Food and Drink

Get your holiday shop on: Recchiuti Chocolates pop up in Dogpatch

Andrew Lam
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That Michael Recchiuti has a fan base is no surprise. That it’s dubbed the “Obsession Club” isn’t exactly unexpected either.

The Dogpatch-based chocolatier is opening a pop-up shop in the same neighborhood for easeful holiday treat-purchasing on November 17. Recchiuti is a tireless experimenter known as much for his carefully-sourced product as for the egregiously gut-tickling tastings he holds.

Past events the company has hosted have featured chocolate and tofu, not to mention chocolate paired with olive oil, spirits, and cheese. And who else would have the chutzpah or know-how to forge such majesty as the Ovaltini? The treat is a chocolate sherbet with cacao nib brandy paired with a barley malt cocktail garnished with a chocolate cigarette. 

Recchiuti, working tirelessly in his personal production kitchen, also produces items within the traditional bars, bonbons, and boxes format, giftable items wherein you can still see his robust imagination. 

The Little Nib pop-up, a smaller version of Recchiuti’s Ferry Building store, will showcase such Recchiuti classics as the asphalt jungle mix (peanut butter pearls, burnt caramel hazelnut, burnt caramel almond, and two different types of chocolate-covered cherries). 

Also up for the old holiday-minded swoop-and-grab maneuver are fleur de sel caramels, truffles, peppermint thins, sweet sauces, brand new chocolate bar flavors, and wine and beer pairing boxes. 

Recchiuti Little Nib Pop-Up

Open Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. through the holidays

807 22nd St., SF

www.recchiuti.com

 

Contemplating Appetite

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Contemplating Appetite

virginia@sfbg.com

APPETITE My adventures in food and drink have been the subject of my SFBG Appetite column for nearly three years online at SFBG.com. As of last month, you now also find me in print every week. Many have asked where I am going with this column — some expecting a formal weekly review, others a mix of subjects and directions. The latter is true. I cannot replace former Guardian food critic Paul Reidinger’s eloquence and decades-long experience as a food writer (and I’m glad to say we will continue to hear from him in various articles). I take this opportunity to explain where I’ve come from and my philosophy in covering the edible world.

First and foremost, I bring to the table passion. From mostly Italian and German stock, I’ve eaten heartily since early childhood in Oklahoma and Missouri, 16 total years of my youth in Southern California and New Jersey (just outside LA and NYC respectively), and travel over five continents. As an incessant reader and writer since girlhood, books first opened me up to the world, though I dreamed of having my own adventures to write about. Moving to San Francisco a decade ago, I was wowed not only by its unique, radiant beauty, but by the consistent quality of food, spending spare dollars eating out constantly. Though SF wasn’t the immediate love affair for me New York was, it is a love that has only increased each year, the home I would happily end up in. This city still takes my breath away.

Patricia Unterman’s original San Francisco Food Lover’s Guide was my food bible in those early days. I connected with her quest for the authentic, no matter the cuisine. I ate my way through neighborhoods, marking up her book (and all my dining guides) until I had been to every single restaurant, market, and bar in its pages. Eventually, requests asking me where to go and what to eat reached a fever pitch, so my husband (and partner in taste and travel) helped create my own humble website, The Perfect Spot, to share my reviews and finds. I’ve been sending out a bi-weekly newsletter for nearly four years based on my writings for the site. I also write for an ever-increasing number of magazines and websites.

“Diet,” “lowfat,” and “hold the cream” are words you’ll never hear me say. My hunger for food as adventure means I make it a goal to have no food prejudices. Many say, “I’ll try anything once,” but my philosophy is to keep trying anything I don’t like until I do. The food may not have been prepared properly; it was perhaps of poor quality; maybe the palate wasn’t quite ready for it — dishes still deserve to be known at their best. I spent years trying to overcome my aversion to uni (sea urchin), for example. Eating chef David Bazigran’s brilliant uni flan at Fifth Floor early this year was a revelation. I realized it was uni’s texture, not its of-the-sea flavor, turning me off. I’ve enjoyed uni ever since, though only when ultra-fresh. From personal experience, I know one can change one’s abhorrence of a food, and in so doing expand one’s horizons another inch, uncovering another of life’s simple delights.

Sometimes fear arises around unfamiliar foods — and the unfamiliar in general. Without variety and a vast range of expression, the world loses it color — and its joy. While sameness can be comforting (and there’s a time for that), it is entirely boring. To go through any part of life bored or complacent is simply lazy. As with music or books, one can discover unknown lands with a few new ingredients, enlivened by the hands of a gifted, caring chef. Whether food cart or fine dining, there’s no reason to settle for mediocrity, not with the unreal produce, vision, and talent surrounding us.

Internationally, I’ve fallen in love with black pudding in Ireland, extreme spice in Thailand, Tyrolean food in the Italian Alps. I’ve explored wine chateaus in Bordeaux, agave fields in Mexico, gin distilleries and cocktail labs in London, whisk(e)y houses in Scotland and Ireland. I’ve frequented restaurants, coffee havens, bars, chocolate shops, farmers markets everywhere. I sample obsessively and comparatively. Rather than one single review, I prefer to cover a mixture of highlights in any given week. I’m opinionated, yes, but don’t care much for snark, flippancy, or jadedness. Though honest assessment is crucial, rather than rip apart the few not doing it well, I’d rather focus on the many having fun with or perfecting their craft.

My “holy trinity” of US cities for food and culture, though, consists of New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco. Travel is one of life’s greatest gifts, yet when I cannot afford to go, I am able to travel in my own city. Authentic foods transport me back to the place in which that food was illuminated — anchovies on the coast of Italy, bastilla in Morocco, Creole cream cheese in New Orleans, or bahn mi in Vietnam. It helps to live in a place as international and cosmopolitan as SF. But even in nondescript towns, I uncover gems. The hunt is a key part of the thrill.

Besides travel, you’ll notice I also write about drink… a lot. Whether coffee, spirits, and cocktails (my first love), wine and beer (the ultimate food accompaniments), my knowledge of drink grows along with the culinary. Even at 21, I wanted a grown-up atmosphere in which to imbibe, detesting noisy, crowded “scenes.” Drink, for me, is similar to food: it’s about quality, artistry, and adventure, not buzz or quick consumption. A memorable meal isn’t complete without the right sip to begin, pair, or end with.

As with food, Northern California was instrumental in furthering my taste for fine drink, though global explorations have shaped my standards of comparison. It started with cocktails years ago as SF (and, of course, NYC) lead the way in reviving classics, and creating experimental, culinary drinks. The artistry and history behind these drinks intrigued me, connecting to my Old World, retro, jazz-loving self.

Delving into cocktails inevitably led to my great love of craft spirits, many of our country’s trailblazers and innovators being based right here. (Thank you, St. George, Charbay, Germain-Robin, Anchor Distilling, et. al.) Our local Wine Country and craft beer pioneers like Fritz Maytag likewise have shaped the world, while local personalities such as Kermit Lynch and Rajat Parr in the wine realm are experts on global glories in drink.

What makes a great meal? Service, setting, and, of course, food are crucial. Ultimately, I see eating as a communal ritual. A thoughtfully-prepared meal surprises and nourishes the body and spirit. We engage (or should — put those cell phones away!) over a meal, reflect on our day, truly taste, actually look at and listen to each other. Expect me to share with you the best tastes and backdrops from these moments.

