Slow Food San Francisco and ECOSF's Bee Keeping and HYPER LOCAL Honey Tasting

When:
08/29/10

What does the Glen Park neighborhood "taste" like? Is it different from the Mission? What flowers grow in the Sunset and how will the honey taste?

Sample the "terrior" of neighborhoods as gathered by bees. City Bees has bee hives all over town collecting nectar and making honey for the feeding of the young. Luckily, their hard work will result in honey with amazing flavor and texture variations . Come find out what your neighborhood "taste" like!

Join Slow Food San Francisco at the Farm School for HYPER LOCAL HONEY TASTING. Robert MacKimmie of "City Bees," will guide a tasting of honeys gathered from different neighborhoods in San Francisco.

Overview of Activities

11am-1pm (Firing up the oven, Farm tour and basic bee keeping teach)
1pm-2pm (Cooking with honey in the Cob Brick oven by Slow Food SF's Naomi Friedman and Xanthie Drankus)
3pm-5pm (Honey Tasting by Robert MacKimmie)

Farm School is located behind School of the Arts on O'Shaughnessy and Portola in the Glen Park/Diamond Heights area. Park in the lot on O'Shaughnessy and walk downhill to the football field. The Farm is behind the Bleachers.

Note: It is very windy here (sun or fog)!

Slow Food Convivial Table at Contigo

When:
08/03/10

Slow Food San Francisco invites you to a special Convivial Table dinner at CONTIGO. We will meet both owners, Elan Drucker and Brett Emerson, hear them talk about their vision, resources and methods and enjoy several courses with optional wine pairing (cost of beverages not included in the dinner ticket, please bring cash).

Contigo is a Spanish and Catalan restaurant in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. The menu features rustic dishes inspired by the vivid flavors of Barcelona. They're the only restaurant in San Francisco where you can sample the fabled jamon iberico de bellot--and a daily Catalan coca (flatbread) from the wood burning oven. Everything is cooked from scratch using the products of our local, organic, and humane farmers, ranchers and artisans.

Contigo's ambience combines the bustling energy of a contemporary Barcelona bar with the intimacy of a rustic farm kitchen.

Environmental sustainability and respect for nature's resources lie at the very core of Contigo. During the two years it took to design and construct our restaurant, the theme of "reduce, reuse, recycle" was revisited time and time again. The walls in our dining room were made from 100-year-old redwood that was salvaged during the restaurant's construction. Water glasses are made from recycled wine bottles.

Slow Food San Francisco East Bay Members Picnic/ Potluck

When:
07/24/10

Slow Food San Francisco members are invited to celebrate the swinging summer by enjoying a lovely, relaxed and very SLOW picnic under the gorgeous trees in Berkeley's Tilden Park. This is an opportunity to meet other San Francisco Slow Food members who reside in the East Bay.

Bring yourself, something edible and delicious and a blanket. As this event is on the "slower side" please note that you must bring your own eat-ware; plates/cutlery/cups. We will be setting up a grill if you'd like to throw something on the "barbie". It's a potluck so if you can bring a dish to share (serves 8) please do so.

Since Berkeley can get foggy we encourage you bring a jacket. (You never know how the weather will hold up).
See You There! Please RSVP

Slow Food San Francisco Members Picnic

When:
07/24/10

Slow Food San Francisco members are invited to celebrate the swinging summer by enjoying a lovely, relaxed and very SLOW picnic under the sun in SOMA's lovely South Park.

Bring yourself, something edible and delicious and a blanket. As this event is on the "slower side" please note that you must bring your own eat-ware; plates/cutlery/cups.

Since the summer weather has been tricky we encourage you bring a jacket.
See You There! Please RSVP

The 7th Annual Golden Glass Wine Tasting

When:
06/12/10

For the seventh year running The Golden Glass will be held at San Francisco's Fort Mason center. This year's festivities will take place on Saturday, June 12th, 2010. This event is open wine producers from all over the world. And as a result we are hoping to build upon the buzz created by last year's event by placing a greater emphasis on sustainability.

The 2010 Golden Glass will celebrate the efforts of over 100 international wine producers who strive to protect, nurture, and revive the indigenous and classic varieties of their regions. The wineries will be clustered in designated, regional areas throughout the pavilion to help attendees taste and learn about the regional and terroir nuances directly from the winemakers and proprietors themselves.

Slow Food Plaza will also be expanded. Focusing solely on food this "Plaza" pays homage to the open food markets found in Italy and other European countries where tasting the best and freshest foods, seasonal vegetables, salami, cheeses and breads directly from the hands of the purveyor was a given as opposed to a novelty. Last year's event garnered over 25 local food purveyors along with a dozen NGO's. This year we expect to have over three-dozen local food purveyors showcasing their most flavorful products in taste-sized portions.

Slow Food San Francisco's annual Golden Glass is a lively gastronomic and educational event featuring the year's most talked-about international wines complemented by culinary delights from the Bay Area's top restaurants and artisan producers.

Both Wine Pavillion and Slow Food Plaza ticket include 5 food tasting tickets. Additional Food tickets can be purchased at the event or online.

Golden Glass Winemaker Dinner + Celebration of Abruzzo

When:
06/11/10

We find ourselves once again in June about to present and enjoy our very successful event The Golden Glass, this year being our 7th annual fundraiser. This is our only large event to generate funds for our projects for the year. It would give me great me great pleasure to see you there.

You will remember that this year Slow Food USA spoke of the Sustain Abruzzo project that helped farmers after the Abruzzo earthquake. This also helped the Galano family reconstruct their barn resulting in renewed production of their cheese and giving us the possibility now to taste their cheese.

