Carmel--formally known as Mission San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo. The organist was practicing in the main church. A fabulously magenta Bougainvillea was blooming in the inner garden. There was a display of historical vestments, some with rather remarkable embroidery (photo).

Most interesting, to me, however, was the Munras Family Heritage Museum at the Mission--a section I've never noticed before. Of particular interest was a photograph of one of the most important family members, Maria Antonia Field, taken at San Francisco's 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, at the French pavillion, according to the inscription in the box. I have a strong interest in photography and the history of photography, but have never come across an image quite like this one. It was mounted in a gilded, velvet-lined box (much like those used to protect Daguerreotypes but about twice that size) hinged on the inside so that the image, apparently a positive color slide (on what looks like ground glass), is raised to receive light at an angle above a mirror mounted below it. To view the image, you look into the mirror. The photograph is beautiful, as is the woman pictured in it. I wasn't aware of an early color process of this type. A little research is in order....

It's remarkable to me that within three minutes of writing the above sentence, the Internet allowed me  to satisfy my curiosity. This appears to be a an "Autochrome-Lumière" (or just an "Autochrome"). The viewing device is called a diascope. The process, which uses dyed particles of potato starch, appears to have been developed in 1903 and first commercially marketed in 1907 (both according to the Wikipedia article on the Autochrome-Lumière). That makes perfect sense chronologically. It would likely have been a novelty in San Francisco in 1915.

About 40 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1 is Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. I've stopped there before in the hope of seeing some of the few California Condors still alive, but I've never been lucky enough to see one. This time, however, a pair appeared soaring high over a distant ridge not long before I was about to give up. They were too distant to photograph meaningfully, but close enough to see well with binoculars--apparently an adult and a younger bird. On the adult bird, the pale wing linings underneath and pale areas at the trailing edge of the tops of the wings were both visible. The California Condor is life bird number 352 for me.

The rest of my short trip took me through San Luis Obispo where I saw the mission from the outside and likewise a very attractive little Carnegie Library, just next door. A surprisingly dull meal at an enthusiastically recommended restaurant (Vieni Vai) was a disappointment, but an excellent meal the following day at Fenomenal in Paso Robles made up for it. My time in Paso Robles was mostly spent wine tasting--visiting Daou, Tablas Creek, Denner, and Kenneth Volk. Daou appears to be making solid, if very expensive wines. The view from the fancy new winery is wonderful. I just wish wineries would put their money into making fine wine at affordable prices rather than spend it on lavish tasting facilities and then jacking up prices, asking consumers to pay for the extravagance. Tablas Creek, affiliated with Chateau de Beaucastel in France, continues to make some fine wines. Denner was virtually uninhabited despite an appointment, so I never got to taste anything there. The wines came highly recommended, so that was a disappointment--but, perhaps it was no loss: Denner is another winery at which a lot of money has been spent on extravagant facilities. Most interesting was a visit to Kenneth Volk. Mr. Volk happened to be in the (modest) tasting room and pouring wines himself, speaking enthusiastically about the many unusual grape varieties he's growing and making interesting wine from, including Torrentes (a white grape best known for the wines it makes in Argentina) and Blaufränkisch (a red grape usually associated with Austria).

Before leaving the area, I stopped by Morro Bay State Park, hoping to see some birds, but there wasn't much around, although a quick stop at Morro Rock was worth the detour as Peregrine Falcons are nesting high on the cliffs there, occasionally harassing gulls in spectacular dives. At lower elevations (sea level), several immature Brown Pelicans consented lazily to having their portraits made, and three or four sea otters clung to a small bed of kelp close to the shore.

On the way home, I briefly got to look at two other missions--San Miguel Arcangel and Nuestra Señora de La Soledad. Most of Highway 101 follows the Camino Real here.

