Hola Says Adios!

[fusion_text]Adios Hola!Hola Adios

I remember the first day Hola opened in Belmont. People were lined up outside to experience a new high-end Mexican Style restaurant rumored to be fashioned after one of our personal favorites, Guaymas in Tiburon. So it was with great anticipation that we joined the throngs of people excited to experience a new place after the Pine Brook Inn’s 26 year tenure at this location.

My first order was to try their Posole, a dish we make at home each New Year’s Day. Sadly, they did not have it—next week they said.

Next week turned out to be every week until they finally just removed it from the menu. The Cilantro Rice that Guaymas was famous for started to slowly be swapped out for regular Spanish style rice.

The food became notorious for being decent at best, but the heart of the business really was long gone before the doors actually closed.

Today there was an auction at the restaurant, and the last of Hola will be no more. Now that the Carlmont Nursery is also gone, one wonders what will fill the location. The rumor circulating the parking lot today was steak a house? Here’s to hoping for some culinary diversity. Cheers![/fusion_text]

Why do We Celebrate Memorial Day?

It’s special days such as Memorial Day where we like to step back from the barbeque and reflect on what is we are celebrating and why. Of course Memorial Weekend is the unofficial start of the summer season and along with summer comes grilling, BBQ’s and cookouts. We’ve got a great recipe we saw on Bobby Root Beer RibsFlay’s BBQ Addiction for Root Beer BBQ Ribs which we’ll be trying out this weekend. We hope to inspire you to get your cookout on the right track, but first, we’d like everyone to ponder the meaning of this very special Day.
We observe Memorial Day on the last Monday of May. We honor men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally it was named Decoration Day. Decoration Day originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many of us will observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades–unofficially marking the beginning of summer.
The flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.
“The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.”—History.com
So while we hope that your Memorial Weekend is fun and you travel safely, we also hope we can all take a moment to remember the many sacrifices that we honor on this special day.

Looking For The Ideal Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe?

Horne of plentyToday we bring to you Michael Symon’s Turkey Recipe and our Piece of Cake Pumpkin Pie Recipe.

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays and we hope you’ll enjoy yours this year as well.

We’ve included our famous “Piece of Cake” up-side down pumpkin pie recipe which always get rave reviews and it’s a snap to make (see below).

And for our second offering, we bring you a recipe we tried last year which turned out to be one of the best turkey preparations we’ve ever done so we plan on replicating it again this year. If fussing over the bird in the oven isn’t your cup of tea or you’d rather spend time with friends and family (or football), then this recipe is for you.

It’s from Michael Symon, famous Food Network celebrity and Iron Chef, not to mention his famous restaurant accomplishments in Ohio–Lolita and Lola’s--the latter which we visited this summer.

The idea is to use cheese cloth soaked in a delicious herbal infused butter broth then wrapped around the bird to create a self-basting turkey where you put it in the oven and leave it alone. The result is an amazingly tender and moist bird with an extraordinarily crispy outer skin (is that redundant?).

This is the link to his recipe…

We think if you give these two simple recipes a try you’ll be very pleased.

Happy Thanksgiving from Drew & Christine Morgan!

If you’re looking to try something different this year for Thanksgiving dinner, or you’d just like to minimize how much time you spend in the kitchen, we have a recipe we’ve used for years that’s quick and easy to prepare and will wow your family or guests. We call the recipe “Piece of Cake Pumpkin Pie”, a play on words because of the simplicity in construction as well as the cake mixed used for the crust.

Pumpkin Pie

As far as we know the original recipe came from Café for all Seasons on Traval Street in San Francisco. When I worked at San Francisco State I always looked forward to the seasonal holiday treats they’d make and they freely shared their recipes.

Imagine an inverted pie made with a crust on top and then flipped over for presentation. The pumpkin is spooned right into the pie dish while the crust is made of cake mix and pecans and is sprinkled right on top before baking. Total prep time for two pies is less than 10 minutes. The end product produces a crisp crust with a cookie like texture enhanced by the pecans which add a nice crunch. Of course there’s the creamy pie filling topped with warm caramel sauce and whipped cream making this pie more than just pumpkin and crust.

These are best made a day ahead and refrigerated to help the pie set and free-up the oven for the rest of your Thanksgiving feast.

You can get the full recipe in a pdf here…

Should a Seller Disclose if Their House is Haunted?