While I don’t expect our tastes to be the same, I do look forward to embarking on delicious adventures together throughout the food realm. *

BEST NEW OPENINGS OF 2011

In the spirit of ushering in my print column, I recap the year with my list of 2011’s best new openings, realizing we still have a few weeks worth of openings left:

CASUAL

Wise Sons Deli www.wisesonsdeli.com. Although not getting a brick and mortar location until 2012, this pop-up deli (every Tuesday at the Ferry Plaza) was one of the year’s great new delights, filling a gaping vacancy of quality Jewish food with excellent babka, bialy, and corned beef.

Hot Sauce and Panko 1545 Clement, SF. (415) 387-1908, www.hotsauceandpanko.com. With an impressive array of hot sauces from around the world, addictive chicken wings in a crazy range of sauces (tequila-chipotle-raspberry jam!), this quirky take-out also has a hilarious blog.

Mission Cheese 736 Valencia, SF. www.missioncheese.net. Mission Cheese serves not only lush cheeses and wines, but some of the best grilled cheese sandwiches around in a chic cafe setting.

MID-RANGE

Bar Tartine 561 Valencia, SF. (415) 487-1600, www.bartartine.com. Though not a new opening, I refer to the complete revamp and Eastern European-influenced menu under chef Nick Balla that happened this year. Unusual dishes, Hungarian and beyond, and Balla’s impeccable technique make this menu unlike any other.

Boxing Room 399 Grove, SF. (415) 430-6590, www.boxingroomsf.com. It’s refreshing to get some New Orleans breezes in SF from a Louisiana chef making his own Creole cream cheese and frying up fresh alligator.

Nojo 231 Franklin, SF. (415) 896-4587, www.nojosf.com. We’ve had a glut of izakayas open over the past few years, but this one stands above in warm, hip atmosphere and consistently delightful food.

Park Tavern 1652 Stockton, SF. (415) 989-7300, www.parktavernsf.com. From the owners of Marlowe, this immediately feels like the buzzing destination restaurant of Washington Square Park for satisfying American food with gourmet edge.

Jasper’s Corner Tap 401 Taylor, SF. (415) 775-7979, www.jasperscornertap.com. All things to all people: comfortable meet-up spot with perfect cocktails, craft beers and wines aplenty, and the food is consistently heartwarming.

 

Appetite: Insects and mezcal

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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A new twist on the tequila worm at Don Bugito dinner at Headlands Center for the Arts

Nestled near the ocean in the wilds of the Marin Headlands sits Headlands Center for the Arts, an artists’ haven in a reclaimed military barracks that is inspiring just to be in, as it must be for its artists in residence. Known for the culinary care and special event meals they host in their warm, open kitchen and dining room, I was intrigued to check it out. So what better excuse than for a five-course insect and mezcal dinner?

You heard right. Don Bugito, a new La Cocina business that premiered at SF Street Food Festival this August (which I wrote about here), hosted this unique meal.

Paired with Mexican juices, a take on the Michelada (a beer and spice-based imbibement), and the Mission’s De La Paz Coffee, the drink highlight was San Honesto Mezcal, a bright, grassy, gently smoky mezcal that is not yet available in the US but should be by early next year.

Having eaten mealworms and wax moth larvae with Don Bugito before, I was hoping for even further challenges at this meal. As an intro to bugs, the textures and tastes of the five insects served were inoffensive (yes, even to those who fear bugs), even tasty, proving the points made in a pre-dinner educational session: eating insects is nutritional, ecological and sustainable. One could see this becoming a micro movement in urban centers such as ours, just as beekeeping and urban farming have become.

Don Bugito owner, Monica Martinez, says, “Our goal is not to introduce insects as a novelty, but as something that will last.” I’d say with the palatable insect-tinged dinner we experienced, she is introducing an approachable, realistic way to eat insects.

The Headlands Center’s next dining event is December 7, a speakeasy-style, small plates dinner with cocktails from the incomparable Bon Vivants.

Subscribe to Virgina’s twice-monthly newsletter, The Perfect Spot at www.theperfectspotsf.com

 

Going veg at the wing shop: Wing Wings’ deep-fried oyster mushrooms

Andrew Lam
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Owner Christian Ciscle’s been trying to get me to come into his Lower Haight wings shop for a minute. I was always like “Christian (full disclosure: Ciscle took me on board as counterperson back in the days when he managed SoMa’s Little Skillet to-go window), they’re wings. I don’t eat meat.”

But then I went, and now I have to apologize because: Wing Wings‘ deep-fried oyster mushrooms.

When do you get to eat a whole tray of oyster mushrooms? And for $5? It’s improbable, really. Wing Wings’ side of them occupies a hefty paper tray. They’re crispy and just salty enough on the outside, juicy on the inside. Dunk them in some ranch dressing or Wing Wing remoulade and you’re good to go. I nearly took down the whole thing, but I had a friend there to fight me for the bottom of the tray (thank god).

They don’t really have anything to do with each other, but if you stop by for the oyster mushrooms you can also pick up a brown sugar-black pepper biscuit what that Ciscle has been baking since the Little Skillet days. Call it dessert if you’re a label person. 

Pairing suggestion: Wing Wings, limeade, and some headphones at nearby Rookie Ricardo’s LP listening stations

Of course, there’s no veggie entrees per se at Wing Wings – normally. But tomorrow, Tue/8, the counter shop will host a pop-up dinner by chef-about-town Dontaye Ball of Good Foods Catering, who has lent his culinary chops to everywhere from the kitchens at Google to Delfina and the Presidio Social Club.

Ball’s entrees will include, yes, pork belly and beef meatloaf ($15) and slow-braised chicken in a white wine-thyme gravy with cornbread dressing ($14), but also blackened tofu with roasted veggies and mashed yams ($12). Check out the evening’s menu here. 

A full vegetarian belly — at a wings shop. Will wonders never cease?

 

Good Foods Catering’s “Soulful Food” pop-up dinner 

Tue/8 6-9 p.m., check Good Foods website for prices

Wing Wings

422 Haight, SF

www.wingwingssf.com

www.goodfoodsonthego.blogspot.com

A broke ass in our ranks: SFBG Culture Editor Caitlin Donohue honored by Broke Ass Stuart for her insolvency

Andrew Lam
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We here at the Guardian pride ourselves on being populist. That means documenting the latest in the people’s protests, and generally being a resources for students, artists, families, anyone in that good old 99 percent. But it’s not 100 percent for your benefit, dear readers. SF’s not a cheap city to live in. Case in point: Culture Editor Caitlin Donohue’s been chosen as Broke Ass Stuart’s Broke Ass of the Week.

Kudos, Donohue. Now the whole Internets is aware that you beg quarters off of us for beer.

And thanks for the shout-out. We quote:

I dig working there because it’s locally owned and I am no longer the weirdest person at the office.

In response to Stuart’s questionaire (the same queries are posed to each week’s Broke Ass) she also covers her favorite dive bar, favorite cheap meal, best thing she ever dropped serious cash on, and what she does when she’s hungover. 

Fall fresh

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Fall fresh

APPETITE These three new places just opened; these early dishes jump out.

 

PARK TAVERN

Staring out at Washington Square Park and city views from Park Tavern’s front dining room, one could be in Europe or New York. Yet the glow is distinctly San Francisco (specifically, North Beach). The menu exemplifies the typical cooking of our peninsula: high quality ingredients prepared carefully in heartwarming dishes. There are raw, fried, or smoked menu categories, and entrees like a plump poulet rouge (red chicken) standing at attention over a platter of potatoes and wilted spinach, doused in herbs and jus. From the owners of Marlowe (marlowesf.com), this new space is already a source of comfortable sophistication in North Beach.