Wines I'm Making: Third Sulfur Spraying 2012 (June 20, 2012)

I sprayed the grapes with sulfur again today, to prevent mold--the third time I've sprayed this year. This is a little late, but I wanted to wait until after the vines had finished flowering and set fruit before wetting them. As we've had comparatively cool weather and there has been a good breeze most days, mold didn't seem to great a danger. Also, I've just trimmed back the canopy to make sure the vines aren't being shaded by excess growth at the top. Having said that, I've learned over the years that it really is necessary to spray. If you don't, the grapes mold and much fruit is lost. So far, everything looks good. The next hurdle will be getting the nets in place before the fruit begins to take on color and the animals start to take an interest. I'm determined to get the nets on early this year.

Places I'm Visiting: Sacramento, California--California State Yo-Yo Championships

Last Saturday, March 3, my son participated in the 2012 California State Yo-Yo Championships--his first time entering such a contest. There were 87 contestants in the 1a class he chose. He ranked 40th, which doesn't sound all that great, but he can now claim to be the 40th best Yo-Yoer in the state of California--which sounds pretty good. Actually, it is pretty good, considering that the top placers included current and former state and national champions as well as people that have placed in or won world competitions. This year's top award in the 1a class went to Yuuki Spencer. He was followed by Gentry Stein and Augie Fash. Some of the best are amazing to watch in action. I enjoyed watching the action off-stage as well--people comparing skills and sharing tricks, trading, buying, selling, and everywhere the whirr of yo-yos.

Wines I'm Drinking: Two Wines from BearBoat

Yesterday I tried two wines from BearBoat. I can't say I enjoyed either wine--a 2008 Alexander Valley Sauvignon Blanc and a 2007 Central Coast Riesling. The Sauvignon Blanc was thin and virtually tasteless. The Riesling was somewhat better, but not at all nuanced. Both wines were inexpensive at only $4.99 a bottle, and the BearBoat labels--or is that Bear Boat? (it's hard to tell)--are attractive and whimsical (on the Sauvignon Blanc label we see two bears in a boat musing on the meaning of life; one says he feels his life is adrift, the other, named Zeke, points out that they live on a rowboat...), but I don't think I'd buy either again; whimsy and packaging can't really make up for what's absent from the bottle. Brief tasting notes follow.

The 2008 Bear Boat Alexander Valley Sauvignon Blanc was a very pale gold. It had a slightly perfumed scent at first--offering something floral--with hints of vanilla, but little else. There was none of the gooseberry that usually identifies Sauvignon Blanc, although there was a vague suggestion of lime. On the palate, the wine was clean, light, and thin, but that's about all I can say for it.  It was virtually tasteless. There was no concentration at all. Not unpleasant, and there were even a few attractive hints of green melon, but, overall, I'd call this wine simply bland. Not recommended. (The 2007 label is shown here, but it's more or less identical to the 2008 label).

The 2007 Bear Boat Central Coast Riesling was a more interesting wine. If I had to choose between the two I'd take the Riesling simply because it had some flavor, but ultimately, this too, was rather dull. It was a medium gold color. It had the typical "petroleum" scent of Riesling with a hint of honey and later a suggestion of dried apricots, and on the palate it suggested candied grapefruit rind--which is a reasonably interesting to thing to suggest--, but the wine was one-dimensional and a little bit cloying. Not recommended (except perhaps well-chilled as a cheap summer barbecue aperitif for the undiscerning).

I write about many subjects. Use the labels at right above to explore this blog. For more wine reviews, use the Wines I'm Drinking label. 

Miscllaneous: Oakmont Classic Car Show (2009)

I showed my 1978 Alfa Romeo Spider at the Oakmont Classic Car Show (Santa Rosa, CA) on Saturday, hobbling around on my swollen, bee-stung foot. Mine was one of only four foreign cars at the show. Members of the Oakmont crowd are mostly nostalgic for the cars they grew up with, so, in that spirit, I offer the photo posted here--a miniature celebration of American steel. The amount of chromed steel that went into 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s American automobiles is truly staggering. When I get around to it, I'll post a photo of the Spider. The show was fun, but I feel more at home at the annual Alameda All-Italian show in the autumn.