San Francisco Magazine’s FallFest Extravaganza
You’ll have to wear loose clothing to try all the food from 40 top restaurants and vino from 40 wineries at San Francisco Magazine’s annual FallFest, noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 13 at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco.
What’s more, there also will be drink seminars, a cocktail competition, live music and chef demos by such esteemed chefs as Belinda Leong of B. Patisserie and Justin Simoneaux of the Boxing Room.
Among the restaurants that will be serving up noshes are: Brasserie S&P, Pizza Antica, Perbacco and Dosa. Participating wineries include: Bonny Doon, Natural Process Alliance and Chappallet Winery.
Tickets are $95 each. The event will benefit Meals on Wheels, which provides food for home-bound seniors.
Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a pair of free tickets to FallFest (a total value of $190). Entries, limited to those who will be able to be in San Francisco on Oct. 13 for the event, will be accepted through midnight PST Sept. 22. Winner will be announced Sept. 24.
How to win?
Just tell me your favorite thing about fall. Most memorable answer wins.
Here’s my own answer:
“Hands down, it’s braising. When the heat of summer subsides, the sun sets earlier and the nights cool off, I like nothing better than putting a big Dutch oven in the oven to let cook away for hours with meat, veggies, aromatics and wine. The aroma fills the house, as does the heat, making it the ultimate toasty and tantalizing cooking experience. Best yet, the oven does all the work for you while you can go about doing other things — or simply nothing at all.”
Foster Farms Fresh Chicken Cooking Contest in the Napa Valley
Yours truly will return for the third time as a judge for the Sept. 28 Foster Farms Fresh Chicken Cooking Contest at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena.
I’ll be joined by fellow judges: Lynn Char Bennett, food writer for the San Francisco Chronicle; Chef John Ash of John Ash & Co.; Chef Ken Frank of La Toque in Napa; and Liam Mayclem, host of CBS’ “Eye on the Bay.”
Together, we’ll decide which of six finalists will win the grand prize of $10,000, plus a year’s supply of chicken.
Giveaway: If you’d like to come watch all the action in the kitchen and taste the dishes that will be vying for the title, I’m pleased to offer five pairs of free tickets to the event, which starts at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 28. You must provide your own transportation to the event. First five people to email: tbaird@finemanpr.com will win the tickets.
