Hello Friends,
How is May treating you? I am knee-deep in the annual chaos of the month with extra baseball games, meetings, and dropped balls that the imminent end of the school year seems to cough up each spring. This year, I’m counting the 100 Days of May day by day, so today is Day 11. I’m gonna need more coffee…
In the Bay Area, spring still feels lopsided. The fog breezes have begun – a little early in my estimation – and we’ve already had a few days of extraordinary, 90-degree heat. The lilacs and peonies are finished, blueberries and cherries are ready to peak at my local farmers’ market. And still, my garden is not yet planted and I am late getting this newsletter into your inbox. How’s your May getting on?
In this month’s news, I’ve got some spring events that will get you out in the fresh air – at a bar’s patio, on a restaurant roof, a winery’s veranda, or VERY outside on a ranch north of Sacramento. On my Culinary Voyages podcast, I chat with a San Francisco chef who made his way to fine dining after years in competitive sports. Plus, my monthly restaurant selections and a peek at some exceptional gluten-free pasta and pizza to experience around the Bay.
Take good care out there and let me know of any fun eats you’ve been sampling, in the Bay Area or beyond.
What’s Hot:
These are just a few of the food and food-adjacent events that have caught my attention in May.
Urban Roots Hospitality Group Culinary Director Greg Desmangles
Joseph Phelps Regenerative Table (May 15, 16 +)
A new Table Series program from Napa’s acclaimed winery immerses guests in what it takes to balance regenerative land stewardship with beguiling flavors. Begin your journey at the Home Ranch alongside Chef Tod Kawachi and the culinary team, exploring a selection of regeneratively farmed ingredients (farm-appropriate shoes recommended!). Then, head to a vineyard for a look at Phelps’ Borgo Project, showcasing the house’s commitment to biodiversity and regenerative farming. Return to the kitchen for library vintages of Backus alongside the current release paired with goodies sourced from the Home Ranch earlier in the day.
Offered beginning May 2026.
$375 per person for parties of two to four.
Reservations are required.
Make a Reservation for Regenerative Table at Joseph Phelps
AAPI Cocktail Week (May 24-28)
A week doesn’t seem like enough to celebrate the influence of Asian American and Pacific Islanders on cocktail culture in San Francisco and greater California. That said, organizers have packed in a ton of fun events around the Bay Area where you can sample fare from the likes of Bar Us in Bangkok, Penrose in Kuala Lumpur, Alice Cheongdam in Seoul, and Night Hawk in Singapore.
Highlights include:
- Monday May 25 – Double Pop-up at Trick Dog & True Laurel (with both bars serving their regular food menus)
- Tuesday, May 26 – Pandan Party at P.C.H. with 102 restaurants and bars serving bites and treats
- Wednesday, May 27 – Sunset Luau featuring Hawai’ian bars Tikehau (Maui), Makawao Public House (Maui), Monkeypod (Maui) The Row (O’ahu), Black Orchid (O’ahu), Pig & The Lady (O’ahu) and Bar Leather Apron (O’ahu)
- Thursday, May 28 – Night Market at Splash with over 25 cocktail bars and countless food vendors
All the Event Listings for AAPI Cocktail Week
Tickets for Events at AAPI Cocktail Week
Regenerative Supper at Richards Ranch (May 30)
I suspect that most who read my newsletter have attended a farm dinner or heard about the whole animal movement. You may have even read this piece about seaweed or this piece about Patagonia Provisions’ efforts at changing our food landscape using regenerative techniques. (Crikey, that was 10 years ago!) Regenerative agriculture, or the approach to farming and ranching that rebuilds soil and improves biodiversity as bulwarks against climate change, is at the heart of a NorCal farm dinner that considers how honoring the whole animal strengthens local food systems.
In the Sierra Foothills town of Oregon House (about an hour north of Sacramento),
Richards Regenerative Ranch is partnering with the Good Meat Project for a deeper dive into regenerative agriculture. The farm dinner begins with happy hour and whole-animal breakdown from Sacramento-based butcher Paul Carras, followed by an open-sky, family-style all-inclusive dinner from Urban Roots Hospitality Group Culinary Director Greg Desmangles of Sacramento.
The menu will highlight lesser-known cuts and organ meats, thoughtfully prepared to showcase flavor, respect, and craftsmanship. While the menu details are ironed out, – there is talk of beef heart anticuchos and pork liver pavé – Chef Greg and I discussed the following menu:
Passed Appetizers
- Meatballs with farce meats and offcuts
- Smoked pork cheeks pavé
- Beef liver mousse and coal-grilled onions on toast
- Green seasoning-braised, crisp-grilled spiced tripe with roti
Entrées
- Grilling spices Suyu (Nigeria) and Braai (South Africa) -spiced New York steak dressed with chermoula
- Jerk-marinated beef with escabeche pickles and Caribbean spice-grilled corn
- Grilled vegetables with Green Goddess Caesar dressing
- Spiced caramel grilled and glazed Nantes carrots
Dessert
- Pork lard biscuits with macerated strawberries and black-pepper whip
- S’mores tart with tallow crust
- Salt and pepper sugar cookie with lard
Proceeds will benefit Good Meat Project’s national work that strengthens connections across the ethical meat value chain including producer education, supply chain collaboration, and independent meat economies across the country.
