How to Impress Your Date at Blowfish Sushi To Die For

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

A quick way to impress your date at Blowfish Sushi To Die For in San Francisco’s hip Mission neighborhood, is to order a sashimi combination.
From what I glimpsed at other people’s tables, the dish is served in a deep ceramic pot filled with smoking dry ice and decorated with an ikebana of twigs and orchids.

Since my dining companion and I were rather old daters, we went for a less-festive yet still pleasing display of choice nigiri – hamachi toro (yellowtail belly), saba (mackerel), walu (Hawaiian escolar), and my favorite uni (sea urchin) – fresh and satisfying, and also sporting a purple orchid for added color effect.
That was impressive, especially after Blowfish Sushi special cocktails.

My husband ordered X-rated martini (hoping for what, I wonder?) made of sake, blood orange, and passion fruit liquor, with a sweet-and-sour refreshing flavor.

I tired lychee Collins of Tanqueray gin, lemon, sugar, bitters, and a whole lychee fruit – not your grandma’s Collins, indeed.

Ritsu roll is one of the unique appetizers, only found at the Blowfish Sushi. Invented and named after the Tokyo-born Executive Chef Ritsuo Tsuchida, it comes on a plate with a martini glass at its center, filled with citrus ponzu sauce and decorated with lime and lemon wheels. Roll slices of two types of tuna, a bit of avocado, and a tad of masago roe, wrapped in thin tempura, are placed around the martini glass to look like precious jewels, surrounded by Dijon aioli doodles on the edge of the plate.
We consumed Ritsu roll in no time, and picked a pair of Hawaiian brochettes from Kozara (small plate) menu.
Grilled steak cubes were marinated in soy, ginger, and sesame, and skewered with tiny pineapple and white onion slices. Served on a miniature grill, the perfectly cooked meat was enhanced with soy-based garlicky sauce.
For main course, we ordered a couple of “Blowfish creation” rolls out of the extensive menu of house specials.

The two looked spectacular together. Toshi Koshi roll, with prevailing green color scheme, contained crab and spicy tuna on the inside, and albacore and avocado on the outside, topped with green tobiko. Greedy Girl roll (did I order that?) was filled with salmon, tuna, cucumber and radicchio, wrapped in pink-colored soy paper, and topped with ginger garlic honey tartar sauce and orange tobiko
Both were as delicious as they were a pleasure to behold.

All the impressive edibles at Blowfish Sushi come from a well-appointed open kitchen that looks like a part of the restaurant’s ongoing art installation.
The next dish to hit our table was a vegetarian “simple plate” of kamonnasu (sautéed
Japanese eggplant and zucchini grilled with a sesame red miso sauce).
The presentation of the simple plate was rather sophisticated with zucchini slices forming a star, filled with sauced up eggplant and decorated with an orchid.
Finally, when it seemed nothing could impress us any more, a dessert plate arrived – another artful presentation of delicate ingredients in all shades of green.

Called Zen Garden, this heavenly dessert contained melt-in-your-mouth green tea cheesecake topped with green tea ice cream on a plate dusted with matcha green tea.
Blowfish Sushi To Die For is located at 2170 Bryant Street in San Francisco. The restaurant is open for lunch Monday-Friday, and dinner nightly. For more information or reservations, call (415) 285-3848 or visit www.blowfishsushi.com.

Taiwan to San Francisco: SFOS's Pacific Orchid Annual Exposition 2012

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

If you look from Fort Mason, home to the San Francisco Orchid Society’s Annual Pacific Orchid Exposition, in the direction of Taiwan, the first thing you see would be the Golden Gate Bridge.

This year, the Expo celebrates its 60th anniversary, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of the most famous San Francisco landmark, Golden Gate Bridge.
60 is an auspicious date in Asian culture, and for the first time Taiwan, the largest exporter of orchids in the world, joined the San Francisco Orchid Society in presenting more than 150 000 lavish flowers from USA, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Ecuador, and Columbia at this international event.

