A View of Golden Gate from Cavallo Point Lodge

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

 
Staying at Cavallo Point Lodge in Sausalito, California, is like having a friend at the Bolshoi, or camping at the Louvre. How else can I convey a feeling of being so incredibly close to one of the beloved international landmarks – San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge? 

I am not talking about the usual 15-minute touristy reverence paid to the icon by riding a car or a bike, or lingering at a designated observation terrace. Consider an overnight stay at Fort Baker in the Marin headlands by the north end of the Bridge. Historically a military base guarding the gateway to the port of San Francisco, now an upscale retreat at the national park, Cavallo Point  
Lodge is sure to awe you with the unparalleled views of the Bridge and the city skyline; luxurious accommodations; healing spa services, and culinary delights.

Barely five years in existence, this unique hotel is set within Golden Gate National Parks, and occupies several charming white-walled red-roofed Colonial Revival cottages standing in a horseshoe around a manicured green lawn – formerly the parade ground.

Those are the officers’ quarters from 1901-1915, now lovingly restored with their wide wooden staircases, patterned tin ceilings, and spacious front porches.   

The newest guest buildings, climbing up a hillside beyond the lawn, offer the most magnificent views of the Bridge through their glass walls. 

These contemporary rooms and suites are beautifully appointed in sunny hues of golden-yellow and burnt orange. Their main feature and a sure sign of the new century is sustainability in design and construction, what with solar power, radiant heat floors, bamboo wall panels and furniture, and organic cotton bedding.

 
After a short walk to a nearby pier or the cement remnants of the fort battery, swept clean with the salty Pacific wind, nothing can be as pleasing as a visit to the Lodge’s Healing Arts Center & Spa, designed to blend various relaxation techniques with the indoor-outdoor concept pertinent to California living. Even though it was windy and chilly on the night my husband and I stayed at Cavallo Point, I thoroughly enjoyed an outdoor hot tub under a fragrant eucalyptus tree, followed by a cup of lavender-lemon tea by a fireplace at the spa Tea Bar.

 
Then it was time for dinner, which presented us with yet another opportunity to be awed and amazed. Murray Circle, occupying first floor and a front porch in one of the historic buildings of its namesake road, is a signature restaurant of Cavallo Point – well worth a drive even from San Francisco – the undisputed culinary capital of the West. Luckily, the drive is rather short – just across the Bridge, illuminated like a dream against the silhouettes of the city’s tall buildings at night.

 
After a pair of skillfully made cocktails (Salty Dog and Mary Pickford) our amuse bouche of a plump petite Kumamoto oyster in Champagne mignonette was followed by an array of wondrous dishes, one tastier than the next, created by the Executive Chef Justin Everett and his talented team.

 
Awarded a Michelin star for three consecutive years, Murray Circle combines French cuisine sophistication with California’s seasonal bounty. Sausalito Dungeness crab, coming from the ocean steps away from the restaurant, is served with sunflower salad, a shot of bisque, and espelette aioli, and makes a memorable appetizer as well as grilled meaty trumpet mushrooms with roasted kabocha squash, Bellwether Farms carmody cheese and arugula.   

 
Chef Justin puts on the menu complex plates comprised of locally sourced ingredients, like house-smoked pork shank garnished with California wild rice, sweet and tender broccoli di ciccio, leafy Treviso, and crispy gremolata made with fresh dark-green parsley, garlic, and lemon zest.

 
Another main course masterpiece is pink and succulent duck breast a la plancha, served with fried-edge spaetzle, miniature duck liver meatballs, shavings of fresh apple, arugula, and whole-grain mustard.

 
Delicate desserts by pastry chef Ethan Howardinclude Red Velvet “roulade” made with beet caramel and served with butter macadamia nut ice cream; house-made chocolate-covered hazelnuts, caramel popcorn, and chocolate caramels.

In addition to exquisite meat, seafood, and veggie selections, the restaurant provides specialized meals, accommodating guests’ dietary requests. More than a quarter of the menu is dairy and gluten-free, and all of it is excitingly delicious.

Whatever the reason might be your visit to Cavallo Point is sure to grant plenty of nourishment for the body and soul.      

 
Cavallo Point – the Lodge at the Golden Gate is located at 601 Murray Circle, Fort Baker, Sausalito, CA. Call for information: 415-339-4700; for reservations: 415-339-4750, or visit www.cavallopoint.com  

Chocolate Designs Competition by Taste TV Call for Entries: Fashion, Art, and Photography

Deadline: March 6, 2013

Finalists will be announced on: March 13, 2013

No Entry Fees

Contest Theme

The CHOCOLATE SALON Fashion / Photography / Art Competitions have themes of chocolate, confections or fragrance. Submissions may interpret these themes broadly.

