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Chef Mario Maggi, who hails from Florence but trained
in Milan, has worked in 31 restaurants around the world,
and this will be his first opening in San Francisco.
His menu of rustic Italian fare will include a grilled
Caesar salad and baked pastas, including a dish called sedanini
al credo, a type of pasta that he bakes covered with
a lid of pizza dough, almost like an Italian pot pie.
And reportedly the Emperor of Japan is crazy for Maggi's
tiramisu. Lunch and dinner will be served Mon–Fri, and
dinner on Saturdays. 360 Pine St. at Montgomery. Things are also in motion for the ~25
LUSK~ project (it's near Ritch Street
in SoMa) that has been in a holding pattern for
some time. Details are slim, but Chad Bourdon (formerly
of Farallon) and executive chef Matthew Dolan (New
York's Café des Artistes, Emeril's in New Orleans,
and Garibaldi's in SF) are the managing partners
on the project. The vague details I have about
the dining style are these: it will be "sophisticated,
contemporary, approachable fine dining." The opening
timeframe is approximately early summer 2010, and
construction is expected to begin soon. 25 Lusk
St. at Townsend. Opening today, ~URBAN
PICNIC~ is the new concept launching
in the former Chill dessert cafe in the Financial
District. Owner Trang Nguyen hired Poleng Lounge's
Tim Luym to develop a new menu of healthy and ethnically
inspired salads, sandwiches, and soups, ranging
from turkey with honey guacamole on a baguette,
to a house salad with additions like lemongrass
chicken, to a chicken coconut lime soup. Grab-and-go
selections will be coming soon. The location's
original dessert concept means there will be desserts
and beverages as well, including all natural–frozen
yogurt, frozen custard, gelato, and coffee. Open
Mon–Fri 10:30am–4:30pm. 125 Kearny St. at Post,
415-413-1233. Let's
look at some meals on deals... Want a delicious and homey three-course dinner for $25? ~IL
CANE ROSSO~ has decided to extend their
Sunday Supper $25 dinner to every night,
serving it from 5:30pm–9pm. Check out their site
for menu details, but last night's included kale
and apple salad with pecorino ginepro, toasted
hazelnuts, and thyme vinaigrette; Marin Sun Farms
brisket with horseradish aioli; soft polenta with
Pt. Reyes blue cheese; and snickerdoodle cookies
with Straus Dairy vanilla soft serve. Yeah, awesome.
One Ferry Building, # 41, 415-391-7599. ~ZARÉ
AT FLY TRAP~ is now offering a half-pound
beef burger with pickled sumac onions and one drink
(anything from their well, draft beer, or wine)
for only $15. This promotion is available Monday
through Saturday after 8:30pm at the bar. 606 Folsom
St. at 2nd St., 415-243-0580. Looking for something to do?
Saturday the 14th is the next ~YBCA BIG IDEA NIGHT~, which is fantastically free to the public. This one's theme is "State of the Queer Nation/Bridging the Gap," focusing on cultural distance and how to close gaps of misunderstandings between people. There will be a "Soapbox Social" from 7pm–9pm with queer luminaries each delivering a five-minute State of the Union address (including the inimitable Anna Conda), followed by cocktails and conversation. Seats are limited, so please RSVP at ybcafree.org. At 9pm, the party kicks off with performance art, DJs, and the Diamond Daggers, a fabulous queer burlesque troupe. Orson/Citizen Cake's Elizabeth Falkner and partner/co-owner, Sabrina Riddle have graciously donated "Edible Indulgences" (made of Scharffen Berger chocolate with chili pepper and pop rocks) to be given out by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at the party for a suggested donation of $3 or more (proceeds go to YBCA and Tenderloin Tessie's Holiday Dinner). There will also be warm pork buns with kimchee ($5), cold noodle salad with mushrooms, herbs, and peanut vinaigrette ($5), and cupcakes and whoopie pies ($3). RSVP at www.YBCAFREE.org for guaranteed admittance. 7pm–2am. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Grand Lobby and Galleries, 701 Mission St., 415-978-2787.
Feeling saucy? Sunday the 15th is also ~THE
BOSS OF THE SAUCE~ competition, with
20 local restaurants competing over who makes the
best tomato sauce. There will be food vendors,
like Caffé Bao Necci Pizzeria, Caesar's Italian
Restaurant, Palio d'Asti, Sicilianaire, and Guerra
Quality Meats, plus wines from Dalla Terra, Jacuzzi
Winery, Imagery Estate Winery, and Elizabeth Spencer
Wines. Cent'Anni Cocktails will be premiering a
special "Fall Apple Crisp" cocktail for the event,
and Moretti will be pouring their Italian brew.
