Hello Friends,
For what may be my second shortest email EVER, here’s a summary:
- I’ve got four more holiday events to consider
- My latest podcast with Samantha Dorsey of McEvoy Ranch is up
- New eats via The Marin Dish
- Last call for 2025’s holiday gift guides
Happy (almost) solstice!
What’s Hot: Deck the Hall Bar & Brunch, Black Tie for NYE + More
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 December days after solstice.
The Redwood Room
Dance Party at Calistoga Depot (Dec 26)
I can’t think of a better way to shake off all the sitting and eating that is the holidays than dancing. DJ Preach, who I am told is a real preacher, will rock the very chill house that is Calistoga Depot the day after Christmas, a.k.a. Boxing Day, a.k.a. Feast of St. Steven. The dance starts during prime dinner time so grab a handheld sandwich (menu) and someone’s hand and get movin’!
December 26, 6 – 10 p.m.
Deck the Hall Bar & Brunch (thru Dec 28)
Mimosa Brunch Cruise (Dec 27)
Two hours is all you get to take in views of San Francisco and the Marin Headlands while sipping mimosas (they are bottomless, as are coffee, hot tea, iced tea and water) and savoring brunch on board a City Cruise. The breakfast menu includes the usual suspects (bacon, eggs, smoked salmon and bagels, French Toast) while the lunch menu looks more enticing (roasted vegetable and grain salad, birria chicken, hard-carved tri-tip and plentiful desserts). There’s even a kids menu for the littles.
December 27, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.; boarding time is 10:30. This cruise runs Fridays – Sundays in December.
All boats depart from Pier 3, Hornblower Landing, San Francisco.
Adults: $158, Children (4-12): $129. The littles ride free.
More Information & Reservations
Black Tie NYE at Redwood Room (Dec 31)
In what feels like the universe aligning with itself, the Redwood Room (inside The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square) is once again curating impeccable nightlife events. They’re kicking things off on New Year’s Eve with a bash zhushed up by nightlife curators Yuksel Presents, Sol Y Luna, and Vadik Presents.
You may not even notice the Art-Deco design and stunning (stunning!) redwood interiors because the legendary lounge is bringing it with:
- Red Carpet Entrance
- DJ Performances + Professional Photographer
- Multiple Event Rooms + Music Experiences
- Complimentary Party Favors
- Midnight Countdown Celebration
- Live Screening of San Francisco Fireworks on a Large-Scale Projector
- …and a Massive Balloon Drop
Snacks such as tuna poke tostada, lamb lollipops, and chipotle caramel popcorn will be available for purchase.
December 31, 2025, doors open at 9 p.m. and final revelers will be out the door by 2 a.m.on January 1.
Early bird tickets start at $25.
Holiday Gift Guides
Last call for 2025’s Gift Guides!
17 Sparkling Wines to Welcome 2026
This year, I’ve created groups: Californian, Old and New French Sparkling Wine, Charmant & Italian Method, and a few Non-Traditional selections. Skip stuffy and lean into fun sparkling wine. Anytime is the right time.
18 Boozy and Non-alcoholic Gift Ideas for 2025
Fresh, West Coast amaro, artist-driven bottles from California wineries, a non-alcoholic spritz that’s actually delicious, and a fabu Portuguese vermouth top my list of boozy gifts and non-alcoholic drink gifts this year.
As a food lover and food writer, I am asked what my favorite foods and restaurants are all the time. For my gift guide for food lovers, I looked for items from small businesses based in the American West, with a notable exception (it’s Swiss!). My list includes incredible shellfish and seafood from Washington, the cutest honey pots you’ve ever seen, a dinger of a caviar box, and some hella delicious Swiss-style cheeses. Plus chocolates and olive oil, of course.
25 Cookbooks for Everyone On Your List
My list includes cookbooks published in 2025 from the doyenne of Top Chef, Padma Lakshmi, and digs deeper into regional and blended cooking styles around the world. Alongside a cookbook that considers Korean temple cooking are two books that look at the threads that bring together the cooking from Eastern Europe to China, a Christmas cookbook highlighting the Gilded Age, two cookbooks geared towards gluten-free baking and cooking, and one from the gal who opened a cooking school in Julia Child’s Provençal home.
Purchase links are embedded in each review.
Where to Read My Work
While I plug away at launching a new website and newsletter (aiming for a New Year drop), I’ve got a few tidbits for you to chew on:
Via The Marin Dish (thanks, Kevin!), I’ve got six new places to drink and dine in Marin.
As Scoma’s (in Sausalito and San Francisco) celebrates its 60th year (!!!), I chatted with Chef Gordon Drysdale about what he changed in Mama Scoma’s cioppino recipe in “Scoma’s 60 Year Special” for Edible Marin and Wine Country magazine.
And, also for Edible, I chatted up Gary Riulli and learned all about his multi-step process for making his famous panettone in The Panettone Master.
More Restaurant News + More In 2026
I’m more than a little behind on sharing my restaurant adventures in November and December. I’ll get those recommendations into one of the next few newsletters. I’m also curating a few more podcasts…I’ll share those in the coming weeks, too.
I’m actively looking for all things delicious to kick-off 2026. Got something I should know about? Please share.
See you in 2026!
That’s a wrap for me this Roman calendar year. I am off to skate at Rockefeller Center and take in a candle-lighted “A Christmas Carol” at PAC NYC. I’ll be back in your inbox when you are back at your desk, the week of January 5, with my Best Bites or 2025 and another podcast guest (Hint: they were on “Parts Unknown” and “Top Chef.”)
Until then, merry. merry, merry and may your launch into the New Year be shiny and bright!
Christina