Should a Seller Disclose if They Believe Their House is Haunted?Attorney's

Interestingly, this actually appeared in a case Stambovsky v Ackley which was brought before the New York Supreme Court in 1990 and later overturned by the Supreme Court Appellate division in 1991.

Facts of the case were that the seller had promoted their home to the community and in national magazines as being haunted, yet failed to make that questionable fact known to the buyer.

Upon learning of this ominous condition, the buyer asked for rescission of the contact and their deposit returned. The Supreme Court disagreed, yet was reversed by the appellate court a year later.

While the various factions tried to wrangle with the idea of whether or not a seller is liable to disclose something which cannot be proven exists, the courts found a way to do what science could not—claim the house was haunted with this finding, “Whether the source of the spectral apparitions seen by defendant seller are parapsychic or psychogenic, having reported their presence in both a national publication (Readers’ Digest) and the local press (in 1977 and 1982, respectively), defendant is estopped to deny their existence and, as a matter of law, the house is haunted.”

With wit and a bit of spiritual humor the judges explained their reasoning:

“…a very practical problem arises with respect to the discovery of a paranormal phenomenon: “Who you gonna’ call?” as a title song to the movie “Ghostbusters” asks.”

“…It portends that the prudent attorney will establish an escrow account lest the subject of the transaction come back to haunt him. In the interest of avoiding such untenable consequences, the notion that a haunting is a condition which can and should be ascertained upon reasonable inspection of the premises is a hobgoblin which should be exorcised from the body of legal precedent and laid quietly to rest.”

So if when selling your home you find yourself frightened of how much you need to disclose, this case may just spook you into disclosing more ghastly details, rather than less.

Happy Halloween!

You can read the full case here…

October’s Hunter’s Moon 2013

This week marks the occasion of the “Hunter’s Moon. A full moon which occurs each October after September’s Harvest Moon.

This can be found on NASA’s web site. According to folklore, October’s full moon is called the “Hunter’s Moon” or sometimes the “Blood Moon.” It gets its name from hunters who tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead. You can picture them: silent figures padding through the forest, the moon overhead, pale as a corpse, its cold light betraying the creatures of the wood.

So how many moons do we really have? Twelve to be exact:october-2013-partial-lunar-eclipse_72598_990x742

  • January – Wolf Moon 
  • February – Snow Moon 
  • March – Worm Moon 
  • April – Pink Moon 
  • May – Flower Moon 
  • June – Strawberry Moon 
  • July – Buck Moon 
  • August – Sturgeon Moon 
  • September – Harvest Moon 
  • October – Hunter’s Moon 
  • November – Beaver Moon 
  • December – Cold Moon

Ever wonder why the moon appears so large at the horizon and so small up in the sky? This phenomenon referred to the “Moon Illusion” is best explained by scientists but it has everything to do with your brain’s perception of relative size as it compares the moon to objects on the horizon. Try taking a picture of the same moon and you’ll be sorely disappointed that your camera doesn’t see things quite the way you do.

Enjoy the show this week and as the moon rises near sunset and appears to fill the sky.october-2013-partial-lunar-eclipse_72598_990x742

Best Crisp Chicken Wings Every Time!

It’s baseball season again and with the weather getting warmer at our house that means cooking some chicken wings wingsfor game time.

When it comes to chicken wings, we’re both pretty picky. But we’ll share with you our soon not to be secret for making crisp tender chicken wings every time.

Of course start with fresh chicken wings and try and get the whole wings as these will retain more internal moisture than already cut wings. We usually will prepare five whole wings at a time if it’s just the two of us.

My favorite part are the “flats” or the “clothes pins” and Christine prefers the drumettes and since she can’t eat as much I get some of each and nothing goes to waste at our house.

The trick to getting any fried food crisp is to start with a dry product.

After cutting the wings along the joint take a paper towel and squeeze each wing dry and then transfer to a bowl. We do this one wings at a time and go through several paper towels.

Next we make a mixture of ½ TBSP of garlic salt with 1 TBSP of baking powder—not soda. Sprinkle this mixture over the wings in the bowls and toss so they are evenly covered. Now let them stand for an hour or two at least—overnight is fine too.

