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FOOD - DRINK - FUN

Mountain View News Saturday, February 1, 2025


Peter Dills asks: 

ARE THERE TOO MANY 
RESTAURANTS?

You ever notice how there used to be just a 
handful of restaurants that really felt like a 
night out? A special occasion. You dressed 
up, you sat at a table with cloth napkins, and 
maybe, just maybe, the waiter wore a bow tie. 
That was dining. That was an event.

Now? Restaurants are everywhere. You can’t throw a breadstick without hitting one. 
They’re crammed into strip malls, tucked away in back alleys, even doubling as gas 
stations. Remember the Velvet Turtle? That was living! It was a place you told people 
about. Now, I can’t even count how many restaurants are on a single block.

And what happened to those big-name chains? Claim Jumper was the hottest ticket 
in town—until it wasn’t. The Sizzler? People would line up for that salad bar like it 
was an amusement park ride. And the Cheesecake Factory? Sure, they make a decent 
cheesecake, but do we really need a 30-page menu? Do people enjoy spending 90 
minutes just deciding what to order?

Restaurants come and go, that’s just the nature of the business. But what surprises 
me is how many keep opening. My city has grown, sure, but have we really grown 
enough to justify all these new places? I heard San Francisco and Pasadena are neck 
and neck for the most restaurants per capita. Is that something to be proud of?

Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not calling for some restaurant shutdown order. Let 
freedom ring! If someone wants to take a shot at running a restaurant, more power 
to them. But make no mistake, it’s a roll of the dice. My father, who made a nice 
living reviewing restaurants on TV, used to say he’d rather lose a finger than own a 
restaurant. And believe me, I heard that one enough times to believe it.

But I have to wonder—who’s funding all these places? You watch enough TV and 
you start to think half of them are just money laundering operations. Ask a restaurant 
owner why they did it, and they’ll probably say, "Oh, I can do it better." Can 
they? Or is it just another dream doomed to turn into an empty dining room with a 
'For Lease' sign in the window?

So, are there too many restaurants? Well, that depends. If you’re a diner, it’s great. If 
you’re a restaurant owner, it’s a war zone. Either way, it’s hard not to wonder—when 
did eating out stop being special?

But hey, you decide where you spend your dollars. As for me? Maybe I’ll just have a 
home-cooked meal every now and then.

Join me this Sunday at 5 PM on AM870 KRLA

Peter A. Dills

https://podlink/1116885432

FROM THE OLDEST CINSAULT 
VINEYARD IN THE WORLD

I’m Gustavo Lira, Tasting Room Manager and Wine Buyer 
at The Bottle Shop in Sierra Madre with another wine and 
spirits selection. 

This area that encompasses Sierra Madre, Pasadena, and Altadena 
has always been a gem. It’s home. It’s community. It’s 
our corner of the world. As we say goodbye to January, let 
us keep in mind all those who have suffered this past month 
and let us not waver in our commitment to supporting our 
friends and neighbors of this amazing community in the 
coming months and years. We shall survive and we shall 
thrive once again.

This week’s featured wine comes from the oldest Cinsault 
vineyard in the world. The Birichino Cinsault Bechthold 
Vineyard, Lodi 2023 is sourced from 137-year-old 
vines. These vines have 
survived all these years 
through brutal summer 
heat, no irrigation, and 
other obstacles. Not only 
have they survived, but 
they have thrived. Bechthold 
Vineyard is in Lodi 
and is beloved by many 
winemakers. 

You would think with the 
high temps in Lodi that 
this wine would be high in 
alcohol, super ripe, jammy, 
and out of whack. Nothing 
could be further from the 
truth. This wine is elegant, 
light-bodied, and smooth. 
It has vibrant acidity, and 
beautiful aromas. It reminds 
me of a Cru Beaujolais. 
The alcohol level 
comes in at around 12%. It checks all the boxes for me as well. It’s organic, it’s vegan, it’s dry-
farmed, and it tastes amazing. 

Only about 150 cases were produced, and we have a case in the shop right now. Don’t delay. Get 
this beauty right now. The Birichino Cinsault 2023 is available at The Bottle Shop for $29.99. Say 
you saw it in the Mountain Views News and get the MVN special price of $27.99. Special price 
good through February 3.

Until next time – Salud!

Scan the QRCode to sign up for our newsletter. 

