November 2011
29 posts
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A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs →
October 2011
39 posts
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“OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.”
– Steve Jobs final words
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We do not learn by experience, but by our capacity...
- Buddha
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5 Links, 5 Posts: Nopa Cocktail Series, Jerez... →
Yanni working on The Expat, which, in my opinion takes the cake as the most interesting and original cocktail from Nopa’s current Spiritual.
Last week, I took some time to explore our current feature of cocktails, Jerez Classic. I am over writing about it for now, but it was a fun…
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A Precursor: Setting the Stage for Our Discussion...
Though its almost over, October is, and was, Salmon Month. On the 13th of this month, Nopa participated in an inaugural citywide benefit, “Dine Out for Wild Salmon”. The night was organized by the Salmon Aid Foundation. The deal was, we’d feature wild salmon on our menu for the evening. All of the profits from each salmon dish were donated to the Foundation. I am happy to say that Nopa sold...
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Spiritual Quest: The Vigilante: Part 5 of 5, Jerez...
So here we are. The last post in the series, but fear not. I would not dare say that the quest is over, in fact, it is just beginning. There will be more cocktail deconstruction and analysis when the next spiritual enters in a new season. For now, we honor Jerez Classic by going out with the undisputed closer of the group, The Vigilante.
Vigilante roster
There is not really a soft way to...
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“the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. the second best time is now”
– chinese proverb
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Happy Birthday(ish) Alejandro Rodriguez!!
Yesterday was the birthday of Alejandro Rodriguez. He is the very talented Chef de Cuisine at Nopa. For those of you who have been to the restaurant, he is the one with his back towards you, on the dining room side of the kitchen. And if you’ve ever eaten at the Chefs counter, you’re undoubtedly friends, first probably on facebook, then in real life.
He’s the guy in white...
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Spiritual Quest: The Aristocrat: Part 4 of 5,...
Welcome to the cocktail that started it all. Even though it took us 4 posts to arrive here, this cocktail can be credited with spawning the concept of Jerez Classic. Say hello to The Aristocrat.
All of our drinks I admire, most I enjoy and are a few that I crave. The Aristocrat is one that falls in the latter. This comes as no surprise as the predecessor cocktail is the Negroni, which second...
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Spiritual Quest: The Flor: Part 3 of 5, Jerez...
Next up the cocktail with the prettiest name in the spiritual, The Flor. Taking inspiration from the classic cocktail, The Chrysanthemum, the aptly named Flor is a clever reference to both botany (chrysanthemum flower) and sherry. Flor is the layer of yeast that sits atop sherry casks, and is the essential ingredient in imparting the dreamy, nutty quality.
The Flor
Classic History
According to...
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Spiritual Quest: The 9 to 5 Cocktail: Part 2 of 5
This is the second in a five part series of our current spiritual, Jerez Classic. To read part 1 click here.
So, I hope its okay to go out of order. I am taking a small liberty in this series and putting the 9 to 5 ahead of The Flor, though on our list, The Flor comes first. The idea is that the classic in this case, The Martinez is allegedly the predecessor to the Martini. And when I think of...
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Spiritual Quest: 5 Boozy Posts About our Current...
Yesterday, Sarah, a Nopa regular from the neighborhood said that she likes to read the nopalize tumblr posts. Perfect! For only the second time someone has validated the hours of toiling away that could easily be afforded to a sleep deprived body. But nope. Instead on the ipad and interwebs scouting amusing and provoking content to bottle and share. So thanks, Sarah!
I’ve been feeling very vinous...
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sage
it is a pronounced and profound smell
i would not dare call it a stench; that word has no place as a descriptor for a lovely herb
it is stately. a woodsy, masculine perfume to scent autumn vegetables
whoever determined that this word should also be use to describe a character of supreme wisdom and insight should be commended.
perhaps in their own infinite wisdom, they could think of no...
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“there is no master choosing the soiled path and we require only the slightest...”
Tonight: Dine Out For Wild Salmon
Apparently October is the month for activism. Fair Trade, Non GMO Project and Salmon are taking turns hosting events and public campaigns to raise awareness for their respective fronts on sustainability. Tonight, eating salmon at Nopa will help raise money for SalmonAID. This shouldn’t be a hard sell; the menu reads Pan Roasted King Salmon, Broccoli Raab, Coco Nero Beans, Peppers and...
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“we are all capable of touching the infinite for we all hold the infinite within...”
– A Wizard
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“regardless of matter or content, there is generated a multi-layered, reflexive,...”
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Amy Brown, the Brunch Goddess →
Amy Brown, our fearless brunch leader, creator of all things delicious, this honor should be yours.
David Golovin, keep rockin’ the sausages!
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Musings on Recent Wine By the Glass Additions Nopa...
Cleaning out my inbox and found some of the recent write-ups from Chris Deegan, Nopa Wine Director. I am enamored with these two glass pours so decided they should get some air time. These notes were adopted from Deegan.
2009 Domaine Combier Crozes-Hermitage
Domaine Combier is one of my favorite Rhone producers. This is a statement of consequence since Syrah is one of my favorite grapes....
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“so what are we to make of all our hesitations, our self imposed mental and...”
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“Knowledge is the annihilation of the separation between me and the other”
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Drinking Earth: The Magic of Pu-erh, Part 2
Yesterday, I waxed on about the earthy delights of pu-erh tea. You can read about it here. In this post, I take the easy route, making analogies between wine and pu-erh, and also offer tasting notes.
As we tasted, at some point the dialog predictably shifted to wine—not surprising as pu-erh is undoubtedly the wine of the tea world. It improves with age and most of those we tasted were...
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Steve Jobs
The sad thing about geniuses is they always leave us too soon. They give us everything, and we are left to wonder what more could’ve been. Here, a post from August 26 after his resignation. RIP, Steve. Your inspiration lives on.
I was a late comer to the Steve Jobs phenomenon. In the Bay, Apple users are equal parts Apple evangelicals and Jobs disciples. I got it, but not like they did....
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Pu-erh Magic: A Tasting of Silk Road Pu-erh Part 1 →
Yesterday was pretty awesome. I popped in to Nopa to upload video from the Flipcam to our hard drive. I was making space for our tasting with Tom Bulleit on Thursday. I was surprised to see Xandre there too since it was his day off. I soon discovered he had an appointment with our tea purveyor to taste tea along with Brooke and Chris. The discussion of adding (or rather, reviving) pu-erh tea on...
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“I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for...”
– TS Eliot
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Part 2: 2009: The Year of Beaujolais That Took Me...
Welcome to Part 2 of the 2009 Beaujolais retrospective. Below is a profile of three of the wines from this vintage that have granted me a new respect for the year, and offered yet another reminder on the importance of bottle maturation. If you need a primer, check out Part 1 here. Enjoy!
2009 Thévenet Grain & Granite Régnié
People who are super into wine read both sides of the label....
2009: The Year of Beaujolais That Took Me a Year...
2009 Beaujolais. People couldn’t get enough of it. Jancis Robinson, whose wine opinion I value more than any other on the planet, called 2009 “The Year of Beaujolais”. Countless other writers and critics were early adopters compounding the fervor of the vintage.
If the title of this post makes no sense to you, I will quickly provide a diatribe on perceived wine snobbery and...
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Good Faith Farm: Raw Olives
The importance of olives and the olive tree date back thousands of years. From countless biblical references to ancient Greece, the olive tree has stood as a symbol of joy, abundance and victory; the leafy branches being used as crowns for the victors of games and war. The Roman poet Horace references the importance of olives in his diet at around 30 BC and the Koran regards it as an...
