“Your Sacramento Guide: Restaurants get Slow Food movement's honorary snail symbol - Sacramento Bee” plus 1 more

Your Sacramento Guide: Restaurants get Slow Food movement's honorary snail symbol - Sacramento Bee

Posted: 20 Oct 2010 12:04 AM PDT

For some people, this won't be the most appetizing symbol, but lots of Sacramento restaurants are happy to earn a snail.

Specifically, a Snail of Approval from Slow Food Sacramento – see, snails are very, very slooooow so, uh, you get it – and this week the local group took the program out of its shell and awarded Snails to 13 area restaurants.

Is this a big deal? I'm saying yes. It shows both the growth of the Slow Food movement in this region and the growing sophistication of the local dining scene. Plus, you have to admit, the name is kind of cute.

"We didn't come up with it," said Cinamon Vann, the Sacramento group's Snail coordinator. "It is good, huh? That's what they call it at Slow Food International."

The Snail thing is fairly new, but the Slow Food movement started in Italy in 1986 and has steadily spread across the globe. It has picked up speed, members and a sense of authority in America over the past decade – Sacramento's chapter started in 2002 – as this country started evolving into a nation of foodies and as environmental awareness grew.

More than 200 U.S. chapters are now pushing the notion, as the Slow Food folks say, of "protecting the pleasures of the table" from the homogenization of fast food and just modern life.

And for what it's worth, these are ideas that find a lot of takers in this region. A bunch of Sacramento restaurants – with or without the Slow Food movement – push the ideas of farm-to-table food and sustainability, which come in big part from this area's connection to farming and ranching.

So the Snail of Approval, Vann said, is a way to encourage more restaurants to think the Slow Food way and to reward the ones that do. "We're trying to give them recognition and to help them reach people who like what they're doing," she said.

The first round of Snail awardees – I was going to say slime-ees, but that doesn't seem cool – are Cafe Americain, Ella, Grange, Hot Italian, the Kitchen, Magpie Caterers Market and Cafe, Mulvaney's, OneSpeed, the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op Deli/Cafe, Selland's, Taylor's, Tuli Bistro and the Waterboy.

"Most of them are in the core area because we're the Sacramento County chapter," Vann said. "And people are just starting to hear about it, so we expect a lot more to be nominated."

To qualify for a Snail, a restaurant needs to meet a list of standards that include freshness, seasonality, quality and the use of local products. But the Slow Foodies also look at how much a restaurant contributes to the community, what kind of impact it has on the environment, and whether it has fair business and employment practices.

There's more info on Slow Food Sacramento and the Snail of Approval at www.slowfoodsacramento. com.

Lodi winemaker dinner

Like a lot of areas making good wine – areas that aren't Napa and Sonoma – Lodi has waged a steady battle against old images, and it takes another step Saturday with a high-end wine and art auction and winemaker dinner.

This is a black-tie (suggested) affair with unique art presented by the artists, barrel tasting of single- vineyard zinfandels and a five-course, small-plates dinner paired with some of the region's best wines.

It's called the Artisan Masters Lodi Wine & Art Auction, and it's a charity event – benefiting the Lodi Arts Foundation, the San Joaquin Delta College culinary arts program and the Excellence in Agriculture scholarship fund – with a price tag of $225. What makes the event notable is both its scope and ambition.

In short, as organizers said, the point is that Lodi's wine and art merit this kind of big-deal event. Black tie and all.

Mark Chandler is the executive director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission, and though his group is not a direct organizer of this event, it has been fighting the battle for respect for a while.

"We're beginning to reach critical mass," Chandler said. "Our wineries are winning top awards and getting that third-party endorsement. We can see our efforts are beginning to pay off."

Lodi's image issues came from a couple of directions. For years, many vineyards there supplied grapes to major wineries that blended them into lower-cost wines, while only a relatively few producers made premier Lodi-labeled wines,

So the region was off the fine-wine map until the mid-'90s, when more and more wineries there began focusing on making top-notch wines.

And then there's simply the problem that the name "Lodi" was a common punch line for jokes about crummy places. The community even had its own crummy-place song (from Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969; and, by the way, Creedence was back in Lodi to perform in September).