We will be having a dinner at Acquerello, this Friday, where we will be serving the Galano family's cheese with five wines from Abruzzese wineries in the Colline Teramane region. My sister will be here from Abruzzo to prepare with Suzette Gresham, chef at Acquerello, a "timballo" (timbale) Teramano to recreate an Abruzzese evening. Here is the menu for the dinner that will serve 24 people:

Assorted Hors d'oeuvres:
(Az. Agr. Illuminati, Ciafre DOC 2007)
***
Sliced crudo of Hiramasa with 'pearls' of Gaeta caviar and saffron scented red onion vinaigrette
***
Lobster panzerotti in a spicy lobster brodo with "Diavolicchio"
(Az. Agr. San Lorenzo, Trebbiano San Lorenzo DOC 2009)
***
Timballo Abruzzese di Teramo
(Az. Agr. Scarpone, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCG 2007)
***
Breast of guinea hen stuffed with truffled guinea sausage, and polenta taragna
(Az. Agr. Illuminati , Zanna DOCG Colline Teramane 2006 Az. Agr. San Lorenzo, OINOS Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCG 2007)
***
Lamb loin wrapped in lamb sausage, roasted fennel and marble potatoes
(Az. Agr. Strapelli, Celibe Riserva Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCG 2003 Az. Agr. Centorame, Castellum Vetus Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006)
***
Cheeses from Abruzzo:
Marcelli di Aversa d'Abruzzo- Sheep
Galano Farm Fossa, Aquila- Cow

Homemade chocolate truffles
Choice of coffee or teas

To those of you who love the Abruzzo region and the Abbruzzese cuisine and wines, I will see you at Acquerello this Friday. - Lorenzo Scaropne

Slow Food Convivial Table: An Italian Garden Dinner

When:
05/18/10

Slow Food San Francisco would like to invite you for an incredibly special meal at Poggio Trattoria in Sausalito.

"Poggio" means "hill" in Italian and just up the hill from Poggio Trattoria, is the restaurant's very own natural spring-fed organic garden - the fertile former grounds of Sausalito Watercress.

The evening will begin the with a tour of the gardens by Poggio's gardener, Chicory Almond, to discover the inspiration for many of the restaurant's dishes.

Next you will return to the restaurant for a family-style Italian garden feast prepared by Executive Chef Peter McNee. Enjoy Poggio's signature house-cured Salumi and wood-fired Schiacciata, Green Garlic Sformato, Spit-roasted Pork raised on Marin ranches, and Panna Cotta with Strawberries and Aceto Balsamico.

Suggested wine pairings that have been chosen to complement the menu will be available.

Please be aware that tickets are expected to sell out quickly.

Slow Food San Francisco Presents: Way of Nature

When:
04/28/10

Slow Food San Francisco is proud to co-present Way of Nature, directed by Nina Hedenius, at the 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival which runs from Apirl 22nd to May 6th.

Way of Nature is a mostly wordless meditation on the seasonal ebb and flow of life's rhythms on a remote Swedish farm, where the sights and sounds build to create an elegantly subtle drama of biodiversity and sustainability in action.

The film screens Saturday, April 24 at 2pm at the Pacific Film Archive; and Sunday, April 25 at 345pm; Monday, April 26 at 1pm; and Wednesday, April 28 at 630 pm at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas.

Slow Food San Francisco's Earth Day Happy Hour

When:
04/22/10

Slow Food San Francisco welcomes all members and non-members to celebrate Earth Day amongst foodie friends.

On Thursday, April 22nd please join us at The Plant Cafe Organic for a happy hour on the patio. Share appetizers, drinks and colorful conversation about all things "slow" and sustainable. Meet other Slow Food members as well as a few of the Slow Food committee. Space on the patio is very limited so you are very much encouraged to RSVP for this event.

The idea of a global holiday called Earth Day was first introduced at a UNESCO Conference on the Environment in 1969. The first Earth Day proclamation was issued by San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto on March 21, 1970. Now celebrated in over 150 countries, Earth Day activities comprise the largest secular holiday in the world. Slow Food San Francisco is honored to be able to be a part of this decades long tradition and wishes everyone a wonderful Earth Day 2010.

Pantry Item Tastings - Dried Chiles

When:
04/13/10

Please join Slow Food San Francisco on the inaugural evening of a new series called Pantry Item Tastings.

Meet us at Charanga Restaurant on April 13th, 2010 where you will be invited to try your hand at tasting the difference between ancho, pasilla, guajillo chiles and other less-well known varieties. Learn about how these chiles are prepared andwhat dishes best showcase each flavor. There will be six varieties of chiles presented. And yes-- some (but not all) will be HOT.

After the tasting, you are welcomed to stay for the dinner** - a six-plate, tasting menu with each plate showcasing one of the 6 chiles you've just learned about. The tasting dinner will be an additional prix fixe cost of $30.

**Reserve for the dinner directly at the restaurant (415)282-1813. Mention Slow Food Dinner.

Slow Food San Francisco 'Neighborhood Gem' Tours Veritable Vegetable

When:
03/27/10

Our "Neighborhood Gem" Tours are an offshoot of Slow Food San Francisco's Convivial Table. These are a series of free (or nearly free) tours to favorite food purveyors in the Bay Area, designed to both educate about the choices we have available and to introduce our members to the important people providing our food.

Veritable Vegetable is offering a free tour of their facility to 15 Slow Food members. We will have the opportunity to tour the warehouse, learn about their operation, meet some of the people, ask questions, and even taste a few special items. We expect our visit to last between 1.5 and 2 hours.

Most of our "Neighborhood Gem" destinations are to pioneer businesses who have led the way in advocating for sustainable sources, responsible practices, and superior quality. Though you may not recognize their name, few organizations better represent this description than Veritable Vegetable. Veritable Vegetable is no exception. For 35 years, it has provided the vital link between organic farmers and concerned retailers. Veritable Vegetable can be seen as the connection between hundreds of the best growers and top purveyors. They purchase and transport large quantities of peak organic produce and then quickly redistribute to restaurants and other sellers.

Please come see the inner-workings of such a wonderful spearhead of making sure that good quality eats get to our Bay Area tables. Since there is limited space available, we must insist that members are considerate of others hoping to attend by avoiding late cancellations and no-shows. This will be a fun and informative tour of an important piece of our local food scene. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Slow Food Convivial Table: Dinner Inside ThirstyBear Brewing Company cellar

When:
03/16/10

The Slow Food SF Convivial Table will next be found in a truly special space; inside the ThirstyBear Brewing Company cellar - the actual brewery.**

We will dine on 4 courses of contemporary Spanish cuisine prepared by chef Jessica Gorin, featuring fresh local ingredients, and paired with house-brewed organic beers. The menu will celebrate the beginning of Spring by utilizing fiddlehead ferns, Knoll Farms pea tendrils, T&D Willey baby artichokes, and more.

