Hello Friends,
What’s on your holiday wish list? Now that we’re past Hallowe’en, Thanksgiving and the winter holidays come into focus As the season turns, so will my food coverage. My annual gift guides – foodie, boozy, sparklers, and cookbooks – are just about ready to roll and there’s a few other goodies to pack into the season. It’s too much for one newsletter a month, so my email cadence will flow twice a month during November and December.
To get the season rolling, I’ve got some newsy bits about restaurants and a few events you should check out. Eating out and participating in your community is a balm. Distractions, like a full moon howl or trying a new restaurant, are awesome for letting the ya ya’s out and for boosting a sagging spirit. Santé! Cheers! Prost!
What’s Hot: San Francisco Restaurant Week Returns + More Events
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 late autumn.
Special dishes and drinks at Arandas HOWL
San Francisco Restaurant Week (Nov 8 – 17)
Check Out the List of Participating Restaurants
And, if you’d like to party with restaurant nerds like me and lots of other foodcentric types, there’s two signature Sf Restaurant Week events:
Full Moon HOWL (Nov 15, Dec 14)
At Healdsburg’s Arandas, Chef Felipe Hurtado and the team are celebrating the final full moons of the year (Beaver Moon and Cold Moon) with live music, tarot card readings, and some fun new dishes:
- Birria de Borrego Huarache – Slow Braised Lamb, Blue Corn Masa, Black Bean Puree, Cabbage, Cotija Cheese, & Nopal Salsa
- Pozole de Cerdo – Heirloom Pork, Hominy, Cabbage, Radish, Sweet Onion, Tostada Shell
$20 per dish!
Cocktails, like a Hunter’s Punch (bourbon, apple cider liqueur, ginger beer, cinnamon) and The Deity (lemon-infused vodka, dragon fruit, rhubarb bitters) run $10-12.
Olive Harvest Celebration at Auberge du Soleil (Nov 18-24)
If you’ve spent time anywhere on Auberge du Soleil’s Saint Helena property, you’ve likely seen the olive trees – they’ve got 33 acres of ’em! It’s finally time to celebrate the trees and their creamy fruits with a week-long party, complete with olive oil-infused cocktails at the bar, olive oil tastings and wreath making, and an Olives Six Ways Tasting Menu. The 6-course menu includes:
- Black Bass Tartare, Olio Nuovo, Avocado Meyer Lemon, Picholine Olives, Ogo, Puffed Bulgur; paired with Portugal’s 2023 Lyma – Loureiro Blend – Vinho Verde DOC
- Roasted Petrale Sole, Fennel, Razor Clams, Nicoise Olives, Yellow Eye Bean Jus paired with 2023 Sigalas – Assyrtiko from Santorini
- Sautéed Octopus, Roasted Pork Belly, Roasted Carrots, Black Olive Caramel paired with 2017 Father John “Vine Hill Road” Pinot Noir from Sonoma’s Russian River Valley
- Wolfe Ranch Quail, Roasted Garlic Crouton, Poached Quail Egg, Taggiasca Olive Vinaigrette paired with 2020 Diego Conterno – Nebbiolo from Barolo (Italy) DOCG
- Local Lamb Rib Eye, Swiss Chard, Moroccan Spiced Honey Nut Squash, Black Olive Sauce paired with a 2017 Château Belregard-Figeac – Merlot Blend Saint-Emilion Grand Cru (I’d go just for this pairing!)
Dessert is still TBD but I’m told it will be paired with Lustau’s “East India Solera” Oloroso NV Sherry. If you try this sherry, will you please tell me how it is?
Events Still Going On…
I posted these in my October 24 newsletter and they’re still going strong.
Caviar Co’s Tea Service (Nov 1-Dec 31)
Yes, the Spiced Spritz is back along with a selection of teas, and savory and sweet bites like brie and apple sandwich or poached pear panna cotta, topped with eight different caviars from around the world. The holiday season experience will be offered at their downtown Tiburon Champagne Lounge, Wednesday – Saturday, 12-4 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
$120 pp.
