Inauguration Celebrations

the tablehopper | 10:26 am | January 14, 2009 | Foodie 411

Here are a few events around town celebrating the presidential inauguration on Tuesday January 20th.

There will be an inauguration celebration dinner at Melissa Claire’s Kitchen at the Velo Rouge Café on January 20th, 2009. Melissa Claire’s Kitchen transforms a small cafe into an intimate restaurant, and on January 20th, Melissa Claire’s Kitchen will host a special inauguration dinner celebration. The dinner is presented by the Commonwealth Club of California’s Bay Gourmet Forum and is open to the public.

The first course of this celebratory dinner will feature a vegetable that caused quite a commotion during the campaign: arugula. Diners will enjoy a salad of wild arugula and Medjool dates stuffed with local goat cheese and wrapped with Hobb’s Bacon. The remainder of the four-course dinner will feature local, sustainable, and seasonal ingredients. The offerings will include agrodolce-braised grass-fed Eel River brisket with soft mascarpone polenta and glazed carrots; Marina di Chioggia gnocchi with rustic cavalo nero pesto and ricotta salata, and for dessert, spiced pound cake, mixed citrus compote, and crème anglaise.

This special four-course menu includes an appetizer, mid-course, entrée and dessert as well as two glasses of paired wine, a cup of Blue Bottle coffee, plus tax and gratuity. Diners choose from two entrées. The menu will be served at one seating on Tuesday January 20th at 7pm accommodating up to 24 guests at three communal tables. Reservations for this dinner can be made though The Commonwealth Club or by calling 415-597-6705. The cost is $72 for club members and $78 for non-members.

• 798 Arguello Blvd. at McAllister.

Pisco Latin Lounge, the new bar flanking Destino on upper Market Street, has created the PiscObama Punch to honor this month’s inauguration. Mixing fresh pineapple from Barack Obama’s Hawaiian past, the lounge’s eponymous Peruvian pisco brandy and a float of cherry liqueur inspired by the state bird of Illinois, PiscObama Punch will be served throughout January.

A $5 special on January 12th, 19th, and 26th will “inaugurate” the Pan Latin venue’s new Monday hours. Regularly, Piscobama Punch will be priced at $8. Pisco Latin Lounge serves tapas, a wine list of Spanish and South American favorites plus Latin and classic inspired cocktails six days a week from 5pm–midnight, with a late menu available on Fridays and Saturdays until 1am. The lounge is now open on Mondays (and closed on Sundays) and the nightly “Social Hour” has been extended from 5pm–7pm.

• 1817 Market St. at Octavia, 415-874-9951.

Marcia Gagliardi writes a popular weekly e-column about the SF dining scene, “the tablehopper.” Subscribe for free at www.tablehopper.com and get it in your inbox every Tuesday. Got news? Email Marcia at taste@sanfrancisco.travel.