| table of contents | This week's tablehopper: under the weather. | ||
the
chatterbox the
sponsor
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OCTOBER 21, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO As
many of you have probably gathered, I really love my life, and
the people in it. Seriously,j’adore. And last week was no
exception. For starters, it felt like a proper send-off to the
warm weather I cherish so much (how I ended up in San Francisco
for 14 years and counting can be very puzzling to me). After churning
out the ’hopper on Tuesday, I scooted on up to the Kenwood
Inn & Spa with a friend in tow for a special dinner
and overnight stay. Gotta love that balmy wine country weather… I’ve
wanted to stay at Kenwood for so long, and let me tell you, it
lived up to my high hopes Thursday evening, I left for my mini-trip to Los Angeles, and I guess all of my running around and all the air conditioning and coming home to a cold apartment landed me a sore throat when I woke up Monday morning—totally the pits. Fortunately, Thai Place II is around the corner, so a big bowl of their Thai Place noodle tom yum soup perked me up. If any of you are sick out there, and I know a few of you are, this dish is a piping hot, tasty, and tangy medley of prawns, ground chicken, fish balls, sliced fish cake, bean sprouts, lime juice, and peanuts—I tossed on a little rooster sauce, and am now royally sweating my cold off as I write this. A monster portion for $7.25, so it’s now officially on my list of upcoming cheap wintertime dishes to order in.
Besides, I have to heal up my vocal cords for this Saturday, because I get to chat with Gayle King of the Gayle King Show, and ply her with some of my favorite San Francisco bites at the sold-out O You! (O as in Oprah magazine) event. Yes, I am oh-so excited. Like, totally. Besides, my Italian nature practically demands I feed people, or at least make sure they’re eating delicious things. (Basically, the genesis for this e-column.) I’ll let you know what Gayle and I end up nibbling! You know some grilled cheese is in the picture. Oh, and this week I am introducing a new section: the hardhat. Curious about what goes into opening a restaurant? Each month, we’ll be checking in on the build-out process of flour + water, a new restaurant project that is underway in the Mission. The hardhat will highlight the unique coups and complications when opening a restaurant in San Francisco. This section will be written by Erin Archuleta, tablehopper intern and half of the talent behind local outfit Ichi Catering. Enjoy! Lastly, there is a fun little giveaway in the lush that should appeal to you cocktailing types, so check it out! Cheers, my dears,
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AND the pictures on the website (for
a change)—what a dreamy oasis. The meal we had was paired
with Hop Kiln wines, and was scrumptious and satisfying—like
good “mamma” food, thanks to the charming chef, Renzo
Veronese. (Only guests of the inn can eat there.) So it’s really no
wonder the place just won the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice
Award as a Top Resort–US Mainland. Once I get a Sonoma jetsetter
together, I’ll be sure to share some pics and more details,
but I just had to mention it right now because the place was so
damned special.
Oh
yeah, how was my LA trip?
Well, I had high hopes of busting out some highlights in a honking
jetsetter piece this week, but I feel crappy so I am went to
bed early instead. Blah! Next week will be the recap, but my
three favorites: lunch at Pizzeria Mozza, the burger and fries
at comme Ça, and
my birria taco at Cactus Taqueria on Vine. I can’t wait to
go back to LA—my list is as long as ever, and will be shared with y’all next
week!
