Hello Friends,

Even if you celebrate Greek Orthodox Christmas on Epiphany (January 6/7), you have officially reached the far side of the holidays – congratulations! The season, even with meticulous planning, is always more intense than I expect. 2024’s holiday season felt even crazier as Thanksgiving fell so late.

Are you celebrating Dry January? Did you make any resolutions for 2025? I looked back at my 2024 to-do’s and, well, let’s just say I’m ready for a do-over. I’ve got chills from watching what’s going on in L.A. with these Santa Ana-driven fires. The stories coming out of the region are horrific – fire does not care where you live or what car you drive or whether you are an influencer. it’s a lot. I pray for safe passage for everyone in SoCal.

Here in NorCal, our recent rains created a safety barrier from the winds. It’s unusually warm and sunny. Everyone is out and about, savoring the dry spell. If your spirit needs some support – January is always an odd character, even without terrifying fires – I’ve found a couple of special events to consider.

And, if you’d like to hear more from me before Groundhog Day, drop me a note if there’s something I cannot miss. Now that we’ve hit ’25, my newsletter cadence returns to its monthly norm. Whew!

What’s Hot:

Not all together and not all at the same time. These are just a few of the food and food-adjacent events that have caught my attention in the first few weeks of the year.

North Block salad

North Block salad from Executive Chef Juan Cabrera

North Block’s Restaurant Week Menu (Jan 13-19)

January is restaurant month in Napa Valley with the week of January 13-19 set aside for Yountville. To honor the event, Executive Chef Juan Cabrera at North Block restaurant crafted a three-course prix fixe menu with options for every course:

Farm Salad featuring Tenbrink Farm Greens, local shaved vegetables, and a delicate Banyuls vinaigrette (or) Lobster Bisque with butter-poached lobster medallion, crème fraiche, and chervil
Snake River Farm Short Rib with wild mushrooms, creamy potatoes, and Bordelaise sauce (or) Vermilion Rockfish with caper butter sauce and baby spinach
Macallan 18 Caramel Budino with muscovado sugar, pistachio, and Chantilly cream (or) Tiramisu Tradizionale with mascarpone cheese, lady finger, Frangelico, and Valrhona cocoa powder

$55 per guest

Make a Napa Restaurant Week Reservation at North Block

Simone + Boon Collabs (Jan 22-24)

Simone Caporale calls himself a bartender but the drinks he creates as co-founder of SIPS Barcelona, the world’s number one bar in 2023 (according to World’s 50 Best), are so insanely creative, I feel more comfortable with “magician.” Whatever you call his wizardry in a glass, Caporale is coming to San Francisco this month. For three days only, for drinking and dining at San Francisco’s Empress by Boon.

Wednesday, January 22: Cocktail reception at 7:00 p.m.; $125 per person
Thursday, January 23: Chef Ho’s multi-course tasting menu dinner, paired with Caporale’s cocktail creations; $225 per person
Friday, January 24: Cocktail-making masterclass with Caporale at 1:30 p.m. ($100 per person) and a cocktail pairing dinner ($225 per person)

Perhaps Caporale’s “On Fire” cocktail expresses the bartending jujitsu that Caporale is known for? It’s a drink that combines the unexpected sweetness of sweet potato juice with a bold, smoky edge. The result? A journey into flavors you never thought could work together. And it’s only the beginning.

Make a Reservation for a Simone + Boon Experience

Burgers & Bordeaux at MacArthur Place (thru Jan 31)

Each Monday and Tuesday of January, swing by The Bar at MacArthur Place in downtown Sonoma. That’s when the restaurant is hosting a build-your-own burger menu. Beginning at $10, stack candied bacon, fried egg, or avocado atop a classic burger bun. You don’t have to drink Bordeaux with your burger, but why not? Impossible burgers are available, too.

Reservations are not required but are recommended.

Make a Reservation at MacArthur Place

Golden Hour High Tea at Movida (on-going)

A new way to experience happy hour? Yes! The good people at Movida in San Francisc’s SoMa neighborhood would like you to reconsider the hours of 4-6 p.m., from Mondays – Thursdays. It’s Golden Hour, baby! The new program includes a 3-layered tray of homemade savory and sweet delights accompanied by a carafe of the house “tea,” a.k.a. the house’s inimitable Shishi cocktail. It’s yuzu bergamot black tea mixed with Grapefruit-Rose Ketel One, Coit Caravan, and lychee juice.

Tiered treats include:

Baklava, profiteroles, and brownie bites
Persian cucumber sandwiches, smoked salmon bites, and shrimp Louie paninis
Crudités served with a fusion dip

Available 4-6 p.m., Monday-Thursday ONLY.

$88 for the whole shebang.

Reservations strongly recommended.

Make a Reservation at Movida

Dirty Habit’s New NA Cocktails (on-going)

Do cocktails have to have alcohol to be delicious? Absolutely not. And January might be the best month to see what flavors are burbling up in the non-alcoholic space. At SoMa’s Dirty Habit, the veeery vibey restaurant and bar with a deck to die for on the 5^th floor of Hotel Zelos, lead bartender, Steve Marshall has whipped up a couple that focus on winter’s best flavors: ginger/spiced syrup and lemon/lavender.

• Lavender Lie ($14): An alcohol-free tequila cocktail featuring lavender, lemon and grapefruit juice.

(Ingredients: 2 oz Ritual alcohol-free Tequila, ¾ oz lavender syrup, 1 oz lemon, ½ oz grapefruit juice, 1 tsp butterfly pea flower)

• The Mock Toddy ($14): An indulgent alcohol-free whiskey creation with ginger honey syrup and spiced syrup.

(Ingredients: 2 oz Ritual alcohol-free Whiskey, 1 oz lemon, ¾ oz ginger honey syrup, ¾ oz Spiced syrup)

If you’re skipping carbs this month, too, that means more Japanese milk bread and grilled cheese with tomato bisque from the Happy Hour menu for meeeee!

Reservations not required but are recommended.

Make a Reservation at Dirty Habit

About That Image

When I visited Movida in late 2023, I was stunned by chef Hoss Zaré’s technique in an aguachile, so much so that the dish made my Best Bites list in 2023. The lounge is also a stunner with crushed velvet seating and aquamarine walls which shimmer when the DJ is laying down a hot set. This photo of the three tiered Golden Hour tea set is as stunning as the restaurant.

Thanks for reading and be in touch.

Christina