Early stand-out: Though bites like NY steak crudo ($10) sprinkled with Parmesan and crispy horseradish delight, a delicate (read: slight) appetizer of compressed Yellow Doll watermelon and Mangalitsa prosciutto over mustard greens ($11) is the one that leaves an impression. True, compressed watermelon with meat has been a trendy starter in recent years, but it’s a delicate whisper of truffle that sends it over the top. Truffle flavor can easily come off as heavy-handed, but here it’s a welcome tease, hinting at umami worlds behind its initial sweet and savory contrasts.

Bonus: Dessert should not be forgotten at Park Tavern, and, no, I’m not talking about daily “birthday cake” specials — like coconut cream or chocolate caramel, both sold out on my last visit. I headed straight for grownup ice cream shakes ($9 each): Fernet ice cream with a shot of Fernet and Fever Tree ginger beer, or an Arnold Palmer with black tea ice cream, lemon gelato and St. Germain elderflower liqueur.

1652 Stockton Street, (415) 989-7300, www.parktavernsf.com

 

UMAMI BURGER

Raved about ad nauseum in LA for years, Umami Burger already has a staunch following ensured. The chain’s first SF opening in Cow Hollow paves the way for the next two Bay Area locations already in the works. From tempting sauces (Umami ketchup, Dijon mustard, roasted garlic aioli, jalapeno ranch) to veggie burger offerings like the Earth Burger ($12 — mushroom edamame patty in white soy aioli with truffle ricotta), Umami Burger is a guaranteed hit. Overhyped, though? Definitely. These are good burgers, to be sure, but there are many equally gourmet and crave-worthy burgers in town. Still, Umami’s having fun and it shows.

Early stand-out: I’m all about the Manly Burger ($11): beer cheddar cheese, smoked salt onion strings, bacon lardons. There’s only a bit of each ingredient, but somehow the thin layer of bacon cheesiness makes you appreciate it all the more. Add in a side of giant tempura onion rings ($4.50) and the day’s stresses seem minimal.

2184 Union Street, (415) (415) 440-8626, www.umamiburger.com

 

CANELA

Canela is an airy new Spanish tapas restaurant in the Castro. With the front window ushering in bright sun and Market Street’s bustle, it’s a lovely mid-day respite with a glass of sangria ($5). The restaurant is still finding its legs with the menu (mostly tapas; will evolve to include dinner entrees), and as is expected, some dishes work better than others. Kudos for house-made chorizo on their coca flatbread ($14-15).

Early stand-out: There’s two! A bright amuse of gazpacho (also on the menu at $5 cup/$7 bowl). The cool puree of tomato, cucumber, red bell pepper, garlic, and olive oil kickstarts the taste buds. Salt cod salad ($9 small/$15 large) is punctuated by olives, red onion, and orange slices, cutting the saltiness of the fish, while orange vinaigrette ties it together. For me, salt cod evokes the Mediterranean every time, particularly when it’s this fresh-tasting and, well, salty. This simple salad sent me right back to Spain gazing out at the sea.

2272 Market Street, (415) 552-3000, www.canelasf.com

Subscribe to Virgina’s twice monthly newsletter, The Perfect Spot, www.theperfectspotsf.com

 

Appetite: Recapping Whiskyfest 2011

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Appetite: Recapping Whiskyfest 2011

Another year, another WhiskyFest. I’ve been attending a number of years now, ever relishing an opportunity to try unexplored whiskies, refresh my taste memory on others, and connect with whisk(e)y industry folk and distillers here from Kentucky to Scotland.

A number of options listed as VIP tastes (more than ever this year) were not, in fact, available at all. Some purveyors said these bottles — like Isle of Jura’s Shackleton or Pierre Ferrand Ancestrale Cognac — hadn’t reached the States yet. I find this a problem, particularly for those paying more to hit VIP hour for these rare tastes ($135 regular tickets; $185 for VIP hour).

One that WAS there however, was the soft, layered, fruity yet slightly oaky, Tamdhu 30 year from Gordon and MacPhail.

Their Benromach 10 yr (available all night, not just during VIP hour) is surprisingly complex, with essence of cedar, nuts, smoke, and spice. Aged in bourbon casks, then finished off in sherry, it does not taste a full 20 years younger than the Tamdhu. I chatted with the company’s friendly managing director, Michael Urquhart, one of 3rd and 4th generations of the Urquhart family who own the company and have been making single malts long before they were ever marketed as a category.

My favorite VIP taste may have been Ardmore’s gorgeous 30 yr Scotch. Surprisingly light, it evokes coffee, caramel, dried orange and a long, gently peaty finish. I found this beauty at the Laphroaig table, where I also enjoyed another taste of Laphroig’s Cairdeus and Triple Wood whiskies).

Italian company Samaroli imports a number of special edition whiskies, but of greater interest to me were their unique rums, some layered and elegant, others funky, but all fascinating, particularly Caribbean2003, a rum that is predominantly Cuban, and a French-style rhum agricole: Guadaloupe 1998.

Bruichladdich, who wins for hippest, out-of-the-norm packaging, is doing some interesting things, particularly with their new gin (yes, I said gin), The Botanist. Though containing far too many botanicals (22 in all, from bog myrtle leaves to apple mint), somehow it manages to come together in a cohesive, smoothly refined whole. Their unique Black Art 2 whisky, an uber-secretive recipe that purportedly only distiller Jim McEwan knows, was aged in a range of unlisted barrels, possibly sherry, even wine casks, just like the first limited edition of Black Art.

High West Distillery in Park City, Utah, has a new bottled Manahattan cocktail. Though it’s a decent product, I couldn’t fathom preferring it to a freshly made (or barrel-aged at a bar) Manhattan. All initial barrels in Utah sold out in 8 days, so they launched the product beyond. I sampled their new 21 yr Rocky Mountain Rye, but actually preferred another new bottling: OMG (meaning Old MononGahela, a Western Pennsylvania river) Pure Rye Silver Whiskey. They left the heads and tails in, giving it a rugged, green profile of Meyer lemon citrus and rye spice, best enjoyed neat at room temperature.

Tequila Corrido, a tequila line I enjoy from start to finish, poured their new Extra Anejo from the first barrel to ever leave the distillery. It tastes of lemongrass, oak and chocolate, with agave actually detectable (a fault of many anejos when wood drowns out the agave).

Great King Street, a blended Scotch made by the Compass Box Whisky Company wasn’t my top taste of the night, but is a smooth blend of Lowland, Highland and Speyside single malts, lightly toasty with vanilla and spice. It’s fresh, classically modern packaging and approach of bringing back respect for blends make it stand out.

WHISKYFEST Seminar with Parker Beam and Alain Royer

My seminar of choice was the evening’s highlight, led by one of my whiskey heros, Parker Beam (who I had the privilege of meeting last year and chatting again with this week), and master Cognac blender Alain Royer of the Renaud Cointreau Group. Beam and Royer discussed Parker’s Heritage Collection 2011 release: a 10-year bourbon aged first in charred American white oak barrels, then 6 months in used Limousin oak Cognac casks. You wouldn’t know it’s a bracing 100 proof, as it goes down smooth, sweet and silky with maple, apple, and gentle spice. It might not be as revelatory as Parker’s Golden Anniversary or 27 year whiskeys, but alongside last year’s robust Wheated Bourbon, it’s yet another winner in Beam’s impeccable collection.

