Hello, dear Readers,

I am a week late on this month’s email – and I want to let you know why.

Have you heard the term, “empathic stress?” At lunch with a friend recently, I was saying how difficult it was to focus, to work, to write. About how paralyzed I felt after the awful news out of the Mideast the previous week. (Frankly, I felt this way after Putin bombed that maternity hospital last year and after the 2016 presidential election.) This feeling, it’s something more than the wonderful German word “weltschmerz” which translates to ‘world-weariness’ or ‘melancholy.’ “Empathic stress,” she told me, is “hurting for others while feeling unable to help.” Yes, this is how I felt. Until I took my father-in-law to the San Francisco Symphony.

The program that night—Brahms on Hayden, Hillborg’s Piano Concerto #2, Beethoven’s Symphony #2, was transportive. What a joyful noise it was. I felt euphoric afterwards. Chatty. Willing to engage with the world again. More like the extrovert I am. It felt like a one-eighty. Music: the antidote to horror. The remedy for empathic stress.

If you are feeling empathic stress, please seek out something that brings you joy. Dinner with friends, a concert, a visit to a museum, a comedy show. Sing. Out loud. Go dancing. Convene with the trees on a long hike. Humans need culture. And hugs. We all need more hugs. Take care of yourself out there. Be kind. We all need more kindness. Now more than ever.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

1. What’s Hot

If one more person tells me about a “pricey” meal, I will lose it. More likely, I’ll write about it – my form of “losing it.” What does “pricey” even mean? What did it ever mean? Pricing, one of the 4 R’s of any business’s marketing mix, is always important. What does “affordable” when eating out mean to you today? I took a look at some restaurants in Napa and Sonoma that came out on the affordable side. I wrote about it for Eater SF. You can still eat very well if you look in the right places.

In my Field Notes column, I attempt to capture these new or one-off ventures and share them with my community. They are a chance to explore a different side of a restaurant, experimental dishes and flavors, or an entirely new chef. In this week’s column, I lead the news with San Francisco’s Fall Restaurant Week, which this year, is a week and a half – November 3-16 – all the better to pack in some amazing eating opportunities before the holidays.

In San Francisco, Chef Hoss Zaré is back with a Persian-Mexican concept, Movida Lounge in SoMa; artist Windy Chien dreamed up a new pasta shape which you can taste at Flour + Water; a collab dinner between Dominican-by-way-of-NYC chef Nelson German and Moscow-born chef Anya el-Wattar at Birch & Rye on October 29 promises to be epic and one-of-a-kind; Waystone opened in North Beach with wine tastings and shareable bites; and International Smoke turned to Mexican grilling (for now).

In the North Bay, Petite Left Bank in Tiburon is hosting a wine dinner with Flowers on November 9; Sterling Vineyards finally reopened its gondola; chef Janelle Weaver brings back the Bewildered Pig at a pop-up dinner at Lichen Estate; the team who make The Prisoner opened a tasting lounge in Saint Helena; and chef Darryl Bell opened a long-term pop-up for KC BBQ at Oxbow Market in Napa.

So much creativity is out there for you to experience. It’s really a ton of news with plenty more to come as we tip into holiday season. (It sneaks up on my every year.)

2. Drinking Wine in Mendocino

You may already know about the exceptional Pinot Noir coming out of Mendocino but have you dug into the region’s white wines? I don’t spend the majority my time writing about wine, but I was thrilled to discover that the county turns out some stunning white wines as well. You can read all about them in a piece I wrote for Marin Magazine – hint: go get some White Pinot Noir from Lichen Estate and Gewürztraminer from Handley Cellars.

3. More Eating News

You’ve heard about the new taqueria on Polk Street, Taco Rouge? Well, not only do they serve gluten-free empanadas and fish tacos (a huge score for those of us who are gluten intolerant), they have a compelling version of taco Árabe. Did you know about the Levantine origins of this dish? I did not and I am happy to share the news. I hear Nopalito has one, too, but I haven’t tried it. Yet.

Even though I wrote about the area for SFGATE, I’m still wrapping my head around all the flavors available in a rather compact area known as the Wine Block or the Gilman Wine Block in West Berkeley. I really need more time there, but, I can say that about any place I visit. (There’s never enough time.) Did I miss any favorites? Please let me know.

4. Coming Soon – Best Bites

As we draw ever closer to the end of the year, I am collating my thoughts on my Best Bites of 2023. (Here are my Best Bites of 2022.) Would this be of interest to you, dear reader, on a monthly basis?

5. About That Image

After a chef change, I went back to Ditas in Sausalito to see what chef John Carney had up his sleeve. I picked a night with a full moon so the dappled light on Richardson Bay as the moon rose was gorgeous. The image above, an amuse bouche of shiso leaf stuffed with beet, was a fitting beginning for a meal with exacting technique and European and Asian flavors. The best dish of the night, branzino, was a class in cheffy technique. Under pressure from my fork, it shattered to reveal an underbelly of soft flesh, a topping of crispy shallots, garlic and other nubs of yumminess cascading across the palate, each contributing distinct flavor yet building a harmonious crescendo. I daren’t put down my fork – Stefan was forking at a rate speedier than my savoring slowness could match. Yum. But my photo of the dish is terrible. Hence, shiso leaf.

Until the next time, take care and eat all the things,

Christina