FINALISTS  

Up to 15 will be awarded in each category:

- Publication in press releases and on the website of the San Francisco or Seattle CHOCOLATE SALON

- An Exhibition in the Reception Entry area of the San Francisco or Seattle CHOCOLATE SALON, reaching thousands of attendees and media outlets.

- 1 Ticket to attend the San Francisco or Seattle CHOCOLATE SALON.

EXHIBITION

Winning pieces will be displayed at the Salon in the following manner:

1)FASHION: On a winner-provided mannequin or live model in the high-visibility designated area of the Chocolate Salon. If the winner prefers to use a live model, we will incorporate this element into the Salon.

2)PHOTOGRAPHY / PAINTINGS: On a winner provided canvas (framed or unframed), which will be hung in the "Gallery" area of the Chocolate Salon

3)CERAMICS / SCULPTURE: Pieces will be on display on a cordoned-off set of exhibition tables.

No staffing is required or allowed for any exhibited pieces.

Note: The organizers are not responsible for breakage, theft, sale, etc. to winning items. Winners must pick up pieces at the end of the Salon (6pm in SF, 5pm in Seattle)

JUDGING

Judging will base its decisions on the images and pieces submitted. The consistency and innovativeness, as well as the technical ability, in which the submission reflects the designated theme and category will be the main criteria of Finalist selection.

ELIGIBILITY

The contest is open to all except TCB-Cafe Publishing or TasteTV staff and immediate family members, as well as the staff and immediate family members of the contest sponsors

All entries must be the original work of the Entrant. Entrant is solely responsible for obtaining necessary authorizations in order to submit their work (e.g. model release forms, etc).

CATEGORY SUBMISSION DESCRIPTIONS

1) FASHION: Chocolate or confection influenced designs can be made entirely of chocolate, partly of chocolate, with simple chocolate elements (eg. buttons, ribbons), or made from items such as chocolate wrappers.

The designs can be an entire outfit, a top or bottom, shoes, hats, or simply jewelry. (see these links for examples A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J). They can also be spin-off and related concepts such as Alice in Wonderland, Willy Wonka, 50 Shades of Chocolate, Parisian chocolate chic, Chocolate Steampunk, etc.

2) PHOTOGRAPHY / PAINTINGS: Photography can be of chocolate items, chocolate recipes, chocolate in use, chocolate in fashion, or chocolate as inspiration.

They can also be spin-off and related concepts such as Alice in Wonderland, Willy Wonka, 50 Shades of Chocolate, Parisian chocolate chic, Chocolate Steampunk, etc.

3) CERAMICS / SCULPTURE: Pieces should be of recognizable chocolate or pastry items, such as cakes, pies, rabbits, etc. We strongly recommend that entries not simply be chocolate colored without a related chocolate theme.

SUBMISSIONS

In this Call for Entries, all submissions for review should be in digital format, submitted online. Photographic slides and prints are ineligible, unless specifically requested by the contest organizers.

For fashion and ceramics/sculpture, digital submissions are for review. Actual pieces are required for the Exhibition.

Only digital format submissions are accepted when determining eligibility. Submitted work must have been created within the last four years.

All entrants must complete a Registration form. To enter and complete the Registration form, click here.

DEADLINE

All entries must be postmarked by March 6, 2013. Entries cannot be accepted afterwards unless the deadline is officially extended. Finalists will be announced in March 2013.

Finalists will be posted on this Competition website. All entrants are required to check that website to determine status.

The Annual SF Chocolate Salon takes place in March 2013, and the Annual Seattle Chocolate Salon takes place in May 2013.

There is no Entry Fees for these competitions. Entrants can submit multiple images or designs up to three.

Additional prizes and sponsors to be announced.

All winning images, art and fashion designs will also be on display on the CHOCOLATE SALON websites, as well as in a TasteTV video featuring the competition. Registration and more information at:  http://tastetv.com/ChocoDesignContest2013.html

  

Holman Ranch in Carmel Valley: a Pinot Paradise, and an All-Year Wedding Destination

By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov

 
In the month of love why not talk about a wedding… Um, not mine. That had happened incredibly long ago. My piece of good advice is for those who are in the beginning stages of wedding planning. I know, good advice usually goes unappreciated, but the place I want to tell you about is too good and underappreciated to remain undiscovered by the marrying public.  
The magical place, the historical place, it serves as an ideal gathering ground for all kinds of events, but very few people are aware of its physical proximity and poetical remoteness. Existing since the Spanish era, and maintaining its time-honored character alongside its modern comfort, this place was once called Casa Escondida (hidden house). It should not remain hidden any longer!

