Currents

The Tangled Tales of Dan Hicks
Bay Area music legend Dan Hicks is back with Tangled Tales, an album that finds the one-time Rolling Stone cover boy reaching back to his early ’70s roots. The Mill Valley–based Hicks keeps it local on this disc—partially recorded at the Plant in Sausalito—performing with his touring band, the Hot Licks, for the first time in decades. The sound is rounded by an impressive list of guest musicians including David Grisman on mandolin, Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Roy Rogers on slide guitar, Richard Green on violin and Bruce Forman on guitar. danhicks.net

Mock Trial
Congratulations to Tamalpais High School for winning the Marin County Mock Trial Competition. The school went up against other local high schools to win the championship. Volunteer Lee Budish reports the judge in the case she attended declared he would “hire them all tomorrow.”

Half a Century Strong
Redwood High isn’t as large as other public schools but it is mighty. The student body has almost always been around 1,500 but it’s produced its share of famous names, from Mayor Gavin Newsom to Robin Williams and former MTV veejay China Kanter, in just 50 years in Larkspur. This April alums, students, parents and teachers will all be celebrating the Marin school’s 50th anniversary with a series of events including the inauguration of the athletic hall of fame, an open house, an auction and activities on the school’s campus. Redwood High School 50th Anniversary Celebration, April 23–26. redwood50.org

Splurge on a Deal in Sausalito
The Sausalito Woman’s Club will try and top its successful 2001 estate auction with a new themed estate sale chaired by members who have been procuring items from the homes of the club’s 300 women. Shoppers can find Hermès scarves, jewelry and designer gowns in the Diva section; straw hats and plants in the Garden area; Waterford crystal and silver settings in Tabletop; and steamer trunks, world globes and leather bags in the Travel section. The organization works to preserve the Julia Morgan Clubhouse, which is host to community programs, musical concerts, an annual poetry evening and more. April 4, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Spinnaker Restaurant in Sausalito. 415.332.2700, sausalitowomansclub.org

Kid Lit
The fourth Monday of every month Fairfax children’s book author Lissa Rovetch and Book Passage in Corte Madera are welcoming established and beginning children’s book writers and illustrators to a new Kid Lit Salon. Upcoming panel members include Lemony Snicket, Harley Jessup and editors, agents and more. 415.927.0960, bookpassage.com

A Quick Trip
Missing sunny Southern California? Beginning on April 30, Marinites can now travel between San Francisco International Airport and John Wayne Airport with Virgin America. The airline plans to fly five daily flights from SFO to SNA, with introductory fares as low as $59. With fares that cheap you can run the beach in Newport and catch the sunset on Stinson in the same day. 

Family Time
Families have a new space to call home with the opening of the Parents Center at the Heller’s children’s store in San Rafael. Moms can drop in to weigh and feed their baby while out and about in San Rafael. The center also offers classes and workshops on childbirth, newborn care, breastfeeding, baby sign language and more. 514 Fourth St (San Rafael).

Snacks Done Right
Most people can agree that sodas and fried chips aren’t the most nutritionally sound snacks for kids, but with the help of Sausalito resident Lisa Barnes (pictured at left), parents now have 150 reasons to forget unhealthy options and stick with after-school fare that’s tasty and organic. Her book Petit Appetit: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry includes recipes for pizzas, French toast, pretzels, popcorn and other treats, all with a good-for-you spin.

Business With Passion
Jay Hamilton-Roth is focusing on the positive. The Marinite is producing a television series that features guests who have turned their longtime passions into successful businesses. Each half-hour episode showcases a different business owner, from the president of a research and development lab to the CEO of a local design firm. The weekly show can be found in Marin on Comcast public access channel 26, and Hamilton-Roth is looking for local businesses to feature in future episodes. 415.389.8920

Get the Shot
Faded, torn, scratched, moldy or creased photographs are no problem for Drew Klausner. The San Rafael resident has been a digital artist at George Lucas’s visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic for 14 years, working on Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers and Indiana Jones. He has just launched an Internet-only digital photo restoration service that makes image repair affordable. Klausner can crop, color-correct and even remove elements from a photo. Pixlfixl.com works from a digital scan of a photograph and customers may also mail in actual photographic prints or scanned images on a CD. A custom quote is e-mailed for each job; payment is accepted online. After restoring each photo, Klausner presents an online preview for customer approval. The entire process takes from one to three weeks. pixlfixl.com

Pebble Beach Food and Wine
Marin chefs, foodies and wine enthusiasts head south

Epicureans, oenophiles and bon vivants are headed to the second annual Pebble Beach Food and Wine event April 16—19. The four-day event combines 250 wineries with 60 chefs, including Novato resident Michael Mina and Mill Valley’s El Paseo restaurant chef Keiko Takahashi, new Marinite Tyler Florence and Nancy Oakes of Boulevard.

New to this year’s event are the joint Thomas Keller and Tom Colicchio Grand Finale black tie dinner, where selections from the weekend’s finest wines are paired with a six-course menu, and the Michelin Stars of San Francisco dinner, which features the award-winning chefs from the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton, Fleur de Lys, Boulevard and Michael Mina. Grand Finale Dinner, $1,250; Michelin Stars of San Francisco dinner, $350.

One of the most extraordinary events is the Cristal Champagne dinner presented by Champagne Louis Roederer and Lexus. The Rouzaud family, who own Champagne Louis Roederer, is providing 120 magnums from its family cellar for the event. Cristal from 1979, 1988, 1990 and 1996 will be included, and Pebble Beach Food and Wine cofounders David Bernahl and Robert Weakley say it is unlikely this experience will ever be duplicated, $1,250.

For more information: Pebble Beach Food and Wine, 866.907.3663, pebblebeachfoodandwine.com

CADE comes to Marin
Can’t get to the recently opened CADE winery in Angwin but you’re itching to try the results of wine director Tony Biagi’s hard work? You can now buy CADE right in Marin at the Mill Valley Market, Porthos in San Rafael and at the Lark Creek Inn.
 
Bites
Arnold Eric Wong (formerly of Bacar and EOS) is now the executive chef of E&O Trading Co., which has locations in Larkspur, San Francisco, San Jose and Honolulu. Over in Mill Valley, the new Balboa Cafe is offering a bottomless mimosa brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Diners who order an appetizer or entree can take advantage of the never-ending bubbly for $9. Support Erica Holland-Toll of the Lark Creek Inn as she creates a multicourse dinner with Mark Dommen of One Market at One Market, to support the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture on April 7th. If you can’t make it across the bridge, test out Holland Toll’s cooking at the Lark Creek Inn’s Passover dinner, which includes matzoh ball soup with braised baby carrots and crispy gribenes, 5 Dot Ranch braised brisket with red wine mushroom gravy and more, April 9 through April 15. Locals Bill Higgins and Bill Upson of the Real Restaurants group, along with Mitchell Rosenthal and Steven Rosenthal and Michael Mina, all have been announced as semifinalist nominees for the the James Beard award. Winners are announced May 4. In San Anselmo, locals are raving about the new 155-seat Marinitas restaurant on Sir Francis Drake. The Mexican and Pan-Latin restaurant is headed by chef and owner Heidi Krahling and takes over the former Eat restaurant space. In Corte Madera, Rick’s Wine Cellar has partnered with several Marin restaurants to have corkage fee waived. Customers who buy wine from Rick’s can bring in the bottle to Benissimos, Izzy’s Steak House, Left Bank, Marin Joe’s, Pacific Catch, Pizza Antica, the Caprice, Spinnaker, Horizon’s, Piccolo Teatro and Saylor’s and must show a receipt or free corkage card as proof of purchase.