Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, San Francisco’s premier chocolate maker, is celebrating 160 years of creating irresistible premium chocolate. To mark this milestone, Ghirardelli Chocolate has planned a number of events to celebrate and thank chocolate lovers for sharing in the company’s 160...

Glendeven Inn and Wine Barn is the setting of one of our featured editorials for Issue 4.0 “Vintage Summer in Mendocino”.  Colleen Warner, a successful woman in her 30’s, decides to leave her corporate life to follow her dream of being a writer. She bids everything including her high-profile...

By Kaye Cloutman Photography by Christina Dunham There is a first time for everything. In my case, I have been a pop-up dinner “virgin” for the longest time. I received many invites but my full schedule has not permitted me to accommodate any of them until last Saturday when I found myself...

By Kaye Cloutman Who doesn’t find irresistible a good ol’ love story especially when it involves wine? GEV was recently guest at a winery whose story has all the ingredients for a great movie. Phifer Pavitt Wines is a dream of Suzanne Phifer and Shane Pavitt, who moved to the Napa Valley in...

By Kaye Cloutman Photography by Pierre Gussman Whenever the opportunity presents itself, we will always jump at the chance to visit Marin County; not just because of the picturesque drive but because it is home to one of my current favorite dining spots – Insalatas. For more than 20 years,...

By Karina Mendoza Calayag THE BRITISH ARE COMING!  With just 3 weeks away, the drumbeats can already be heard in anticipation of this year’s Macy’s Glamorama (formerly known as Macy’s Passport). Taking place in Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco on September 14, this huge...

As summer nears its end, the start of the international fashion week season is just around the corner. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the first major stop in the circuit of fashion’s most influential events, is gearing up for a week full of top international designers and the next generation of...

Featuring the tagline “Wear Your Voice,” the Kenneth Cole F-W 2012 ad campaign focuses on the idea that fashion is a powerful communication vehicle, and that clothing choices say a lot about you as an individual, so control the message you send, tell the world who you are…WEAR...

Join editors, stars, models, fashionistas, and designers on September 6, 2012, as they flood stores in cities across the country and around the world for fashion’s most iconic extravaganza. Last year’s bash featured events in eighteen countries and more than 4,500 events here in...

Seton Medical Center Foundation – now in its 100th year of service – is pleased to announce the fifth annual Sipping with Seton event, to be held on Wednesday, October 3 from 6pm to 9pm at the beautiful Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, host of the recently concluded 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior...

Launching this August, bareMinerals (www.bareMinerals.com) unveils a conversation-starting campaign to champion its award-winning foundation franchise and the highly-anticipated launch of its first-ever solid bareMinerals READY™ SPF 20 Foundation. The campaign is supported by the fact that...

From the beer gurus who brought The Monk’s Kettle to San Francisco’s Mission District comes an ambitious new restaurant that takes beer pairing and appreciation to the next level. The Abbot’s Cellar which opened recently is located in the heart of the buzzing “Valencia Corridor.” It offers a...

Getting hungry? La Cocina is proud to announce the fourth edition of the San Francisco Street Food Festival; a festival that brings micro-entrepreneurs, informal food vendors and renowned chefs together to celebrate and promote great street food, true entrepreneurial spirit and vibrant...

Britain’s leading female award winning TV chef Silvena Rowe is about to star as a celebrity judge in ABC’s newest reality cooking show Time Machine Chefs.  She mesmerizes audiences with her bright azure eyes, shocks them with her Simon Cowellesque comments and charms with her exuberant...

J Vineyards & Winery harvested its first grapes of the 2012 season early yesterday morning.  Pushed along by warm, sunny weather, the harvest is off to what many growers are describing as a normal year. Vineyard workers picked approximately eighteen tons of Pinot Noir grapes from the...

Mirassou® Winery and interior design expert and TV personality Genevieve Gorder know a thing or two about the intersection of wine and design. Mirassou and Genevieve have teamed up to share their respective expertise, offering tips and ideas to help brighten up home entertaining spaces. “When...

Take a virtual road trip of California wine country at this one-of-a-kind wine tasting where wines are organized region by region, celebrating diverse and delicious offerings from throughout the state for September: California Wine Month. Consumer tastings in Los Angeles on Thursday, Sept. 6...

Photography by Melissa Gabriel Beginning next month, winery chef Cory Strike will partner with local artisan food purveyors to put on a gourmet ‘pop up’ Supper Club at the winery in St. Helena. The program will include two separate events from September to October, each highlighting a unique...

On Thursday, August 30, 2012 at 6:00 p.m., Bocanova invites diners to celebrate their third anniversary with dinner, drinks, live music and an auction benefiting the Oakland Fund for the Arts. The evening begins with a cocktail reception and live music from Ghost Town Gospel, followed by a...

  Zinfandel Advocates & Producers welcomed 300 people to its second annual Grille-O-Rama at Rock Wall Wine Company in Alameda on Saturday, August 11 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The event combined the chance to taste 30 Zinfandels, arranged by growing region, and judge the efforts of...

By Kaye Cloutman It was like a trip to Emerald City – gorgeous and glam gals in green, all of them sparkling and radiant with their absolutely wonderful diva personalities. The fashion forward venue-du-jour was the Perrier lounge at Hotel Diva. A cocktail hour was underway, and a number...

Photography by Matthew Brandalise Makes 4 Servings For the Cure 2 tbls    Sherry vinegar 3 tbls    MonoArabica Ethopian coffee beans, ground 2 tsp     Garam Masala 2 tbls    Salt 1 tbls    Dark brown sugar 1/2 c     MonoArabica Ethiopian brewed coffee, cold For the Duck Breasts 2...

By Kaye Cloutman Photography by Matthew Brandalise The recently concluded SF Chefs 2012 had a number of gastronomic events that wowed the palates and pleased the masses to no end. One of the more exciting sessions we attended during this week of edible euphoria was the illy Monoarabica demo...

Photography by Matthew Brandalise Coffee Oil 1 c Guatemala illy MonoArabica beans, ground 1 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil Blueberry Coffee Salt 1 c Dried blueberries 1/2 c Ground Guatemala illy MonoArabica 1c molden salt Veal Tartar 2 lb Eye round veal, remove seam and chop finely 2 Shallots,...

On the heels of Show Dogs’ 3rd anniversary and as the acclaimed Foreign Cinema restaurant approaches its 13th year, Chef/Owners Gayle Pirie and John Clark announce the official opening of Machine Coffee & Deli, their second business in San Francisco’s growing Mid-Market neighborhood. In...

Photography by Kevin Osmond Man Peter W. Osborne, founder of Golden Bear Family of Restaurants, is pleased to announce the August 10, 2012 opening of San Francisco’s newest waterfront destination, Mission Rock Resort & Oyster Bar – a/k/a “The Rock.”  Osborne has tapped Golden Bear...

By Beverly Zeiss Perched upon the cliffs rising high above the Sea of Cortez sits Cocina del Mar, located within Esperanza, an Auberge Resort in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. On arrival we were greeted by the gracious and very professional staff who led us to the perfect table, set as...

Foreign Cinema invites wine enthusiasts to welcome Claypool Cellars and Les Claypool, the lead vocalist and bassist for the alternative rock band Primus, for a special dinner taking place on Thursday, August 23, 2012. Guests may enjoy an exceptional 5-course tasting menu prepared by...

Photography by Matthew Brandalise The sweet smell of success wafts through the air at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone. It is the smell of fresh baked breads, cookies, pastries and gourmet coffees being made by baking and pastry arts degree students and faculty in the...