$190 per person with an option to glamp overnight (additional fee)
Make a Reservation for Richards Ranch Regenerative Farm Dinner
Spring Tea at Montage (ASAP)
Savor the serenity of wine country by sipping tea and enjoying tiered platters of savory and sweet treats at a new tea service offered in the Montage Hotel’s Scout Field Bar. Locally sourced teas and plentiful small bites make a meal or an interlude and a chance to gaze at the epic scenery just beyond the hotel windows.
Highlighted Bites:
- Point Reyes Toma Gougéres
- Tuna Tartare Waffle Cone with avocado and preserved lemon
- Sonoma Olive Oil Scone with Dry Creek peach jam and cultured butter
- Smoked Salmon Toast with cucumber and Kaluga caviar
- Macarons, Mignardises & Sugar Cookies
$95
Reservations are required.
Make a Reservation for Spring Tea at Montage
Rise Over Run’s New Menu (ASAP)
Destination dining doesn’t get much cooler than the shimmering, glass-encased rooftop restaurant, Rise Over Run. Perched atop Timbri Hotel in San Francisco’s MidMarket neighborhood, the restaurant’s Chef Michael Rosenthal launched a new menu in honor of the hotel’s first anniversary.
The new, all-day menu includes small plates like protein-rich Chia Seed Pudding and Avocado Toast but I like the Famished section of the menu. That’s where Shrimp & Grits, BBQ Burger, and Chicken & Waffles reside. Later in the day, the house shifts to dinner, inside or out on the wrap-around deck where the epic views feel even more intimate. Start a meal with friends with a Super Bites Tower including Miso-glazed Pork Belly Skewers, Bay-spiced Dungeness Crab Cake and Deviled Eggs. Still hungry? Fried Chicken & Biscuits with all the sauces or Fish & Chips will take the hangry edge off.
Make a Reservation at Rise Over Run
Where to Read My Work
Yes, my website and newsletter rebrand are still rolling. The glitches are mostly worked out now – yay! – but there is always more to do. Ping me, please, if anything still looks weird to you.
In other writings:
Gluten-free restaurants and gluten-free dining in the San Francisco Bay Area is changing. Chefs and restaurateurs around the San Francisco Bay Area are cooking up new gluten-free dishes – handmade and/or better quality – that are actually great. After 20+ years of eating (mostly) gluten-free, I’m tasting an elevation in gluten-free pasta and pizza at Italian restaurants and elsewhere. Read all about it in Exceptional Gluten-Free Restaurants Around the Bay Area.
More next month!
Where to Eat: 7 Places to Eat Now
Sweet Potato Mochi with salsa macha at San Francisco’s Octavia – photo credit Christina Mueller
Now that my new website is launched and most (but not all) of the glitches sorted, I’m putting my restaurant coverage – Where to Eat and Best Bites – there.
For May, I consider Chef Melissa Perello’s long-running Octavia and 100% gluten-free Clementina in San Francisco, AYA, the new rooftop hotspot in Sonoma, and a few restaurant delights on a college reunion visit to Saint Louis.
Read my May Where to Eat column on my website. And here’s April’s Where to Eat.
What I’m Watching
I had not heard about Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars until I chatted with a chef who was interviewing to be on the Prime Video show. After watching a few episodes – the ups, downs, heartaches and successes – I decided the whole point of the show is its lack of polish. No glitzy hostess in spangled dress; Instead, there is host Jesse Burgess, a food content creator and filmmaker who I was not familiar with prior to watching. (I guess I’ve been living under a rock??) This dude is low key, low key and the show’s vibes are documentary style – a never-ending circle of finding cash, finding customers and finding staff and ingredients. It’s real up in here.
I found myself rooting for the guys and gals working in basements and in the gaps between subway lines. (Suddenly, working above ground feels like a luxury.) You may find yourself rooting for underdogs yet finding no real villains, just people passionate about food and restaurants. I think my heart broke twice in a single episode. If documentary food TV is your thing, this could be a good show for you.
Need a story that is 100% feel-good? I loved this piece in The Guardian about a Little Joy Coffee, a coffee shop in Northfield, Minnesota. They posted about why the house Raspberry Danish Latte costs 8 bucks. And guess what? Amidst all the chatter about affordability (and probably a good dose of social promotion from the Gen Z-ers at nearby St. Olaf’s and Carleton College), the reality is that, to make the drink involves a lot of human labor and time. So, the shop teaches you how to make it, part of a series called “DIY or Buy.” It’s a heaping dose of what a friend calls “Minnesota Nice” and a reminder that little coffee shops are looking out for each other. I’d call that community.
About That Image
In Rohnert Park, AYA, a rooftop stunner from Rockwell Group, opened earlier this month. At the media lunch, Chef Chef Roy Ellamar (L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Harvest, Las Vegas) showcased the flavors of his Hawaiian-Filipino heritage in dish after dish. Though I did not get to try the Shrimp & Crab Lumpia, I did get to taste Ember-roasted Carrots with macadamia nut pesto and Delta Asparagus with yuzu béarnaise, shining examples of classic California fare. American-raised Kuro Wagyu Picanha with mushroom tare and beef tallow potatoes was nicely on-trend and I could die happy after trying Ellamar’s Koji Black Cod. Simply executed with just enough char to bring out the creaminess of the flesh, it’s an instant classic.
Thanks for reading and be in touch.
Christina