"It's been nearly a entire generation since it came out, so hopefully the younger wine drinkers haven't heard the song," Chandler said. "We've been able to improve the image of our region as well as the quality of wines."

And in a way, the rough economy has helped Lodi. As wine drinkers looked for lower-priced wines, Lodi's array of offerings in the $15 to $20 range has gotten lots of new people trying its wines.

"Now we encourage our wineries to do as many events as they can here and in other cities," Chandler said. "This one is a very good opportunity to show people what we do here."

Artisan Masters is at Hutchins Street Square, 125 Hutchins St., Lodi. More info and tickets are available at www.theArtisan Masters.com or (209) 333-5550.

A cure – for concrete?

Finally, remember how Enotria Restaurant & Wine Bar in North Sacramento was hoping to get the wine bar part open by mid-October, which would be about now?

Well, the problem was waiting for concrete to cure, and apparently, concrete cures at whatever rate it wants. Now the hope is early November-ish. On the plus side, they're still on target to get the whole place open – dining room and all – by Dec. 1.

Lemon Grass on Munroe Street near Fair Oaks Boulevard is also going through a remodel. The work is all being done outside to put in a garden patio, and owner Mai Pham says her restaurant will stay open during the construction.

Call The Bee's Rick Kushman, (916) 321-1187. Listen to him Tuesdays at 8:40 a.m. on NewsTalk 1530 (KFBK).

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Announcing The Fall Colors of Nevada City and Grass Valley, California: Guide to Spectacular ... - Earthtimes

Posted: 20 Oct 2010 12:40 AM PDT

Historic Gold Country cities release The Fall Colors of Nevada City & Grass Valley! Delight in the vibrant fall foliage along the western slope of the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains in Nevada County with maps to the most spectacular sites.

(PRWEB) October 20, 2010 -- The twin cities of the Northern Sierra Foothills have published The Fall Colors of Nevada City & Grass Valley to highlight the most brilliant displays in Northern California. And NOW peak season is approaching!

Enjoy vibrant fall color displays located in the neighborhoods surrounding the historic towns. Century-old maple trees are transformed into brilliant masses of color that frame beautifully restored Victorian homes and pristine church steeples. Cooler weather, fewer visitors, and the changing colors of the landscape make a fall visit to a state park a memorable experience. Just a 30 minute drive from either Grass Valley or Nevada City through stunning countryside, the South Yuba River State Park at Bridgeport offers scenic fall foliage vistas set against a calmer Yuba River, winding hiking trails and at 251 feet, the longest single span covered bridge in the United States.

Fall weather conditions at 2,500 feet in the Sierra foothills favor the formation of brilliant colors in the landscape. As the days grow shorter, photosynthesis slows and less chlorophyll - which makes leaves green is produced, allowing other pigments to become more visible.

It is often thought that Jack Frost is responsible for the color change, but he really isn't. Fall leaves often begin to change before the first frost.

Nevada County – with its outstanding Gold rush history, outdoor fun and wide choices in lodging and dining - makes for a great weekend or three day getaway for those who enjoy fall colors.

Peak fall color weeks in Nevada City and Grass Valley and the surrounding area are difficult to predict but mid-October to Thanksgiving is usually a most colorful time. Fall foliage color tour maps are available and visitors may call ahead to check day to day conditions.

Local diversions include museums, galleries, theatre, boutique shopping, Empire Mine and South Yuba River State Historic Parks, hiking and biking trails, lakes and rivers. Lodging choices include historic and resort hotels and quaint bed & breakfast inns. The surrounding area features several picturesque wineries and a number of wine tasting rooms are found in the historic downtown districts.

Nevada City and Grass Valley are located a short 60-mile drive northeast of Sacramento. From the capital, take eastbound Interstate 80 to Auburn and then drive north on Highway 49. From Reno, take westbound I-80 and State Route 20, a pleasant 80 mile drive.

For visitor information, call the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce at (530) 265-2692 or toll-free (800) 655-NJOY, or the Grass Valley/Nevada County Chamber of Commerce at (530) 273-4667 or (800) 655-4667.

For the most up-to-date Calendar of Nevada County Events, itineraries, photos and more ideas about great Nevada County pastimes visit www.explorenevadacounty.com.

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Source : PRWeb

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Wednesday, October 20, 2010