Inhoudsopgave van May 2017 - Sunset

PEOPLE LIKE TO SAY that the Coachella music festival first drew them to the desert, but something else kept them here. Could be the desolate canyons and endless night skies. Or maybe it's the cool comfort of knowing that a midcentury masterpiece is just around the corner. Today's Desert Empire welcomes a new wave of architects, chefs, and artists who are transforming the valley—which stretches 29 miles, from the mansions of Palm Springs to the vast agricultural fields of Indio and Coachella—into their creative testing grounds. Mega-resorts have given way to mellow inns, overpriced steakhouses to chef-owned passion projects. And for the first time in a long time, people are skipping the pool parties to explore a growing network of hiking trails. The desert, you might say, is in the…

[The following content appeared in the Mountain edition.] Snow sports have long drawn Olympic athletes to this unassuming ranching community. But once the weather warms, ski season is replaced with "mud season," the rivers swelling and waterfalls thundering with just-melted powder. During this period of peak runoff, the Yampa River that parallels downtown allows expert kayakers to pull impressive stunts, particularly in a play hole near 13th Street. But you don't need to get on the water to reap the benefits of the snowmelt: Restaurant prices drop this time of year, the crowds are sparser, and at lower elevations, the just-turning-green meadows make for transcendent hiking. 7 A.M. Rise with the sun for a hot-air balloon ride with Wild West Balloon Adventures (from $175; wildwestballooning.com). Floating in a wicker basket…

NEVER MIND BEAKERS and bubbling potions—experimenting with seeds and soil can be just as exciting. That's what Penny Barthel discovered when she left her job as a middle-school science teacher to become a full-time mom and took up gardening in her Albany, California, backyard. "I think of each bed like its own little tidepool," she says. Over the past 21 years, Barthel has transformed her 900-square-foot garden by taking an approach that's one part scientific and one part free-spirited. Encircled by citrus trees, the yard today bursts with aromatics like lavender, lemon balm, oregano, rosemary, and thyme, along with edible flowers like bachelor's buttons and pansies. This slightly wild "fairyland look," as Barthel describes it, has been cultivated through trial and error, along with some serious studying up. Being short…

[The following content appeared in the Northern California edition.] IDEA WE LOVE A river of blooms Sometimes, it's worth abandoning the straight and narrow for a more free-form approach to planting. In this garden, a zigzagging path of cheery white Leucanthemum "Real Glory" adds movement and an element of surprise, as well as a hit of seasonal color, to a bed. The flowers wind their way through a bed of evergreen shrubs (variegated Abelia "Miss Lemon" on the left and mounds of Festuca "Beyond Blue" to the right). The daisies bloom nonstop from spring until fall and are hardy to –20°, making them a great choice in almost any Western garden. Every plant here—including the frondlike foliage of Mahonia "Soft Caress" (far left), lime green leaves of Ligustrum "Sunshine" (left…

[The following content appeared in the Mountain edition.] IDEA WE LOVE A river of blooms Sometimes, it's worth abandoning the straight and narrow for a more free-form approach to planting. In this garden, a zigzagging path of cheery white Leucanthemum "Real Glory" adds movement and an element of surprise, as well as a hit of seasonal color, to a bed. The flowers wind their way through a bed of evergreen shrubs (variegated Abelia "Miss Lemon" on the left and mounds of Festuca "Beyond Blue" to the right). The daisies bloom nonstop from spring until fall and are hardy to –20°, making them a great choice in almost any Western garden. Every plant here—including the frondlike foliage of Mahonia "Soft Caress" (far left), lime green leaves of Ligustrum "Sunshine" (left corner),…

WE'RE in a pine grove at 7,500 feet when we decide to stop for lunch. Sitting on a log, Emily Nielson, her cousin Aimee Trudeau, and their friend Mai-Yan Kwan get to work, layering avocado and kale salad on sandwich rolls and slicing lemon zest on a cutting board about the size of a cell phone. "A log will be a required part of the sandwich recipe," Mai-Yan says solemnly, looking out at the sweeping view of Angeles National Forest and then laughing. "It doesn't take much to make our recipes special, but the scenery helps," Emily agrees. We're backpacking into Little Jimmy Trail Camp in the San Gabriel Mountains, about 40 miles from Los Angeles and a 2½-mile hike from the car. As I attempt to revive my more…