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And then this Wednesday October 22nd, ~ZINNIA~ is opening for dinner. Sean O’Brien’s cuisine + Jackie Patterson’s magic from behind the bar = excited diners. Open for dinner Tue–Wed 5:30pm–9:30pm, Thu–Sat 5:30pm–10:30pm, closed Sun–Mon. Bar opens nightly Tue–Sat at 5pm for cocktails. 500 Jackson St. at Montgomery, 415-956-7300. Opening for lunch on Monday November 3rd is ~PERRY’S ON THE EMBARCADERO~, which moved from its former Sutter Street location. The new digs come with 170 seats, including 24 on its Embarcadero patio. The menus are still not final, but here are some signature items you’ll see on the lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch menus: ahi tuna tacos, grilled local artichoke, crab cakes, the famous cheeseburger, French onion soup, Cobb salad, spaghetti and meatballs, sautéed petrale sole meunière, prime steaks, eggs Blackstone, and Willie Halnan's corned beef hash. The chef is Matt Nudelman, whose background includes the Elite Café, and Perry's on Union Street and Sutter Street. Breakfast Mon–Fri 6:30am–10am; lunch Mon–Fri 11am–3pm; dinner Sun–Wed 5pm–10pm, Thu–Sat 5pm–11pm; brunch Sat–Sun 7:30am–3pm; and a bar menu is available every day from 3pm until close. 155 Steuart St. at Mission, 415-896-9155. Over in the Sunset, ~EBISU~ will be closing temporarily on Monday November 10th for a remodel. They expect the construction to last four–six weeks, with the reopening slated for January 2nd, 2009. Once everything is finished, there will be a new upgraded sushi bar in the front of the restaurant, a complete redesign of the interior dining room, and upgrades to the kitchen. During the remodel, Hotei, Ebisu's sister restaurant across the street, will remain open and will feature the majority of Ebisu's menu; takeout and catering will also continue to be available through Hotei as well. Ebisu, 1283 9th Ave. at Irving, 415-566-1770. Hotei, 1290 9th St. at Irving, 415-753-6045. Sushi lovers, tomorrow (October 22nd) is the day you can access some ~VERY IMPORTANT SEAFOOD CONSUMER GUIDES~ put together by three leading ocean conservation organizations: Blue Ocean Institute, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The guides will rank popular sushi selections based on whether they are prepared using seafood that’s caught or farmed in ways that harm the ocean or pose a health risk to people. It’s no news that we are depleting our precious oceans, so it’s time to make informed and ocean-friendly sushi choices. As Sheila Bowman, Seafood Watch outreach manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium says, “The reality is quite simple. If you care about the future of the oceans, you’ll avoid red-listed sushi.” Which means popular items like bluefin tuna (hon maguro/kuro maguro) and freshwater eel (unagi) are firmly on the “red” list, as is farmed salmon (sake). These species are either overfished, farmed with aquaculture methods that pollute the ocean, or caught using methods that destroy ocean habitats or kill large amounts of other sea life. Items like wild-caught Alaska salmon (sake), farmed scallops (hotate), and Pacific halibut (hirame) are more sustainable choices, in part because they come from abundant, well-managed fisheries—or, in the case of scallops—are raised using sustainable aquaculture methods. You can download the Blue Ocean Institute sushi guides at www.blueocean.org; Environmental Defense Fund guides at www.edf.org/seafood; and Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch sushi guides at www.seafoodwatch.org. After months of paper covering the windows, ~PIZZERIA~ has joined the local pizza revolution and opened next to the New Yorker’s Buffalo Wings place on Valencia Street. The menu is focused on thin-crust pizza, with some pasta dishes, too, but in an interesting twist, owner Juned Shaikh is Muslim, and so you won’t find any alcohol or pork on the menu. As the first-time restaurant owner stated in an email to me, “I know you’re probably thinking how do you run a Italian joint with no wine or pork, its going to be tough but I feel if our food is pure and flavorful people will come.” So no asking for a mushroom and sausage pizza with a carafe of Chianti, people. There’s a huge brick oven, and the 10" or 15" pies include classic combos, like pepperoni, pesto, or veggie, but there is also the Popeye (yes, with spinach), a tikka masala version, and a habanero and jalapeno version that comes with a heat warning. There are also some salads and basic pasta dishes ($9–$11), with your choice of sauce over spaghetti, fettuccine, or penne, plus there are a couple kinds of lasagne. For dessert, there’s house-made New York cheesecake, made with “hand-cracked eggs”—no machines are cracking those eggs, no sir! No reports yet from anyone on the food, even on Yelp, so stand by. Hours are Tue–Thu 3pm–10:30pm, Fri–Sat 11am–11:30pm, Sun 11am–10:30pm, closed Mon. 659 Valencia St. at 17th St., 415-701-7492. Okay, I can’t believe the ~PURSE-SNATCHER~ is still on the loose. This is from a tablehopper reader who wrote in: “The infamous purse snatcher struck again last night (Friday 10/17/08) at Kokkari. A solo woman sitting at the bar was the victim. Management checked the security cameras and the description of the guy fit the previous crimes. The woman's bag was found about a block and half away with her cash and Blackberry missing.” Yuck. And I’m not sure if this next purse-snatching incident is the work of the one that’s making the rounds, but another reader wrote in to say, “My handbag was stolen from the back of my chair at an Obama fundraiser at Jillian’s in the Metreon … the thief had to get past two hostesses, and the two people running the fundraiser and a friend who was sitting opposite me.” Ladies, pllllllease watch your bags! Love oysters? I do, especially in the winter. Coming up is ~HOG
ISLAND OYSTER DAY~ at Piccino on
Sunday November 2nd, from 12pm–5pm! As the announcement
says, “Whether you prefer to eat them briny, cold, and
raw, barbecued, or both, please join us for a special day with
Hog Island Oyster Company. They’ll do the shucking and
grilling, and will also be serving up Hog Island’s classic
red sauce, one with butter, beer and garlic, and another made
from Point Reyes Farmstead blue cheese. We’ll be pouring
a thirst-quenching lineup of crisp whites and rosés, while
also firing up our thin-crust pizzas and tossing a few seasonal
salads. No reservations are required for this all-afternoon event.
