Baseball season is upon us – MLB’s Opening Day was last week and, if you have kids in sports leagues like I do (this spring, one on a baseball travel team; one on a Little League team and a travel team), your time gets pulled into managing practice and game schedules and all the gear and food that goes along with it. Yes, it is Burrito Season, the time of year when planning dinner becomes unmanageable and/or takeout, eaten alongside a field. Got a favorite bleachers or “on the sidelines” meal? If it is as nutritious and easy to eat as a burrito, I – and plenty of other soccer moms – want to know about it.  This seasonal rule does not apply for Easter, Passover or Eid-al-Fitr celebrations, when cooking and eating together – at a table – is a must.

1. What’s Hot

While researching Explore North Beach, a San Francisco Neighborhood Rich in Italian Heritage for SFGATE, I found myself revisiting the haunts I wrote about for TripAdvisor’s blog years ago (City Lights, Caffe Trieste, etc.) and marveling once again at the neighborhood’s balancing act between old and new. After chatting with my server at Bodega, I realized there are out-of-towners who confuse the wine bar in North Beach and Bodega, the Northern Vietnamese restaurant near Union Square. Both are worth a visit so let me clear things up – What’s In a Name?

2. The Definition of Crunch

I had the best time working with the editors at Plate magazine on the Crunch Issue. Not only did I get to write about the amazingly crunchy Celery Caesar Salad from chef Nick Anichini at San Francisco’s Ancora, the team put together a hilarious reel of writers crunching on various things. I crunched on celery, of course, and I’m right after the cat.

3. Where to Eat

I’ve been on something of a roll, creating neighborhood guides (focused on eating and drinking, of course) for SFGATE. Here’s one I wrote about Potrero Hill and another one about Union Square. And if you want to read about the hike I took to Alamere Falls (the lead image from last month’s newsletter), who am I to say no? It was one of my favorite Bay Area hikes, ever.

4. Name That Column!

Writing about restaurants and other foodie bits is what I do (I have plentiful things to say about San Francisco’s brand new seafood restaurant, Aphotic). But I don’t always have placements in the outlets I write for, for all of the things that catch and hold my interest.  So, I’ve started a not-yet-named column on my blog to capture Restaurant News Around the Bay Area and Wine Country. I can’t call it New In Town because I already write that column for Marin Magazine, which focuses on Marin. So, what should I call it? I’m starting with bi-weekly and will see how it goes.

4. About That Image
Perhaps because my stepfather had such a specific martini order (it necessitated a written card he could hand to a server or a somm), martinis are not usually my thing. The martini cart at Aphotic is not only fun, it delivers on the promise of a bespoke beverage that sings of the sea. The dulse-infused gin adds subtle briny notes and the caviar-stuffed olive (not pictured) amplifies and extends the experience. And who could resist that glass? I particularly like the drip of condensation in the image. It reminds the viewer of the necessity of ice-cold martini service, while the dark background, studded with orbs of light on the tables, evokes the restaurant’s spirit in a single image.

Lastly, can we say “no more!” to these April showers? I am ready for some Pilgrims.

Until we meet again,

Christina