Chris Garrett’s San Carlos brewery follows a community-minded mantra — aficionados, families and neighbors have noticed. By Nicole Ruiz Hudson Devil’s Canyon founder Chris Garrett pulls a pint at his San Carlos taproom. (Photo by Charles Russo) Chris Garrett needed an antidote to life in the tech world. Back during the first dot-com boom, Garrett’s work monitoring chat rooms for places like RealNames and Disney left him — predictably, perhaps — a little soul weary. As a result, he began looking for ...
Read MoreA photographic tour through the early days of the tech industry By Anna van Raaphorst-Johnson and Dick Johnson Customer engineers working on a General Electric mainframe. (Image courtesy of the Computer History Museum archives) For all of the recent boom and widespread hype of modern day Silicon Valley, it remains compelling to consider that the region’s ties to technology and computer innovation date back well over 60 years. Deep in the archives of the CHM’s Fremont warehouse. ...
Read MoreTalking art and innovation with author Tim Lapetino on the anniversary of a Silicon Valley classic By Charles Russo Cover art for the Atari 2600 game “Surround,” by Cliff Spohn. (Courtesy of Dynamite Entertainment) This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Atari home gaming console. Yes, the 2600, with its sleek design and many iconic games, is now four decades old. The cover of Tim Lapetino’s book, published by Dynamite Entertainment. In the years since the Atari ...
Read MoreWe asked local butchers and farmers to weigh in on the best bird for your buck By Elena Kadvany Turkeys on the move in full fanned-out glory. (Photo via Flickr) Matthew Prentice, head butcher at Belcampo Meat Co. in Palo Alto, grew up eating Butterball turkeys for Thanksgiving. The widely available birds are injected with what the company calls a “pre-brine” and are raised on factory farms. This was all he knew, he said, “until I became a ...
Read MoreHere is what’s fermenting at the local wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains by Laura Ness Mindego Ridge: 10 acres of sun-warmed Pinot vines off Alpine Road. They are fairly anonymous and the majority are not open to the public. Their acreage is often small and they don’t benefit from the name recognition of places like Napa and Sonoma. Even still, a notable array of Peninsula vineyards have quietly made a reputation for themselves in ...
Read MoreAt Tin Pot Creamery’s newest location, owner Becky Sunseri showcases flavors that have been decades in the making. By Kate Bradshaw Yes, please: Tin Pot’s newest location brings Becky Sunseri’s unique flavors to Bay Meadows in San Mateo. (Photo by Charles Russo) Mootella. Blackberry Jamble. Salted Butterscotch. The mastermind behind these clever — and goshdern delectable — flavors, Becky Sunseri, has been sweet on ice cream since her girlhood days. Back then, growing up in Bloomington, Illinois, little Becky had a habit of ...
Read MoreDavorin Kuchan updates traditional Croatian recipes with California ingredients in Old World Spirits’ high-octane elixirs by Kasia Grobelny Davorin Kuchan at his Old World Spirits distillery in Belmont. (Photo by Charles Russo) Growing up in Croatia around his family’s vineyard just north of Zagreb, Davorin Kuchan found himself drawn to the incendiary end of the family business: high-octane spirits distilled from grapes, plums, walnuts and pears. “I liked winemaking, but I loved distilling,” says the ...
Read MoreHow a San Carlos nurse won top wine awards (and developed purple hands in the process) Nicole Ruiz Hudson Russian Ridge Winery owner Scott Townsend (imbibing at left) and his son Spencer at their tasting room in San Carlos. (Photo by Charles Russo) The inside of Russian Ridge Winery is comfortably cool compared to the midday heat broiling the industrial San Carlos neighborhood just outside the roll-up doors. A huge skylight illuminates the winery’s interior workspace ...
Read MoreVinyl Solution in San Mateo is one of the Peninsula’s last vintage music holdouts. And yes, they have cassettes. by Jennifer Christgau-Aquino Vinyl Solution stocks all manner of analog doohickeys, like this turntable. Photo by Jody Troxel. On a Tuesday morning, in the middle of a quiet street in San Mateo dotted with nail salons and Asian restaurants, Vinyl Solution Records is buzzing. Twentysomething employees rack records, customers stream in and out picking through ...
Read MoreDon’t panic, but this month we’ll lose about 2 minutes of daylight each day. So make your grill time count! These Peninsula butchers shared their favorite new cuts of meat, and some old stand-bys, for a summer wind-down like no other. Brad Bain breaks down a lamb at Gambrel & Co. Photo by Veronica Weber. Gambrel & Co. This friendly new-school butcher shop in Redwood City has a cult following, and it’s easy to see why. ...
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