Mary E. Gerritsen, President of the San Francisco Orchid Society and Janice She-Jen Lai, Director General of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, and other distinguished guests spoke at the Gala Benefit Preview on February 23.
Dennis Westler, Pacific Orchid Exposition Show Chair, took a group of journalists on an Orchid Doctor Docent Tour around the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion, where the majority of flower arrangements were dedicated to the Golden Gate theme.

Similar docent tours were offered to the public in the course of the weekend-long show. I was pleased to learn that orchids don’t eat insects, but rather attract them for pollination purposes. I also learned that round white orchids were the first ones produced by growers through artificial hybridization, and that the most awesome plants we see today don’t even exist in nature.




Apparently, the most mind-boggling combinations of shapes and colors appeared in the last three decades as a result of human passion toward growing more and more beautiful orchids – and the variety never ends.
A feast for the eyes, the Gala Benefit Preview also included wine tasting from a number of California wineries, delectable hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, and live music by Celtic harpist Lisa Lynn and bamboo flutist George Tortorelli.


For the preceding Taiwan Tourism Bureau reception, wines from around the world were delivered by the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, with treats from Anne Olson’s Intimate Catering and Prepared Meals.
More information at: www.orchidsanfrancisco.org

Oryza Shines with Contemporary Thai Cuisine and Inventive Cocktails

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

Classy elegant décor, modern touches, like orange metal chairs and low-hung cylinder light fixtures, live orchids everywhere, and smiley friendly service are some undeniable features that put Oryza Bistro Asiana a notch above your regular mall eateries.

However, the food and drink here is what would keep discerning patrons flocking in, even if the ambience were not as pleasing.
Oryza, located at the Westfield’s Valley Fair Shopping Centre in Santa Clara, is named after the rice genus – the basic grain of Asian cuisine, and dedicated to creating a wide variety of dishes based on Southeast Asian ingredients and cooking traditions, but with innovative influences.
Innovation steeped in tradition is also noticeable at the bar, where a number of creative cocktails are made with sake and soju embellished with ginger, guava, pineapple, and coconut.

On the night we dined, my cocktail of choice was Guava Cosmo with bourbon cherry, redolent with the aroma of pink-flesh fruit.

I had to try my dining companion’s beer and mango puree concoction – The Mango Shandygaff, a chance discovery of the restaurant’s Executive Chef Pailin Chongchitnant, who admittedly got her first taste of this now popular drink by not washing her glass between a sip of mango nectar and a chug of beer.
In addition to an extensive wine list and an international selection of artisanal beers, Oryza offers several enticing choices of non-alcoholic drinks, the star of which gotta be my Lychee Mint Soda, which I found to be an extremely well-thought combination of flavors.

And then the food arrived, all at once, in simple while porcelain, and with designer silverware.

Green papaya salad, a Thai staple, came with peeled grapefruit wedges, grilled shrimp, blanched green beans, and whole peanuts. A special crunch and spice was added by dried shrimp flakes sprinkled on top. Delish!

Buttermilk fried chicken, served in a pool of green curry, was unbelievably airy, delicately battered, and spiced just enough to feel the heat and to enjoy the contrasting mildness of chewy white meat.
I was about to proclaim buttermilk chicken my favorite dish on the menu, but then I tried five-spiced short rib, and had to rethink my priorities.

Meaty, tender, fragrant, and with a hint of sweetness, the beef was festively decorated with steamed bok choy, pickled daikon, and a cut in half soft-boiled egg with a bright orange yolk. It all disappeared from the plate faster than I could say, “love it.”
Since no Asian meal would be complete without rice and noodles, we had to try both.

Spicy basil fried rice is Oryza’s specialty, and is prepared with enough garlic and herbs to make it outstanding, no matter if it served with chicken, beef, or shrimp.
Pad Thai, a traditional rice noodle combination of “everything in the house” came to our table with tofu, egg, fresh bean sprouts, and peanut crumbs, and was as good as it gets.

