Education of the Modern Doctor: Marcus Welby vs. House 
For better or worse, Thousand Oaks is the de facto starting point for northwestern L.A.’s social and cultural influence as you’re heading southeast from Ventura County—but as a former nearby resident, I just think of it as another city that wasted too much time and money making way for too many new buildings with too little thought to reclaiming those that already existed. Take the other day, when I happened on a bottle of Cab that clearly said “Thousand Oaks” on the front label, the typeface hovering menacingly over an illustration of one measly tree! Clearly, the other 999 had fallen victim amid a bulldozer operator’s drunken holiday. In my smugness, I paid for my beverage and trotted out the door, forever persuaded that I was correct in my pinpoint assessment.
On further inspection, I had to defer to the reality of the situation.
In this case, Thousand Oaks is only the name of the Sonoma vineyard that makes the 2007 California Cabernet Sauvignon I bought— and if this is what a namesake does to the tongue, I can only imagine how the tree must taste. This guy’s actually more herb than fruit; you’ll definitely pick up on the oak touches as they couch the cherry and blackberry nuances. Something this robust needs a big fat buncha food to go with it, which is why I hauled out a pair of cube steaks and some potato salad once I got home. (The steaks were an easy choice, but until now, I hadn’t quite copped to the many uses for potato salad outside the bedroom. Live and learn.)
Beyond that, you can get this perfectly fine Cab for a perfectly fine $7 or so at your perfectly fine fave wine store. Get ready for a truly pleasant indulgence; this one is exuberant and plump, which is more than I can say for the Thousand Oaks I knew. Slash-and-budevelopment has never appealed to me, unless, of course, city council chambers are included in the plan.