Just a love of oysters, and a good time!” Word. 801
22nd St. at Tennessee, 415-824-4224. More Sunday action: ~1300 ON FILLMORE~ is launching a gospel brunch on November 2nd, and it will run the first Sunday of each month (regular brunch will follow on the other Sundays, and Saturday brunch is now discontinued). Local artist Michael Cheadle and the Future Perfect Band will perform at the brunch at two seatings; the first at 11am, the second at 1pm. There is a three-course prix-fixe meal that includes a selection of entrées, including scrambled eggs and bacon, a spinach and goat cheese frittata, cinnamon brioche French toast, or for those of you who like a savory brunch instead, there’s the barbeque shrimp n’ creamy grits, or the buttermilk-fried chicken sandwich. $39 per person, not including tax, tip, or a San Francisco health surcharge, but it does include a Bellini or mimosa, and dessert. Oh yes, and the corn bread with hot pepper jam, yum. 1300 Fillmore at Eddy, 415-771-7100. Saturday November 1st will be a free ~PUBLIC FRUIT JAM~ with
the art collective Fallen
Fruit. Bring fresh fruit and clean, empty glass jars to the
jam-making session in YBCA’s (Yerba Buena Center for the
Arts) YAAW Lounge. Fallen Fruit will also lead a discussion about
the basics of jam and jelly making, pectin and bindings, the aesthetics
of sweetness, as well as the communal power of shared food and
the liberation of public fruit. When the jam is done, the public
is invited to take the jam home, leave it for others, or trade
with other participants. Space is limited, so you might want to
reserve through the YBCA box office (415-978-2787). 12pm–5pm.
701 Mission St. at 3rd St., 415-978-2787. It’s fall, which means sweaters and scarves, and it also means the Ferry Building Marketplace is gearing up to celebrate its ~SIXTH ANNUAL HARVEST FESTIVAL~. The festival kicks off this Friday October 24th with an organic wine and beer tasting from 4pm–8pm. Ferry Building food vendors will pair with visiting organic vintners, distilleries, and breweries to offer sample snacks and accompaniments, many made with certified organic ingredients. Tickets are $25 at the door for ten tastes. The usual Saturday action will also include an apple cider pressing, an heirloom apple tasting, wool spinning, and butter-making demos. Inside the Marketplace, merchants will offer special seasonal tastings and products, plus there’s wine and a reading with writer Mort Rosenblum and confectioner Michael Recchiuti at Book Passage at 4pm. Sunday in the Marketplace will feature live music by folk musician Jackie Jones, gypsy jazz music by Golden Gate Hot Club, and communal tables decorated with fall foliage where visitors can enjoy their seasonal purchases. There will also be some kiddie-friendly activities, like the Barnyard by the Bay Petting Zoo, and face painting. For more info on Harvest Festival events, visit www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com. Market St. at the Embarcadero. CookEatShare.com just launched its first annual ~THANKSGIVING RECIPE CONTEST~, and users are invited to submit what they think are their most winning Thanksgiving recipes to be voted on by other members of the CookEatShare community. On Tuesday November 11th, the eight top recipes will be brought to San Francisco and prepared by local Bay Area chefs at Brick Restaurant for a tasting and judging. The event will run from 5pm–8pm, and the panel will include chef Alex Marsh of Brick and Solstice restaurants, Nate Appleman of A16 and SPQR, and Jeremy Cheng from Town, along with other members of the Nor Cal culinary community. The winners of the recipe contest will receive a feature on the homepage of CookEatShare.com, and contest partner KitchenAid has donated some prizes. Submit your family’s stuffing recipe, yo! Down in San Mateo, this Friday October 24th, the Festa
Foundation will be hosting ~THE CRUSH~,
a night of food, wine, and music at the San Mateo Elk's Club.
