To start a morning at Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company is to fully awake to the fact that life is great. Busy and bustling—this is a gathering place for the locals and tourists alike. People come accompanied by their friends, by their significant others, by their dogs, or just with their laptops, and all find a place here, at a high table by the mirrored wall or outside, on a sunny sidewalk. On our breakfast visit (buckwheat waffles with whipped cream are highly recommended!) we even saw a nursing mother [nursing] by a corner table, probably unaware that breast milk transports the energizer beverage right into her baby’s tiny brain. Oh well, he’ll probably grow up a coffee addict anyway. With this dense aroma of fresh-roasted beans in the air, who wouldn’t? Teri Hope, the company president, receives her hand-harvested and sun-dried coffee directly from her family farm in Kona, Hawaii, and roasts it daily in-house. Not far from here, our next destination is The Spa Los Gatos, whose owner Patti Rice sponsored her employees’ additional training to provide massages for cancer patients—a rarity in the industry. Upon entering the spa, it is easy to notice that every detail has been thought through here. Smiling receptionists, quiet passageways, and overstuffed cozy furniture immediately create a welcoming atmosphere. The level of comfort is significantly enhanced by comfortable waiting rooms, couple and group facilities, and individual steam showers with eucalyptus, lavender, or orange oil. All of that against the backdrop of warm dim lights and soothing music. Swedish massage, provided by Danielle Prauss, made this traveler feel as light as a feather and ready for more adventures. It was time to check out from our hotel; to walk once more around the beautiful downtown with well-appointed shopping area around Main St., University Ave., and Santa Cruz Ave.; to stop and smell the roses, and to gather for lunch at Dio Deka—a Hellenic cuisine restaurant, fit for the gods. The poetically sounding name reflects just a prosaic street number from the restaurant address—210 E. Main Street—but such is the power of an ancient language. The food, though, is pure poetry. Chef Salvatore Calisi, who grew up in a Greek neighborhood in New York, modestly referred to “quality ingredients” when asked how did he make his appetizers so wonderfully fresh and bursting with flavor. I would definitely go back for those bite-size pieces of grilled octopus—plump and tender, slightly blackened from the open mesquite fire, flavored with oregano and citrus olive oil… Grass-fed lamb chops and a bass, served with traditional potatoes sprinkled with lemon juice are also among the favorites. For a sweet farewell, on our way out of Los Gatos, we stopped for an exclusive tour of a unique estate winery—La Rusticana d’Orsa, where the owners, Frank and Marilyn Dorsa, created little Italy on hills and terraces of their sun-drenched land. In small yards, gardens and shady paths, overlooking the Bay, Italian cypresses guard heavy rose blossoms, lotus ponds, and statues of angels and graces, and mountain goats pasture peacefully on a green hillside. The gates of the estate, as well as fountains, sitting corners, and other structures, were designed by Marilyn Dorsa, who also designs original bracelets from Venetian glass beads and metalwork, sold in boutiques locally and as far as Moscow. The couple’s son, Bart Dorsa, is a filmmaker and a photography artist, currently working there. La Rusticana d’Orsa offers a club membership with direct purchase benefits, cooking and art classes, and new release parties. To learn more, visit: www.lgcrc.com, www.thespalosgatos.com, www.diodeka.com, www.marilyndorsa.com, www.larusticanadorsa.comPhotos by Yuri Krasov. 1. La Rusticana d’Orsa in all its glory. 2. Teri Hope oversees the roasting. 3. Frank and Marilyn Dorsa in one of their little gardens. 4. Patti Rice in The Spa Los Gatos.
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