Ken Striplin & Ken Pulskamp

Observed
After a weekend of fine stemware being poised in the nearly-upside down position (ooh... there's a little more left in here...) by thousands of very loose gooses (yeah, we know it's really "geese" but then the play on words doesn't work, does it?) Santa Clarita has finally proven to So Cal at large that we can kick 'em back just as well as the next town. Sure, San Fernando Valley may be celebrating Miller Time pretty much, well, always - but we now have a whole weekend a year dedicated to public imbibing. Emphasis on "imbibe." There was a whole lot of swirling, but the "spit" part of wine tasting was lost in translation. Chock it up to our inner cheapskate nature. With wine of this exquisite of quality, it just didn't make sense to attendees to voluntarily give up the grape. But enough talk of our communal blood-vessel-breaking practices...

Mouth-watering goodness

Let us discuss the premier wine experience that is the Loose Goose Wine Festival. T'was a thing of beauty, really. We were lucky enough to land much-coveted tickets to the sold-out Golden Goose Gala. The Asian-themed black-tie event was held at Bridgeport park with plenty of room left for dancing.

What people didn't have plenty of room for was dessert. While it was delicious, the main course was some serious eye candy. Cindy Smith, executive chef and owner of RSVP - The Catering Company, outdid herself. Read the next sentence only if you are willing to suffer from menu shame. Ok... don't say we didn't warn you. Smith's main course was beef tenderloin marinated in Asian spices, topped with shitake cream sauce and served over wasabe-mashed potatoes with sake-braised baby bok choy as the side. We're starving, how 'bout you?

Jorge & Sandra Lopez

In attendance were the likes of City boys Ken Striplin and Ken Pulskamp in all their handsome fanciness, plus SCVTV masterminds Richard and Chris Budman and Newhall Land diva Marlee Lauffer. Jorge and Sandra Lopez, owners of J&M Entertainment, took advantage of the evening off while totally bringing "Sexyback." Lastly, Jayne Fall and Valerie Masterson were also spotted - without their spouses. For those of you who know Chris and Ed, you don't need to guess where they were found. It was a wine (schmooze) festival, after all!