THE TASTING ROOM


IDIOMS

ACROSS

1. Actor Driver

5. By way of

8. Bambino

11. Oscar De La ____

12. *Do this backwards to try hard to please

13. Range

15. Petri dish gel

16. Celestial bear

17. K-pop home

18. *Cold one is offensive

20. Sportscaster Andrews

21. Outer space path

22. Hold title to

23. *Take this to commit to marriage

26. Bullet factory

30. Even, poetically

31. Trim

34. Sitar music

35. Kon-Tiki and such

37. Be in a cast

38. Very, in music

39. Actress Barrymore

40. "Long Day's Journey into Night" 
playwright

42. Between Mar. and May

43. Annulling

45. Loads

47. Compass point between NE and E

48. Dugout river ride

50. Check-in via text

52. *Sign of nervousness (2 words)

55. One up

56. Lowest female voice

57. One quark plus one antiquark

59. Toothpaste brand

60. Riddle without solution

61. Cogito ____ sum

62. *Leg's partner, price-wise

63. Make a mistake

64. Robin's house

DOWN

1. "Eureka!"

2. *They cause no problems when they 
sleep

3. Nursemaid, in India

4. ____ 5, band

5. "Il Trovatore" composer

6. Garment insert

7. Month before Nisan

8. Torus, pl.

9. Word before sesame

10. *Cupful that's not for everyone

12. Adjective derived from bulb

13. Distorts

14. *Cutting these leads to poor results

19. Prods

22. Dot follower

23. Lost, in Provence

24. Live's partner

25. Hungry

26. Voting no

27. Like Fran Drescher's voice

28. Wide open

29. Bear digs

32. Group of buffaloes

33. *Breaking it relieves tension

36. *When these meet, one can afford what 
they want (2 words)

38. Remote in manner

40. Football's extra point

41. "The Call of the Wild" author

44. Gold bar

46. Dig further

48. One on artist's wheel

49. Communion table

50. Feline vibration

51. Unit on a list

52. *Easy piece

53. Ireland's other name

54. Duds

55. Edible tuber

58. 1990s negation


ALL THINGS By Jeff Brown 


REST AS THE OCEAN OF PRESENCE 

by Aliki Reddy & Jeff Foster

"So the invitation is just to rest as your deepest self. Rest as 
the ocean of Being, of presence, and to allow thoughts to 
come and go, sensations to come and go. Even to allow non-
allowing, even to allow resistance, even to allow contraction, 
boredom, numbness, loneliness, this radical inclusion.

The ocean radically includes and loves and cherishes and 
welcomes all of its waves. No waves work against the ocean. 
No thought, no sensation, no feeling that arises in you is fundamentally working against you, even if it's 
uncomfortable.

Give yourself a few moments of rest, a break from this project of trying to be someone, trying to attain 
something, trying to win something, trying to prove something, trying to get someone else to understand 
you, trying to win love, trying to become enlightened. Just for a moment, let all of that fall away. Let yourself 
sink. Let’s all sink together into the earth.

As Rumi reminds us, even that most uncomfortable or unwanted or darkest of waves may hold spiritual 
riches, may hold healing, may hold intelligence, may just be a part of you longing to be included, to be 
known as part of the ocean.

So just let go of trying to meditate and rest as much as you can, as this moment plays itself out, moment 
by moment. Let yourself sink into the chair, the bed, the couch, the earth. Let the earth itself hold you. Let 
yourself fall.

And if, during this meditation, you’ve found in yourself a place of peace, a place that feels contented or 
whole, safe, still, silent, see if you can stay connected to that place within you."

Have you noticed how the word, "rest," keeps coming up, again and again in these wisdom quotes? Could it 
really be that simple? Is ceasing all effort the secret that has eluded us for so long?

"The invitation is just to rest as your deepest self." It's not difficult to rest as the ocean of Being. It's not complicated 
to rest as the ocean of Presence. It's what happens naturally when you drop all the unrest you've 
been holding and carrying, when you drop all the thoughts that this is difficult.

"Let go of trying to meditate and rest as much as you can." Rest as much as you can. What a beautiful invitation, 
and one that our tired soul longs to accept.

"Give yourself a few moments of rest, a break from this project of trying..." trying to be and do so many 
things. Give yourself a break. In this moment, right now, relinquish all effort and let yourself fall into the 
most intimate connection you could ever have with this moment. Simply rest, knowing that there is nothing 
you need to do in order to enjoy the riches of presence because you and this moment are inseparable.


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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com