the tablehopper | 2:04 pm | March 31, 2009 | Foodie 411 | Add a comment
Local culinary darlings Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, formerly of Rubicon, are part of an all-star line-up of chefs cooking at an upcoming event on Monday April 6th, Chefs To Know / Dine+Sign, hosted by The City Club of San Francisco and StarChefs.com. Taking part in preparing the five-course dinner is Noriyuki Sugie (formerly of Asiate, New York); Richard Corbo (Ducca); and Mark Dommen (One Market). The evening will celebrate the launch of StarChefs.com’s Chefs to Know, a comprehensive guide to chefs from around the country and the world.
The evening begins at 5:30pm with a selection of hors d’oeuvres provided by executive chef Michael Munoz of The City Club of San Francisco, followed by dinner at 6pm.
$175 including dinner, wine, tax, and service charge, and a copy of the book signed by participating chefs.
RSVP: 415-362-6697 or email michelle.kimmins [at] cityclubsf.com.
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.
the tablehopper | 11:20 am | March 26, 2009 | Foodie 411 | Add a comment
Friday April 10th is the second annual Jewish Passover Dinner at Perbacco with Joyce Goldstein. The dinner will highlight Goldstein’s renditions of well-known and lesser-known Italian-Jewish favorites, including Rome’s famed fried artichokes, which originated in its ancient Jewish ghetto. The menu also includes chopped duck liver, Italian style; Passover soup with chicken dumplings and eggs; lamb shoulder braised with olives; and veal breast stuffed with peppers and an omelet. Dinner includes antipasti, desserts, and side dishes served family style (like braised fennel, or a spring stew of fava beans, artichokes, and lettuce), and individual choices for first and second courses. Four courses for $49.
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.
the tablehopper | 1:56 pm | March 25, 2009 | Foodie 411 | Add a comment
La Folie is close to completing their lounge that’s opening in the space adjoining the restaurant (where La Boulange used to be). The lounge will serve cocktails, beer, and wine, with dishes like gougères, oysters, a lobster croque monsieur (yes, you read that correctly), cheeses (that have their very own display case), pates, and small desserts. There are around 25 seats, with couches, small tables, dark hardwood floors, tile walls, and a comfortable loungey vibe.
The lounge is opening the first week of April, but you can take a sneak peek during La Folie’s 21st anniversary party on Tuesday March 31st. The party will start with an amuse bouche in the lounge, followed by a four-course dinner with a choice of cocktails paired by Grey Goose brand attaché Christophe Namer, or wine pairings by Georges Passot. On a more serious note, a portion of the evening’s proceeds will benefit the Tocci family. Here is more from the event invite: “Carla and Sidino Tocci met while working at La Folie. They fell in love and eloped in Mexico. Soon after they became parents to a beautiful baby girl named Elizabeth. Unfortunately life took a turn for the worse and Carla was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Carla’s sudden illness has been a financial strain on the Tocci family. They are in need of financial donations because their medical expenses are out of sight. If you are unable to attend the dinner and would still like to make a donation please visit their blog at toccifamilyfund.blogspot.com. The date also has a significant meaning for Carla and Sidino because it’s their wedding anniversary.” Reception 6pm, dinner 7pm. $125 (not including tax and gratuity).
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.
the tablehopper | 12:35 pm | March 24, 2009 | Foodie 411 | Add a comment
Midi is open, the new Joie de Vivre Hospitality restaurant project in the former Perry’s Downtown space (it adjoins the Galleria Park Hotel). Michelle Mah, formerly of Ponzu, is the executive chef of this California brasserie-style restaurant, and Michael Guthrie (Myth, BIX, Tra Vigne) designed the 2,500-square-foot space. There’s a full bar, open kitchen, and a casual dining area on the street level highlighted with hot pink accent lighting; the upstairs dining room overlooks Sutter Street, and is laid out in a mix of tables and banquettes upholstered in gray fabric with subtle, thin lines of color. Menu items include a starter of veal sweetbreads with celery root puree, chanterelles, celery leaf salad; a sample main dish is Liberty Farms duck breast with Carmargue red rice cake, pea tendrils, fava leaves, and ginger-rhubarb gastrique. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat.
Corner, the new wine bar / café / hangout in the Mission opened last week. This little sister to Weird Fish will be serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus plenty of wine throughout the day. Breakfast begins at 7am, with Four Barrel coffee, house-made muffins, plus a compact and rotating menu of items like quiches (perhaps one with fresh garden herb and ricotta), waffles, crepes (like house-smoked salmon and crème fraîche), and frittata (like one with smoked bacon, crescenza, and spinach)—please note that the menu is starting small, though. There will also be a few fresh juices and smoothies.
Lunch means soup (like cream of cardamom and celery root soup), salads, panini (like grilled flank steak and red pepper coulis, all $10), and for dinner, plates to share like goat cheese-stuffed chicken with five-onion marmalade, or sides of soft gorgonzola polenta, and Brussels sprouts with guanciale. The wines span from New to Old World, and are all biodynamic, sustainable, and/or organic (ditto on the ingredients on the menu); there will also be three local beers on tap. The look is industrial-euro, with vintage fixtures, tall windows, handmade tables from salvaged wood, groovy bird-themed wallpapers, and just wait until the outside patio opens.
A few things to note: there won’t be any to-go coffee, unless you bring your own container or buy a Mason jar at Corner to put your coffee in. Also useful to know: there’s free WiFi until 4pm, and then the place closes from 4pm–5pm. The Corner reopens at 5pm, with a happy hour until 6pm, offering a complimentary small bite of something from the kitchen. Dinner is from 6pm–1am.
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.
 |
 |
 |