We were about to skip desserts after a greatly satisfying meal, but got intrigued by the divinely-tasting ginger-infused crème-brulee, and signature Oryza Foster, made with plantains instead of regular bananas, and complemented by coconut butterscotch sauce, coconut ice cream, and sesame brittle.


Those desserts were definitely worth all the extra calories we acquired rather willingly.
Open every day for lunch and dinner, and with a daily happy hour from 3 to 7 p.m., Oryza is a welcome addition to the Silicon Valley dining scene, and is sure to satisfy the most sophisticated palate.
Oryza is located at 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd on the first floor of the Westfield Valley Fair Mall Shopping Center in Santa Clara, and can be accessed from inside or outside the mall between the two Macy’s buildings.
Make your reservation by calling 408.246.8010. For more information visit www.oryzabistro.com.

Last Chance for La Traviata at Opera San José

By Emma Krasov

To be clear, the last chance is not for the immortal Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, but for the viewers who might still see it tomorrow, before the show closes at Opera San Jose, now at the peak of its 28th season.
Based on a classic French novel La Dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas, and the subsequent mid-nineteenth century stage play, La traviata (libretto by Francesco Maria Piave) continues to charm audiences around the globe with lavish depictions of Parisian demi-monde lifestyle, intrigue, and the tragic outcome of improbable romance.
Add to it the beautiful voices of Opera San Jose’s beloved principals, and the California Theatre special period atmosphere, and you get an enchanting evening of artful entertainment.
Conducted by the founding music director David Rohrbaugh with stage direction by José Maria Condemi, La traviata features two wonderful casts. On the night of my visit, Jouvanca Jean-Baptiste took everyone’s breath away in the title role of Violetta Valéry, a Parisian courtesan of astounding beauty and poor health, who takes her last chance on life and love with her new admirer, Alfredo Germont (Alexander Boyer).

Their escape to the countryside, where no one can find them, her readiness to abandon Paris for the young lover, and his deep devotion are proven short-lived with the disapproval of Alfredo’s father (Torlef Borsting) who holds the strings of his son’s financial and social future firmly in his hands.
Violetta’s suffering reaches its high note, literally and figuratively, in the last scene, where Jouvanca Jean-Baptiste shines in her dramatic representation of a woman in love, on the verge of her ultimate demise, catching a glimpse of illusionary hope.
Resident and debuting singers, Cathleen Candia, Isaiah Musik-Ayala, Justin Marsh, Bradley Kynard, Silas Elash, and Tori Grayum provided well-balanced stage support for the leads, accompanied by the Opera San Jose excellent chorus.
A fiery gypsy dance number, beautifully choreographed by Lise La Cour, was performed by Paola McCormick-Quintero, Analisa Sabo, Maurice Monge, and Robert Raney.
Set designs by Erik Flatmo, costume designs by Elizabeth Poindexter, lighting design by Chris Maravich, and wig and makeup designs by Jeanna Parham.
California Theatre is located at 345 South First Street, San José, California. Tickets are on sale at the Opera San José Box Office, by phone at (408) 437-4450 or online at www.operasj.org.
What’s next? Gounod’s Faust, April 21- May 6.
Images: Courtesy Opera San Jose.