Heat the cooking oil (we use peanut or canola) to 375. We’ll cook ½ of the wings at a time in the basket. Overcrowding any fried food will mean that all of the steam escaping is steaming your food not frying it crisp.

I’ll set the timer for four minutes and then pull out the wings, allow the oil to drip off and transfer these to a clean bowl with a paper towel in it. Once the fryer has recovered to the desired temperature cook the next batch and so forth until all batches are done.

You can let these rest for as long as you want really because the next step is to fry them once again at the same temperature but this time for only three minutes. We can afford to double the number of wings we cook in the basket the second time around since most of the moisture is already gone from the first frying. In this batch we’ll add some sliced chunks of jalapeno & Fresno peppers for added color, texture and flavor. Dip these in baking soda too and they’ll be crisp as well.

After these are done we served them with many different sauces but always on the side. Unless you are going to inhale all 12 wings in a minute or two they will begin to get soggy right away. Allowing your guests to dip their wings in whatever sauces you have allows for variety of tasty creations and a crisper wing.

Can you bake these rather than deep fry? Of course, they won’t get quiet as crisp but the same principle of removing the moisturize—that’s where the secret ingredient comes in—baking powder.

Bon appetite!

Belmont’s Proposed Sewer Lateral Requirement Might Just Stink

Crocodile-in-the-sewer-urban-legends-231554_487_491

We initiated this post on the Belmont Patch and wanted to make sure the residents of Belmont know what their City Council is working on as the newest proposal in keeping Belmont’s residence safe.

I tend to stay away from expressing our opinions about the machinations of Belmont’s City Council but I thought their recent proposal which burdens every home seller with a sewer lateral inspection and repair requirement needs some public scrutiny.  

What is a sewer lateral?

It’s the underground pipe that runs from your home to the public sewer system.

What’s the issue?

In some cases, the sewer lateral can leak or even break causing sewage to seep into the ground—similar as to a leach field used in septic systems but not as sanitary. It also has the unwanted effect of possibly allowing ground water (from rain for example) to enter the sewer system which can overburden the system.

What’s the Fix?

First, you have to learn if you have a faulty sewer lateral. There is a relatively inexpensive smoke test which Belmont has been employing to detect faulty sewer laterals. The more expensive way to discover this is through a field test with a camera which is snaked through your sewer line to detect visible deficiencies.

How much does it cost if I need to repair my sewer lateral?

That depends. An short run and easy fix from your home to the street might cost under a thousand dollars but could also reach ten times that amount if there are difficulties in reaching the sewer lateral or, as in the case of many Belmont homes, the sewer lateral has a very extensive run across multiple properties before it reaches the main city sewer line.

What the City of Belmont is considering:

The Belmont City Council has been deliberating whether or not to force each homeowner to perform a test and if necessary repair the sewer lateral before they can sell their home. That proposal is called a “point of sale” or POS proposal.

What’s the problem with their proposal?

There are several issues with this approach which could cause a homeowner a problem should they need to sell their home and either not have the funds to repair the sewer lateral, or not have the time before the close of escrow. Amendments to this proposal include ways a homeowner could negotiate with a buyer to inherit the burden but so far the proposed workarounds appear to be at odds with lending and escrow institutional requirements.

What’s the answer?

The City of Belmont is currently testing sewer laterals utilizing a smoke test which offers the added benefit of detecting downspouts that may be discharging roof runoff into the sewer system rather than the storm drains. Should they find a leak they could then require the homeowner to repair their sewer lateral and have the opportunity to secure financing if needed.

The POS proposal seeks to limit the sewer lateral test to a relatively small subset of homes—only those which sell in a given year, which in 2012 was only 236—while the easily performed smoke test could potentially reach far more homes.

One wonders if the city is truly interested in fixing the sewer lateral problem or pushing it off onto those who will have little voice in the next election—those selling their home and moving away.

UPDATE–I attended the meeting with the Belmont staff and council on Thursday, the 14th to hear their newest idea of the Point of Sale requirement for sewer laterals. Be clear, the City Council has directed the staff to discuss how to best implement the POS, not whether or not the POS is the best way to deal with the issue.

Clearly there is a need to repair broken sewer lateral lines in our city. Having sewage seep into the surrounding ground is not ideal, but the larger problem appears to be the amount of water which enters broken sewer laterals during and after heavy rains. This water then ends up taxing an already overburdened treatment system and anyone who lives in Belmont knows the cost of maintaining our sewer system keeps getting passed along in the form of rate increases on our property tax bills.