BEST RETAIL SHOP ON THE BUS "I've always wanted my own small business," says Oakland resident Lily Alegria. "But it's disheartening to look for a space in the East Bay when you can't spend thousands of dollars a month in rent." So the plucky entrepreneur took a cue from other scrappy store owners and began searching for a vintage bus to turn into a mobile boutique. Her quest led her to an old Burning Man shuttle spotted on—where else?—Craigslist. "It was bright red and covered in stencils, fur, and sand," she recalls. "The moment I saw it, I knew it was mine." Ten months of mostly DIY renovations later, Alé Katz is in business, selling clothing, jewelry, paper goods, and home accessories by makers from across the country. Alegria has…

[The following content appeared in the Southwest and Southern California edition.] A saguaro-studded outpost about an hour outside of Phoenix, Wickenburg can seem almost like a movie set for an Old West town. Folks still ride horseback in the historic district, and public displays celebrate Wickenburg's gold mining past. But while history is part of the town's charm, that's not all it has going for it. You meander along green riverside corridors or climb up a steep peak; eat standout tacos or a steakhouse dinner. Even pampering has a frontier flavor: The local spa is housed—quite naturally—in a dude ranch. 5:30 A.M. Rise before dawn—it's worth it!—to climb the Vulture Peak Trail (blm.gov). The last 240 feet of the 2-mile route turns into a hand-over-foot scramble up a rocky chute,…

IN SEASON Power flowers You're probably familiar with the sweet periwinkle pincushion (Scabiosa atropurpurea "Florist's Blue"), one of the best cut flowers around. Yet you might not know its bolder siblings, cherry red S. a. "Scarlet" and velvety maroon "Black". All love full sun, grow 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide, and last up to two weeks in a vase. Order from Annie's Annuals & Perennials (anniesannuals.com). MUST-HAVE ON POINT Whether you hang it on a wall or rest it on a table, the Point Pot commands attention. It marks the first official foray into ceramics by garden designer Dustin Gimbel, who has long experimented with ways to merge his love of pottery and plants. Use it as a vessel for a trailing houseplant or a mix…

[The following content appeared in the Southern California edition.] IDEA WE LOVE A river of blooms Sometimes, it's worth abandoning the straight and narrow for a more free-form approach to planting. In this garden, a zigzagging path of cheery white Leucanthemum "Real Glory" adds movement and an element of surprise, as well as a hit of seasonal color, to a bed. The flowers wind their way through a bed of evergreen shrubs (variegated Abelia "Miss Lemon" on the left and mounds of Festuca "Beyond Blue" to the right). The daisies bloom nonstop from spring until fall and are hardy to –20°, making them a great choice in almost any Western garden. Every plant here—including the frondlike foliage of Mahonia "Soft Caress" (far left), lime green leaves of Ligustrum "Sunshine" (left…

GROWING UP IN A Greek American family, Charles Bililies was hooked on souvlaki at a young age. Later, he devoured the grilled-meat wrap—"the food of the people," he calls it—as he traveled through Greece. At home in San Francisco, he hosted his own spit-roasted barbecue parties. By the time he opened the first of his three Bay Area restaurants, Souvla, he knew exactly what he wanted in a souvlaki: "A confluence of warm and fluffy pita, succulent meat, cool yogurt, and tangy feta." As good as take-out souvlaki can be—and at Souvla, it's excellent—the wrap is well worth making at home, especially for a party. One sunny day recently, Bililies and executive chef Tony Cervone showed us why. The meat cooked fast and smelled incredible as it sizzled on the…

Remember your first briny oyster on a breezy shore? Food and memory are so entwined that we're dedicating our June issue to the recipes and reminiscences of some of the West's best chefs. To kick things off, we're partnering with Visit Oceanside (visitoceanside.org) to offer a Southern California escape for two (worth $5,875) that includes a $1,000 Southwest Airlines gift card; a four-night BeachFront Only vacation rental; a private dinner by a local chef using locally sourced produce; a half-hour Waverider helicopter tour at sundown; dinner at Lighthouse Oyster Bar & Grill; and local beer or wine tasting, plus other fun Oceanside activities. Find more details on our Instagram contest at sunset.com/oceansidecontest (Apr 17–May 15) for a chance to win—and make new memories of your own.…

Sometimes when she's diving alongside deadly sharks or holding her breath for four minutes underwater off some remote Pacific atoll, Kimi Werner thinks back to the day she learned to swim. She was 5 and her father, a spearfisherman who often hunted for family meals, began taking her to the reefs near their home in Haiku, Maui. She was fine in shallow water, but when she could no longer touch the bottom, Werner would start to flail, forcing her dad to paddle the rest of the way to the reef with his daughter on his back. One day, he swam ahead and watched as she splashed and cried and began to take in water. Eventually, she sank. "As soon as I did, I couldn't hear myself screaming," says Werner. "Instead,…