Inferno Never Looked So Good: Program 3 at San Francisco Ballet

By Emma Krasov

A world premiere of Francesca da Rimini is a second, or I’d say, central part of Program 3 in the especially rich current season at the San Francisco Ballet.
It is based on the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, namely canto V in the Second Circle of Inferno, dedicated to the adulterous love of a 13-century unfortunate couple of Paolo and Francesca.
This one-act, written by Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Yuri Possokhov, is the epitome of pure ballet – piercingly beautiful, emotionally complex, technically astounding, and performed with so much grace and ease that like Dante, we are ready to cry and almost faint at “hearing” Francesca’s story relayed to us through the means of dance and music.
If Dante’s favorite sinner exists in this contemporary world of ours, it would be hard to imagine a more precise reincarnation of Francesca than the SF Ballet principal Maria Kochetkova – weightless, endlessly agile, and divinely dressed (costumes by Sandra Woodall) as if painted by Giotto.
Joan Boada is perfect as her partner in crime, a passionate lover Paolo – a handsome brother of Francesca’s crippled husband, Giovanni, impressively performed by Taras Domitro.
Following Possokhov’s razor-sharp and excruciatingly demanding choreography, other dancers assert their stage presence with enormous skill and talent necessary for this amazing piece – Elana Altman, Dores Andre, Kristina Lind, Mariellen Olson, and Jennifer Stahl as scarlet-clad Court Ladies, and Jeremy Rucker, Quinn Wharton, and Luke Willis as Rodin sculpture-like Guardians of the Inferno.
The action unfolds in the sparse and elegant scenic design by Alexander V. Nichols, with lighting design by Christopher Dennis.

The opening one-act of Program 3 is Trio, also set to Tchaikovsky music and choreographed by the Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer of the SF Ballet, Helgi Tomasson.
On the night of my visit, the 2nd Movement of the Trio, adagio, geniously rethought by the choreographer as a “death conquers love” piece, was excellently performed by a gorgeous threesome of lyrical Sarah Van Patten, romantic Tiit Helimets, and dark and assertive Vito Mazzeo.
The 1st Movement, an energetic and uplifting allegro, starred a dynamic couple of Vanessa Zahorian and Vitor Luiz, and the 3rd and 4th movements with Tchaikovsky’s references to Russian folk tunes, were beautifully presented by Frances Chung and Gennadi Nedvigin – all supported by well-synchronized and expressive corps dancers.
Both one-acts were conducted by Martin West, while the third one – Le Carnival des Animaux, by Charles Barker.

Le Carnival des Animaux, written by Saint-Saens and choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky with the Dying Swan after Mikhail Fokine, came as the grand finale of Program 3 – festive, humorous, and delightfully inventive – with all the complexity of the vigorous dance disappearing under the veneer of playfulness. While Sofiane Sylve’s Swan was surely no descendant of the classic Maya Plisetskaya’s one, it took its rightful place in the lighthearted context among all the other creatively defined animals – from Courtney Elizabeth’s Elephant to Elizabeth Miner’s Hen with her accompanying Dores Andre’s and Clara Blanco’s Hens, etc.

Program 3 at San Francisco Ballet runs through February 26.
Program 4, Romeo and Juliet, runs from March 6 through March 11.
Tickets by phone: 415-865-2000, or at: www.sfballet.org.
Images: courtesy SF Ballet. Photography by Erik Tomasson.
1. Maria Kochetkova and Joan Boada in Possokhov's Francesca da Rimini.
2. Sarah Van Patten, Tiit Heimets, and Vito Mazzeo in Tomasson's Trio.
3. Sofiane Sylve in Ratmansky's Le Carnaval des Animaux.
4. Hens in Ratmansky's Le Carnaval des Animaux.

