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Sep 4, 2017 6 min read

September 5, 2017 - This week's tablehopper: easy as one-two-three.

September  5, 2017 - This week's tablehopper: easy as one-two-three.
Table of Contents

This week's tablehopper: easy as one-two-three.                    

Three of Rooh’s beautiful cocktails—we’ll actually be enjoying four at the tablehopper Indian brunch! Photo: © tablehopper.com.

Hi gang. Welcome back to your desk (ugh, sorry, I know). I hope your shoulders are suntanned, your belly is full of peaches and insalata caprese, and rosé runs freely in your veins. That’s my current state (thank you, Lake Tahoe), and I am pretty happy with it. The breeze has returned, and our streets are full of playa-coated trucks and cars (our modern Grapes of Wrath reenactment) with Burners returning from the dusty beyond (I hope you all had a safe and happy return home to your beds and running water!).

I know I said I wasn’t running a tablehopper this week—I wanted to have a little holiday three-day weekend as well—but since a bunch of you are just getting back to your computers, I wanted to be sure to get these three events at the top of your inbox.

I have a tablehopper Indian brunch coming up on Saturday September 23rd at the stylish Rooh you won’t want to miss (and wait until you see and try the stunning No. 3 London Dry Gin cocktails we have lined up!), plus there are two fab wine events this week from some highly appreciated sponsors! One is a Southern Hemisphere wine tasting in SF, and another is the Calistoga Wine Experience this Saturday in Calistoga—and you won’t fry up there like this past weekend. Cheers to that.

Check it all out, and here’s last week’s column with a bunch of other events and news in case you’d like a reminder!

Enjoy the stunning weather, and I’ll see you next week! Marcia Gagliardi


the chatterbox

Gossip & News (the word on the street)

Get Your Ticket for the tablehopper Indian Brunch at Rooh with No. 3 London Dry Gin

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The Banaras Sour at Rooh. Photo: © tablehopper.com.

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Salli par eedu baked eggs with spicy potato straws, tomato, and cheese. Photo: © tablehopper.com.

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Duck egg with tandoori mushroom. Photo: © tablehopper.com.

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Chicken 65 on onion uttapam. Photo: © tablehopper.com.

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Haji Ali mango cream tart. Photo: © tablehopper.com.

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The colorful semi-private dining area at Rooh. Photo courtesy of Rooh.

Have you had a chance to visit the stylish and unique Indian restaurant that recently opened in SoMa, ROOH? It’s quite fab—we’re lucky to have this exciting restaurant from the Good Times Restaurants group, who chose to open their first restaurant in the U.S. here in San Francisco. Award-winning chef Sujan Sarkar has a contemporary and innovative style, which integrates California seasonality and a global sensibility, and his dishes are as delicious as they are beautiful.

Rooh recently launched Saturday brunch service, and I want to be sure you all have this special place on your radar—I included them in my recent brunch roundup of 10 new places to try.

Take out your calendar and get ready to check it, because we’re going to be hosting a tablehopper brunch on Saturday September 23rd at 11:30am. The tasting menu was created especially for this event, and thanks to event sponsor Anchor Distilling Company, we’ll have some fantastic cocktail pairings featuring No. 3 London Dry Gin.

Rooh’s cocktails are inventive and playful, inspired by the six rasas of Ayurvedic wisdom (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent), while highlighting Indian ingredients, homemade shrubs, and artisanal spirits. We have put together a special lineup of daytime-friendly cocktails for our brunch featuring No. 3 London Dry Gin.

We’re going to be serving Chai Punch to start (which will highlight the cardamom pods used in making No. 3 London Dry Gin), followed by Rooh’s spectacular Banaras Sour with cucumber and basil (I love this cocktail), plus their aromatic Hyderabad Tonic with fresh turmeric and grapefruit tonic. And wait until you try the Summer Breeze, with guava, citrus notes (which work well with the Spanish orange peel used in No. 3 London Dry Gin), and some fizz from prosecco. It’s going to be quite the tour. We’ll also have folks from Anchor Distilling who can share some background about No. 3 London Dry Gin and talk about the history of India and gin, as well as hear from Rooh’s bar team on their process and inspirations.