Only Heaven Hill, the company that makes Parker’s Heritage Collection (among my top bourbons of all time), can claim that since 1934 every drop of whiskey from their distillery (all their brands) is overseen by Earl, Parker or Craig Beam of the esteemed Beam family. They produce 900,000 barrels of whiskies out of 49 rickhouses across 30+ acres.

Parker ever charms with his slow-as-molasses (or maybe even slower) Southern drawl belying his feisty sense of humor. Keeping it real, he says, “If you want to make good bourbon, you make it in Kentucky. If you want to sell it, you damn well make it in Kentucky.” He sips one of Heaven Hill’s most popular, affordable whiskeys during his down time, however: “At home I kick back with our Evan Williams single barrel.”

In regards to joining forces with Parker to make Parker’s Heritage Cognac Barrel-finished Bourbon, Alain states: “When I tasted Parker’s bourbon, it reminded me of Borderies.” Known for their floral richness, Cognacs from Cognac’s Borderies region are often elegant beauties with heart, just like Parker’s Cognac Bourbon.

Parker talked about the process of deciding what this year’s special release would be (each of his annual releases are rare, limited editions): “We had some older products [older than his 27yr bourbon] that wasn’t up to snuff. I didn’t like it, anyway… To make Cognac bourbon we went gung ho, as we knew the bourbon was gonna be good… and we trusted Alain’s selection of barrels”.

Next to the final product, we sampled Heaven Hill’s Bourbon Rye Mashbill (10yr bourbon, 100 proof) from new charred white oak barrels. Even in its raw form, the rye exhibits fullness and spice, coconut and vanilla. We also savored Alain’s Chateau de Fontpinot XO Cognac, aged an average of 18-20 years and produced on one single estate from ugni blanc grapes. It’s seductive with apple and apricot, subtly earthy with hay and wood notes, a sophisticated Cognac.

Subscribe to Virgina’s twice monthly newsletter, The Perfect Spot

Appetite: Two tastings to watch for

Andrew Lam
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Two excellent yearly reasons to wet your whistle are coming to town this week. Whiskey and wine, anyone?

WhiskyFest

WhiskyFest happens tomorrow, a whisk(e)y university, extravaganza, and shit show rolled into one. Though the Marriott ballroom settings feel corporate, most of the world’s best distillers, brand ambassadors, and whisk(e)y experts are on hand with classes, offering pours and chatting with guests. I go every year to taste untasted whiskies, revisit favorites, and meet the world’s great whisk(e)y makers.

Fri/7 6:30 – 9:30 p.m., sold out

San Francisco Marriott Marquis

55 Fourth St., SF

www.maltadvocate.com

 

Wine and Spirits Top 100

Every year Wine and Spirits Magazine throws an annual large tasting honoring the 100 wineries that had the best showing in the publication. I’ve gone the last few years, finding it to be an event that’s more focused on sampling a honed list of wines from around the globe — including sparkling — than most tastings. There will also be bites from favorites like Dosa, Piccino, and Txoko, and historically there’s live jazz. I will miss the event being in the striking SF Design Center Galleria this year, but the City View space is dramatically engulfed by downtown high rises and should be memorable.

Wed/12 6:30 p.m., $105

City View at Metreon

101 Fourth St., SF

www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com/top100 

— Subscribe to Virgina’s twice monthly newsletter, The Perfect Spot

The novelty doughnut grows up

Andrew Lam
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The novelty doughnut grows up

Having come of age in Portland at a time that coincided with the rise of Voodoo Doughnut, the novelty doughnut trend has had ample time to lose its luster for me. It is easy to be jaded when you grew up with 2 a.m. Nyquil-glazed treats. But today I had a rhubarb doughnut from Dynamo and my essential understanding of the fancy doughnut meme has shifted forever.

Acquaint yourself with this one. I know that Dynamo is all the rage right now, and its essential yuppie-ness makes its location on 24th Street… well one of the many things on 24th Street that harbinge ethnic, class, and culture sea changes. But on days like today, when you don’t want to get to work so quick, the darling awning and clever curbside coffee line has a way of just enveloping you. 

A rhubarb doughnut?

This was a new concept to me — the doughnuts in my life have been of the maple bar sort, and then of the shaped-like-a-joint sort at Voodoo, and then more recently, from the shaped-like-a-person-in-a-straightjacket school of thought that birthed the South Bay’s Psycho Donuts. But Dynamo’s rhubard had no gimmicky, arranged sprinkles. Nor is this doughnut a mere vehicle for the numbing consumption of empty calories. 

It had style. A sweetness, yes (don’t worry I’m still all jacked up on refined sugars), but also taste. A fully conceived dessert, and yes I was eating it at 10 in the morning. I wanted to give into Dynamo’s lemon-pistachio and coconut varieties, but I resolutely walked off down the road. 

Just like the doughnut, we are growing up. 

 

Dynamo Donuts

Open Tues.-Sat., 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 

2760 24th St., SF

(415) 920-1978

www.dynamodonut.com

Your Sunday meal plan: Sweet treats, Latino eats at this weekend’s food events

Andrew Lam
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Your Sunday meal plan: Sweet treats, Latino eats at this weekend’s food events

After the demise of the Underground Market, a bit of a streetside, downlow foodie vacuum has developed in SF. Sure, we’ve still got Off the Grid, Mission Community Market, and for the moment at least, the Free Farm Stand — but it’s not enough food-themed events for a town that rejoices in innovation and knowing what to eat before one’s coworker does. Hot! New! More! Luckily this Sunday there’s ample opportunity to get your locally-sourced snack on, in style.

Street Sweets

A bright-faced gentleman with a messenger bag arrived at our office to drop off samples of the SF-made snacks that will be sold at this pop-up underground dessert market. That clandestine terminology perhaps best described the reasoning behind the “bacon crack” from chocolatiers Nosh This (which also produces homemade limoncello, soups, and Frito pies). Our meat-eating staffers found it “delicious, really delicious,” but give those people salt and pig fat and they’ll eat anything, really.

Also on the menu: raw milk ice cream from Jilli’s. This arrived in darling little jam jars that you can peep on the website, stuffed with the brand’s super-creamy blackberry flavor. Jacky Hayward, owner of Jilli’s, says that she’ll be serving it Sunday with a hot crumble on top and whipped cream. Surely your brain will collapse from all the refined sugar (ours did!) after sampling these PLUS mango blueberry white chocolate masala cookies from baker-blogger Irvin Lin, a.k.a. Eat the Love, the third partner in this secretive sweetfest. 

Sign up on the website and you’ll find out where it is on Sat/1. Just don’t tell the New York Times about it, mmkay?

Sun/2 1-6 p.m., free

Undisclosed location, SF

www.sfstreetsweets.com

 

El Mercado

No need to keep this one on the DL: this Latin American-themed food fair is comprised of vendors on the up and up with the Health Department – most notably El Taco Bike, which serves steamed tacos de canasta from the back of a three-wheeled, pedal-powered, self-made contraption, as we reported in our interview with creator and restaurant owner Alfonso Dominguez (vegans take note, a similar operation has been spotted in the Mission). 

