Category Archives: Travel Adventures

Hawaii Part 1: Bright and Early at the Honolulu Fish Auction

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The action gets going at 5:30 a.m. at the Honolulu Fish Auction.

HONOLULU, OAHU — Long before the sun comes up six days a week, Pier 38 is a frenzy of activity even in deepest darkness.

As early as 1 a.m., fishing vessels that have been 200 miles out in international waters pull into port to unload their formidable fresh catch at the Honolulu Fish Auction, the largest such auction in the United States. (The only other one is in Maine.)

The fish — bigeye tuna, swordfish, mahimahi and others — are weighed and tagged with the name of the vessel that caught each one. Then, the fish are put on display in row upon row of ice-heaped pallets inside an expansive warehouse kept at a frigid temperature to maintain the integrity of the seafood.

Fresh, whole opah. Can you guess why it's also called moon fish?

The male mahimahi have square heads, while the females have rounded ones.

At 5:30 a.m. sharp, the auctioneer rings a brass bell to signal the start of bidding on that day’s bounty from the sea.

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A Pampering Experience at the Farmhouse Inn in Sonoma County

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Wake up to fluffy oatmeal pancakes with apples at the Farmhouse Inn.

From the moment you arrive at the bucolic Farmhouse Inn in tiny Forestville in the Russian River Valley, you know you will be in good hands.

After all, Charlotte most likely will be the first to greet you.

This is one friendly, adorable black cat you will want crossing your path. The inn’s resident pet, Charlotte, keeps pests in check on the property. But she’s also not above sneaking into your room to take a snooze.

And what rooms these are.

Eighteen rooms, cottages and suites ($345 to $745 a night) dot the property, whose centerpiece is a pale yellow 1873 restored farm house. The farmstead has been owned for the past decade by siblings, Catherine and Joe Bartolomei, whose family has farmed in Sonoma County for five generations. Recently, my husband and I were invited to be guests of the inn for an overnight stay that included dinner at the famed restaurant on the premises.

Although it blends in perfectly with the 1800s property, this barn is a new structure housing gorgeous suites.

The rustic and thoroughly chic look of the suite.

Notice the pillow on the bed that looks like a certain cat?

The room's double-sided fireplace can be enjoyed from the deck, too.

We stayed in an upstairs suite in the newly built barn at the back of the property. The suite definitely has a rustic vibe — but one attuned to Ralph Lauren.  Bright, airy and chic, the suite featured a four-poster bed adorned with a pillow decorated with a black cat in homage to Charlotte, of course. A double-sided stone gas fireplace sat across from the bed and could be enjoyed from the other side outside on the deck, too. The bathroom featured a jetted tub, separate steam shower and radiant heat floors to toast your tootsies on chilly mornings.

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What is Portland, Ore.? (Part II)

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Pinot Noir grapes on the vine at Ayres winery.

What is Portland?

One of the finest wine regions around…

If you love Pinot Noir, especially ones with an earthy roundness in the style of Burgundy, you will go crazy for these made in the Willamette Valley.

I know I have. And it’s a love affair that’s lasted many, many years already.

Thanks to Travel Oregon, a group of food bloggers, including yours truly, recently was invited as guests to explore Portland’s famous wine region, which is considered the birthplace of New World Pinot Noir.

It was my first time to the glorious Willamette Valley, which sports 20,000 acres of vineyards, most of it Pinot Noir and almost all of it grown on  hillsides to avoid frost.

With 425 wineries, the Willamette Valley is as verdant and picturesque as the Napa Valley, but with a less touristy and corporate vibe. It’s still affordable, too, relatively speaking. While you practically have to be a neurosurgeon or Google employee #5 to afford to start a new winery in Napa, in the Willamette Valley, that dream is still accessible for regular, working-class folks with a bit of bank.

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What is Portland, Ore.? (Part I)

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A trip to Portland wouldn't be complete without a stop here.

What is Portland?

It’s where I had my first newspaper internship way back when at the Oregonian…

It’s where I learned it wise to carry an umbrella two out of three months that summer because that’s just how much it rains there…

It’s a pioneering eco-conscious city known for its great public transportation system, including free streetcar and bus rides in the downtown corridor…

And of course, it’s a region blessed with spectacular homegrown produce, world-class Pinot Noirs, incredible microbrews, legions of food carts long before it became trendy, and a vibrant restaurant scene any city would envy…

Thanks to Travel Oregon, a group of 25 food bloggers, including yours truly, recently was invited as guests to wine and dine our way through Portland.

Here are some of the tasty highlights:

A trip to Portland has to include a stop at Voodoo Doughnut, right?

Get in line behind the sign. And there's always a line, even late at night.

Trying to decide which one to order...

The one I had to have. Can ya blame me?

This doughnut shop is known worldwide and its wacky cruellers have even been featured on Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations.”

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Auberge du Soleil Celebrates Three Decades

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Roasted petrale sole served at a special dinner to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Auberge du Soleil's restaurant.

Thirty years ago, when most of the Napa Valley was still mostly farms and Michelin-worthy restaurants were practically non-existent, two men had the foresight to build a French-style, fine-dining restaurant on a magnificent hillside in Rutherford.

Robert Harmon, who had developed condo resorts in Hawaii and Lake Tahoe, teamed with legendary French restaurateur Claude Rouas, who owned L’Etoile in San Francisco, to create the restaurant at Auberge du Soleil. Four years later, the intimate 50-room inn was constructed. Now, the company, Auberge Resorts, operates a total of eight luxurious properties throughout the United States and Mexico.

The restaurant now boasts a Michelin star and quite the stellar list of chefs who have worked there, including the-late Masataka Kobayashi (founder of Masa’s in San Francisco), Albert Tordjman (owner of the quirky Flying Saucer in San Francisco), Richard Reddington (now owner-chef of Redd in Yountville), and Joseph Humphries (most recently, the head chef of Cavallo Point in Sausalito).

Chef Robert Curry, formerly executive chef of the restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, has headed the kitchen for six years now.

A private dinner on the new deck.

A view of the pool area from the new deck overhead.

Last week, he created a special dinner to celebrate the restaurant’s monumental anniversary. The four-course meal, which featured dishes influenced by each of the past three decades, was a private affair, enjoyed by Robert Harmon, his son Mark (CEO of Auberge Resorts), and a small group of local food writers, including yours truly.

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