Category: Restaurants

I remember the first time I saw Lake Tahoe—I had just moved to San Francisco for graduate school. My then-boyfriend invited me to a summer weekend at his family’s cabin on North Shore. As a city girl, I had precious little experience with life more than 10 minutes from a shopping mall, and was instantly enraptured with Tahoe’s quiet beauty and mountainous grandeur. Six months later, the same boyfriend took me on a spontaneous Tahoe jaunt for another first—my first time skiing. And even though at the end of the day the Bunny Hill still seemed like K2 to me, there were plenty of other joys to be had. I was amazed at how different and yet equally magnificent the blue lake was in its winter setting, and how crisp and clean the rustic terrain appeared with a dusting of snow. Hot chocolate just tasted better in the sweet mountain air, and surely Lake Tahoe had more stars in the sky than anywhere else on earth!

On a recent weekend getaway to the Napa and Sonoma Wine Country area, my husband Phil and I decided to explore a different side of this famous wedding region. To me, an ideal wedding locale allows guests plenty of options for exploration, and the towns of Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Petaluma certainly kept us happily occupied.

I was quite excited to learn that Monsieur Richard was launching a new enterprise, in gorgeous Carmel Valley: Citronelle by Michel Richard, which will debut in February 2008 as part of the newly transformed Carmel Valley Ranch. Considering how beautiful the Ranch was when I had the pleasure of staying there last year, I’m eager to see its sleek new look. (I appreciated that the suites were spacious and plush without losing that rustic flair one loves about Carmel.)

Food is a top priority at this resort, and we took advantage of as many culinary options as possible, from the frosty frozen grapes served by the pool to the entire dessert menu at Farm, their signature restaurant. Speaking of desserts, do you mind if I start there? We sampled at least 5 different confections, but the Apple and Cranberry Gallette with Crème Fraîche Sorbet was, in my estimation, a tastebud-altering experience. Simply divine.

After working hard all year, Here Comes The Guide rewarded its staff with a company retreat. When Managing Director Meredith Schwartz asked me to put this trip together, The Carneros Inn was the first place I thought of for our day of relaxation and fun. We are a really tight-knit group of women, but half of us work off site, so we don’t get to see each other as often as we’d like. This trip was such a treat! We got to have spa treatments, lounge by the pool and enjoy an amazing dinner at their restaurant, Farm.

Could you do Turkey Brownies for Thanksgiving? (That never would have occurred to me, but now that I’m thinking about it….yes, yes I could.) That might be too off-beat for your crew, but if you’re still hunting for some new Thanksgiving recipes to enliven the usual mix, check out master chef Joachim Splichal’s ideas in this past weekend’s Los Angeles Times Magazine .

I can’t be the only one who thinks the holidays are always better with some good wine. If you agree, grab your honey and make dinner reservations at the Duck Club Restaurant at the href=“http://www.herecomestheguide.com/location/detail/lafayette-park-hotel-and-spa/”>Lafayette Park Hotel and Spa for December 5.