Introduction

The Corvallis Epicurean blog is the successor to my newsletter, Living Well in the Heart of the Valley, which I published from November of 2008 through May of 2009. Both the newsletter and the blog are devoted to epicurean pursuits and focusing on Corvallis and the surrounding area. To forestall any confusion about the subtitle, I want to assure you that I am not here to discuss wellness, a term which, in contemporary usage, has come to be associated with a life-style characterized by health foods and homeopathic remedies. Mind you, I'm not promoting a diet of pork rinds and milk shakes, but I am among those who question whether the life of an ascetic is one really worth living.

Posts here will include, but are not limited to, reviews of restaurants, wines, beer, spirits and descriptions of wineries, breweries, distilleries and food venues. There will also be posts about entertainment events and even the occasional editorial.

Finally, I am dedicated to the proposition that living well need not be expensive, and I will be making an effort to promote those products and establishments which offer value. In these economically uncertain times, I and everyone I know are hoping to maximize the return on their dollar, and it’s my intention to seek out and report opportunities to do just that.