(The Festa Foundation is a local non-profit organization funding
Bay Area groups that help people with developmental disabilities.)
This fundraising event will feature local award-winning homemade
and commercial wines, a buffet from local food purveyors, a silent
auction, and live music. Here’s your chance to mingle with
some fellow Peninsula garagistes! 6pm–10pm. $45
at the door. 229 West 20th Ave., San Mateo, 650-438-3898.
|
Innovative. But cost effective. Zojo
Media – Everything
Web |
OCTOBER 21, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO ~ANA MANDARA~ has let well-regarded sommelier Joanna Breslin go, a belt-tightening move that I’m sorry to say we will continue to see happening more around town. Breslin was brought on a month after the restaurant opened in 2000—Larry Stone created the opening list, and under Breslin’s guidance, Ana Mandara has received numerous awards for its wine list over the years. The torch is being passed to assistant sommelier Ryan Williams, who Breslin has been mentoring. Meanwhile, Breslin is going to be doing some teaching at PCI (the Professional Culinary Institute) in Campbell while she considers her options. 891 Beach St. at Polk, 415-771-6800. Sometimes I get tired of reading about chocolate and wine pairing events, but when you have Michael Recchiuti guiding the tasting, I’ll cut some slack. The event, ~AN EVENING OF CHOCOLATE AND WINE~, will be held at Luce restaurant tomorrow, Wednesday October 22nd, with Amy Currens, wine director of the InterContinental San Francisco. The cost is $59 per person, all-inclusive. 5:30pm–7:30pm. InterContinental Hotel San Francisco, 888 Howard Street at 5th St., 415-616-6633. ~RUBY WINE~ in
Potrero Hill finally received their tasting license, and will begin
tastings (Friday Night Flights) this Friday October 24th, with
Carl Sutton of Sutton Cellars. Future tastings will include Dr.
Jerry Sepps from Storybook Mountain, Robert Perkins from Skylark,
Chris Brockway from Broc Cellars, and Daniel Madero from Kermit
Lynch, who will be pouring Champagnes just in time for the holidays.
This Friday's tasting will be $10 for four tastes. Depending on
the tasting, the fee will range from $10–$20. 5pm. 1419 18th
St. at Missouri, 415-608-7660.
~The Ambassador~ should
be reopening this Wednesday after some small changes, like new
seating options that were added upstairs, the DJ booth got moved,
and a few other tweaks. 673 Geary St. at Leavenworth, 415-563-8192. |
After a year of sitting dark, the 
Halloween Various locations
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OCTOBER 21, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO Not everyone wants to go out in costume for ~HALLOWEEN~, go dancing, or join the citywide mayhem. So for those of you who want to celebrate Halloween in a culinary fashion, here is a line-up of some events for you: Sent Sovi in Saratoga will
host its annual ~BIG SCARY BOTTLE~ event the day
before Halloween, on Thursday October 30th. Guests are invited
to come into the restaurant armed with a “big bottle” of
wine (magnum or larger) to share with other diners. This is a great
opportunity to sample some amazing wines from other people’s
collections while enjoying a four-course dinner prepared by executive
chef Josiah Slone. Cost per person is $85 (exclusive of tax and
gratuity). For reservations, call 408-867-3100. 14583 Big Basin
Way, Saratoga. OK, and here’s a party that will actually have you getting into a little mischief: ~CANTINA~ is
having its Second Annual Costume Contest on Halloween, with a grand
prize of $500 cash! The winner will be announced at midnight! Josh
B will be on the decks starting at 9pm. $10 at the door. 580 Sutter
St. at Mason, 415-398-0195. |
Red
Tie Gala Neiman
Marcus 415-646-0600 7pm–11pm $250 |
OCTOBER 21, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO I had a total blast at the ~RED TIE GALA~ the last time it was held in 2006—I mean, really, who doesn’t want to party at Neiman Marcus? This biennial event benefits the Little Sisters of the Poor-St. Anne’s Home in San Francisco. It is expected to draw a record 3,000 attendees and raise $1 million for the Little Sisters of the Poor who care for elderly poor residents at St. Anne’s Home on Lake Street in the City. At the Gala, each of the six floors of Neiman Marcus will be transformed by a team of designers to reflect the look, feel, and style of six different storied clubs from days gone by, including: The Cotton Club, Bimbo’s 365, The Sands, The Rainbow Room, A Night at the Roxy, and The Viper Room. There will also be eight bands. To see the line-up of restaurants that are participating, check out the logo-fest here. A