Guests are also invited to sample directly from the fermenters, and try select beers aged in bourbon and wine barrels right next to our table (cutting our carbon footprint down to roughly zero steps).

Joining us for dinner will be ThirstyBear founder (and original Brewmaster) Ron Silberstein and current Brewmaster Brenden Dobel. They will share their expertise on crafting renowned beers, brewing organic, utilizing locally sourced sustainable ingredients and other topics - plus do their best to answer all our questions. They also happen to be two exceptionally nice guys. You'll enjoy getting to know them.

The cost for this delicious four course meal with the beer pairings and tastings included, is $45. We then add the taxes, gratuity, and a $5 donation to Slow Food San Francisco, which brings the ticket purchase price to $64. Slow Food members are offered first priority (you will need your "discount" code provided in the next membership email) before tickets are made available to the general public. We expect them to sell out quickly.

**View Photos of the Last Cellar Dinner

Slow Food Panel Discussion: How do we close the food gap?

When:
03/11/10

Join Slow Food and Bay Area food justice leaders for a panel discussion on 'how to make good, clean & fair food accessible for everyone'. The discussion will be moderated by Mark Winne author of "Closing the Food Gap".

Panelist include:
Ecology Center - Martin Bourque, Executive Director
Food First/Oakland Food Policy Council - Annie Shattuck, Coordinator
Glide - Bruce McKinney, Manager Free Meal Program
People's Grocery - Nikki Henderson, Executive Director
SF Food Bank - Paul Ash, Executive Director
Slow Food USA - Josh Viertel, President
Program to close with an audience question and answer session.

The Slow Food Convivial Table: Supper at Slow Club

When:
02/25/10

Slow Club is among the most pleasing and stylish restaurants in the city. They feature a frequently changing menu of robust American cuisine utilizing responsibly produced local ingredients whenever possible. Chef Matthew Paul and owner Erin Rooney are putting together an exciting four-course menu just for our table. We'll be treated to a healthy sampling of their seasonal menu, including two appetizers (one will be vegetarian) and two different salads, served family style, so we can taste all. We'll then be offered a choice of two individual entrees (one meat, one fish) followed by a choice of two desserts.

In addition to the great food and sleek ambiance, Chef Matt has promised to spend ample time with us to talk about the menu, some favorite local purveyors, and to answer our questions. As an added bonus, Erin intends to dine with us at the table - so we'll all have the opportunity to chat with and get to know one of San Francisco's notable restaurateurs (she also owns Serpentine).

If you haven't dined with us at The Convivial Table, these informal, delicious, and educational outings are designed to introduce our members to each other and to some of the leading chefs and quality food providers in the Bay Area. Many guests arrive solo (and few know more than one other person) but there is quickly a feeling of friendship and conviviality. We have 10 seats available at the Slow Club Convivial Table, and it promises to be another memorable evening. We hope you'll join us.

Once again, Slow Food Members may use the code provided in our direct emails to secure tickets before they are made available to the general public next week.

Slow Food San Francisco and the Ferry Building presents: "Food From the Heart"

When:
02/12/10

Get into the Valentine's Day spirit by strolling through the candlelit Grand Nave of the Ferry Building Marketplace as the 7th annual "Food From the Heart" kicks off on Friday, February 12th, with a benefit for Slow Food San Francisco..

Experience the beauty of the waterfront by night as the entire Marketplace will be open from 5 to 8pm for Valentine shopping. There will be tango and salsa dancing, and classical music to serenade visitors. Bring your appetites as the merchants and restaurateurs of the Marketplace will offer chocolate tastings, seasonal hors d'oeuvres ($2 per taste) and local Napa Valley Vintners will pour wine ($4 per glass). And for the chocolate lovers out there, local confectioner Michael Recchiuti and Parisian artist Mark Alsterlind will demonstrate what happens when art mixes with confections by painting with chocolate.

Proceeds from purchases of wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres benefit Slow Food San Francisco sending a delegate from CUESA to Terra Madre in the Fall of 2010.

Convivial Table: Dinner at Hayes Street Grill

When:
02/04/10

Due to the extremely high demand for our Evening on Sustainable Seafood at Hayes Street Grill, we are moving into the restaurant's larger dining room and now making additional seats available. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and thank the entire community for your overwhelming interest and support.

If you do not see tickets for sale, it means we are completely sold out. Please DO NOT call the restaurant as all tickets are accounted for on our ticket page.

The Slow Food San Francisco Convivial Table (formerly the Dinner Club) invites you to a special evening of fresh, local, and sustainable seafood. Thursday, February 4, at Hayes Street Grill.

We will be sampling the best of the daily catch from local fishermen, expertly prepared for us in the Hayes Street kitchens. For three decades, Hayes Street Grill has proudly featured fresh seafood (and naturally raised meats) paired with local seasonal produce in numerous simple preparations designed to let the natural flavors and freshness of the ingredients shine.

Patricia Unterman is a partner and chef at the restaurant. She is also a celebrated food critic and author (including the indispensable San Francisco Food Lover's Guide) who is one of the most respected figures on the San Francisco culinary scene. We are delighted that she will be dining with us - to talk, to teach, to smile and laugh, and to share her thoughts. The primary topic of discussion on this particular evening will be sustainable seafood.

Patty has also invited her friend and purveyor Paul Johnson of Monterey Fish Market to join us at The Convivial Table. Paul too is a distinguished chef and author, plus an impassioned advocate for responsible fishing practices. In 2008, Paul won the prestigious IACP "Cookbook of the Year" and numerous other awards for his book Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting and Preparing Healthy, Delicious and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood. He also serves on the advisory board of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program, an organization devoted to the conservation of our oceans and waterways.

Together, Patty and Paul have also invited Larry Collins, one of their favorite local fishermen, to share his experiences as well. Diners will have abundant opportunities to meet, ask questions, and chat with all our guests as we enjoy a specially prepared seafood dinner. br />
The dinner cost is $33 per person. We then include tax, gratuity, and a $5 donation to Slow Food San Francisco - so the final ticket cost becomes $48. Beverages and related tax and tip are extra. Ticket sales have been limited to 35 to allow all guests the opportunity to interact and hear comfortably.