Left Door’s Sunday Tea Service (Nov 17, Dec 15…)
If ever there was a reason for day drinking in your Sunday best, brunch at San Francisco’s Left Door is it. The swanky cocktail lounge in Cow Hollow is typically not open while the sun is shining – and brunch is only available, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month (Nov 17, Dec 15, Jan 19, etc.).
The menu, from Executive Chef Paul Toxqui (Saison, Single Thread) is served from tiered stands, the better to savor while lounging on a chaise, my dear. Lox tartines, yuzu madeleines with savory chantilly and kaluga caviar, huckleberry waffles with black sage honey, etc. etc. can be paired with a clarified Bloody Mary, a mimosa, coffee-based NA options like horchata cold brew and a matcha tonic. No word on whether this is a singles or couples thing …
Tickets start at $250 for two people
Restaurants On My RADAR
For Stefan’s birthday, we finally returned to 2-Michelin Californios after a nine-year wait. The first time I visited San Francisco’s Californios in 2015, I left awed by chef Val Cantú’s flavors. After a recent visit, I left disappointed. What went wrong? I have thoughts.
In Palo Alto, I had the chance to experience the Turkish delight that is Meyhouse.
Back in San Francisco, I stopped in to try the gluten-free delights at the Potrero Hill outpost of Le Dix Sept, whose Passionfruit Almond Tart was a huge hit with everyone who tried it (yes, my kids loved it, too.) I was more partial to the Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Ganache (fresh green pistachios make bright green cake) and Luna Buckwheat Brownie which was not too sweet but hit the chocolate-y spot. It was even better paired with the week’s special drink, a Café Mademoiselle, a cappuccino (essentially), sweetened with brown sugar and vanilla. It warmed my soul and lifted my beaten-up spirit.
I was thrilled to learn that Chef Bruno Chemel, formerly of 2-Michelin Baumé in Palo Alto, is cooking in San Francisco. In the former Gaspare space, he’s opened a charmer of a classic French bistro, Le Parc Bistro & Bar. It’s not far from Union Square but once seated, you may as well be in Paris. What chef calls “little lettuces” are Little Gems, that’s true. But chef, with what appears to be little more than pickled onions and Parmesan, transforms lettuces into a salade you cannot stop eating. So simple. So good. Ditto the moules marinieres with frites and tartare au saumon. So simple. So good.
Check out my IG post to see the upstairs bar, which can be reserved for private dining. I’d want to go back for a Boulevardier or a Vieux Carré cocktail and to try more of the bistro fare. Yum. All the vibes.
Kothai Republic in Inner Sunset is more than a neighborhood gem. The San Francisco Standard called it “the best-kept secret in the Sunset,” so it is officially no longer a secret and I can no longer call it a hidden gem. Chef Sung Park is Korean but grew up in San Francisco. His partner in life and work, Anantachai Sanguanwong, is Thai. The resulting flavor combinations are, as chef told me, “what I like to call American food.” Creativity is the restaurant’s calling card. To wit: A self-proclaimed squash hater, Stefan could not stop eating chef’s delicata squash and arugula with gochujang brown butter. Hubs claims not to like blue cheese either, but Stefan gobbled up a plate of Hosui Pear Salad with radicchio and hazelnuts and plenty of the cheese. It works!
I fell for the beef tartare. Seasoned with culantro, and Thai chile, each bite sparkled on my tongue before little bits of puffed rice tempered the experience. I asked to try the Haw Mok as I’d only ever seen it at a now-closed Burmese restaurant in San Rafael. Chef wraps salmon and green curry inside cabbage leaves which made each bite a treat.
Monthly Cookbook Column
For my sixth review, I chose Marcella Hazan’s “Marcella’s Italian Kitchen.” The 1986 classic, updated by Hazan’s husband, Victor, and republished in 2024 with recipes from the doyenne of Italian cooking in the United States, the book looks and feels much like the original. I suspect that anyone who owns this book will turn to it time and again as a lodestar, a guide to Italian cuisine from an experienced cooking instructor who loves to teach others the joy of cooking Italian food.
Read the entire cookbook review on my website.
Find the book for purchase here.
Ready or not, here come the holidays! There will be plenty more in your inbox very soon. I can’t wait to share all of my holiday delights with you.
Thanks for reading and be in touch.
Christina