The holiday season is here, with its incessantly joyful music, lights aplenty and sparkly trimmings. But underlying the red and green, at least in America, is a swath of consumerism — the need to buy buy buy in order to give give give.

That latter sentiment led four artists to curate The $1 Burger Wars, opening December 4 at The Mill Gallery. Two-by-two paintings by more than 16 artists depicting cheeseburgers, greed and chain stores will deck the gallery walls. The pieces, two by each artist, are all for sale at the fixed price of $332.29, 32 percent less than the actual cost to produce the work….

Fran Gage estimates she has around 20 bottles of olive oil in her kitchen at the moment. The Bay Area writer plans to bring at least one of them to Capitola Book Cafe on Thursday (August 20) for tasting when she signs her latest book, The New American Olive Oil: Profiles of Artisan Producers and 75 Recipes. The event will also include the tasting of oils from local producers Valencia Creek Farms and Belle Farms….

You won’t find tomatoes in December or partially hydrogenated oils in the kitchen at Soif Wine Bar and Restaurant. What you will find is Chef Chris Avila preparing such stunning fare as a Wild Alaskan salmon tartare with creme fraiche, horseradish and crostini, the perfect pairing to a 2008 Chateau Puligny Montrachet Rosé. From the green bean salad with mission figs to the pan seared flat-iron steak, the dishes Avila creates at Soif are meant to complement the fruit of the vine. The actual pairing is left to wine experts John Locke and Patrice Boyle, with whom Avila owns the Italian restaurant La Posta in Seabright.

The Richmond native found himself in Santa Cruz in 1998 after falling for his now-wife Emily. Though busy, Avila took a few minutes from his schedule to answer some questions for Weekend Santa Cruz.…

Don your leiderhosen and get ready to polka, Sommerfest is here. This Saturday will be the fifth year the Tyrolean Inn in Ben Lomond has held an outdoor summer festival, celebrating the season German-style.

“It feels good to be joined arm-in-arm with your neighbors, swinging back and forth on a picnic bench, singing crazy songs,” said Whitney Parker, co-owner of the restaurant. “The simple pleasures of food, wine, beer and singing with your friends and family. That to me is what Sommerfest is all about.”

Soft and sultry, sharp and improvisational, big and bold. Jazz flows through the kitchen at Cafe Kuumbwa, where Chef Cheryl Simon can be seen cooking on Mondays and many Thursdays. The cafe, the kitchen inside the Kuumbwa Jazz Center, serves an entree dinner before Kuumbwa-produced shows twice a week. Two types of chili, salads and dessert are also on the menu.

Simon has fans among the artists who visit this well-respected venue. Singer and pianist Diane Schuur was apparently so impressed with the food, she made up a song about it on the spot. Dave Brubeck has called Simon’s food “the best dinner on the entire tour.”