For an opportunity to judge, tasters must be one
of the first 100 people to volunteer upon arrival.
Tickets for $20 are available here and
at the door. Doors at noon; event from 1pm–5pm.
Sts. Peter and Paul Church Event Center, 666 Filbert
St. at Stockton. Next Friday November 20th, ~THE
WILD KITCHEN~, with special guest Boris
Portnoy, is throwing a Spanish-inspired (but
locally sourced) foraged food feast at SoCha
Cafe in the Mission. The seven-course menu includes
Mendocino porcini toasts with local sea salt, hen
of the woods mushroom soup with Cowgirl crème fraîche,
acorn bread with honey-infused raw milk, saffron-scented
paella of wild foraged mussels and Boccalone sausage,
feta cake of Mendocino ocean water with Berkeley
foraged persimmons, black olive and foraged black
walnut financier, and wild Mendocino huckleberry
tapioca and wild rosemary chocolate mousse. Tickets are
$50. There will be a $10 corkage fee for wine,
as well as beer and wine available for purchase,
which will go to SoCha. Space is very limited.
If you have something you'd like to trade for
dinner, they are up to hear it (like the use of
a truck for Sat–Mon, or if you have restaurant
experience and can help out). 7pm–9pm. SoCha
Cafe, 3235 Mission St. at Valencia.
Also in Berkeley, the 28-seat ~eVe
RESTAURANT~ (site under construction)
will open in mid to late November from the husband-and-wife
chef team of executive chef Christopher Laramie
(Blue Door in the Delano Hotel in Miami Beach,
Everest in Chicago) and pastry chef Veronica Laramie
(Charlie Trotter's)—they have moved to the Bay
Area from Colorado. The seasonal menu will feature
New American cuisine in a prix-fixe only format
for $33, with choices of starters, main courses,
and desserts. (Additional courses are available:
five for $55, and seven for $77.) Examples of main
dishes include quail with pancetta, chestnuts and
star anise; seared black cod with miso, carrots
and almonds; and cappelletti with pumpkin seeds,
spaghetti squash, and blood orange. The wine list,
compiled with help from Alex Bachman (Charlie Trotter's,
Carmel Valley Ranch) will consist mostly of California
vintages. 1960 University Ave. at Milvia. Got a hot tip? You know I'd love it (and you). Just reply to this email. |
Despite its small size, Bi-Rite
Market has one of the best wine selections
in town. Wine buyer Trac Le's selection of artisan
wines includes great organic and biodynamic producers
from California, Italy, France, Spain, and beyond,
with more than 50 hand-picked wines under $15,
a selection of great food wines at all prices,
and bottles from cult producers like Quintarelli,
Pegau, Huet, and Radio Coteau. During Bi-Rite's two Holiday Wine Blitzes (November
12th–15th and December 10th–13th), all wines are
20% off when you purchase any 12 or more bottles. The
sale includes every wine in the store, and delivery
is free in San Francisco! For more details, click here. Bi-Rite Market, 3639 18th St. between Dolores and
Guerrero, in the Mission District. For more information,
call the store at 415-241-9760 or email trac@biritemarket.com. |
Also in the Haight, Giovanni Pagano will be conducting
an Intro to Italian Wines class at ~UVA
ENOTECA~ on Sunday November 15th from 2pm–3:30pm.
Guests will learn basic tasting techniques as they become
familiar with five unique Italian wines. $35. Call 415-829-2024
or email info@uvaenoteca.com to
sign up. 568 Haight St. at Steiner. Monday
November 16th is a cool winemaker dinner at ~COI~,
featuring Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon, who will
be reading from his new book, Been Doon So Long,
in between courses. Guests will get a signed first edition
of his book, and there will be a vertical tasting of
Le Cigare Volant. You can peek at the special menu here.
6pm. $175 (inclusive of tax and gratuity). 373 Broadway
at Montgomery, 415-393-9000.
~ARLEQUIN
WINE MERCHANT~ is feeling feisty, and
is hosting a "No More Nouveau" party next
Thursday November 19th. From the event announcement:
"Arlequin Wine Merchant will host an evening of
more than ten wine tastings celebrating the "real"
Beaujolais from award-winning Cru Beaujolais producers
including Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton, Pierre Chermette,
Jean Paul Brun, Alain Coudert, John-Paul Thévenet
and more. Cru Beaujolais wines from these featured
producers are made the "old" way—fermented on
natural yeasts and bottled unfiltered. These wines
are richer, broader and denser reds than the Beaujolais
Nouveau most wine drinkers are familiar with, which
is light and sweet with raspberry notes." 6pm–8pm.