But it’s not all buche and carnitas. Cerveza and tragos will be available for passers-by, as well as Latin American crafts, live music onstage by DJ Wonway Posibul of the Latin Soul Brothers, Vanessa Ayala, and an acoustic set by badass electro-hip-hop-Latin beatmaker Bang Data. Even an on-site curandera? I mean, tell the New York Times about it already. 

Sun/2 noon-6 p.m., free

Era Art Bar and Lounge

19 Grand, SF

Facebook: El Mercado 

 

Gin, with wings

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Gin, with wings

virginia@sfbg.com

APPETITE For those who have been following my Guardian Appetite column, you know I’ve been there since the beginning of 2009, reviewing food and drink, cocktails and wine, restaurants and hole-in-the-walls, both in the Bay Area and on my travels. I am delighted to share a myriad discoveries with you each week here, from my daily meals, tastings and adventures, ranging from whisk(e)y releases to stand-out dishes at new restaurants. Here are four intriguing tastes this week:

 

HOT SAUCE AND PANKO

One of my favorite openings in recent weeks, and my top wings spot in San Francisco, is Hot Sauce and Panko (1545 Clement St., (415) 387-1908, hotsauceandpanko.wordpress.com). Not only is the hot sauce collection — reaching from the deep South to Japan — about the best around, but its blog reveals the owner’s quirky hilarity. As a chicken wing take-out shop selling a wide range of hot sauces, a good 20-plus are available to sample at any given time, so prepare for some serious heat (and note that they sometimes sell out of wings early in the day).

I walk away with a tub of cooked-to-order wings for $19.99, or plenty for two at $14.99. What makes me giddy is they let me choose as many of their appealing preparations as I want in one order. There’s a regular menu offering classic buffalo, honey mustard, or kuzu salt and pepper wings. Wings and waffles come together as a combo ($5.99) or just add a waffle onto your order for $1.99. The specials menu gets crazy with tequila-chipotle-raspberry jam wings or one-week-aged cognac-habanero-lime-bitters wings(!) These aren’t typical menu offerings. Favorites are creamy Thai peanut sauce wings, KFC (Korean fried chicken wings), and a “Pucker Your Mouth” special of wings in lime, fish sauce, garlic, blue agave, and red pepper flakes. A side of spicy slaw ($1.99) further pushes your heat tolerance.

 

ST. GEORGE’S TERROIR GIN

St. George Spirits (also Hangar One) consistently wears the crown for renegade inventiveness. Master distiller Lance Winters and distillers Dave Smith and Chris Jordan lead the way in out-of-the-box creativity. Never have I seen the like of their test tube apothecary of experimentation where they’ll try anything, from foie gras and beef jerky, to carrots and Dungeness crab, to see what works as a spirit.

I love all three of their brand new gins, including Botanivore to Dry Rye Gin. If I had to choose a favorite, however, it’s the Terroir. A true Golden State tribute, this gin reflects the glories of Northern California, with hand-harvested juniper berries, Douglas fir (from Mt. Tam), coastal sage, fennel, California bay laurel, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon — to name but a few of the ingredients. Plus, a portion of sales go to support California wilderness, preserving our mighty state’s nature as the gin reflects its diversity. To me, this is the most striking of the three, with a fresh, pine-y essence… a unique expression, unlike any other spirit out there. You can purchase online at www.stgeorgespirits.com. By the way, Bar Agricole (www.baragricole.com) is making beautiful cocktails with St. George Gins, including a Dry Rye Old Fashioned and Botanivore with Riesling and stonefruit bitters.

 

DRINK OF THE WEEK: POTRERO PINOT AT MICHAEL MINA

It was a privilege recently to have lunch with Franco Luxardo, a sixth-generation member of the Luxardo family of the famed liqueur company. In Northern Italy, Luxardo facilities are surrounded by 20,000 cherry trees from which the company makes its legendary Original Maraschino Liqueur. What particularly stood out over lunch was sweet-yet-dry Cherry Liqueur Sangue Morlacco, made from their Marasca cherries. Full and round, it expresses sour cherry tart while remaining smooth. Michael Mina’s lead bartender Carlo Splendorini crafted exquisite drinks for each of our courses, utilizing Sangue Morlacco. He serves it in a wine glass with VSOP cognac, Old Potrero Rye and his own pinot noir gum syrup, flaming off the alcohol for a whisper of Islay Scotch peat. With the look of deep red wine, it is tart, smoky, lush. Splendorini just added this cocktail to the menu and I helped him name it. Ask for the Potero Pinot. You won’t be sorry.

 

CAN’T MISS EVENT: SUNDAY SUPPER

On Sunday, October 2 at 6 p.m., CUESA’s Sunday Supper Fundraiser (proceeds go to CUESA’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market) starts with a pre-Supper reception and guests as noteworthy as Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, and Cowgirl Creamery’s Peggy Smith and Sue Conley. Following is a four-course dinner at communal tables upstairs in the Ferry Building under white lights. The chef line-up is stellar, including Michael Tusk of Quince and Cotogna. Chefs like Frances’ Melissa Perello and 4505 Meats’ Ryan Farr carve sustainably raised whole beasts (beef, boar, lamb, etc.) tableside. $200, tickets and full chef line-up: www.cuesa.org/events/2011/sunday-supper *

Subscribe to Virgina’s twice monthly newsletter, The Perfect Spot, www.theperfectspotsf.com

 

Been There: Autumnal Equinox Gathering at Gospel Flat Farm in Bolinas

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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On the purposefully unmarked road heading into Bolinas, there is a very wonderful spot you don’t want to miss. The Gospel Flat Farm is a family-run organic edible haven, with an honor-based farm stand that is open 24 hours a day.

Sam Love and I were introduced to the farm when we met a couple of wonderful free spirits, Kalie and Scott, while hiking in Samuel P. Taylor Park a few weeks back. Scott is the resident bread baker at the farm’s wood powered oven, and he and Kalie invited us to a photography show and autumnal equinox gathering down at the farm. So last Friday, after a sun-soaked hike on Mt. Tam, we wended our way down the hill to Bolinas to explore the farm.


By the time we got there, the stone oven was already working away, roasting a huge platter of fresh farm veggies, and while he gave the vegetables a turn, Scott told us about the relationship he has formed with the ancient-looking oven. Baking bread becomes a two-day process, starting the night before, when he loads the oven with wood, lights it, and then comes back the next morning to remove the embers. The oven reaches almost 1000 degrees, which then cools throughout the day, and the heat gets used to bake and then, later on, to roast our dinner.

Inside the farm stand, Kalie showed us her beautiful photographs, that document the wood fire baking process. The images are evocative and also mysterious, capturing the beauty and power of traditional breadmaking.

We sat and drank fresh peppermint tea with other guests, and helped make a batch of guacamole, while we waited for the veggies to finish roasting. Before we left, we picked out some precious artichokes from the farm stand and a bunch of flowers. Sam Love and I were so relaxed and contented, having escaped the rush of the city and made new friends — with our bellies full with farm delights. Hugs all around and then it was time to leave.

A coyote watched us from the side of the road as we slowly wiggled our way along Stinson Beach, back home to San Francisco.

Free Farm Stand faces an uncertain fall harvest after call from Rec and Parks Department

Andrew Lam
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Every Sunday at the Parque Niños Unidos in the Mission, an eager group of people gather to receive free, organic food from the Free Farm Stand. The incredible project has been going on since since 2008 and has to date given out almost 17,000 pounds of fresh produce.

