Punch Magazine January 25

18 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM chose El Granada to build their home, a modern marvel with clean lines and a wonderful view of that glorious ocean. (Page 80) January is an ideal time to venture out. In this issue, explore the latest additions and hidden gems in everyone’s favorite coastal charmer, Carmel-by-the-Sea. (Page 53) Most backyards are not at their best in the depths of winter, but it’s not too early to start planning for a bountiful summer. Read how an Atherton woman teamed up with a talented landscape designer to transform her property into a beautiful edible garden—and gather tips on the best plants to buy right now. (Page 31) If you’re longing for a change of scenery from the comfort of your living room, Menlo Park photographer Jennifer Fraser’s riveting images from around the world should do the trick. (Page 84) Also in this month’s pages are stories to tantalize your tastebuds. Chef Anthony Secviar of Palo Alto’s Protègè shares his vision for approachable fine dining and his painstaking process for preparing standout dishes at the Michelin-starred restaurant. (Page 61) Find out how Marianne Despres puts a personal spin on the classic empanada at El Sur, located in the same Redwood City building where her parents used to run a grocery store. (Page 66). As the holiday glow subsides and spring still feels far away, this in-between time offers a chance to slow down, count your blessings and think about the year ahead. January may not have December’s razzle-dazzle but it still has plenty of charm if you know where to look. Happy New Year! Andrea Gemmet andrea@punchmonthly.com {editor’s note} the year. We almost always go to the same spot, and every year we discover how the ocean has reshaped the beach’s familiar contours into something new. What started as romantic strolls shifted to fussing over a bundledup baby, then to skipping rocks and chasing seagulls, and (all too soon) to begging an embarrassed teen to please stand still for a photo. Every year, we change and the beach changes right along with us. Will this January 1 find us dodging raindrops or soaking up sunshine? Marveling at Technicolor clouds or searching for the sinking sun through thick gray fog? It has been suggested more than once that witnessing the sunrise on the first day of the year would carry more symbolic weight, but that argument holds no water here. Maybe if you live on the East Coast, where the sun rises over the Atlantic, it’s worth dragging yourself out of bed early (or staying up all night), but here in the mighty Pacific’s tempestuous embrace, it’s a ridiculous proposition. We want to gaze out at the endless horizon as the sun slips beneath the waves, and dream of faraway places. I find those afternoons on the beach, the sound of crashing waves filling my ears while the shadows lengthen, to be a profoundly humbling experience. It’s a reminder that the worries and aspirations I carry from one year into the next are vanishingly small in the grand scheme of things and shouldn’t be weighing me down. And it’s an opportunity to give thanks for my immense good fortune to be living in such a magnificent part of the world. Belmont’s Bruce Washburn clearly shares my love of splendid scenery found close to home. See how the Peninsula’s flora and fauna inspire his colorfully painted landscapes. (Page 73) After living in Tennessee for years, a Bay Area couple made a beeline for the Pacific coast and Over the years, I’ve celebrated New Year’s Eve all kinds of ways, from the childish thrill of staying up late for a sparkling cider toast with my brother and sister to salsa dancing the night away at rollicking house parties in Santa Cruz in my 20s. There’s not much to say about my teen years, which were mostly spent babysitting on the big night. After becoming parents, my husband and I hosted family-friendly potlucks with our neighbors, where our hyped-up kids would inevitably outlast the exhausted adults in the countdown to midnight. But my family does have one New Year’s tradition that hasn’t changed in decades: we head to the coast and watch the sun set over the water on the first day of

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