Belva Davis and her half-century of blazing trails By Charles Russo A perennial personality of Bay Area tv news, Davis’s journalism career spans six decades. (Photo by Charles Russo) “An accident of fate.” That’s how Belva Davis characterizes for me her initial entryway into a long, distinguished career as one of the most storied broadcast journalists of the past half-century. I’m somewhat surprised to hear “accident” as a component of that equation, but I assume that Davis — even in retirement — simply ...
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 MoreLocal author and blogger Erin Gleeson talks Peninsula lifestyle, from bakeries to back-to-school-night booze. By Charles Russo Erin Gleeson, author of The Forest Feast, pictured in the garden at her Redwood City home. (Photo by Charles Russo) Erin Gleeson recently approved the Korean-language edition of her children’s cookbook — The Forest Feast for Kids. It was a bit of a peculiar process, but she just rolled with it. “They asked me how it looked,” Gleeson explains, “and ...
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 MoreTriathlete (and coffee entrepreneur) Max Fennell chats Peninsula lifestyle in-between workouts and hustle groups By Charles Russo California Dreaming: Max Fennell talks local lifestyle on the Peninsula. (Photo courtesy of Max Fennell) Menlo Park resident Max Fennell is on the move, and in more ways than one. As metaphors about triathletes go, that’s a bit of a gimme, but Max makes it work in ways that go above and beyond. At 29, he was recently the subject of ...
Read MoreDos and don’ts of Silicon Valley trail running from the experts at ZombieRunner and Fleet Feet (including where to park for free) Scenic trails abound in the Edgewood Preserve. Lace up and go! (Photo by Veronica Weber) If you run, jog or shlog (shuffle-jog) on the Peninsula, you’re probably used to charting routes through neighborhoods that do creepy things like plant enormous hedges in front of mansions and refuse to install sidewalks and streetlights. ...
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 MoreMandana Navi likes to cook. Like many a chef she started out in her own kitchen, testing out recipes and sharing her results with friends, before taking the plunge and going into business. But her recipes are a little different than yours. Shampoo. Conditioner. Skin cream. All of it made from natural ingredients. All of it formulated by Navi herself in the lab she designed in the back of her shop. Navi ...
Read MorePizzaria Delfina owner, Caig Stoll (right), carefully carving away. For Delfina owner Craig Stoll cooking outdoors on warm summer nights brings him back to his childhood, growing up in New Rochelle just above New York City’s northern border. That’s why, come late May, he escapes the “freezing and miserable” climate of San Francisco and barbecues on the patio of his Palo Alto pizzeria. His meat of choice? Swine. “Roasted pig and beers on the ...
Read MoreHalf Moon Bay’s coolest new eatery operates out of a train car Written by Elena Kadvany // Photographed by Michelle Le Former Saison chef Scott Clark and Alexis Liu opened Dad’s Luncheonette together so they could spend more time together as a new family. For evidence that work-life balance is relative, look no further than Scott Clark. On a recent afternoon, the tattooed, 30-something chef was constantly moving in and out of a 100-year-old red train caboose in ...
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