$15; pay at the door. 384 Hayes St. at Gough. |
Hope
Brooks Meryman (1931–1975): Woodcuts from the
1960s Woodcuts
on paper by Hope Brooks Meryman made during her art
career in New York City in the 1960s will be on display
and for sale at Lost
Art Salon beginning November 12th. Meryman
was a master at capturing the feeling of a moment,
the atmosphere of a particular place, or the character
of an individual. Her life in New York City, her
vacations to New England, and her travels to the
Mediterranean informed much of the imagery in her
work. The opening
party for the Hope Meryman show is this Thursday
November 12th from 5:30pm–8:30pm. There will also
be gobs from Gobba
Gobba Hey and white jasmine sparkling tea
from Golden
Star Tea Company. The event is open to
the public. |
Thanksgiving various locations
|
NOVEMBER 3,
2009 | SAN FRANCISCO For those of you who have apartments that are too dang
small to cook ~THANKSGIVING~ dinner, or just can't
cook, here's a roundup of a few options around town.
I also find the OpenTable
list to be pretty extensive of what's open on
turkey day. Turkey and a View EPIC
Roasthouse is offering a multi-course
dinner with Dungeness crab cocktail with avocado,
pomelo, and cucumber salad and Meyer lemon aioli
and radishes; caramelized butternut squash cannelloni
with prosciutto, huckleberry relish, and blood
orange vinaigrette; pan-roasted Maine scallops
with ragout of sunchokes and cipollini onion, foie
gras sauce, and fennel-pear salad; wood oven–roasted
Branigan turkey with andouille stuffing, ginger
sweet potato puree, black pepper cranberry sauce;
and pumpkin gnocchi with chanterelle mushrooms,
spinach, and chestnut sage–brown butter; desserts
include warm apple tart with Tahitian vanilla whipped
mascarpone; persimmon pudding and spiced pecans
with Van Winkle bourbon ice cream and caramel sauce. $85 per person (12 and under are $40), plus tax and gratuity. Supplemental wine pairing is $35. From 1:30pm–6:30pm. 415-369-9955.
Slow Food Thanksgiving Americano is
offering a three-course dinner with selections that include
roasted butternut squash soup with toasted almonds, crème fraîche, and Dungeness crab; pear salad with little gem
lettuce, arugula, gorgonzola cheese, and riesling vinaigrette;
and Sausalito Springs watercress salad with Fuyu persimmon,
ricotta salata cheese, and pomegranate vinaigrette. The
main course includes a family-style Thanksgiving platter
filled with all-natural heritage turkey, Brussels sprouts
with lemon confit and chestnuts, Hog Island oyster and
fennel sausage stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, and
cranberry-orange relish. The sweet finish is a sampler
of seasonal desserts. Seatings at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm. $85 per adult and $35 per child (under 12). Wine pairings are an additional $25. 415-278-3777.
Mr. Miyagi's Thanksgiving Ame will
offer its regular menu in addition to a Thanksgiving
Day tasting menu, featuring tuna tartare, roasted squash
soup, seared Hokkaido scallops, turkey "porchetta," and
pumpkin glacé with cranberry orange compote. $85. 4pm–8pm. 415-284-4040. I Don't Wanna Eat Turkey Hate turkey? Want a steak instead? LarkCreekSteak is
offering a prix-fixe three-course menu with multiple
options. For starters, guests can choose from a little
gem wedge, Sonoma Liberty duck terrine, or roasted pumpkin
and hazelnut soup. Entrées include roast turkey with
fennel sausage cornbread stuffing, certified Angus prime
rib, or wood-grilled fresh fish. For dessert, there's
old fashioned pumpkin pie, bread pudding, or apple-cranberry
crisp. $49 per person, $24 for children 10 and under, and there
is no charge for children 3 and under. Seatings from
2:30pm–6:30pm. 415-593-4100. Boozy Turkey Palio
d'Asti will be serving their
third annual Italian-American Thanksgiving Feast,
featuring chef Scherotter's famous bourbon and
gin–braised turkey, grilled wild boar chops with
sundried tomato tapenade, and a dessert buffet. $59 per person, and children under 10 only pay their
age. 415-395-9800. 510 Thanksgiving Henry's at
the Hotel Durant in Berkeley will be offering a Thanksgiving
Day version of its popular "TV Dinners," with slow-roasted
turkey with gravy, savory cornbread stuffing, garlic
mashed potatoes, green beans, house-made cranberry sauce,
and sweet potato pie with cinnamon whipped cream, and
a holiday mulled wine. Only $19.95. 12pm–9pm. 510-809-4132. (NOTE: Both Pican in
Oakland and FIVE in
Berkeley are doing Thanksgiving events, call to inquire
about details.) Turducken You know you wanna try one. Chef/butcher Ryan Farr
of 4505
Meats is offering specially prepared turduckens:
a duck stuffed inside a chicken inside a turkey, all
never frozen and free range. The birds will be stuffed
with a chicken and duck sausage cornbread stuffing.