But is it leaking water into our sewer laterals which is the major culprit or is it the city’s very own main lines? The smoke tests which the city has been performing clearly revealed one of the greatest issues are folks who have tied their downspouts into the sewer system rather than divert the water to run down the curb and into the storm drain. So again we question, are we moving forward armed with all of the information we need or just moving forward to give the impression we’re making progress?

The rainy season is almost over and we’d suggest the council, which appears ahead of their skis right now, take a step back and get more information and input before storming ahead. Gathering more information from lending institutions, title companies and plumbing contractors who specialize in sewer lateral replacement might prove to be a good start. Having the city deliver the results of their smoke testing to the public for scrutiny might also show some good faith that these decisions are based on solid data; then set a date for action prior to next years’ rainy season.

The question of course today is why a POS vs. requiring each property owner to test and fix their sewer laterals? If the City Council is truly concerned about fixing the issue, a POS requirement severs to only uncover a small percentage of the defective sever lateral lines—commensurate with home many homes sell each year. Since it’s an election year, this seems a politically palatable way to deliver bad news—only those moving would be affected by the cost (estimated to average $7,500 per household). But is it the best answer to the problem? Probably not.

If the council is truly concerned with the health and safety of its citizens it might continue down the path of requiring each and every homeowner to remedy this situation independent on whether or not they are moving. I’m struggling with this but the only reason I can see for not requiring every homeowner to repair their lateral is it would be politically unfavorable.

If the City Council has its way a POS would be eminent. The staff has been directed to develop a step-by-step plan for administrating this new burden. The proposal, if I can paraphrase it and as it stands now, is before a home could be transferred, it would need to have a certification the sewer lateral is intact. That encumbers the homeowner to order and pay for a sewer lateral camera inspection costing about $150-$200 dollars depending upon ease of access. The results of the test and camera footage shall be delivered to the public works department for analysis—promised not to take more than a day or two. If your sewer lateral passes, you get to pass “GO”. If not, you will be required to fix it and provide a certification to the city prior to the close of escrow. Of course the city will have its hand out for encroachment permits, building permits and so forth and they’ve offered no proposed relief on these fees in order for homeowners to comply. Or, the third option presented on Thursday, was that the buyer of the property could sign a pledge to repair the sewer later at their expense with 180 days of closing—and deliver a deposit as security of performance—an amount which has yet to be determined.

Of course this will raise all sorts of red flags for lenders, who if they get wind this requirement exists, will force the repair of the sewer lateral prior to the close of escrow as part of a lending requirement. So while we applaud the city staff for attempting a workaround, their third prong option still has some kinks in it. Namely that once the seller and buyer negotiate who will pay for this repair those negotiations will become part of the contract—the very contract the lender will scrutinize and thus require a sewer lateral certification before they will lend on the property.

As REALTORS, we’re used to handling city issues in the form of disclosure such as the new smoking ordinance, school boundary issue, or even dog and alarm licensing requirements so this newest burden which the city apparently feels we are fighting just for the sake of having to do less work, is really a non sequester for us. What this will burden is the home sale transaction—the seller and the buyer—to find a way to appease the city’s new requirement without unwittingly defrauding the lender at the same time.

The views expressed here are my own–Drew Morgan and not necesarily the views of the National Association of REALTORS, The California Association of REALTOS, The San Mateo Association of Realtors or even my wife.

Belmont Greek Festival – Free Tickets Just for Asking

It’s that time of the year again for the Greek Festival in Belmont.

Each Labor Day weekend the Greek Orthodox Church hosts its annual Greek Festival at the Church of the Holy Cross at the corner of Ralston Avenue and Alameda de las Pulgas. This year, the Greek Festival in Belmont will be held September 3th-5th 2011- Saturday, Sunday from 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM and Monday noon-8:00 PM . If you love to try great food and spirits you’ll be in heaven. The Greek Festival never disappoints when it comes to entertainment for the whole family.

As a supporter of the Greek Festival, we have complimentary tickets for you and your family. Simply use this form to request your tickets and we’ll get them to you A.S.A.P.