[The following content appeared in the Northwest and Northern California edition.] Over the past few years, Olympia has evolved from Seattle's edgy little sister into a creative capital. No wonder—it's a place that's awash in beauty. Mt. Rainier, with its year-round snowcapped peak, can be seen in the distance from most anywhere, and about 175 miles of bike lanes and hiking trails offer views of Puget Sound. That natural landscape has inspired sculptures and murals around town (made possible by a recent injection of public arts funding). Home of the riot grrrl movement, Olympia has held onto its reputation for cool too, with new distilleries and craft breweries, as well as visiting bands and cultural events at the 1924 Capitol Theatre. 9 A.M. Caffeinate for the day with a nitro…

Four days after our cross-country move to the Bay Area, my husband went to an estate sale and stumbled upon our new home. This unbelievable stroke of real estate fortune came at a price: Without any previous experience, we found ourselves enmeshed in a gut remodel of an almost 140-year-old house with knob-and-tube wiring, outdated plumbing, six layers of wallpaper, and an attic full of rats. Clearly, we were in over our heads. So we called in the experts: architect Ethan Andersen of Oakland's Drafting Cafe, who reconfigured key spaces into rooms fit for a contemporary family, and interior designer Lynn K. Leonidas, who provided the clarity and discipline to keep my quirky decor tendencies in line. Out of necessity more than anything else, my husband took on the role…

[The following content appeared in the Northwest edition.] IDEA WE LOVE A river of blooms Sometimes, it's worth abandoning the straight and narrow for a more free-form approach to planting. In this garden, a zigzagging path of cheery white Leucanthemum "Real Glory" adds movement and an element of surprise, as well as a hit of seasonal color, to a bed. The flowers wind their way through a bed of evergreen shrubs (variegated Abelia "Miss Lemon" on the left and mounds of Festuca "Beyond Blue" to the right). The daisies bloom nonstop from spring until fall and are hardy to –20°, making them a great choice in almost any Western garden. Every plant here—including the frondlike foliage of Mahonia "Soft Caress" (far left), lime green leaves of Ligustrum "Sunshine" (left corner),…

[The following content appeared in the Southwest edition.] IDEA WE LOVE A river of blooms Sometimes, it's worth abandoning the straight and narrow for a more free-form approach to planting. In this garden, a zigzagging path of cheery white Leucanthemum "Real Glory" adds movement and an element of surprise, as well as a hit of seasonal color, to a bed. The flowers wind their way through a bed of evergreen shrubs (variegated Abelia "Miss Lemon" on the left and mounds of Festuca "Beyond Blue" to the right). The daisies bloom nonstop from spring until fall and are hardy to –20°, making them a great choice in almost any Western garden. Every plant here—including the frondlike foliage of Mahonia "Soft Caress" (far left), lime green leaves of Ligustrum "Sunshine" (left corner),…

IT'S ONE BIG CHUNK OF ROCK. Stand on the Yosemite Valley floor, and El Capitan rises more than 3,000 feet above you, begging to be photographed. You step back to position your smartphone, trying to squeeze all of its granite grandeur into the frame. It's a legendary tradition, one that started in 1861, when an aspiring photographer named Carleton Watkins arrived in this valley and tromped around, lugging an enormous camera of his own design. The glass-plate negatives the camera produced were big enough to capture all of Yosemite's magnificence and changed not only Watkins's life but also the world. Reproduced in lithographs and 3-D stereoscopic views, the pictures introduced Americans in Boston and Washington, D.C., to the valley's wonders. They helped spark a dream, that a place this beautiful…

WINE PAIRING Mark Ryan 2014 "The Dissident Red" Cabernet Sauvignon Blend (Columbia Valley; $38) MISO-MARINATED FLANK STEAK with SALAD SERVES 4 / 30 MINUTES, PLUS 8 HOURS TO MARINATE Sweet-salty white miso makes beef taste wonderfully beefier. Marinate the steak the night before so it's quick to cook the next day. Serve with hot rice if you like. 6 tbsp. each white miso and unseasoned rice vinegar 4½ tbsp. toasted sesame oil ¾ tsp. red chile flakes 1½ tsp. grated or minced garlic, divided 1½ tsp. grated fresh ginger, divided ¼ tsp. sugar 1 lb. flank steak 6 cups torn butter lettuce (about 1 head) ½ cup thinly sliced radishes (about 2 oz.) 1. Whisk together miso, vinegar, oil, and chile flakes in a small bowl. Reserve ½ cup. Transfer…