My other two favs

Wine and Cheese! Oh, how I love wine and cheese. I've been known to exist on wine and cheese for hours. (Had a bit of a stomach ache after that, actually.) I was visiting a friend in Oakland last weekend and she took me to the greatest little shop in Montclair and I had to share it with the world (or the small portion of the world that reads this blog). If you ever find yourself in the East Bay and have a hankering for some tasty cheese, check out Farmstead Cheese & Wine. They have locations in both Alameda and Montclair.
If you're unfamiliar with Montclair, it's a little wealthy community east of Oakland on Hwy 13. It's super cute, and has tons of little shops and restaurants. It's certainly not enough to do for a day, but if you find you have some time to kill while in Walnut Creek, Oakland, or even on your way out of San Francisco, it's an easy stop. The original Crogan's is here (although it's white tablecloth atmosphere is strikingly different than the bar I used to drink myself silly at in Walnut Creek), as well as a great Thai restaurant, burger place, and Italian place I went to once. Too bad I don't know their names. Up one of the side streets is Farmstead Cheeses & Wines. My friend Catherine and I went in to get some cheese for our dinner that night.
I loved this place because they have TONS of cheese from all over and all different kinds, and you get to try everything! You tell the very nice man behind the counter what you like and what you're looking for (and even what kind of wine you're drinking) and he'll give you little samples to see what you like. It's brilliant. The prices are good too, we got 1/3 of a pound of each cheese and only paid $10. Grocery store prices (even TJ's) are much higher. I don't remember what we ended up with, but one was really rich and creamy, and the other was tangy, like a light blue, but without the stink. Yum.
We didn't buy any wine (my friends have a rockin' wine cellar) but I checked it out and found a few I recognized from 58 Degrees and some that were really interesting and different. The white wine I saw that I recognized was $9, and I think that's cheaper than it is here in town.
Their blog is really cool too if you're interested in that sort of thing:
You can find them at 6218 La Salle Ave, Oakland, or 1650 Park Street, Unit C, Alameda. Check them out!

New Obsession

Those of you who know me at all know that I love PBS. Especially during the summer, when network television only produces such quality television as "Nashville Star" and "Man's Best Friend," I turn to PBS for quality shows like "Masterpiece Theatre" and "Nova."

But my real obsession is cooking shows. I loved Food Network when I had expanded cable, but, alas, they don't provide that station with basic cable. So I have PBS. And pretty much all day on Saturday it's nothing but cooking shows. (Well, at 9:30am it's Burt Wolf's Travels and Traditions, but really, who can argue with that?)

My favorite, and my reason for telling all of you about this, is Gourmet Magazine's "Diary of a Foodie." For those of us who love food, drink, and travel, it's the perfect television show. They manage to make food and drink both exotic and accesible, fun and informative. And they share great recipies, like today's coconut crusted marshmellows. Yum.

"Diary of a Foodie" is on Saturday mornings on KVIE at 10:30am. You can also check it out online at www.gourmet.com/diaryofafoodie. Check it out!