 
Thinking about Holman Ranch a month after my visit, I still can’t understand how I could have missed this landmark of the Monterey Peninsula on my many trips to Carmel-by-the-Sea and Carmel Valley. It’s always been there, at the top of a hill, just a winding mountain road away from the well-known bustling tourist destinations.

 
Its outpost in the Carmel Valley Village is a Holman Ranch tasting room, where my husband and I tried some estate sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot gris, and pinot noir – grown on thin rocky mountainous soil, ripened under the hot sun and blanketed in marine layer coming from the Pacific – to ultimate grape perfection, before we continued uphill to the stone hacienda surrounded by oak groves, where we were booked for the night.  

 
We spent a fair amount of time at the tasting room enjoying the wines that are distributed exclusively through the wine club membership and the Holman Ranch website. Approximately 19 acres of Holman Ranch vineyards yield a limited amount of the estate grown true varietals, especially for wine enthusiasts who know their pinots.

While I enjoyed a taste of crisp 2011 Sauvignon Blanc with aromas of lime, kiwi, and green apple, I liked the ruby-hinted reds even more – 2011 Pinot Noir “Heather’s Hill” with flavors of marionberry and black cherry, that comes from the highest part of the mountain; 2010 Pinot Noir, composed of four different clones, aged for 12 months in French oak and redolent of sour cherry and blackberry; and full-bodied energetic 2010 Pinot Noir “Hunter’s Cuvee” with pronounced taste of blueberry and raspberry jam – named after the eldest daughter of the estate’s current owners.  

 
Leaving the tasting room, we picked up an old-fashioned cast iron key to our cottage, and soon ascended to the top of the hill, where we were greeted first by a small herd of deer unfazed by our arrival.  

 
Hunter and Nick Lowder – respectively director and manager of guest services at Holman Ranch – met us at the hacienda for a delightful tour of the premises and a historical overview. At the time when California was still a part of Mexico, the land belonged to the Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmello, then to one of the first ranchers in Carmel Valley, Don Jose Manuel Boronda. Then, after the beautiful green acres at the top of the hill had passed through several hands, the Spanish-style hacienda was constructed in 1928, serving as a celebrity hideaway for Charlie Chaplin, Theda Bara, and other stars of the silent film era.

In the 1940s, Clarence Holman of Holman’s Department Store family acquired the estate and expanded it by adding guest rooms and a swimming pool, and turning it into a lively resort, used for Who’s Who parties and community events. The next generation of Hollywood stars continued to frequent the new center of Carmel social life – among them Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, and Marlon Brando.

 
Decades later, Dorothy McEwen purchased the Ranch in 1989, planted vineyards, built the stables, and continued to use the hacienda for various celebrations and events.

The current owners, Thomas and Jarman Lowder and their family started an elaborate restoration project in 2006, which brought Holman Ranch to its current splendor. Refurbished, refreshed, and updated, the place now looks like a dreamlike retreat from the everyday with its sunny lawns, flower beds, and chirping birds, far above the valley, surrounded by the blue ridges of Santa Lucia Mountains.

 
On the 400 acres of Holman Ranch there is enough space for everything, from stables and vineyards to elegant wedding celebrations. The Ceremony Lawn’s focal point is Ceremony Veranda with 360-degree views. Great Room is perfect for a dinner reception, while a charming inner courtyard leads to a cheerfully-decorated Chapel and Bride’s Room with full-length mirror, a large table and massive chairs, a.k.a. Conference Room.

 
Across the Rose Patio, lined by rose bushes and lemon trees, there is Groom’s Room that doubles as Game Room (but of course!) and a cozy bar with adjacent preparation and catering areas.

 
By the Main Plaza in the center of the estate there is an arbor that leads to the swimming pool, Carriage House, and charming cottages with guest rooms.

 
During our visit to Holman Ranch, between the booked weekend weddings, we fully enjoyed the serenity of the “hidden house.” The silence of the hills was audible, and the blue of the sky above was endless. The place looked gorgeous in winter, and I can only imagine how amazing it must be in the spring and summer, when all its flower beds are in bloom. I must hope to one day come back again – maybe, as a wedding guest.

 
Holman Ranch tasting room is located at 19 E. Carmel Valley Road, Camel Valley, CA. Call 831-659-2640 for more information, or visit; www.holmanranch.com