Depending on the morning catch, our dinner will include many of the these seasonal offerings:
Dungeness crab, Drake's Estero oysters, Hog Island clams, Monterey Bay sardines, San Pedro calamari, Local ling cod, Bolinas black cod, and Half Moon Bay opah, supplemented by outstanding local produce from Mariquita and our farmers at the Ferry Plaza Farmers market. We will be serving family style so that guests may sample multiple dishes.

Due to the larger size of this Dinner Club gathering, tickets will be made available to the public following this initial offering to Slow Food members. Purchase now to insure your evening with Patricia Unterman, Paul Johnson, Larry Collins, and a feast of friends from Slow Food San Francisco.

Slow Food Volunteer Happy Hour

When:
01/20/10

In the last year we have received over 100 submissions from members and non-members who wish to volunteer more to Slow Food. THANK YOU! In our planning for 2010 we would like to invite those who signed up, to meet for a discussion on opportunities, ideas and how we can better work as a team. Being volunteers ourselves, it does take a lot of time to coordinate everyone who'd like to be involved. Thank you for being patient while we work on where and how we can use all of your excellent talents.

This is a free event, and we appreciated you RSVPing.

Slow Food Dinner Club: Supper at Spork Restaurant

When:
01/12/10

Please join the Slow Food Dinner Club at Spork Restaurant. Yep, Spork - like the combination spoon/fork utensil you often see at fast food chains. Chef Bruce Binn, who has cooked at many of the Bay Areas favorite restaurants, has revamped a former Kentucky Fried Chicken space. Rather than ignore the building's culinary history though, the Spork team has embraced it. What they've done is Slow things down considerably to feature their own interpretation of American classics.

The focus here is on fresh, seasonal, sustainable, and top quality - with an added dose of whimsy mixed in for fun. We have reserved a table for 10. Bruce is preparing a special meal for us to include appetizers, full entrees and desserts. He will personally join us to discuss the restaurant's concept and the inspiration behind its menu - plus answer questions.

Tickets are $57 per person, which includes three full courses, related taxes, gratuities and a $5 donation to Slow Food San Francisco. Diners are invited to purchase beverages individually from a notable selection of single varietal wines and bottled beers. (Please remember your servers when making additional purchases.)

We hope to see you there but in the meantime,
Happy holidays from Slow Food San Francisco.

Grandmother Workshop #7- New Mexican Holiday Feast: Posole, Feast Day Cookies

When:
12/13/09

Please help Slow Food San Francisco ring in the Holiday Season by attending our New Mexican Holiday Feast Grandmother's Workshop. We will be making Posole, a delicious stew of pork, dried hominy and chilies, Feast Day cookies, and other traditional New Mexican celebratory dishes.

Our Grandmother for this class is Anna Budinger, a long time resident of San Francisco who is not only a business analyst and an amateur historian (BA in History UC Santa Cruz), but she's a self-taught cook. Anna, whose family hails from New Mexico, has decided to share her knowledge of New Mexican cooking-- which today is a wonderful incorporation of Pueblo Indian, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo foodstuffs and culinary traditions. This Grandmother Workshop, however, will focus on the dishes that predate the arrival of the Anglo pioneers when Pueblo Indian cooks fully integrated such Spanish imports as pork, sugar, old world spices and wheat into their traditional dishes based on chilies, beans, corn and, squash.

Please note that in keeping with the traditional preparation of these delightful dishes, lard was and is used extensively in New Mexican cooking and will be used in this workshop as well.

If the sound of a sumptuous meal coupled with a little taste of American history strikes your fancy, please purchase your tickets for this workshop today.

Cookbook & Recipe Exchange Happy Hour

When:
12/10/09

Join Slow Food SF members for a celebration of the Terra Madre Day, and the holiday season, by swapping recipes and cookbooks. Terra Madre Day celebrations will raise awareness of the importance of "eating locally". Of the 7 pillars of Terra Madre we are doing this exchange to preserve language, culture and traditional knowledge. To see all 7 pillars please visit the Terra Madre Day website.

Bring at least 1 cookbook to trade and 1 favorite recipe (with at least 10 copies). Any cookies and holiday treats would be great to share as well. We will provide swapping details, and holiday inspired drinks to set the mood.

This is a free event but please rsvp as we do have a capacity. If you can not make it please cancel. During the rsvp process we are also asking for your favorite Holiday tradition. We will compile the answers for out blog.

Slow Food Dinner Club Tours: Avedano's Meat Market

When:
12/06/09

Please join the Slow Food San Francisco Dinner Club for a mini tour of local gem Avedano's Meat Market. Spend a Sunday morning with Slow Food as owner Melanie Eisemann explains the store's mission and brief history, demonstrates some of their methods and answers questions. We will then be given "first pickin's" to purchase what we would like before the store opens.

If you are not already familiar with Avedano's Meat Market at 235 Cortland, in Bernal Heights, it is a fascinating story worth looking into. This small neighborhood butcher shop and grocery is offering some of the best meats, seafood, and other products available in the Bay Area - all with friendly and knowledgeable customer service.

Avedano's does their butchering in house, the old fashioned way - from responsibly raised, hormone and antibiotic-free animals. They offer selections of both grass-fed and grass-fed, grain-finished beef, heritage breed pork, and pasture raised chickens and eggs from respected local producers including Soul Food Farm (Solano County), Magruder Ranch (Mendocino County), Long & Bailey (San Joaquin County) and 5 Dot Ranch (Lassen County). They pride themselves in their sustainable seafood selection and also feature sausages and chicharrones from Ryan Farr's 4505, plus countless other treasures including Kika's Treats and Daily Scoop Gelato.

This is a free event, limited to the first 15 members who respond to Steve Rich. Once again, please be considerate of other members hoping to participate by avoiding last minute cancellations and no-shows. And if you cannot join us on the 6th, remember to keep Avedano's in mind for your holiday and every-day meals.

3rd Annual Slow Crab & Oyster Festival

When:
12/05/09

Celebrate the start of Dungeness Crab season at the Slow Crab and Oyster Festival. Fine wines and local beer will be served with dinner.

