Archive for Corte Madera
Good Wine Paired with Good People is a Great Combination
Posted by: | CommentsLast night I found myself at a Pinot Noir wine tasting event. You may have noticed talking wine is not my specialty. In an effort to live up to the mission of this blog I decided to get out of my comfort zone and go to this Pinot Noir TweetUp tasting. Mention the words Twitter or TweetUp in anything and I’m there. 
The event was held at Rick’s Wine Cellar in Corte Madera. It seems last night was a national Pinot Noir Twitter tasting event. People across the country drank Pinot Noir at the same time and discussed it live via Twitter using the hashtag #pinotnoir. Our event had the special added twist of trying the new glasses made by Andrea Robinson, The One glasses.
When I arrived at Rick’s Wine Cellar I was greeted by the bartender who asked if I was there for the Twitter event. She showed me to the back room where the event was happening. This room had a lovely table and chairs set up with a big plate of cheese and wine glasses on the table. The walls were filled with selections of fine wine.
The first guest to arrive besides Alana (@girlwithaglass) and I, were Doug (@sfdoug) and Jason (@Jasonswineblog). At this point I knew I was already in over my head. Here I was getting ready for a wine tasting with 3 wine experts. Rick, the owner (@rickswinecellar) asked if we were ready to start the tasting. He brought out 3 mystery glasses. He asked us to try each glass and to then guess where the grapes were from, what year the wine was and who the winemaker was. I’m thinking to myself yeah right. I wouldn’t have even known it was Pinot Noir if they hadn’t told me. One by one my 3 wine expert friends made their guesses on Bottle #1. Bottle #1, Bottle #2 and Bottle #3 made me think of The Dating Game: Bachelor #1, Bachelor #2 and Bachelor #3.
As you can see my head was not in the same place as my 3 new friends. While they were swirling the wine around, smelling the bouquet, twisting and turning the glass and talking about the taste… well, I was visualizing the 3 bottles sitting behind the wall on The Dating Game. When Rick got to me I said, “I plead ignorance”. Rick gave me a free ignorance pass on the first round but after that he forced encouraged me to play along. Of course, I never guessed anything right but my 3 wine expert friends were pretty far off in their guesses too so I didn’t feel so bad.
We tasted, we guessed, we talked wine. Alana was so sweet, she took the time to answer my questions about the wine and the tasting in English (ie. not in Wine language). I actually enjoyed myself and did not feel like a big dufus. Rick the owner was awesome; he took the time to sit down and explain to Nancy, Mike (@ATOMsanRafael) and I how important it is to match the right glass with the right wine. I’d heard this before but didn’t really believe it. Rick had us try the same wine in 3 different glasses, and you know what? It did taste and smell different! Nancy actually went home with some new @AndreaWine glasses.
Alana who is an expert at pairing food and wine taught me all about how different cheeses work with different wines. The food you eat can change your wine tasting experience.
I learned a fun little insider tip for Marinites. If you purchase your bottle of wine at Rick’s Wine Cellar and bring it to many of the local Marin restaurants and show them it is from Rick’s Wine Cellar, the restaurant will not charge you a corkage fee. Pacific Catch in Corte Madera is one of these restaurants. The full list of restaurants that offer free corkage of Rick’s Wine Cellar wine is on the Website: http://www.rickswinecellar.com/
Even though I’m more of a beer or champagne girl I really enjoyed the Pinot Noir Twitter Tasting last night. I learned that good wine paired with good people is a great combination!
Marin Twitter Tribe at Pacific Catch
Posted by: | CommentsLast Wednesday we had our Marin Twitter Tribe lunch at Pacific Catch in Corte Madera.
I wanted to thank @PacificCatch for another awesome TweetUp! Pacfic Catch is by far the most generous and hip-to-social-media restaurant out there.
When we tell Pacific Catch we are coming for lunch they get excited, they reserve a table for us, they prepare us some appetizers, they are attentive and they join the party by sitting down and getting to know us. Pacific Catch we love you!
We all enjoyed some of Pacific Catch’s Fresh Hawaiian Poke (sushi-grade ahi tuna in a sesame-soy marinade with wonton crisps) along with some other wonderful treats. I was so busy socializing I forgot exactly what I was eating but I do remember it was tasty. I ordered the California Roll for my meal and had a refreshing juice blend called the POG to drink made of Pineapple, Orange and Guava. Perfect on a warm sunny day!
I also want to thank everyone that comes out for the Twitter Tribe lunches!
We had some special guests at this last TweetUp. @MelRovens brought some little tweeps of her own. She had recently rescued some baby birds and since they needed around the clock care she brought them to the TweetUp in a basket. They were SO tiny and cute. (Don’t worry, she knows what she is doing. She’s rescued birds before.)
Our next Marin Twitter Tribe lunch is at Toast Novato this Friday at 1pm. I hope you can join us. If you are on Twitter and in the area you are invited. I hope you can join us. Toast has some great salads!
Taste of Town Center – Corte Madera
Posted by: | CommentsTown Center restaurants and food merchants offer free samplings of some of their favorite delectables in the center courtyard
SATURDAY MAY 22nd, 11am – 2pm
Town Center Corte Madera’s center courtyard will be buzzing with satisfied sounds and enticing aromas as more than a dozen of the center’s food vendors and restaurants serve up complimentary samples of their most popular items – from sweet potato fries, to smoothies, to burritos, Hawaiian poke, pizza, shrimp rolls, BBQ and cupcakes. Taste of Town Center will take place outside in the center courtyard on Saturday, May 22nd from 11am to 2pm. Activities for children include free face painting and free balloons. This will be a perfect time to bring the whole family to sample the delicious offerings that are available at Town Center Corte Madera all year long, as well as a chance to visit their many unique shops.
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to showcase the many terrific food merchants at Taste of Town Center,” said Stan Hoffman, General Manager of the Town Center Corte Madera. “We hope everyone will come bring the family and spend the day sampling some of the amazing food that we have here. We hope that Saturday May 22nd marks the start of a new culinary celebration to add to our community event calendar.”
Restaurants and food merchants participating in Taste of Town Center include A.G. Ferrari, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, Barnes & Noble Cafe, Bryan’s Fine Foods, California Pizza Kitchen, Champagne French Bakery and Cafe, The Counter Custom Burgers, Il Fornaio, La Maison de la Reine, Pacific Catch, PF Chang’s China Bistro, Sur La Table, Teacake Bake Shop, Tully’s Coffee and World Wrapps.
Town Center Corte Madera, located on the West side of Highway 101 at the Tamalpais Drive exit, has become known as the Marin location for delicious healthy food, specialty clothiers and stores boasting unique home furnishings and gift items. Throughout the year, the Town Center hosts a number of community-driven events like the annual Trick or Treat Day for kids, the world’s largest Thanksgiving turkey which collects donations for Marin Community Food Bank, and free Christmas holiday gift wrapping by volunteers from Hospice by the Bay. For information, call 415-924-2961 or visit the Town Center website at www.shoptowncenter.com.