This is the brainchild of Tree Rub, a volunteer who started the project “to create a network of neighbors and local farmers who grow fruit, vegetables, and flowers and share their surplus with the community and especially with those in need.” But last Sunday Tree announced that the SF Recreation and Parks Department had received two complaints that the Free Farm Stand is “having a negative impact on the park.”

He was also informed that the group would need a permit for its tent, which it set up to protect to food and volunteers from the sun. Tree says he applied for a permit in 2008 but “never heard back” from authorities.

Sometime the produce that’s given out is extremely ripe and almost past it’s peak, but the savvy San Franciscans who receive the Free Farm Stand’s food (the bounty can include heirloom tomatoes and sun-kissed white peaches) are happy to take the time to can and preserve them. The stand not only creates access to extremely nutritious foods, it saves them from getting composted. Tree also distributes organic seedlings so that people can grow their own veggies and then share any surplus they might have with the community — a feedback loop of neighbors nourishing each other.

I contacted the permits office at SF Rec and Park to ask about the future of the Free Farm Stand and got a message back from Dana Ketcham, the permits and reservations manager.

According to Ketcham, her office doesn’t want to shut down the Free Farm Stand, but employees there “have received complaints that families feel overwhelmed by the crowds as they use this park with their children.”

As of two weeks ago, people waited in line outside of the park, and were only actually in the park when receiving produce. Since the lines have gotten long, last Sunday a new system had been implemented in which numbers are handed out so that people can relax in the grass until it their turn to get food.

Ketcham said that parks are “not authorized places for distribution of food” and “that we needed to give the organizer time to find a new location.” The Free Farm Stand has until October 15th to find an alternative location.

As a long time patron of the Free Farm Stand, this came as very sad news. Tree has created an amazing community that feels like a gigantic potluck. You can meet up with friends and enjoy the sunshine there, in addition to getting fresh food for dinner.

Ketcham suggested the Free Farm Stand re-locate to an “empty parking lot” in her email to me. That plan would mar the beauty of having the stand alongside a community garden where people sometimes wander while they wait and are able to relax in the shade of a tree.

I made of a video of the Free Farm Stand right when it opened, back when it was still a pretty small operation. Tree was handing out jars of honey from his personal bee hives and sprouts. Now, there’s the Free Farm and more than 200 people receiving food each week. It would be a horrible loss to San Francisco if Free Farm Stand disappears.

If you know of any locations where the Free Farm Stand might be able to re-locate, please contact Tree at: iamtree99@gmail.com.

 

Appetite: What not to miss during SF Cocktail Week 2011

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Appetite: What not to miss during SF Cocktail Week 2011

For those of you who attended last year’s San Francisco Cocktail Week, you know it was jam-packed with some downright magical events, celebrating our city’s rich cocktail heritage, bar talent and innovation. Monday begins the fifth annual Cocktail Week, bigger than ever, with numerous national and local brands represented, an extensive schedule of seminars, parties, events, and the first ever Legends Awards honoring key contributors in the field.

I’d recommend Cocktail Week certainly for aficionados (cocktail/spirits geeks), but equally for the curious or those who just plain love classy, transporting events.

To name a few, the enchanting Cocktail Carnival Gala and St. George’s Cocktail Cookout last year were unforgettable for all of us lucky enough to attend. We basked in the glow of camaraderie and unparalleled settings like the historic Old Mint (where this year’s Barbary Coast Bazaar will be held) or along the Bay in Alameda. I’m anticipating more memorable events this year.

MAIN EVENTS  include the first ever Legends Awards Gala, showcasing some of our best talent in a multi-course dinner from chef Jen Biesty (of Top Chef fame), cocktails prepared by some of our best bartenders at stations throughout the room, awards announced, with live music and performance interspersed. The list of 5 award winners (including Lifetime Achievement and Renegade awards), along with the all-star bartender line-up, is here.

This is also the first year for an event like Best of the West, where top talent from cities of the West (LA, Victoria, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Sacramento, Las Vegas) compete with local bartenders, showing off drink style in each of their cities.

SEMINARS are a new addition this year. The line-up is rich with around 15 seminars. Learn how to stock your own home bar, about the science of taste, or the history of cocktails in San Francisco. Seminars are all held at the Boothby Center for the Beverage Arts (1161 Mission St., Suite 120, San Francisco), the non-profit behind Cocktail Week.

DINING EVENTS are being thrown all week by restaurants and bars, with special cocktail guests and multi-course menus, at bar-star restaurants like Bar Agricole, Heaven’s Dog, and Jasper’s Corner Tap.

AFTERPARTIES include the big shindig at the newly revamped Starlight Room atop the Sir Francis Drake hotel following the Legends Awards Gala (afterparty included in Legends Award ticket price).

Tickets and schedule here www.sfcocktailweek.com. See you there!

— Subscribe to Virgina’s twice monthly newsletter, The Perfect Spot

Bottoms up!

Andrew Lam
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Bottoms up!

Rarely do we need an excuse to drink here at the Guardian, but we found some damn good ones for Autumn 2011. Raise a glass, willya?

>>ROGUE PAIRINGS The boys from Pacific Brewing Laboratories match local suds with local snacks for your culinary explorations

>>GET NAKED Exploring the natural wine movement from right here in San Francisco 

>>GENERATION CORK Small vineyard families make their mark on the California wine scene

>>BOOZE EVENTS ‘Nuff said? It’s our run-down of the best places to be seen swilling this season

Generation cork

Andrew Lam
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Generation cork

virginia@sfbg.com

BEER AND WINE It’s a unique time in Bay Area winemaking. We see more California winemakers finding harmony between New and Old World-style production, laying off heavier-handed extremes of overly-oaked or high alcohol wines, honing in on our region’s true terroir. While global love for big, bold California wines isn’t going anywhere, it’s ever more apparent that our range is far beyond what might be assumed.

Small, family-run wineries have long undergirded our region’s greatness, and today there are many new wines, from Sonoma to Napa, adding nuance to the landscape. As is the case historically, many wineries are a family affair where parents and children share in the work, from production to business operations. Here are a few we felt you should know about; you can order most of their wines through their websites.

 

SUTTON CELLARS, SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco holds a treasure in the person of Carl Sutton of Sutton Cellars. He walks the fine line of approachability and Old World-influenced production style. At 22nd Street and Illinois sits a funky warehouse winery where he throws Jug Sundays, tapping barrels and selling jugs or liters of wine (email directly through its website — www.suttoncellars.com — to be added to the event email list). Carl corrals Dogpatch neighbors to supply grub, like Olivier’s Butchery or the TomKat Asian street food truck. His wife Sharon often pours and works with him, both of them wine aficionados and passionate global travelers.

His grapes grow mostly in Sonoma County (with a little Mendocino in the mix), and are often single vineyard wines. At a time when many claim personal care, Sutton’s brown label wines are actually filled and corked by hand. Often this kind of care implies high costs, but Sutton stays amazingly affordable at $14–<\d>$21 a bottle.

Sutton is heavily influenced by France and Spain. He offers a full-bodied Rattlesnake Rosé ($15), but also the stunning Fizé, a 2010 rosé of organic Carignane grapes. It unfolds with each sip: tart cranberry and pomegranate notes, and a crisp effervescence. With no yeast or sulfites added, fermentation actually happens in the bottle. It possess a bready nose, with a profile far beyond typical rosés on either end of the sweet/dry spectrum (find this beauty at the winery, Bi-Rite, Rainbow Grocery, D&M). As of last week, he has keg preview of the 2010 Rattlesnake Rosé on tap at Magnolia Pub and Brewery.

