September 8, 2009

In case you see some, er, heated protestors on Thursday September 10th, it's because there will be a "friendly march" in San Francisco as part of a national awareness campaign to ~LEGALIZE CACHAÇA~, hosted by Leblon Cachaça. The point of the "march" is to recognize Cachaça as its own category (like Champagne or Cognac) and not as Brazilian rum. The San Francisco march begins at Calzone's (430 Columbus Ave.) from 5pm–6pm, then Rose Pistola (532 Columbus Ave.) from 6pm–7pm, at Mangarosa (1548 Stockton St.) from 7pm–8pm, and finishing at 15 Romolo (8:30pm–11pm). Yes, caipirinhas will figure prominently.

Starting next Tuesday September 15th, ~JARDINIÈRE~ is kicking off a Curtain Time "Mid"-Night Special that will run indefinitely. The mid-night special will run in the J Lounge from 8pm–10pm on Tuesday through Saturday nights and will feature the following $8 cocktails: the Martinez, Tippler's Delight, Tequila Cresta, and the Bay Area Burro. The evening will also feature appetizer specials for $8 or less. 300 Grove St. at Franklin, 415-861-5555.

Next Wednesday September 16th is the Pig + Booze III dinner at ~ORSON~. The menu includes dishes like an amuse of "pork floss" with grilled sourdough ice cream and kimchee; tete de cochon en croute, a wood fire–roasted bone-in pork chop, and more. You can read the entire menu with the pairings here. The dinner is only $35, and you can take your pick of a cocktail or wine pairing for an additional $20. 5pm–10pm. 508 4th St. at Bryant, 415-777-1508.

Don't know anything about grappa? Want to learn something? On Thursday nights, ~BAR 888~ at the InterContinental will be hosting a weekly mini-education session on grappa with wine director and sommelier Amy Currens. She will introduce a new grappa each week, talking about various producers and how it's made. The class is from 5pm–6:30pm and is $12 per person. There is also a new Flights & Bites menu featuring four wines from Skylark Wines paired with bites from chef Dominique Crenn of Luce. Available after 5pm, $28 per person. Menu highlights include 2007 Skylark Orsi Vineyards Pinot Blanc with scallops, sunchoke, and apple; and 2006 Skylark Syrah, Unti Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma with pork belly, coffee celeriac, and caramel onion. 888 Howard St. at 5th St.

Mark your calendars: it now looks like ~EVE~ in SoMa will be having its grand opening on Saturday September 19th. 575 Howard St. at 2nd St.

Sommelier Paul Einbund is going to be working with Melissa Perello on her upcoming restaurant, ~FRANCES~. He will be the opening GM, eventually hiring someone to fill the position later, in addition to starting and maintaining the beverage program. He mentioned trying to have some wine on tap, and will certainly have some other surprises. 3870 17th St. at Noe.