The turduckens will be approximately 18–20 pounds and
will feed 18–22 people, with some leftovers. Each bird
is $250 and they require a 50% deposit via PayPal to
process your order. Each turducken comes with a electric thermometer and
alarm probe in the center of the duck breast (the very
center of the turducken); directions on how to cook it
will also be provided. The turducken comes on a bed of
root vegetables with assorted herbs in a roasting pan
ready to cook. The deadline for all orders is Sunday the 15th (act
fast since they are only making a limited amount and
they go quick). The birds are available for pick up only
at their kitchen in Potrero Hill on Friday the 20th after
2pm, Tuesday the 24th after 2pm, or Wednesday the 25th
after 2pm. If you would like to order a turducken, email meat@4505meats.com to
confirm and include the date that you would like to pick
up. Once you have replied with the date, they will invoice
you via PayPal for the deposit. I Don't Want to Cook the Damned Bird Here are a few Thanksgiving "please cook it for me"
options I found: Joanna Karlinsky's Sweet
Jo's at the JCC will take
pre-orders of holiday dishes to-go (the cafe will
be open until 4pm on Thanksgiving). Sweet Jo's
will allow you to pick and choose exactly what
you want and how much of it you need. Fine
Foods at Home has a menu of
side dishes available (available for pick up or
delivery). Debbie Does Dinner offers everything from potato chestnut soup to turkey and gravy; all available a la carte (the menu should be posted soon on her site).
Wondering
what to pair with your turkey dinner? Past tablehopper winos include Ian
Becker and Carl
Grubbs on what they like to pair with
their Thanksgiving meals. On Wednesday November 18th, Steve Sherman is hosting
his 9th Annual "Wines for Turkey Day" at William Cross
Wine Merchants (and there will be bird!). 6pm–9pm,
$15 plus tax. 2253 Polk St. at Green, 415-346-1314. Beau Timken has this piece about sake
pairings. |
NOVEMBER 10, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO Looking for a unique read? Author Romney Steele creates
a beautiful storybook with 85 recipes in My
Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur.
This true tale of a famous restaurant, perched on the
majestic cliffs of California's Big Sur, celebrates
the magic and history of place through food and the
Fassett family, who started Nepenthe. As Nepenthe celebrates
its 60th anniversary, Romney—who grew up at Nepenthe
as the granddaughter of the founders—delves into her
own memories, those of family members, and the restaurant's
archives to recreate Nepenthe's years of bringing
writers, artists, dancers, travelers, actors, and cooks
together around the table. I will be giving away three copies of My Nepenthe.
tablehopper readers can enter to win by forwarding
this week's tablehopper newsletter to one friend,
but even more would be so very fabulous. Just tell
your friend(s) why they would dig a subscription to
the tablehopper e-column (not a blog!), or point out
an event or happening that you think your friend would
like, or this book. Simply CC or BCC luckyme [at] tablehopper.com so
I know you sent it—I promise I won't use anyone's
email address. Deadline to enter is midnight Sunday November
15th—I'll notify the winner next week! Here are local events in November with Nani Steele: November 12th November 13th November 17th November 19th November 21st |
NOVEMBER 10, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO L.A. Times food writer Betty Hallock Tweeted on
Saturday night: "Don Johnson is in attendance
at friends & family tonight at Bouchon." tablehopper reader Frances walked past Tartine and saw Kristen
Schaal (Mel from Flight of the Conchords)
sitting outside with a couple friends. Steve Martin was in Napa for his performance
with his band, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers,
on Thursday night at the Napa Valley Opera House. He
checked in to the Napa River Inn in downtown Napa on
Wednesday with his wife and dog Wally. (The hotel placed
a VIP pet amenity in his room and arranged for a dog
walker and sitter for him each day of his stay.) During
their stay they had lunch at Angèle. |
All content © 2009 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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