Zeke Grader, of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Associations, Paul Johnson of Monterey Fish and Senator Mark Leno will be speaking at the event.

The dinner will include entertainment by locally known acoustic blues trio Mighty Mississippi and products from local artisan food producers as well as lots of delicious locally caught crab and oysters.

Proceeds from the event will be used for the Slow Food San Francisco School Garden Projects. Participants include Bodega Del Sur Winery, Magnanimus Wine Group, Thirsty Bear Brewing Company, San Francisco Baking Institute, Citizen Bean, California Culinary Academy and Drake's Bay Oysters.

Slow Food Dinner Club: Polishing the Peruvian Palate at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana

When:
11/18/09

Join the Slow Food Dinner Club for fantastic five course meal - plus a spectacular view as you learn to polish your Peruvian palates at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, one of San Francisco's most exciting restaurants.

Peruvian food - and cebiche in particular - has been heralded by many as the next great global cuisine. Taste for yourself what the buzz is about as internationally renowned Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio brings his native cuisine to the world - La Mar Cebicheria Peruana. Chef Rodolfo Reyes leads the San Francisco kitchen and will join us at the table to discuss his food, inspiration and to of course - answer questions.

The restaurant itself is set in a large, vibrant space in the newly renovated Pier 1.5 (just north of the Ferry Building) - allowing us to host the largest gathering of the Supper Club yet. We have 20 seats reserved at La Mar. The ticket sale will end once all seats have been sold. Tickets are $79 per person - this includes five courses, taxes, gratuity, and a $5 donation to Slow Food San Francisco. Wine pairings throughout the meal are offered for an additional $30 (including tax and gratuity). Other items (and related taxes and gratuities) are not included and must be paid individually at the restaurant.

This is a member's only event.

Grandfather Workshop #6: New Orleans-style Gumbo and Bread Pudding

When:
11/15/09

If delicious Southern comfort foods get your toes tappin please join Slow Food San Francisco for the 6th installment of our Grandmother's Workshop Series.

Spend a Sunday amongst friends learning to prepare Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo with Rice and New Orleans style Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce. This class is also particularly unique because we will be enjoying a Grandfather workshop, taught by Mr. Dave Hogue.

Dave moved from New Orleans to San Francisco in 1999, and brought with him his family recipes for his favorite New Orleans foods. Coming from at least five generations of New Orleanians, the tradition of cooking and eating with family and friends was the center of all celebrations from Mardi Gras to Christmas. Although many recipes were never written down, Dave learned from his grandmother and her sisters how to cook the always popular Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo with Rice and the uniquely New Orleans-style Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce. He's happy to be sharing these recipes with you, just in time for the holidays.

Don't forget to bring an apron and your big ole' appetite!!

ARTdeezine's 4th Annual Tasting Party: Benefiting Slow Food San Francisco

When:
11/07/09

Enjoy Live Music, Cooking and Craft Demos, Raffle Prizes and tons of yummy small bites from local SF Food Artists as you join ARTdeezine at its 4th Annual ARTasting Event and 2010 San Francisco Calendar Release Party.

This year ARTdeezine has chosen 12 talented San Francisco artists to be included in a 2010 calendar showcasing 12 San Francisco neighborhoods through the eyes of the locals, The event will mark the first time that the calendar is available for purchase and will also feature the original artwork as well as the opportunity to meet the contributing artists. The calendar's proceeds will benefit Slow Food San Francisco and Woman's Initiative.

Don't miss out on your opportunity to support local good, clean and fair practices in all mediums. Purchase your ticket today.

When:
10/11/09

Slow Food USA invites you all to an afternoon under the sun at the Slow Food Regional Chapter Good Eats and Music Festival. The days festivities will include a wine and cheese hour, lunch, and concert!

Distinguished Guest Speakers Include: Josh Viertel, USA Slow Food President, Dr. Ruben Arminana, Sonoma State President, and noted Author, Mark Arax.

You can relax with your snacks and drinks on hand while listening to The Easy Leaves, who will be playing during the wine and cheese portion. An additional concert will follow with Open Market opening for Blue Shift.

Please note that the event will be outside, so dress for the sun! But do not worry, seating and ample amounts of water will be provided as well as FREE - on campus - parking which will be provided in Lot L, M, N, and O off of Rohnert Park Expressway. Search For Parking Maps

When:
10/10/09

Start your weekend off right by joining Slow Food San Francisco for an evening of delicious demonstrations of the mastery of the Chocolate making process.

From Bean to Bar to Bonbon enjoy a tasteful and tasty tour as Oakland City Council member Nancy Nadel walks you through the Oakland Chocolate Company while discussing how she sources, grinds the nibs and ultimately produces her Jamaican cacao beans into delightful pieces of heaven right here in the Bay Area. Nancy will also discuss just how she works with the cacao growers in Jamaica. But don't fret pets. There will indeed be plenty candies available for purchase!

For those who are unfamiliar with the East Bay be sure to check this map
We hope to see you there.

When:
10/06/09

Ramblas Tapas Bar, a vibrant, and intimate Spanish restaurant in the Mission District, has created up a five course tasting menu to give Slow Food Members a taste of Spain in San Francisco. Ramblas is a Green Certified Restaurant, and always strives to buy the freshest ingredients grown in a sustainable and fair way. Chef Ed Vigil will come out and explain the ideas and inspiration behind Ramblas and his food.

Your ticket includes a five course dinner with tax and tip, as well as a $5 donation to Slow Food SF. There is also an option for a wine pairing, which is $10 extra, and sold as a different ticket below. All other purchases at Ramblas Tapas must be paid for separately. Our dinner reservation is for 10 people, and ticket sale will end after we reach that number.

Please note that the Slow Food Dinner Club is for Slow Food San Francisco members only. During the month of September a donation of any size will make you a member of Slow Food.Become a member of Slow Food!

Farm Tour: Honig Winery eco-tour and wine tasting

When:
09/27/09

Join Honig Winery and Slow Food for an afternoon eco-tour and wine tasting. Honig has long been at the forefront of environmental awareness. An eco tour of Honig's winery will show how they've used sustainable farming and solar power to run the winery and encourage its long-term growth. After our tour, we'll taste and compare Honig's award winning Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon with the help of Honig's owners and wine makers. Hor d'ourves from local food producers and friends of slow food will also be served.