Our event will begin with a reception at the bar at 11:30am, with passed apps like dahi puri and potato-samosa cornetti. When we sit down at 12pm, you can choose from the cauliflower or chicken 65, a savory and textured bite served on onion uttapam, with lemon sour cream and peanut chutney. (If anyone attend Eat Drink SF’s Taco Knockdown, you got a taste of the chicken 65!)

We’ll then have an egg course served family style, with their salli par eedu (baked eggs in a cazuela with tomato, cheese, and spicy potato straws on top) and their fried duck egg on tandoori mushrooms, with toasted brioche and chile jam. You’ll also get to try an array of their stuffed kulchas, one of my favorite things on the menu, with fillings like green pea and goat cheese, and pulled duck with apricot and bacon. Uh-huh.

I couldn’t let you leave without experiencing their paneer makhani with garlic naan—the sauce is exquisite, with fenugreek and crème fraîche. You’ll be mopping up every last bite.

For dessert, chef has prepared a special dessert inspired by a famous Mumbai location, Haji Ali, with mango cream, mango sorbet, pistachio kulfi, fresh mango, frozen raspberry, and honeycomb, a delightful mango cloud inside a phyllo cup.

It’s going to be such a special event, and we will be in our own section of the restaurant. We’ll be doing some family-style tables and taking over some booths, too, so you’ll be making some new friends as well. Solo diners, we got you!

Tickets are only $68 (plus a small service fee), including cocktail pairings, tax, and tip, which is an extraordinary deal considering the menu and cocktail pairings are worth well over $100. We’re going to send you out the door on cloud No. 3, so be sure to arrange for a rideshare—no driving! Space is limited, so hop to it.

When purchasing your ticket, please specify if you are vegetarian—we will be able to take care of you! Please get in touch about any allergies—we may be able to accommodate you, but since this is a set menu, we can’t make too many substitutions. Thanks for understanding.

               Saturday Sep 23, 2017 11:30am reception, 12pm brunch $68 + service fee more info


the sponsor

This Round Is On Me... (hey, thanks!)

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(Sponsored): Taste 200-Plus Wines from the Southern Hemisphere This Thursday 9/7 for Only $26!

Where can you taste wines from Australia, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and South Africa all under one roof? Don’t miss the Full Circle BevCon Grand Tasting this Thursday (September 7th) at 6pm-8pm at the elegant Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. Rub shoulders with winemakers while you savor Argentinean malbec and pinot noir, to complex Chilean cabernet sauvignon. Enjoy crisp sauvignon blanc from New Zealand or ambrosial Australian riesling, delight in Brazilian sparkling wines or sumptuous South African blends.

Light appetizers will be provided to complete this amazing experience. Tickets will sell out so get them now! Tablehopper fans get an incredible 60 percent off, so use code FAN to get tickets for $26 each (regular price: $65)! Get your tickets at bevconsf.eventbrite.com!


the sponsor

This Round Is On Me... (hey, thanks!)

(Sponsored Event): Don't Miss the Calistoga Wine Experience This Saturday September 9th

Enjoy the tunes of Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers while sipping the wines of more than 40 Calistoga wineries during Calistoga Wine Experience this Saturday September 9th from 2pm to 6pm in the shade of Pioneer Park.

A variety of freshly grilled skewers (for both meat and veggie lovers, included in the ticket price) will be served hot off the grill by chef Rick Warkel will round out the afternoon in the shade of newly renovated Pioneer Park next to Napa River in Calistoga.

Calistoga Winegrowers is an association of mostly boutique wineries making small (sometimes tiny production of) premium, difficult-to-find wines, in what could turn out to be for those who attend Calistoga Wine Experience their very own secret source of some of the best Napa Valley has to offer.

Tickets are $75. Read more at CalistogaWinegrowers.com.

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