The wait is over for Northern California’s first Pinkberry.
The Korean-style tart fro-yo that started the whole craze will open Saturday, Jan. 17 at Santana Row in San Jose. You’ll find it in a pavillion in Santana Row that was once the concierge center.
Pinkberry serves two main flavors: Original (tart) and Green Tea. A new seasonal flavor makes its debut, too: Pomegranate.
Wine lovers will want to head to the Dry Creek, Russian River, and Alexander valleys in Sonoma, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 17-18, when bottles will be uncorked for exclusive tastes.
The 17th annual Winter Wineland event will have more than 100 winery owners opening their cellar doors for a post-holiday celebration that will allow guests to taste limited production vintages, both old and new. Food pairings and tours also will be offered. Look for special discounts on bottles and cases, too.
Among the wineries to visit are De La Montanya, De Loach Vineyards, Siduri Wines, and Korbel.
Price is $40 for both days; $30 for Sunday only; and $10 for designated drivers. To purchase tickets and to see a list of participating wineries, click here or call (888) 251-0560.
If you want to enjoy some crab with all that wine, you won’t want to miss Mendocino County’s Wine & Crab Days at Brewery Gulch Inn in Mendocino, Jan. 30-31.
So you aren’t going to make it to Washington, DC for those glittery presidential inaugural festivities on Jan. 20. That doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate in your own delicious way.
Fork and Spoon Productions of San Francisco is offering the chance to “Celebrate Obama in Pajamas.” Uhh, that would be you in the pj’s, not the president-to-be.
Roll out of bed, and nosh on an eight-course breakfast while you watch the ceremonies on TV. Fork and Spoon will drop off this feast for you plus 11 of your most political friends the night before. Just heat and enjoy the next morning.
Feast on egg casserole with bacon and goat cheese, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit salad, malasadas (Hawaiian donuts), spinach salad, Hawaiian tropical punch, Bloody Mary mix, and a pound of Kona coffee.
Total price is $804.61 (Barack Obama’s birthday). Orders need to be placed by Jan. 16. To order, call (415) 552-7130.
Nick’s Cove in Marshall is getting in on the act, too, with its Presidential Inauguration Community Dinner, Jan. 20, which actually will be served all day long.
If you’re feeling a little hung over from all that revelry on New Year’s Eve, martinis might not be exactly what you want to see right now.
But just think: You have eight days to recover before the Martini Madness Challenge 2009 rolls around at the Saddles Steakhouse at MacArthur Place Inn & Spa in Sonoma.
The Jan. 9 event (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.), part of the Sonona Valley Olive Festival, will feature 10 bartenders from various Sonoma Valley restaurants and bars presenting their top martini for judging.
Enjoy the fruits of their labor (shaken or stirred?), along with appetizers and live music. Tickets are $40 per person ($45 at the door). There’s also an $85 option that includes entry to the Martini Madness festivities, plus a three-course dinner at Saddles.
Purchase tickets here.
For more fun Sonoma Valley Olive Festival events, head to Ramekins Culinary School’s Vineyard Room in Sonoma on Jan. 24 to partake in the annual Feast of the Olive Dinner. A host of chefs will prepare a five-course feast inspired by olives, with matching wine pairings. The chefs will work in teams of two to prepare each course using local, artisan olives and olive oils.
Salivating already?
You’ll have to hold that hunger until 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21 when Morton’s The Steakhouse hands out free mini prime sirloin burgers at all its locations nationwide, including San Francisco and San Jose.
It’s all to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Morton’s, which opened Dec. 21, 1978 in Chicago.