His 2007 Carignane is an acidic, balanced, food-friendly red (barrel fermented in neutral oak). The aged La Solera is an elegant after-dinner imbibement and one of Sutton’s best creations. A blend of syrah, zin, and carignane wines from 1999-2006, it at turns evokes Madeira, Banyuls, sherry, even whiskey, with whispers of burnt orange, and a golden richness from its time resting in the sun, a classic method he picked up in Spain. La Solera is at the top of his price range at a mere $30, a steal for such a complex wine.

Sutton’s Brown Label Vermouth (unaged brandy-fortified neutral white wine, infused with 17 botanicals, bottled fresh weekly) is a winner. The Alembic was the first place to serve this refreshing aperitif on tap, enjoyed on the rocks, Italian-style. Sutton bubbles over with visions for a wide range of wines and liqueurs, including at least one new aperitif/digestif wine due before year’s end.

 

KELLY FLEMING WINES, CALISTOGA

Head off Silverado Trail, past vines and olive trees, onto a dirt road that leads to a gate. Beyond a sea of cabernet vines, lies Kelly Fleming’s stone winery (www.kellyflemingwines.com), evoking an Italian villa, similar to many I explored in Tuscany. The winery’s stone walls and wood shutters imbue the space with a rustic character far beyond its years.

In an open-air dining room, I sat under stone arches at a handmade wood table crafted from one tree off the 300-acre property. Kelly and her daughter Colleen, who also works for the company, served a Mediterranean-style spread for lunch, using ingredients from their garden (like a silky jam from their fig trees).

We sipped Fleming’s 2009 Sauvignon Blanc (50 percent French oak, 50percent stainless steel), representative of the Oakville soil from which these grapes grow. It’s a balanced white with a floral and fruity (pear, pineapple) profile, rounded out by a hint of vanilla. 2007 Cabernet is 100 percent estate and CCOF organically grown, rested in 85 percent new French oak. Though fruit plays prominently (warm, dusty raspberries), hints of wood, nuts and spice give it contrast.

Winemaker Celia Welch works with the region’s terroir (this is cabernet country, after all), from vines planted in 1999. The wild beauty of the property’s forests and creeks is kept intact with only 12 of the 300 acres planted with vines. Inside limestone caves, the air is naturally cool, storing barrels and bottles of past vintages (unreleased but which they’ve been perfecting for nearly a decade). At a mere 850 cabernet and 675 sauvignon blanc cases a year, these are truly small production wines.

Kelly is hands-on in so many aspects from harvesting to forklift operation. She and Colleen both were recently certified in forklift driving, highlighting the involved, familial nature of the winery. They are gracious hosts, welcoming guests by appointment.

 

SWANSON VINEYARDS, RUTHERFORD

Think Parisian carnival, classic French estate, Napa’s rich nature, New Orleans’ roots, and you’ll begin to get an idea of the influences on Swanson Vineyards (www.swansonvineyards.com). The winemaker is Chris Phelps — Clarke Swanson founded the winery back in 1985, planting his first merlot grapes. His daughter, Alexis, works as the winery’s creative director. Wife Elizabeth buzzed about as we sipped wine in their enchanting garden, greeting each guest.

The first sign Swanson is different comes when you enter the Sip Shoppe, with red-and-white striped tented walls, Old World French artwork, and Billie Holiday playing soothingly in the background. Elizabeth and Alexis designed the shop themselves, imparting a playful Parisian spirit to what could just be another tasting room. One wants to linger for flights like “Some Like it Red,” paired with the likes of warm pistachios, Alexis bonbons (made by Vosges with curry and Swanson’s Alexis Cabernet), or a potato chip topped with creme fraiche and Hackleback sturgeon caviar (lovely with their Chardonnay).

The 2010 Chardonnay was my favorite, and a complete surprise as a mineral, French-inspired chardonnay, reminiscent of Chablis. Neutral oak allows crisp, green apple notes to shine, while honey adds a tinge of cream to the finish. At a pricey $45, this one is only available at the winery or to wine club members.

Of the reds, Swanson’s signature 2007 Merlot offers the best price-to-taste ratio at $38 per bottle. It’s unexpectedly balanced with tart tannins, hints of black cherry, currant and mocha. On the pricier end, the 2007 Alexis Cabernet ($75) is bold and layered, while a 2006 Petite Syrah ($70) goes the earthier, spice and gentle black pepper route.

Make an appointment to visit the winery for a Salon tasting ($65) or Sip Shoppe flight (around $25), then finish by lingering in the garden. You can taste at dozens of wineries but the Swanson’s chic shoppe and salon deliver a fun, Parisian spirit to the Napa countryside. *

Virginia Miller writes about the latest food and drink news at The Perfect Spot, www.theperfectspotsf.com

YBCA PRESENTS BIG ART GROUP

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YBCA PRESENTS BIG ART GROUP

On Sept. 16 and 17, YBCA and Z Space present New York experimental ensemble Big Art Group, transforming Florida Street into a film set of sorts for The People: San Francisco. The site-specific performance combines live theater with large-scale, real-time video projections on Z Space’s exterior. Juxtaposing live reenactments with clips of taped conversations, The People: San Francisco brings the concept of reality TV to a new level. The People, which first premiered in Italy in 2007, is part of a larger cross-cultural work that will eventually combine dialogues from all its global exhibitions. Starting at 6:30pm, prior to each evening’s performance, the block will be closed off for food and drink vendors, including something called “The Taco Throwdown.” Performances start at 8; $10 in advance at ybca.org or cash only at the door. More info here.
September 16-17 at 8PM @ Outside Z Space, 450 Florida St, San Francisco

Suds on sea legs: A photo journey through Brews on the Bay

Andrew Lam
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All photos by Allen David

“Fuck the wine industry! I mean, I drink wine like everybody else.” Brenden Dobel, brewmaster at Thirsty Bear Brewing Company may be tipsy — but then again, we are on a boat.

A bigass boat in fact — the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien, one of the mere two Liberty ships still afloat from the batch of 2,710 that were constructed during WWII. But we were pretty far from Normandy on Saturday; the O’Brien was hosting Brews on the Bay, a celebration of San Francisco’s alcoholic beverage of choice.

At least, that’s how Dobel would have it. “Our entire civilization is based on beer — and I’ll stand by that statement,” said the brewer from behind his aviator glasses and cigarette, hanging out by the cask ale at his brewery’s tasting table, perched on a platform atop the 441-foot boat. 

But for too long California wine producers have been outhustling brewers in terms of public relations, even in the food pairing arena (“wine cannot handle heavy cheeses, spicy food — beer has much more dimensions,” he says). Dobel and other SF brewers’ answer to the problem was to form the SF Brewer’s Guild in 2003. The associationa has been holding Brews on the Bay for eight years to celebrate San Francisco beer — suds from “the birthplace of the American craft brewery revolution,” as Dobel puts it. 

This weekend, 50 beers from eight breweries were on offer to the exuberant crowd of mostly-young people swilling on the O’Brien’s deck. Thirsty Bear’s brewmaster was excited about the possibilities of adding more guild members in the years to come, possibly from the ranks of the nanobreweries that have begun to make their mark on the San Francisco scene. 