The Honig winemakers, family members as well as representatives from Slow Food San Francisco will be there to explain our missions of sustainable, fair food practices, and answer any questions guests might have about both organizations. There will a chance to purchase Honig's wine at the event.

Slow Food SF members in the Eat Bay - "get to know you" dinner

When:
09/26/09

Calling Slow Food San Francisco members who reside in the EAST BAY. Please join Nicole and Naomi for a "get to know you" Shared Dinner. There will be a pot of Gumbo. Please bring a first course, side dish, or dessert, and a bottle of wine.

Grandmother Workshop: "The Art of Antipasti"

When:
09/09/09

Join us for our 4th Grandmother Workshop: a simple, informal cooking class on the traditional cooking skills our grandmothers used to teach us. "Antipasto" ("Antipasti" plural) means "Before the meal" in Italian, and it is the traditional first course of an Italian meal. This workshop will focus on 3 different types of Antipasti, each using fresh Summer ingredients. We will learn two variations on simple, fresh, and tasty Bruschetta, and a versatile Olive Tapenade. Perfect for pairing with a glass of wine as you gather at the table to enjoy the official beginning of the meal.

This will be the 2nd Workshop taught by grandmother Vera Ciammetti, whose Pasta-making Workshop was also a grand success. Vera is a first generation Italian American born in Akron New York to immigrant parents who came over in the 1950's from L'Aquila, Italy. Vera and her 2 sisters along with their mom and grandmother (who also came over from Italy) spent their childhood in the garden and in the kitchen cooking and learning canning, pasta making, and inventing amazing delicacies from the rich bounty of their immense garden. Vera's love of cooking and ability to create a meal out of anything you give her has always been her passion.

Her Antipasti recipes are traditional, though perhaps not unique, and she can teach a simple way to prepare foods with out using any special equipment, in a small kitchen, by hand. Join us as she prepares 3 simple appetizers using seasonal veggies.

Eat-in: National day of action to get REAL FOOD into schools

When:
09/07/09

Slow Food SF is hosting an Potluck Eat-In on September 7th to show support for the Time For Lunch Campaign and bring awareness of the situation affecting school and students. Eat Ins will be happening all over the country and we encourage everyone to attend or host their own. We're going to need everybody's support!

Please bring a dish to share + your own plate and utensils. This is a free event, but please RSVP so we have a head count.

Speakers include Senator Mark Leno, Daphne Miller, MD, author of "The Jungle Effect", and Monica Guerra, recent graduate of Balboa High School. We will have a kids activity table and garden project, Pictures at the Magolia Photobooth, a letter writing and calling campaign and lots of community conversation. We hope to see all of you there.

We've realized that the most important thing we can do as a movement is reframe the way people think about food in school: not just tinkering with the way food is processed but making sure our children eat real food in school. Good food is a right, it tastes good, it's good for children, it's good for families, it's good for the economy, it's good for the planet, and it's good for America. Investing in child nutrition is an investment our future.

Special thanks to- Arrow Table Ware, Choice Lunch, Eat Well Farms, Frog Hollow Farms, Hartmann Studios, Let's Be Frank Hot Dogs, Local Kitchen and Wine Merchant, Magnolia Photo Booth, Oola Restaurant and Bar, Dominic Phillips Event Marketing, Ramblas Tapas Bar, Red Dog Graphics, Inc., Sloat Gardens, SF Conservation Corp, US Pure Water.

Slow Food on Film: Mad City Chickens

When:
08/09/09

Reception with Tapas and Wine (sold by the glass) to follow

Mad City Chickens is a story about chickens in the city, or more appropriately, a set of several stories. As close to universal as a food source can be, chickens and their eggs were once a regular element of many a family's lives in the U.S., and remain so throughout the world. That way of life largely disappeared in this country, though, due to the rise of industrial farming, but is slowly returning to many cities as people rediscover the experience of keeping the birds in their backyards.

Madison is a leader in this movement, starting with members of the self-described Chicken Underground who illegally raised the birds for years before a limited amount of chicken-keeping was authorized by the city back in 2004.

Thus was the stage set for the film, which deftly weaves multiple stories and contextual issues about urban chickens and their keepers in a non-linear fashion that one rarely sees in a documentary, particularly one so focused on introducing a novel concept. While Mad City Chickens is not a direct advocacy documentary, it does a great job of piquing one's interest in taking the poultry plunge, not to mention partaking in a big omelet or plate of grilled pollo.

School Lunch Working Group

When:
08/05/09

Everyone wants our nation's children to be healthy and safe. The National School Lunch Program, which serves 35 million meals everyday in schools across the U.S., is failing to provide our children with the real, healthy, nutritious food they need. In the midst of obesity epidemics, school cafeterias are instead serving up processed, industrial food that makes our children ill and overweight. This situation is unconscionable.

This year, we have an opportunity to make a difference. The Child Nutrition Act, which establishes the rules and funding of National School Lunch, is up for reauthorization in September. In order to put pressure on Congress, Slow Food San Francisco is convening a working group to organize a local campaign addressing the issue.

*We are calling all Slow Food San Francisco members, friends and affiliates who want to get involved in their communities to join this working group to start taking action*.

If you are unable to attend, please forward this message to friends who want to get involved. It's going to take all of us.

Slow Food San Francisco's Informative Potluck

When:
07/25/09

Slow Food San Francisco was pleased to see so many members and interested guests at our informative potluck dinner on Saturday, July 25th. Everyone whipped up something delightfully delicious, and it was wonderful seeing and tasting so many unique dishes. Thank you to those who brought their recipes, we will post those on line as soon as possible.

This potluck was a way to reach out to all veteran, new and perspective Slow Food members and discuss continuing programs such as Slow Food in Schools, as well as upcoming events such as the National Eat In scheduled for September 7th.

If you are not yet a member of Slow Food San Francisco, this is a great time to join.