remarkable 100% of ticket sales for the RED TIE GALA will go
directly to The Home on Lake Street. (Eighty-two residents live
in the Lake Street home.) So get your crimson duds on, and see
you there! |
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OCTOBER 21, 2008 | SAN FRANCISCO Introducing this new section: the hardhat. Curious about what goes into opening a restaurant? Each month we’ll be checking in on the build-out process of flour + water, a new restaurant project that is underway in the Mission. The hardhat will highlight the unique coups and complications when opening a restaurant in San Francisco. This section will be written by Erin Archuleta, tablehopper intern and half of the talent behind local outfit Ichi Catering. Few restaurant purchases in San Francisco are turnkey endeavors, but some less decidedly so than others. David Steele, financier and Mission resident, and David White, a restaurateur who was most recently behind Nua in North Beach, have completely overhauled the former Mi Mazatlan Restaurant to create their own pizzeria, osteria, and enoteca: flour + water. Instead of hipping-up the old place, they have culled the city for pre-existing good fits to create an ambiance they feel will not be overly designed. They are eager to create a space “of the neighborhood, for the neighborhood.” The historic building befits the green idea of reuse. From kitchen items to unique décor, they’ve sourced the best bits for their diners. Even the espresso machine is one that David White built by hand and brought with him from his last restaurant. Their new big-ticket item will be a Mugnaini wood-fired oven. This build-out is expected to go through the spring. And so far, only rough plumbing and electrical have gone in. For more details on the project, you can read the original tablehopper chatterbox posting about it back in July. Sean Quigley, of Paxton Gate fame, joins them in creating a unique look for their neighborhood spot. In hiring Sean, they are looking for a place that resemble Sean’s aesthetic—the fantastic meeting the natural that Missionites have come to love and claim. While discussing the façade, Sean talked about needing a mural. David S., inspired at the thought of connecting with the local art community (as a board member of ArtSpan, he has a built-in network of over 800 artists!), decided to host a contest for local artists to showcase their work. In order to get the word out to artistic tablehopper readers, here are the deets of the contest: Artists are encouraged to create something that embodies the neighborhood as well as the nuances of the restaurant. The chosen mural should capture the theme of the restaurant: organic, natural science, patina, or reclaimed. Due to limitations within the space, the media must be restricted to painting. Interested artists should e-mail three jpgs of their current work and an essay about their plan for their mural to muralproject@artspan.org. Please keep in mind the images should be low resolution so that they may transmit easily via email. Submissions may also be sent on a disc to: ArtSpan Besides having the honor of painting this mural, the winning artist will receive a sponsored registration for SF Open Studios 2009 AND a complimentary full-color, full-page ad in the 2009 SF Open Studios Guide. The deadline for this call for entries is November 31st, 2008 at 5pm. The winning artist will be notified by January 18th, 2009. Questions? Contact Jennifer Mullen at jmullen@artspan.org and include “Mural Project” in the subject of the email. We’ll
be back next month with more news and an update on the project! |
All content © 2008 Marcia Gagliardi. I am more than happy if you want to link to my reviews and content elsewhere (thanks, glad you dig it), but republishing any part of them in any way, shape or form is strictly prohibited until we talk first. Please take a look at my Creative Commons license for more detail.
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