Chocoloco Me, Baby, at San Francisco International Chocolate Salon Next Sunday

Photo by Yuri Krasov
The 6th Annual San Francisco International Chocolate Salon, the premier chocolate event on the West Coast with over 55 participants in over 30,000 square feet, will summon its revelers on March 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Fort Mason Center, 1 Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA 94123
The 2012 San Francisco Chocolate Salon includes master chocolatiers, confectioners and wineries such as Amano Artisan Chocolates, William Dean Chocolates, The TeaRoom Chocolate Company, Guittard Chocolate Company, La Chatelaine Chocolat Co., Monterey Chocolate Company, CocoTutti, Saratoga Chocolates, CC Made, Toffee Talk, Dandelion Chocolate, David Bacco Chocolatier, Socola Chocolatier, Nicole Lee Fine Chocolates, Toffeeology, Neo Cocoa, Sixth Course Artisan Confections, Vice Chocolates, Clarine's Florentines, Victoria Chocolatier, Christopher Michael Chocolates, Jade Chocolates, Truffles in Paradise, NewTree, Alter Eco Fair Trade Chocolate, Kika's Treats, Kallari, Farm Fresh To You, Be a Gourmet, Skylake Ranch, Jerk'NPickle artisan beef jerky, R&B Cellars, Urban Legend Cellars, Sol Rouge / Winery Collective, The Winery SF, Quady Winery, VAD Vodka, Alquimia Organic Tequila, 21st Amendment Brewery, Firehouse Grill and Brewery, Books Inc., the Bread Project (non-profit charity), The New York Times, Rigolo Cafe, California Cookie Cutter Collectors' Club, Cuisine Noir magazine, San Francisco Professional Food Society, Chocolate Covered SF, Hair Play Salon, Earthbody Day Spa, and the San Francisco Bay Area Chocolate Meetup.
This year's event also includes Celebrity Chef Appearances by Tanya Holland (Cooking Channel) and Marisa Churchill (Bravo's "Top Chef"), as well as demonstrations and Panels such as "The Return of the Toffee," "Asian Flavors and Influences in Artisan Chocolate," "Why I Make Handmade Truffles," and the "Fair Trade and Organic Chocolate Forum".
Other Salon highlights feature chocolate tasting, new product launches and flavor combinations, chocolate and wine pairing panel, a Chocolate Hair Spa with makeovers, ongoing interviews by TasteTV's Chocolate Television program, and book signings.
Chocolate Salon sponsor TasteTV is a leading food, wine and lifestyle network, and can be seen online at TasteTV.com, ChocolateTelevision.com, Hulu, on Comcast On Demand, and on over 100 television stations nationwide. TasteTV is also the presenting sponsor of the Annual TASTE AWARDS in Hollywood, celebrating the year's best in food and fashion programs on TV, in Film, Online, and on Radio. More information at www.TheTasteAwards.com.
More info at: www.InternationalChocolateSalon.com and www.SFChocolateSalon.com.

The Beauty of Awkwardness in Rineke Dijkstra Retrospective at SFMOMA

By Emma Krasov

1. Rineke Dijkstra, Self-Portrait, Marnixbad, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Rineke Dijkstra, a contemporary photography artist from Amsterdam, has an uncanny ability to portrait people torn by conflicting desires to grab attention and simultaneously shy away from the spotlight. Centered in a vast void of the frame and awashed in bright light, her awkward adolescents, unadorned new mothers, blood-smeared bullfighters, and unfazed by constant danger young soldiers look straight at the viewer, conveying their whole lives with this one glance into the camera that reveals everything, conceals nothing.

2. Rineke Dijkstra, Olivier, The French Foreign Legion, Quartier Monclair, Djibouti
The photographer behind the camera can be perceived as a savvy and experienced psychologist, a sophisticated analytic of a human soul, a calculating constructor of the image, maybe a puppeteer.
In reality the artist, whose self portrait opens the exhibition Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, looks more like one of her subjects in a striped one-piece, rubber swim cap and goggles, standing with her hands to her face, exhausted after thirty laps in the pool, when she “had to abandon all posing” in an empty shower room in a swimming pool facility.
Facing a Q&A crowd at the show opening, she is mumbling her words and nervously scratching the top of her head in search of a satisfying answer.

3. Rineke Dijkstra, Shany, Palmachim Israeli Air Force Base, Palmachim, Israel
But to know and appreciate this artist, finely attuned to her tender subjects, it is not necessary to hear her speak. All the answers are in her art, which is impossible to ignore, mistake for someone else’s, or forget. Seeing Rineke Dijkstra is believing that her piercing art stems from compassion, not cold observation, from relevancy, not calculation, from bringing her own human warmth and poignancy into her depictions of others.