“By 2013, we should have 11 breweries here,” he shares — although from the look of the crowd swerving down the gangplank at the end of the day (your author definitely included), Brews of the Bay’s beer selection left nothing to be desired. 

Getting started with Sour Flour

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Raise it up! SFBG videographer Ariel Soto-Suver drops in on a delectable bread-baking basics class with Danny Gabriner of La Victoria Bakery in the Mission.

Appetite: 3 new gins from St. George’s

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Appetite: 3 new gins from St. George’s

Consistently, St. George Spirits (also Hangar One) wears the crown for renegade inventiveness. As I wrote last year, Lance Winters, master distiller, and distillers Dave Smith and Chris Jordan, lead the way in out-of-the-box creativity. Never have I seen the like of their test tube apothecary of experimentation where they’ll try anything, from foie gras and beef jerky, to carrots and fresh Dungeness crab, to see what works as a spirit.

So it is no surprise that they are releasing not one, but three gins, each a diverse expression never before replicated. This would be of no use if taste wasn’t paramount… and it is. Terroir-inspired with locally foraged ingredients that Winters and crew foraged themselves from the likes of Mt. Tam in Marin and along Highway 1, each manifests noteworthy attributes, expressing the Bay Area in ingredients and attitude, with elegant, Old World labels and artwork.

BOTANIVORE GIN
Made from 18 botanicals, including caraway, ginger, California bay laurel, wild fennel, dill, celery seed, coriander, Botanivore reflects the heaviest juniper notes of the three, and thus is most similar to a more traditional London dry gin (or as traditional as St. George gets). A clean gin & tonic showcases its citrus, herbal, floral notes, while the juniper stands firm.

DRY RYE GIN
Pot-distilled with a rye base? You already know it’s going to be interesting. Rye grain delivers spice, while caraway and black pepper notes add woody, earthy nuance to juniper-properties. St. George calls it a gin for whiskey lovers, though I find it almost more a sophisticated white whiskey with gin undertones. Grapefruit and lime peel add brightness to its malty depth.

TERROIR- MT. TAM GIN
A true Golden State tribute, this gin reflects the glories of Northern California. Made from hand-harvested juniper berries, Douglas fir (from Mt. Tam), coastal sage, fennel, California bay laurel, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon, to name a few, a portion of sales go to support California wilderness, preserving our mighty state’s nature as the gin reflects its diversity. To me, this is the most special and striking of the three. Though there is much to love in each, Terroir is such a unique expression, unlike any other spirit out there.

In limited release initially (approx. 500 cases each), will be released September 9 (if not earlier this week) in California, New York, Colorado, Texas, Florida and Chicago, at $35 for 750ml bottle; $12 for 200ml). Purchase online at www.stgeorgespirits.com.

— Subscribe to Virgina’s twice monthly newsletter, The Perfect Spot

Appetite: Refreshing the Starlight

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Sampling the new, revamped Harry Denton’s Starlight Room cocktails. All photos by Virginia Miller

Tonight, September 6th, Harry Denton’s legendary Starlight Room will reopen, revamped, with brand new menus and look. Though the space wasn’t quite ready for a sneak peek, I was able sample a few of the cocktails that will be on offer from bar manager Joel Teitelbaum’s winning menu.

Grouped together by time periods, the menu starts with the 1600s and punch, ending with Starlight Room classics from great bartenders who have launched from here over the years (like Tony Abou-Ganim, Marco Dionysos, Jacques Bezuidenhout). Other sections include The Jerry Thomas Years (1860’s), The Dry Years – Prohibition (1920-1933), and Dark Times (1980’s – this one with updated versions of ’80’s hits like the Fuzzy Navel).


Peppered with colorful quotes from W.C. Fields to Homer Simpson, the cocktail and bar food menus are playful and wide-ranging. They walk the fine, thin line of pleasing a steady stream of out-of-towners (due to the bar’s legendary status, location in the Sir Francis Drake hotel http://www.sirfrancisdrake.com/ and on Union Square), but also giving locals and drink geeks strong reasons to stop in.

I sampled five drinks utilizing everything from pisco to calvados. Each was elegant and interesting, yet gentle and subtle enough to introduce (and hook?) the uninitiated on the likes of Scotch, mezcal, genever.

In my photo captions, I describe the cocktails sampled. I encourage you to head out to celebrate the re-opening of a legendary spot I suspect will not only be better than ever, but will finally offer what shouldn’t be a rarity in our fair city: well-crafted, artisanal drink and bites… with a stunning view.

— Subscribe to Virgina’s twice monthly newsletter, The Perfect Spot

Appetite: 3 to watch — new restaurants, noteworthy bites

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Open for a matter of weeks or months, these new spots show promise with dishes I’m still thinking about…

LE BORDEAUX – French sausage
The new Le Bordeaux, tucked away in North Beach, holds some subtle surprises. General description: ultra-traditional French bistro fare in a Euro cafe with woodsy, rustic country lodge feel. It’s a blessedly mellow respite for lunch or dinner. The winning dish thus far is Boudin blanc ($18), that light, gentle white pork sausage I love so, common in France as well as in New Orleans cuisine.

It sits atop a mound of caramelized apples and crumbled speculoos, a graham cracker-reminiscent cookie/biscuit. Savory and sweet, the plump sausage dribbles its juices over pastry crumbs. Just like dessert… but with sausage.

524 Union Street
(415) 529-1674

RENDEZVOUS TAPAS LOUNGE – orange blossom beignets
The new Rendezvous Tapas Lounge may be roomy to the point of stark, but shared plates at the hands of executive chef Mattin Noblia’s (who many know from Top Chef fame or at his previous restaurant, Iluna Basque) are made with care. Paper-thin, citrus-radiant octopus carpaccio ($12) and warm, stuffed piquillo peppers ($7) oozing with soft goat cheese, stand out. Orange blossom beignets ($7) truly do dissolve in the mouth. Yes, we’ve seen plenty of beignets on dessert menus in recent years, but orange blossom is an inspired accent, while these eggy-light beignets evoke my favorite Chinese baked goods by way of France. Not too sweet, they are fluffy and comforting.

Of note, the weekend brunch (savory or sweet crepes, crawfish bisque, mimosas, Bloody Marys, etc…) intrigues with a DJ spinning old school hip hop and bar manager Anthony Baker serving off-menu cereal cocktails. Golden Grahams are shaken with Jameson, milk and honey simple syrup (or Honey Nut Cheerios with Amaretto, Fruit Loops with berry vodka) for that finish one gets when nearing the milky bottom of a cereal bowl.

2080 Van Ness Avenue
(415) 409-0660

CANA – Cuban pastries
Oakland’s new Cuban cafe, Cana, is a welcome addition in a region sparse on Cuban treats. Pretty much a walk-up counter with one table inside plus patio seating, Cana scratches the Cuban itch with eats like a hefty Cubano ($8.50) loaded with pork, ham and Swiss cheese, crunchy with pickle, contrasted by hot mustard. But I go for the pastries, like a chocolate ancho chile cookie, or a flan-like guava tart (Pastry de Guayaba), silky subtle with guava. Sip a custom-ground Cafe Cubano or other espresso drink for a robustly sweet accompaniment. Watch for their soon-to-open, next door bar/lounge focused on rum & agricole cocktails, with an in-house cane press (!), cigars, their cafe menu, and live music.

530 Lake Park Avenue, Oakland
(510) 832-1515

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