A Slow Weekend

For those of you that missed the news, this weekend was the big Slow Food Festival in San Francisco. There are lots of recaps of the weekend festivities out there in cyber space. From Eater SF coverage, to the San Francisco Chronicle team's recaps, there's lots to read and lots to see. Other locals from Carolyn Jung, to Amy Sherman also provide their own take on everything. Here's mine.

It all began on Friday. Kicking it off with the opening of the Marketplace. There were tons of stalls with local farmers selling fresh produce, there was the Victory Gardens, and then the 'Slow Food on the Go' area, where vendors were selling food to go. So much to take in! And on an oh-so-hot day too.

Thanks to my colleague Liz, she dragged our whole team out of the office for a lunch time trek to the Marketplace. There was so much to take in!

You can see the green from a distance!

The Slow Food logo was everywhere

Ummm, an upside down school bus?

Oh, the White House Organic Farm Project!

People everywhere! Does no one have to work anymore??

Our PR team at the Victory Garden!

So cute!

Beautiful raspberries!

Cute squash!

More cute squash

People trying to find some shade!

Preserves. Yum.

More from the garden

Yes, do you have to ask? It's Bi-Rite. We had some.

More Slow Food to Go

Pull up a bushel

Where was Armando?

I LOVED this! It was the 'roof' of the water station...all made from plastic bottles!

Filler up!

The sign cured meat is near by

Larry Bain's "Let's Be Frank" organic hot dogs were a huge hit!

Another mini garden project

Then on Friday night, we went to one of the many kick-off events. An open house at the Cheese School! What could be better than two good girlfriends, wine and cheese.

Cheese!

Lot's of cheese

This one was beautiful and yummy

Sunday my friend JT and I headed to Fort Mason and braced ourselves for the crowds at the Taste Pavilions. I was a little unsure how this was all going to be structured. I had heard there were different Pavilion areas: Bread, Olive Oil, Cheese, Fish, Honey & Preserves, Pickles & Chutney, Native Foods, Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Ice Cream, Spirits, Wine, Beer, and oh yea. Most importantly? Charcuterie Pavilion.

Bread man welcoming you to the Bread Pavilion, check out the other image galleries, there was a cool bread turtle too!

Duh. Fish Pavilion!

Above the fish display? All these little hooks hanging down!

The ceiling of the Spirits Pavilion was beautiful!

Some may think it was too early for the Spirits Pavilion. But as we were told, go early, go before the lines. Lucky us. This was one of the best Bloody Mary's I've ever had!

The Cheese Board!

The red in the background? Milk crates! Love it!

The Beer Pavilion was where JT and I spent a lot of time. Check out the awesome bar. Different beer bottles were below the slate.

The Pickles & Chutney Pavilion looked awesome. The ceiling was made from the tops of mason jars

We didn't catch any demo's at the Green Kitchen, but it looked pretty cool. And what a great line up!

Pretty flowers to end our day!

Meal of the Month: August

Time just flies when you’re eating well. I sure was lucky this month. Meals ranged from stellar meals (yes, many, many meals) at Beretta, to a fancy dinner at The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton with my family, to a chef’s tasting menu at Postrio with my friend Vanessa, to Dining in the Dark at Opaque Restaurant (even tasting miracle fruit!). There was also the dinning poolside in Palm Springs with Supper Club friends, ‘bar food’ at Boulevard with my friend Jason, a fantastic brunch at Foreign Cinema with the Benjamin clan and one of the most fun Sunday brunches I’ve had in a long time at Balboa Café with friends Sabine, Rohit and new friend Dave. There was also lots of home cookin’ this month too, some delicious grilled salmon, home made pad thai, and more heirloom tomatoes than this gal knows what to do with.

Not attractive to everyone, but those chicken livers at Beretta sure are yummy!


Yummy pizza...prosciutto di parma, tomato, arugula & mozzarella


One of my favorite pizzas: broccolini, pancetta, tomato & mozzarella- with an egg on top!


Sauteed Ayu with a tomato gelee, basil seeds, basil oil and heirloom tomato compote


Opps, it was so good I dug right in! Kindai tuna tartar with a stone fruit compote


Devil's Gulch Pork Chop, with crispy skin on top, and a blackberry gastrique!


Sonoma Duck Breast, it was Delicious!


There are no photos when you're dining in the dark! So here's a photo of my friend JT and I post-dinner


One of the many yummy tomato salads I've had this summer


Kebabs! Perfectly filing and light for a hot summer night in Palm Springs!


My first attempt at making my own pad thai at home. It was yummy!

Let’s not forget burritos at my friend’s Alli’s house after putting Charley to bed, lasagna with Kathleen and her adorable son Joe, and ‘nibbles’ with Tatiana and Michelle (FYI: nibbles to a chef is quite the spread, not what you have in mind at all!) The end of the month brought cheese tasting with JT and Teresa, a fun meal at Mission Beach Café with Jason and Eric (and an amazing honey lavender cheesecake!), and a lot of SLOW FOOD! (More on that later!)

Hmmm, you can’t beat a month like that! How’s a girl suppose to pick a favorite? I feasted on heirloom tomatoes this month, fresh California pizzas, cheese (lots of cheese), lots of fresh corn (and tons of corn soup!), and some yummy sticky toffee pudding too!

Cheese...

More cheese...

The prettiest cheese of all!

What could beat all of these meals? Tough, right? Well. Here’s the winning meal.

A casual family dinner with my Dad and sister, Michelle. There’s a little restaurant in Redwood City that we like, it’s called Blue Sky Café. Some friends of ours own it, the husband is the chef and the wife runs the front of the house with other family members. Is it fancy? No. Is service great? Not at all. Do we always have a great meal there. Most definitely. On a recent visit home to see Dad, we opted out of cooking (it was just too hot, and we were just too lazy!) The only problem with going out to eat? There were foods we were craving. The solution? We decided to go up to Blue Sky Café, but we came with goods in tow. A fresh crab and whole fish.

We feasted that night. We had delicious steamed fish (everyone should try this method—it’s so simple, and yet so good!), baked crab with onions and ginger, eggplant with chicken and a delicious beef with onions in a strawberry sauce. The meal was simple. So simple and casual, there aren't even photos! Special because of the company. And just one of those great summer nights when everything in the world is perfect.