A visit to Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland

We enjoyed a visit to the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Co. Cork on Saturday during a family vacation in Ireland. Ballymaloe is one of the world’s most prestigious cookery schools, and the only one situated on its own 100 acre organic farm. Darina Allen established the school in 1983 with her brother Rory O’Connell. Think […]

Lefty’s Grill now serves cocktails to go with its imaginative dinner menu

On Valentine’s Day, Lefty’s Grill in Nevada City began serving cocktails to go with its imaginative dinner menu, another milestone in its eight-year history. This week we visited with Chef John Cammack, a co-owner and one of the “left handed chefs,” at the popular Nevada City restaurant to discuss the cocktail program, as well as […]

Pete’s Pizza & Tap House: fresh oven-baked pizza, craft beers

PIZZERIAS ARE BOOMING THROUGH-OUT our region. Award-winning Old Town Pizza plans to open a third restaurant in Roseville in late summer, and upscale Pizza Bar opened this spring in downtown Truckee. One of the most popular pizza restaurants in western Nevada County, Pete’s Pizza & Tap House in Grass Valley, just expanded to a new, […]

Crowdfunding for food startups grows in the Sierra Foothills and Truckee

CROWDFUNDING, RAISING MONEY FROM a large number of people on the internet, is democratizing entrepreneurship. In recent years, the crowdfunding economy has more than tripled to more than $5 billion. Nowhere is the practice better suited than to our region, where entrepreneurs can launch their businesses with community donations. This includes becoming a “new bank” […]

Artisan pizza abounds in Grass Valley, Nevada City and Truckee

THE ITALIANS WHO CAME TO THE FOOTHILLS in the Gold Rush-era brought winemaking to the region, but they also introduced the tradition of baking in stone ovens. Area restaurants and wineries have revived the tradition, from North Auburn to Grass Valley to Nevada City to Truckee. Sierra Knolls’ Bear River Wine Tasting room, just off […]

Three Forks Bakery & Brewing Co. shows farm-to-fork boom

SOME OF OUR FAVORITE FOOD PARADISES are in the Bay Area, such as the Ferry Building Marketplace or the Rockridge Market Hall. Now a vibrant community of farmers, artisan food sellers and artists is emerging in downtown Nevada City. Located in the heart of the historic district on Commercial Street, it is anchored by Three […]

Pairing pizza with wine and beer

Pairing Pizza with Wine Italy is known for both wine and pizza, but suprisingly, Italians rarely pair the two together, according to FoodServiceWarehouse.com. Most Italians consider the best wine for pizza to be beer, and think that only tourists or Americans consume the two together. That said, many people do prefer a nice glass of […]

The Sierra Foothills’ Pizza Heritage

ONE OF THE CULTURAL TRADITIONS BROUGHT TO the Gold Country by the Italian immigrants was the tradition of baking in stone ovens, popular for pizza-making. Around 100 stone ovens dot the countryside where the Italians settled, according to the Sacramento Italian Cultural Society. Stella Restaurant in Truckee has a wood-fired oven, along with Sierra Knolls’ […]

Ice dancers White & Davis favorites: “peanut butter, crab legs (not together) and Red Hot Chili Peppers”

U.S. ice dancers Charlie White and Meryl Davis are set to make history as the first U.S. team to win a gold medal in the art of ice dancing. “Meryl & Charlie took one step closer to their dream of winning Olympic gold by winning the short dance in Sochi,” as their website reported. “Setting […]

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