School Lunch Working Group

When:
07/22/09

Everyone wants our nation's children to be healthy and safe. The National School Lunch Program, which serves 35 million meals everyday in schools across the U.S., is failing to provide our children with the real, healthy, nutritious food they need. In the midst of obesity epidemics, school cafeterias are instead serving up processed, industrial food that makes our children ill and overweight. This situation is unconscionable.

This year, we have an opportunity to make a difference. The Child Nutrition Act, which establishes the rules and funding of National School Lunch, is up for reauthorization in September. In order to put pressure on Congress, Slow Food San Francisco is convening a working group to organize a local campaign addressing the issue.

*We are calling all Slow Food San Francisco members, friends and affiliates who want to get involved in their communities to join this working group to start taking action*.

Please RSVP, but even if you are unable to attend, please forward this message to friends who want to get involved. It's going to take all of us.

Grandmother Workshop: Asian Pickles with Pat

When:
07/12/09

Join us for our 3rd Grandmother Workshop, an informal class on the traditional cooking skills our grandmothers used to teach us. Patricia Tanumihardja will be teaching us to make a variety of Asian pickles ranging from Chinese cucumber and carrot pickle, to Korean cabbage kimchi to an Indonesian "fruit salad." In this hands-on class, we will learn how to pickle vegetables using vinegar as well as lacto-fermentation. And be sure to bring nonreactive jars with a tight lid to bring home some pickles!

Pat is a food and travel writer with a penchant for being in the kitchen. Cooking is in her genes: She learned to cook from her mother, Julia, who is an excellent cook and chef/co-owner of their family restaurant, Julia's Indonesian Kitchen in Seattle. Plus, she spent the last two years researching and writing her cookbook The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook (theasiangrandmotherscookbook.wordpress.com) which will be published in October. During this project, Pat interviewed and cooked with several dozen women from numerous Asian communities and scoured old cookbooks to put together a treasury of Asian American recipes.

School Lunch Work Group

When:
07/08/09

Everyone wants our nation's children to be healthy and safe. The National School Lunch Program, which serves 35 million meals everyday in schools across the U.S., is failing to provide our children with the real, healthy, nutritious food they need. In the midst of obesity epidemics, school cafeterias are instead serving up processed, industrial food that makes our children ill and overweight. This situation is unconscionable.

This year, we have an opportunity to make a difference. The Child Nutrition Act, which establishes the rules and funding of National School Lunch, is up for reauthorization in September. In order to put pressure on Congress, Slow Food San Francisco is convening a working group to organize a local campaign addressing the issue.

*We are calling all Slow Food San Francisco members, friends and affiliates who want to get involved in their communities to join this working group to start taking action*.

Please RSVP, but even if you are unable to attend, please forward this message to friends who want to get involved. It's going to take all of us.

6th annual Golden Glass Wine Tasting

When:
06/21/09

The 2009 Golden Glass celebrated the efforts of over 100 international wine producers who strive to protect, nurture, and revive the indigenous and classic varieties of their regions. The wineries were clustered in designated, regional areas throughout the pavilion to help attendees taste and learn about the regional and terroir nuances directly from the winemakers and proprietors themselves.

Slow Food San Francisco's annual Golden Glass is always a lively gastronomic and educational event featuring the year's most talked-about international wines complemented by culinary delights from the Bay Area's top restaurants and artisan producers.

The proceeds of the event benefit Slow Food San Francisco's school gardens initiative, the Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste program, and new Bay Area programs launched by Slow Food San Francisco.

See photos of the event

Real School Lunches: Work group

When:
06/17/09

This is the SF working group for the change in school lunches. This week we chated more about next actions, forming smaller committees, and reviewing the Slow Food School Lunch Petition and.

This is an ongoing series of talks and planning. If you would like to learn more or join the group please email Jen Dalton.

Grandmother Workshop: Blintzes with Your Bubbe

When:
05/27/09

Our second Grandmother Workshop, an informal class on the traditional cooking skills our grandmothers used to teach us, was a great success! Shelley Handler taught us how to make blintzes, an Eastern European Jewish delicacy, traditionally associated with the late spring holiday of Shavuot, and less traditionally with loud family brunches and other gatherings. We made the tender, eggy crepes and creamy cheese filling that form the classic recipe and we'll talk about common and uncommon variations and made a few of our own. And like at any good Jewish meal, no one went home empty-handed.

Our honorary Bubbe, Shelley, comes from a family of good cooks and even better eaters. Granddaughter of Russian and Ukrainian Jews, her grandmother Frieda's kreplach and blintzes take center stage in delicious family memories. Besides Shelley, there is only one other professional chef in the clan, her great-grandmother Itka, who ran a restaurant that fed most of the starving young medical interns in Chicago during the 20s and 30s. Shelley feels she's channeling both Frieda and Itka when she prepares the blintzes you'll be making. Shelley's cooking took her to Chez Panisse, where she served as the first chef of the upstairs Cafe. She served as an instructor at the California Culinary Academy and now both writes about food (sometimes directly on the package) and develops product for the food industry. In her next incarnation she hopes to combine the puzzle-solving excitement of product development with programs or products that serve the greater good.

The workshop is open to the first 20 people who sign up, so reserve your spot for the next one now. (link to Brown Paper Tickets). Bring an apron, a chef's knife, a plate, a fork, your friends and family!

Nutrition Afternoon

When:
05/21/09

The Children's Council hosted the Slow Food Nutrition Education event. There were:
- free food samples
- cooking demos
- games
- farmers market
- raffle prizes
- tips for healthy eating


It was another great event.
Dr. Raymond R. Isola
Principal

School Lunch Work Group

When:
04/15/09

The first meeting of Slow Food San Francisco's School Lunch Working Group brought together 19 parents, teachers, nutritionists, policy experts, medical students and Slow Food members for a conversation about school lunch reform. The group's expertise and enthusiasm was humbling and inspiring. Though school lunch is a challenging and very complex issue, and though we'll be facing serious hurdles in influencing the Child Nutrition Act this year, everyone went home full of hope. We recognize that many dedicated teachers, food directors and administrators have been working tirelessly on this issue for many years, and they've made substantial progress. We now want to back them up by giving voice to a broad citizens' movement to ensure every school in the Bay Area and beyond can serve its students real food.

