Being polite and being a pushover are not the same

I sat on my bicycle at the top of the zigzagging trail, pondering the differences between being “laid off,” and being “on vacation.” My final deduction…

Two legacy families team up to make Marin County cabernet sauvignon

Herb Rowland, 71, owner/operator (along with his wife Debbie) of Pacheco Ranch and Vineyards in Novato, tells a story about how he recently read in a…

Feeling the love for Valentine’s Day again

It certainly wasn’t a midsummer night’s dream. Firstly, it wasn’t mid-summer, it was mid-winter, and it wasn’t a dream, it was real. Only now, a year…

Lowering the Bar with the Barfly, Hanson’s “Inked” cocktail kit video

https://www.facebook.com/100001223194810/videos/3891422240908511/

Democracy is both messy and beautiful

For more years than I care to count I have worked nights. Those are typically the best shifts to work in the restaurant/bar business. And I…

Marin’s Tyler Florence weighs in on restaraunt industry, cocktails

As we head back into restaurant reopening and the slow march back to normalcy, it is important to consider what parts of that normalcy we might…

The most beautiful things in life are often quite fragile

It had to be a couple of years ago. It certainly was more than one. I know that because I was standing behind the bar and…

Despite the drama, it’s possible to miss it all

I received an email from a reader about last week’s column, How bad could it be quickly becomes apparent. “I love reading your Sunday columns, but…

Cocktails with all the taste, but none of the booze

According to Forbes magazine, 6.5 million people globally are expected to take part in “Dry January” this year, up from an estimated 3.9 million in 2020.…

How bad could it be can quickly become apparent

It was ten months of my life, which in the greater scheme, barely registers now as employment. Was there a probationary period? I don’t remember one,…