We’ve lost Preston to work, so we are at an even 8.
See you this evening
Well that went very well. 50 percent more expensive than our typical dinners, but we knew that and it was worth it. That was our annual Holiday Dinner. And a bucket list visit for me.
In general I’ve wondered whether desserts and apps (my fault) might not be worth the extra money no matter how good they are. But the wine assemblage, complementary but not repetitive, kept my brain going at full speed all evening, and the food, were as good as it gets.
We’re a good bunch of people.
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Very well said George. I loved everything about the evening, great wine, food and people. The space was a perfect fit as well. Hard to pick a wine that truly stood out, but for me Morning Dew, Branaire Ducru, Pascal Marchand and Rhys were in the running.
Good wine, good food, good people, we are indeed blessed. And great to have some Berserkers drive over the hill to our side! Thanks for coming guys, hope we can do it again.
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Fantastic evening, great company, and great wines. Glad we made the trek!
Hope to see all of you for the next one.
Cheers
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It has been too long. Time to rally the tribe. Early to Mid March? Somewhere old or somewhere new? Iveta in downtown Santa Cruz was good and said they could give us a break on corkage. Great outdoor space if the weather works. Also Persephone in Aptos might work. I have a new couple looking to join us. Or maybe the place George was talking to up in the hills? I could always go back to Lillian’s and I think Ken and Christine might be joining us and they were the ones that worked it out for us last time.
Persephone is lovely, but might be another HOME dollars wise, that’s special occasion money, not our baseline. Shadowbrook could be another special occasion place .on their slow night.
I don’t feel excited about the other place I was talking to.
We are definitely returning to Lillians again at some point but exploring is good.
I talked to the owner of Nonnos last week suggesting he make us a meal for $65 per all inclusive, win win, great chef, he used to charge $50 for sitdown dinners and that included wine. It would have been great for him and us. Wed have his noce back room to ourselves. Nope. He’s trying to sell the place and has cut staff.
A friend was rattling off places he loves in Santa Cruz and for a wine dinner he suggested Mo’s Dumplings. Hmm I dunno.
Ian can you decide about Iveta’s? Thanks
Ok I looked online at Iveta Downtown, looks great, we go to Big Basin tasting room, I’ll let Bradley Brown know we are coming, we split a bottle or two of his Old Stagecoach pinot or Rattlesnake syrah, walk to Iveta’s, dinner and our wines, then reserve a row and pay $35 each to watch the Santa Cruz Warriors at Kaiser, then hit Rosie McCanns, then call our beloved for bail money.
George - you always have a plan! Love it. I am casting around and might have an in at Persephone. But Iveta was nice and the Chef was accessible. Loved their Brussel sprouts and flat bread. Sure would be great to get a Chef to offer us a family style experience with gluten free options for those that need it. I enjoy going to Bradley’s tasting room.
Would you all potentially be interested in coming to Hero Ranch Kitchen? It has zero corkage! And more likely that Jay / Daniel / John can join us.
In any case – any preference on dates? I could do Sat the 9th, Sat the 16th, one of those Fridays at night, or we can aim for early April.
Hero works, been there twice,.once in a while we should have a diinrer on that side of the hill. Pricey though?
Also let’s be certain Hero would give us zero corkage for multiple bottles
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Thanks for all those ideas, they all sound good to me, on either side of the hill. I’m planning to be out of town 8-10 Mar and 22-24 Mar, available on all other days.
Tonight I’m going to the popup at Saison Scotts Valley tasting venue for one of my very favorite wineries, Madson, with Santa Cruz Eatery food. The popup is from 4 to 8, I’ll be there 6 to 7:30. No prepaying, just walk in. My guess is there will be an option of a flight, or just individual glasses, or just hang out.
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Juan - happy to go over the hill but can’t get out of work earlier enough until May. I am still working to set up a dinner on my side of the hill and waiting to hear back from the restaurant.
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Thanks Ian for taking the lead. Can you share which restaurant you’re thinking of?
Should we plan two events in parallel, one on each side of the hill, with some time in between? Tuesday to Thursday is best for me to go north, but I would consider weekends as well.
Should we just do Los Gatos/“other side of the hill” sometime in April/May?
Sure, we could do March in Santa Cruz, and April in Los Gatos.
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In March I’m available March 18-24 only, for now. Might loosen up.
Starting a March thread and an April thread
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