Browsing Tag

San Diego

Pop Culture
Uncorked: Discovering My A-ha Moment with Champagne

An a-ha moment is when something becomes very clear to you. Kind of like the ideas in Â Oprah’s back page column “Things I Know for Sure.” During the recent Mutual of Omaha campaign to capture real people telling their own stories, I talked about the a-ha moment on the way to my becoming The Bubbly Girl. I remember being in Aspen for the Food & Wine Classic and sitting with a group of people at Nobu. One of managers at the restaurant asked me “why Champagne?” Â I think I felt put on the spot a bit; it’s not often a stranger asks you to defend your chosen avocation. But I realized, “why not Champagne?” I love wines with bubbles. I like the way there’s a sense of danger associated with opening a bottle, if you don’t handle it right. It’s like an implied message that this is special stuff and…
December 8, 2011
Bubbly Events
More Bubbly Book Fun in San Diego

The holidays are almost here, and admit it, you’re probably thinking about pulling out those same familiar recipes you make every year. I bet they’re good, but here’s an even better idea: join me for one of these three events in San Diego this month to pick up a bunch of new ideas and recipes for easy and delish drinks and party food. Next Thursday Nov. 19 I’m teaching The Bubby Girl’s Ultimate Party Plan at the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Fest, which kicks off Nov. 18-22. We’ll be tasting great food like Mediterranean style lamb sliders, Alsatian Tarts and my super easy Posh Popcorn paired with deliciously affordable sparkling wines and seasonal cocktails from my new book The Bubbly Bar: Champagne & Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion. Click here to buy your ticket and make sure you get a spot in this tasty and useful class…
November 11, 2009
Pop Culture
An Underground Speakeasy: Midnight Bar San Diego Style

“It starts at 10. See you then. P.S. Don’t wear heels. ” The text message inviting me to an underground cocktail speakeasy on a recent Sunday night was short, to the point and kind of mysterious. But I guess brevity fit occasion. It told me to show up at an alley near Adams Avenue and between two streets in Normal Heights. The password was zipper. So just after 11, I headed out to find the party. I don’t normally make a habit of driving down alleys. Besides not being very picturesque, I quickly discovered they’re net exactly linear. The alley ended in a T intersection with another one. I decided to go right and spotted a shaggy guy standing in the alley talking on his cell. I went around the block and checked out the other end of the alley. Nothing there. On my second trip, the same guy was…
November 6, 2009
Bubbly Events
Come to The Bubbly Girl’s sparkling San Diego book launch parties Aug. 23 & 26

I hope you can come share a glass of something sparkling with me as I launch my new cocktail book The Bubbly Bar: Champagne & Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion from Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House. Recently featured in The Washington Post, The Bubbly Bar shares recipes for classic and original cocktails that mix sparkling wines and champagne with seasonal fruits, fine spirits and home-made syrups and infusions. Enjoy a civilized afternoon at a Croquet & Champagne Party hosted by The American Institute of Wine & Food on Aug. 23 at The Grand Del Mar. Put on your whites and play croquet, sip champagne and feast on tea sandwiches, strawberries and cream. The fun goes from 2 to 4 p.m. on the Aria Lawn, the tickets are $60 ($50 for AIWF members) and include a signed copy of The Bubbly Bar. To RSVP with the AIWF by…
August 16, 2009
Bubbly Events
Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: The Ginger Snap with Sparkling Sake

Just like most of us started out drinking cheap beer and sweet pink zinfandel, my early sake experiences were with awful stuff served warm so that I couldn’t tell how bad it was. Fortunately, there’s been something of a sake revolution going on in the U.S. and with events like the San Diego Japan Society’s Sake & Beer Festival on June 25, we’re being exposed to all the elegant and refined junmai ginjo and junmai daiginjo sakes that have all the complexity of a fine wine. (For an excellent and detail discussion of the different styles of sake, be sure to visit this sake tutorial on John Gauntner’s appreciation site Sake World.com.) But sparkling sake is still something of a mystery to many domestic sake drinkers. It’s relatively new in Japan too, dating back to the 1940s I’m told, as compared to nihonsu or traditional sake, which has been around…
June 19, 2009