Greece 

Here’s some more information on the event from their web site…

Find the meaning of kefi (joy) in this three-day true Greek extravaganza. The Belmont Greek Festival will feature delicious Greek meals and desserts, nonstop music and dancing, exciting exhibition folk dancing, choral folk singing, a captivating mythology play, a fun children’s amusement area, and children’s entertainer Andy Z.

Up to 20,000 people are expected to attend, festival organizers said. All guests will receive a special 40th Anniversary commemorative program book containing articles about Greek culture, recipes, Greek language phrases, information about the festival’s history and photos from past festivals.

“Greeks are famous for their hospitality,” said Festival Co-Chair Gary Brenner. “Our Belmont festival was the first Greek festival in Northern California, and we’re so proud to welcome guests of all ages to our 40th celebration weekend.

“It all starts with lots of fantastic, mouth-watering food and drink,” Brenner continued, “and it keeps on going with the fun and excitement of our dancing, music and theater. Before you know it, you’ll be shouting, ‘Opa!’ just like the Greeks.”

Some of the favorite festival menu items will include souvlakia (Greek shish-kebab), barbecued lamb chops (with special Greek seasonings), spanakopita (spinach and cheese stuffed inside layers of filo pastry) and dolmades (grape leaves wrapped around ground beef and rice). Not forgetting the best Greek salad west of Athens, and roast lamb – the festival will feature 10 spit-roasted whole lambs turned for hours by hand before visitors’ eyes!

There will also be traditional homemade Greek pastries such as loukoumades (doughnut holes covered with honey), baklava (layers of nuts and filo pastry soaked in honey), kourambiedes (crescent-shaped butter cookies covered with powdered sugar) and galactobouriko (filo pastry filled with custard and covered with syrup).

Visit the taverna to sample Greek libations such as ouzo (anise-flavored aperitif), retsina wine and Metaxa brandy, and enjoy special wine tastings featuring Greek and American labels. Draft microbrewery beer and bottled Greek beer will also be offered to complement your meal, or just enjoy a glass sitting on the plaka (central plaza) while watching fellow visitors dance.

Cooking demonstrations will be offered daily – learn the secrets of Greek cooking and bring the benefits of a Mediterranean diet home!

Visitors also will enjoy continuous music from a live Greek band so they can dance the traditional kalamatiano, tsamiko, zeimbekiko and other Greek dances. The amazing “Sons of Ulysses” will dazzle the audience by lifting tables and chairs with nothing but their teeth!

In addition, several award-winning folk dance groups will perform throughout the weekend in their colorful, hand-made costumes. In an outdoor amphitheater reminiscent of the ancient theaters of Greece, children and adults alike will enjoy a special drama production featuring the heroes and villains of Greek mythology. The popular Festival Singers and Folk Ensemble will also perform Greek folk songs in the amphitheater.

Look for the Fun Zone children’s area in the shadow of the windmill, boasting games, rides, bouncy castles, crafts and more, just for young people. Don’t miss nationally-known children’s favorite Andy Z, a local singer-songwriter-guitarist who brings his award-winning show to the amphitheater on Saturday and Monday.

Tours of the award-winning Byzantine-style church, including the recently-installed mosaic iconography, will be given throughout the weekend, and the Holy Cross Church Liturgical Choir will sing during the church tour on Sunday at 2:00 PM.

Speak Greek? Visit the Greek Language School’s cultural booth, malista (yes)! Other festival highlights will include art, clothing, jewelry and gift boutiques, as well as religious icons and a bookstore.

The Church of the Holy Cross supports many charitable groups throughout San Mateo County, and each year, the church donates a portion of the festival proceeds to several local charities. Previous recipients of festival donations have included Samaritan House, Interfaith Network for Community Help (INCH), Children’s Advocacy Council, local schools and churches and the Belmont mayor’s choice of charity. In addition, Holy Cross Church sponsors several children from the Children’s Receiving Home of San Mateo County as special guests of the festival.

The hours of the Belmont Greek Festival are Saturday, September 4, and Sunday, September 5, from Noon to 10 PM, and on Monday, September 6, from Noon to 8 PM. The Fun Zone for children closes at 7:00 PM all three days. The Agora (our "White Elephant" room) closes at 6:00 PM all three days.

Admission is $5 for adults and $2.50 for seniors and youth ages 13-17. Children 12 and under are admitted free, accompanied by a parent or guardian.

For more information, explore their website further, or call (650) 591-4447. Yassou!