4. Rineke Dijkstra, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
The exhibition, co-organized by SFMOMA and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, is the artist’s first midcareer retrospective in America, and her first solo show in San Francisco. It features nearly 70 color photographs in series, like Beach Portraits (1992-2002); Streets (1993-96); Bullfighters (1994, 2000); New Mothers (1994), Israeli Soldiers (1999-2003) etc., striking individual portraits in succession of time and life events – Olivier (2000-03); Chen and Efrat (1999-2005), and five fascinating video installations, like The Buzz Club (1996-97), I See A Woman Crying (Weeping Woman) (2009), and others.
Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective is on view at SFMOMA, 151 Third St., San Francisco, through May 28, and then at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, from June through October 2012. More information at: www.sfmoma.org.
Images: Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York & Paris; © Rineke Dijkstra

Steven Epp, A Doctor in Spite of Himself, Revives Moliere at Berkeley Rep

By Emma Krasov

True to the spirit of Moliere, cut loose from self- and any other censorship, and updated to the tune of morning news, the classic comedy, A Doctor in Spite of Himself, is now bringing the house down on the Roda Theatre stage at Berkeley Rep.
Adapted by the comic actor extraordinaire Steven Epp and director Christopher Bayes, the play maintains the structure and tempo of the 17th century genius French playwright’s playful masterpiece, but bubbles it up with sexual innuendos and political references of today – to sparkling results.
The lightning-speed stage speech that sounds a lot like inspired improv, the well-worked mise-en-scene, and the clever use of puppets are rewarded with fits of laughter from the audience. The entire show feels like a glass of French champagne delivered in the most lighthearted manner.
Directed by Christopher Bayes and with Steven Epp in the title role, the show engages a constellation of talented comedians to convey the many subtle and not so subtle messages on love, sex, marriage, and professional competence in medical practices.

Jacob Ming-Trent is hilarious as Valere and strangely appealing and poignant as Cherub. Chivas Michael is a total knockout as Leandre. Allen Gilmore is unbearably funny as Geronte. Justine Williams is true to the image and fiery as Martine. Julie Briskman is comically cool and poised as Jacqueline, making a perfect duet with Liam Craig as sincere and slow-ish Lucas. Renata Friedman is Lucinde – it would be hard to imagine a more precise one.
Musicians Greg C. Powers (tombone, tuba, ukulele) and Robertson Witmer (accordion, clarinet, drums) are present onstage and fully participating in the action.
The show is brought to perfection by composer/music director Aaron Halva, scenic designer Matt Saunders, costume designer Kristin Fiebig, lighting designer Yi Zhao, sound designer Ken Goodwin, and other production staff members.
A Doctor in Spite of Himself runs through March 25 at the Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley, CA. Call 510-647-2949 or visit www.berkeleyrep.org.
Images: 1. (l to r) Jacob Ming-Trent, Steven Epp, Allen Gilmore and Liam Craig star in A Doctor in Spite of Himself, a classic Molière comedy that comes to uproarious new life at Berkeley Rep.
2. (l t r) Liam Craig, Renata Friedman, Steven Epp and Julie Briskman star in A Doctor in Spite of Himself, a classic Molière comedy that comes to uproarious new life at Berkeley Rep.
Photos courtesy of www.kevinberne.com.

From Schooners to Spa, it’s All Stars at Monterey Plaza Hotel

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

It might be the location on Steinbeck’s immortal Cannery Row, or it might be the ambiance and atmosphere of sea-breezy luxury, but there is definitely a touch of magic to the Monterey Plaza Hotel.
Built in 1985 on a footprint of the historical cannery, with 1000 linear feet of oceanfront property, it occupies four and a half acres of land – almost an entire city block and sits practically on the water.
At night, wrapped in a warm glow streaming from its windows, one of the hotel’s three buildings can pass for a docked cruise liner.

