Wanda HennigLeverage. Ubuntu. Sustainability. Transitions.

Choose from our eclectic-with-flavor Top 12

In San Francisco and the greater Bay Area, Independence Day doesn’t stop with the fireworks. But it always includes good food, whether the party is north (Sonoma), south (Half Moon Bay), east (Danville and — is Lake County east?) or right in the city itself.
We dug around and came up with 12 tasty morning, noon and nighttime mini-vacations or for some, staycations, seeing this is a holiday weekend. A few are traditional and others — a little outside the box.
Read on for edible expeditions, …

Top 12 Castro dine-out hotspots

The San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration runs Saturday June 27 noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday June 28 noon to 7 p.m. (after the Pride Parade — see Web site for route and details) at the San Francisco Civic Center.
Expect more than 300 vendors (including abundant food stalls); nonstop music and comedy acts on the Main Stage and at other stages such as the Trans, Homo Hip Hop, Asian and Pacific Islander, Women’s, Soul of Pride African American and Latin stages. 2009 entertainment includes BoA, Solange …

A delicious adventure —

“Why am I living in a city?”
The question came the first time when I glanced upward from beneath the visor of my sun-screening cap and caught sight of two white pelicans flapping slowly and in unison. Suddenly they parted company.
One hovered for a moment — and then plunged from the sky, wings pulled back, torpedoing into the water just yards in front of the kayak. Seconds later it was back up and bobbing on the surface savoring its fishy victim.

Tomales Bay and Point Reyes Peninsula

The question …

Story and photos by Wanda Hennig
All travel has a culinary flavor, given that one has to eat. True culinary travel, however — I’d say what defines it is the focus. It’s about eating the specialties of a place. Learning about the food traditions of the people. It doesn’t imply eating lavishly, isn’t necessarily about haute cuisine, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot. Visiting a farmers market and creating a picnic from the produce stall … Read more

A breathtaking beach walk; a scenic cliff-top hike; a chance to see harbor seals up-close-and-personal; and if you keep your eyes peeled, perhaps a whale to two breaching and blowing or, at this time of year, flocks of pelicans heading north.
Story and photos by Wanda Hennig
Then there are the rock pools to explore; sand for the kids to dig in if you take them along; and an incidental visit to one of the world’s most famous surfing spots, which just happens to be a marker on the trail.
And if …

Story and pictures: Wanda Hennig

Fort Bragg a hotbed of conscious creatives and sustainable agriculture activists? That wasn’t how I remembered it from previous visits. Good camping, yes, at the MacKerricher State Park three miles north on Highway 1; and the legendary Glass Beach that’s more interesting to read about than to visit; and unmemorable meals in the quaint harbor; and Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout at the North Coast Brewing Company. But now a foodie friend was telling me about their active Slow Food group and saying things like, “I went to Italy and saw what they were doing with agritourism in Tuscany and thought …

And one of the many delights served to guests at a book launch lunch and olive oil tasting ….

Does your worst recent food faux par beat this?
Story and Pictures by Wanda Hennig
Picture the scene. A famous French chef has flown to California for one week to give a series of classes at a private cooking school. With him is his wife who among other things is a recognized expert, in France, on Colette.
The pair have a hotel in the Loire Valley well known for its food and wine.
The second dish on the menu they’re prepping on a sunny Tuesday morning for a dozen women who have come to …

She’s been called Alameda’s Julia Child and like Child, Weezie Mott is in a class of her own.
By Wanda Hennig
From Alameda magazine You know you’ve arrived at “The Motts” when you glance down and see it printed on the doormat. The appetizer-sized woman summoned by the doorbell simmers energy. She could be wearing her Ecole de Gastronomie Francaise Ritz-Escoffier apron that has her name, Weezie, custom-stitched in bold letters above the Paris-based cooking school motif. But there’s no class today. No guest chef coming in to cook, or culinary field …

You can too!
Have you thought of adding “culinary education and cooking skills” to your wine country travel menu?

Story and photos by Wanda Hennig
First published in Black Diamond Living magazine
A food writer friend recently came to visit me from South Africa for the second time. On her first visit, at the end of the first day, she sat me down, poured me a glass of wine, and firmly advised me that she was not interested in any more of this sightseeing — unless the sight was between one good place to …