Fundraising Dinner: Slow Food Rio de Janeiro

When:
04/05/09

Slow Food Rio Janeiro leaders Teresa and Margarida prepared delicious traditional Brazilian dishes and discussed the "Manioc Project" at the fund raising dinner.

Menu:
Bossa Nova Spare Ribs - with molasses, ginger and brazilian spices

Bobo de Camarao com farofa de maracuja - shrimp with manioc mousseline Bahia style - spicy salsa

Farofa de maracuja - fried manioc meal with passion fruit pulp, garlic and olive oil

Hearts of palm salad

Fruit Caipirinhas

See video about Project Manioc at http://slowtube.org

The Manioc project in Brazilian schools teaches children about the importance of local Brazilian food traditions. Since October 2002, children attending public schools in Rio de Janeiro have had the opportunity to learn more about Brazil's food history and habits through Projeto Mandioca. This project was developed by Teresa Corcao and Margarida Nogueira, Terra Madre chef and convivium leaders, and has already involved about a thousand children, including many from the favelas. Courses in public schools enable children to appreciate the importance of manioc in an enjoyable way through informal lessons, drama and practical demonstrations. They learn how to prepare tapioca (a flour obtained from manioc tubers used to prepare a light very nutritious pancake, cooked without oil) and many other traditional Brazilian dishes. In this way they can appreciate their culinary traditions and strengthen their relationship with their Brazilian cultural identity.

Slow Food on Film: Mr. Bene Goes to Italy

When:
04/04/09

One of Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini's favorite film was screened at the Delancey Street Theater on April 4th. Benedito Batista da Silva, 60 years old, is considered a reference when it comes to manioc flour production in the Brazilian Para State, deep within the Amazon. This documentary shows his trip from Braganca to Turin and back home. The encounter of different cultures, of small-scale farmers from all over the world and the enchantment of coming into contact with European culture blends with the profound affective bond Mr. Bene forges with his Italian host family. The film is about breaking barriers, whether cultural, economical or even physical, in this amazing anthropological adventure whose premise is that hope still exists for small Brazilian farmers.

Produced by Slow Food Rio leader Teresa Corcao. Slow Food Rio leaders Teresa Corcao and Margarida Nogueira were present for the screening.

School Lunch Working Group Forming

When:
04/01/09

Everyone wants our nation's children to be healthy and safe. The National School Lunch Program, which serves 35 million meals everyday in schools across the U.S., is failing to provide our children with the real, healthy, nutritious food they need. In the midst of obesity epidemics, school cafeterias are instead serving up processed, industrial food that makes our children ill and overweight. This situation is unconscionable.

This year, we have an opportunity to make a difference. The Child Nutrition Act, which establishes the rules and funding of National School Lunch, is up for reauthorization in September. In order to put pressure on Congress, Slow Food San Francisco is convening a working group to organize a local campaign addressing the issue.

*We are calling all Slow Food San Francisco members, friends and affiliates who want to get involved in their communities to join this working group to start taking action*.

The group's first meeting was on Wednesday, April 1, and there will be more to follow. Even if you couldn't make it, please forward this message to friends who want to get involved. It's going to take all of us.

Green Schoolyard Work Day/Potluck

When:
03/21/09

Paul Revere School, is greening their schoolyard! This workday cleaned-up around the school grounds and prepared the garden at the front of the school.

This was a free event, and a potluck dish based on last name was requested.

This was an opportunity to be involved from the beginning stages in a school garden. The organizing group within the school is composed of parents, principal, teachers, students, community members. The plan is for one work day a month. We would like for SFSF members who live in the area or have an interest in helping this baby to grow, to be involved.

Sanchez School: Community Meeting

When:
03/11/09

Maria Gonzalez and Verania Campos prepared seasonal produce from the school garden, while guests enjoyed the taste of the season and learned about the new plans for increasing the "green footprint" of their local school gardens.

This event is sponsored by Slow Food SF.

Grandmother Workshop: Making Fresh Pasta

When:
03/01/09

The Grandmother Workshop is a monthly series of hands-on classes that teach "from scratch" cooking methods that were traditionally passed down from generation to generation.

For our first Grandmother Workshop, Vera Ciammetti taught us the fundamentals of making fresh pasta from scratch. We all got our hands dirty as we mixed, kneaded, rolled, and cut tagliatelle (egg fettucine) together. Rudy Duran, our Grandfather for the day, filled the space with the aromas of his amazing sauce and gave us lots of ideas for making our own at home.

Once the hands-on portion wraped up, everyone not only enjoyed a bowl of freshly cooked pasta, but also went home with some pasta to cook up later.

Food From the Heart

When:
02/13/09

The sixth annual Food From the Heart was a bustling scene filled with music, dancing, seasonal small plates, wine and community. A stroll through the marketplace showcased food vendors offering small bites from $2-4 per taste and wine pours from $4-6. Guests enjoyed special wines from members of the Napa Valley Vintners, music by Golden Gate Hot Club (gypsy jazz), Tango Milango, and a classical music quartet.

Slow Food SF Member Potluck

When:
02/07/09

Slow Food San Francisco's potluck brought members to the table with their thoughts and ideas. Information about all of the programs and events happening within the SF convivium was distributed, and members were introduced to the new SF Committee, and the new SF SF website.

If you're not yet a member of Slow Food, this is a great time to join. You must be a member of Slow Food to attend these events.

If you have any questions about the potluck, please give us a call (650-589-SLOW) or send an email.

Taste Workshop: Olive Oil

When:
01/26/09

Slow Food San Francisco and Slow Food Berkeley each hosted informative Olive Oil tastings. Those in attendance were presented with a variety of olive oils and several tasty tapas accompanied by few glasses of wonderful wine. Four esteemed olive oil producers were on hand to share their craft: Pablo Voitzuk, Managing Director of Apollo Olive Oil, Joe Bozzano from Bozzano Olive Oil, Mike Madison of Yolo Bulb Farm and Charles Crohare of Olivina.

Healthful Living

When:
01/15/09

With a focus on "awareness and healthier lifestyles," Williams-Sonoma, Inc. hosted a Healthful Living event for their associates in order to raise awareness and encourage and support healthier lifestyles. Slow Food SF was present with an information table so the WS team could learn about our mission, programs and events.