That’s how it looked from my room balcony, where I was nibbling on California cheese, admiring Pacific sunset and the twinkling lights of Santa Cruz across the Monterey Bay, and listening to the rhythmical rumble of waves down below.

I stayed just one night, coming to the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa for its Schooners restaurant opening, but it seemed all the more reason to make the best of it.
There are at least two things not to be missed at the Plaza – the newly expanded and reopened Schooners Coastal Kitchen & Bar, and Vista Blue Spa.

At the restaurant opening, VP & General Manager John Narigi introduced several distinguished guests from the city of Monterey government, the Woodside Hotels headquarters, and the Plaza Executive Chef James Waller.

Schooners, the ever-popular waterfront bar, suspended over the Bay, is now a posh full-size restaurant, beautifully remodeled, and with extensive upscale menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.




Fresh oysters and crab claws; beet and goat cheese salad in Little Gem leaves; scallop and shrimp ceviche, tuna poke, and grilled halibut were just a few of the Chef Waller’s tasty bites to compliment Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte from France, a bottle of which was “broken” for the occasion.

Signature desserts included Angel’s Food & Devil’s Sail; Schooners brownies, mango upside down cake, and peanut butter chocolate shortbread.

Next morning, waking up to the symphony of waves and seagulls, I couldn’t wait to see the nautical-themed bar with an outdoor terrace from where the guests can observe sea otters resting in kelp beds and sea lions swimming right underneath the dining area.

Painted in bright pastel tones, the terrace is warmed by the sun during the day, and employs inventive heaters with open flame burning inside a glass tube at night.

The bar is decorated with ship deck and sail motif, and has an inviting feel of a leisurely tropical lounge, only brand spanking new and squeaky clean.
It helps that the bar starts bright and early with serving lunch at 11:30 and switches to bar food at five to stay open till midnight.

At breakfast, I fought a temptation to order Schooners trademark crab cakes my table mates were raving about. In anticipation of my spa treatment later in the morning I decided to go with a lighter fare of smoked salmon with cream cheese, tomatoes, red onions, capers, and lemon.
I could’ve sat at the Schooners enjoying my orange juice and coffee in a sunlit nook all morning long, but I had to see more of the Plaza – a miniature town of endless pleasures for all senses.

The Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa has 290 deluxe guestrooms decorated with classic Biedermeier-style furniture and fabrics; luxurious penthouse suites with formal living rooms and stocked wet bars; three grandiose ballrooms, and plentiful meeting spaces. No wonder its popularity with group gatherings of all kinds runs high. A hundred weddings a year is celebrated at the charming little plaza with a leaping dolphin sculpture in the center of the Plaza Hotel.

Its Cannery Row location brings all the area attractions and activities to its doorstep. The world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium is just three blocks away. Fisherman’s Wharf, Old Town Monterey and the Maritime Museum are within walking distance as well. Kayaking, sailing, whale watching, scuba diving in the protected marine sanctuary of Monterey Bay, and golf at 19 local championship courses are readily available to the hotel guests.
It would be unwise, though, to leave the hotel without a visit to Vista Blue Spa on the top floor opening to a sundeck and whirlpool tub on the roof.

The spa and full-service fitness center are one well-equipped facility – clean, cozy, with comforting light, earthy color scheme, Buddhist art pieces on the walls, and the best beauty products in rather vast assortment. The staff of Vista Blue is its best asset, making everyone feel welcome and at ease and helping to customize a spa treatment.

After a heavenly massage I poured myself a glass of strawberry-infused water by a fireplace on the roof and indulged in lounging on the deck under the cloudless sky. The month was February.

The Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa is the premier resort on the Monterey Peninsula and a recipient of the 2011 Forbes Four-Star Award. It is located at 400 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940. Call Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa at (831) 646-1700 or (800) 334-3999 or visit at: www.montereyplazahotel.com.