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Monday, April 13, 2009

Dining Out for Life

Posted By on Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 2:00 PM

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The HIV prevention programs at the STOP AIDS Project will be the beneficiaries of the 8th Annual Dining Out for Life program on April 30. On selected meals that day, the participating restaurants will donate 25% of your food bill (and, in some, cases, alcohol) to the STOP AIDS Project. Local establishments taking part in the fundraising effort include Acme Chophouse, Andalu, Bushi-Tei, Chaya Brasserie, Chow, Elite Cafe, Foreign Cinema, Le Colonial, Masa's, Mission Beach Cafe, RNM, Scala's Bistro, Top of the Mark, Zinnia, and several others. Organizers hope to better last year's impressive earnings of more than $220,000.

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Cheap Wines That Don't Suck: Veuve du Vernay Brut Rosé

Posted By on Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 1:01 PM

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Finding a cheap bottle of sparkling wine easy: lots of Spanish cavas and Italian Proseccos cost under $8, as do many domestic sparkling wines. However, most of these wines aren't that great--some are bland, some too sweet, some downright nasty-tsting. Finding a delicious one in that price range is a challenge.

Veuve du Vernay Brut Rosé is the best cheap bubbly I've come across in a while. It has a nice strawberry nose, toasty, creamy, floral flavors with a hint of white pepper and rose petals, and a long, dry finish. Though quite fruity, it's not sweet at all, and has bracing acidity.

The label is not very informative: the only factual information it provides is that the wine is made in France and has 11% alcohol. The Veuve du Vernay Web site says it's 100% Tempranillo, which means the grapes are probably grown in Spain, but it nevertheless tastes French.

The fine, long-lasting bubbles (what wine geeks call "the bead") are like those that result from the méthode Champenoise, in which the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle, but at this price point it's surely made using the cheaper bulk process (especially considering that the brand was founded by Robert Charmat, son of the bulk process's inventor, Eugene Charmat).

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Snacktion: Blue Fog Market's Churro Kettle Corn

Posted By on Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 9:00 AM

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Name: Churro Kettle Corn

Brand: Blue Fog Market

Origin: San Francisco

Found at: Blue Fog Market (2794 California)

Cost: $2.99

Ingredients: Popcorn, sugar, soybean oil, salt, cinnamon

Why I bought it: As a quest to achieve total churro fulfillment with none of the guilt.

Tasting notes: Be careful with this product. Blue Fog has nailed the popcorn texture as well as the cinnamon-sugar flavor, and the bag is exceedingly hard to put down.

Would I buy it again? Yes

What other blogs/sites thought of it: This doesn't appear to be reviewed anywhere else.

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CSA Adventures, Box 13

Posted By on Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 8:01 AM

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In this week's box:
  • grapefruit, 1 lb. 3 oz.
  • salad mix, 8 oz.
  • asparagus, 12 oz.
  • fennel, 1 lb.
  • red chard, 10 oz.
  • green garlic, 8 oz.
  • walnuts, 8 oz.
I'll use the fennel leaves and green parts of the garlic in a baked fish dish adapted from a recipe in Richard Olney's 1994 book Lulu's Provencal Table.

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