Ritz Bites

Shut out of Slow Food Nation (sort of)

Here we are in San Francisco for the weekend. Slow Food Nation was the original impetus for the trip, but since I botched my chance to get tickets to the Tasting Pavilion -- which were being sold on Craig's List for upwards of 5X face value, apparently -- and other events, that wasn't happening. So, no tasting pavilion for us, but our font-of-SF-food-tips friend Tracie told us over delicious, perfect cocktails at Bourbon & Branch that it was like, ridiculous waits for a few bites of food. That made me feel a lot better. 

Instead we're spending a lovely, relaxing, pre-birthday, friend-filled, child-free, food/coffee/booze-soaked weekend up north, albeit one with a little too much time being spent along Market Street. But the open-to-the-public SFN Marketplace gave us enough of an idea of what the whole festival thing is about. (Proximity to Blue Bottle just around the corner helped get me over the initial disappointment, and it totally kicks Ritual and definitely Four Barrel's asses.)

To summarize: it was basically like a big farmers' market with better graphic design and lots of maps. Plus a nearly oppressive amount of geographically detailed information. I can't say the selection of products totally blew me away, since a lot of it was familiar: Weiser Family potatoes, Far West Fungi that I visited at the Ferry Building this afternoon, Let's Be Frank, etc. But we had some tasty bites of edifying eats, including the hand pulled noddles made with unbleached organic flour from Giusto's of South San Francisco (you get the idea about locational specificity overload) from the Imperial Tea Court.

Certain design elements were the highlight, like the shipping container turned info booth, the convivial group tables that used scaffolding components, and the awesome earthworks-y outdoor garden. Food plus public space is the most pleasing type of formula, and this one added up to something pretty cool.

Update: Turns out the Victory Garden will stay until November.

Gotta love food for a good cause: Planned Parenthood Food Fare

The list of participating vendors in the annual Planned Parenthood Food Fare lured me out to the fabulous Santa Monica Civic to join other pro-choice Ladies of Leisure who are able to attend a Thursday afternoon event. All in all it was lovely, and offered plenty of enticing ways to use your dollars to support PPLA's work.

I'm a total pushover at non-profit silent auctions (if you're planning one, be sure to invite me), and I was thrilled to leave with a Kate Mantilini gift certificate, two exciting bottles of Bordeaux, and hundreds of pages of glorious ornament to flip though.

A mitzvah! And at below retail! My grandparents would be proud. 

But I showed up at Food Fare today on more on an empty stomach than I should have. While I didn't exactly leave hungry, I wasn't stuffed to the gills either. A quick scan of the room revealed that a lot of the businesses listed on the invite weren't to be found. Turns out many of the big names only come to the later shift, and the mid-day crowd misses out. At least I had dinner at A.O.C. last night, so I didn't pout about Goin goods deprivation. 

Highlights included Linda's Gourmet Latkes, which I will definitely be seeking out next time I can't stand to face pounds of potatoes and hot splattering pans of oil. La Provence in Beverly Hills (and coming soon to Brentwood) made some impressive macarons, and salad bites from newly opened Culver City hot spot Akasha had an interesting spicy surprise. Tuna tartare with shiso from Michael's is the closest I've ever been to eating at that legendary room on 3rd Street, and chicken tagine from Kitchen for Exploring Foods again proved its among the city's best foolproof catering options. I also went back for seconds of Clementine's chocolate pudding.

Events like this are not easy to organize, so kudos. And I look forward to drinking Bordeaux while looking at 15th century polychrome velvet patterns.

Public Service Announcements

Just a couple small items since posting has been somewhat light lately.

Those pork chops I found in the freezer from late last year look like they have a little freezer burn, so are they safe?  Well, I can simply check here to find out.  I'm glad to have found this handy dandy FDA refrigerator and freezer food storage guidelines.

And FYI for the many NPR geeks out there: the Kitchen Sisters will be at the Hammer on the 29th.