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News of the Food Oh, Just Everything KFOG 104.5-FM's 11th annual Live from the Archives compilation disc--featuring live recordings made specifically for the station by such artists as Keb' Mo', Mark Knopfler, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Los Lonely Boys, Steve Miller, Ziggy Marley, the BoDeans, Peter Gabriel, My Morning Jacket, Alanis Morissette and a long list of famous others--has sold out at the Good Guys, its only brick-and-mortar outlet. Having raised some $3 million for Bay Area food banks, including the Redwood Empire Food Bank, Live from the Archives 11 is now only available as a digital download. Only 5,000 downloads can be made, with all 27 tracks plus the cover art and liner notes included, so the immortal time to act remains exactly now. It's all sitting there, just waiting, online at www.kfog.com for $18.99, making it still possible to do some coolio holiday shopping while benefiting the hungry. . . . Also benefiting the Redwood Empire Food bank are heroes Frederick and Peggy Furth, vintners who presented the nonprofit with a $100,000 challenge grant in June. Expiring Dec. 31, their funding matches new or increased gifts of $1,000. For details on giving, check www.refb.org. . . . Speaking of those with empty stomachs, the Sebastopol Sunrise Rotary Club is hosting a community dinner for those in need on Saturday, Dec. 25--known informally as "Christmas" to many of us--and volunteers are needed to help serve and prepare this feast. Help to warm hearts and stomachs that day at the Masonic Temple, 373 N. Main St., from 2pm to 5pm. If you can lend a hand or give a buck, call Michelle Filshie at 707.823.0817. . . . Moving rapidly up the pay scale, the Wine Appreciation Guild has released World Wine Challenge: Wine Regions, a must-have computer game for the enologist on your holiday list ($24.95; both PC and Mac). Set up as a game-show format and intended for two players, Challenge encourages each to digitally "spin" a wheel that is terrifyingly marked with some 22 international wine-growing regions. One must answer questions about designation, appellation, malolactics, acidity and other dizzying trivia tidbits. What, for example, makes a wine a "reserve"? Surely that special someone knows. World Wine Challenge is available widely at tasting rooms and wine shops. . . . On the restaurant beat, the E&O Trading Co., a Southeast Asian grill, has finally opened in Larkspur Landing. With highly acclaimed sister spots in San Jose and San Francisco, E&O's menu aims to trace the spice route. Honolulu native Barney Brown is at the helm as executive chef, offering "fusion" foods only when authentic. With satays, naans, Indonesian corn fritters and Vietnamese beef stew as mainstays, E&O is open for lunch and dinner daily. 2231 Larkspur Landing Circle, 415.925.0303. . . . Those desiring the upper reaches of gastronomy must wait until February, when the anticipated upscale pleasures of Cyrus are finally available to the public. Housed within the new Les Mars Hotel, which is behind on its construction schedule--not news to anyone who's ever participated in the slightest remodel--Cyrus will be prix fixe only, with three to five courses available. An artisanal cheese cart, said to rival that of the Farmhouse Inn, as well as a caviar and champagne cart, are among the planned offerings. Cyrus, named in honor of Cyrus Alexander, founder of the eponymous nearby valley, is helmed by Nick Peyton and executive chef Douglas Keane, collaborators at Market restaurant in St. Helena. Keane was tapped as a "rising star" by the San Francisco Chronicle when he chefed at Jadiniére, and Peyton is an accomplished maitre d'. Their fusion should be fantastic. Cyrus, 29 North St., Healdsburg. Reservations are already being taken at 707.433.3311. . . . Gretchen Giles [ North Bay | Metroactive Central | Archives ]