Even though I was born in San Francisco and have spent almost my entire life in the Bay Area, I admit that when I was younger I took this region for granted.
I remember spending college summers interning in Portland, OR and Boston, where the moment I told people where I was from, their faces would light up with envy. The same happened when I lived in South Florida.
It took living away to make me finally appreciate what was in my own backyard. Namely, a climate that is almost always comfortable; spoil-you-rotten pristine produce available year-round; a food scene other cities would kill for; a gorgeous setting with ocean, mountains and redwoods; and an educated, curious, multi-ethnic populace so often at the forefront of meaningful issues and trends.
Of course, these days, it’s also a breathtakingly exorbitant place to live, with nightmare traffic on the freeways, construction everywhere, and an increasingly frightening divide between the haves and the have-nots.
For all of that, though, I can’t ever imagine leaving. It is home. And always will be.
Harry & David recognizes just how special the San Francisco Bay Area is. That’s why it chose this area as one to spotlight in its new regional gift baskets. The other foodie areas celebrated with their own themed gift baskets are: Chicago, New York and Austin.
The San Francisco gift basket ($99.99) includes Cheddar Corn Chowder Soup Mix, Seafood Rub, sourdough loaf, Habanero Pineapple Seafood Glaze, Ghirardelli chocolates, a dishtowel imprinted with the San Francisco skyline, and a cute trolley-car cookie. It all comes packed in a woven basket.
For every regional gift basket purchased, 20 percent of net proceeds will be donated to food banks in those respective cities, including the SF-Marin Food Bank.
CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a Harry & David San Francisco-Inspired Gift Basket ($99.99 value). #TasteYourCity
Entries, open only to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST June 25. Winner will be announced June 27.
How to win?
You’ve already read what the San Francisco Bay Area means to me. Tell me what it means to you. Best answer wins.
WINNER OF LAST WEEK’S CONTEST: In the previous Food Gal contest, I asked you to tell me your fondest memory of La Pastaia restaurant in San Jose. The winner will receive a $50 gift card to the restaurant.
Congrats to:
Amy Ward, who wrote, “We go to San Jose from SF every weekend to visit my (new) husband’s 93 year old mother. Last week we moved her into a memory (Alzheimer disease) care facility. Needless to say, weekends just got a whole lot more depressing. Food is love…and we love our food. I would sure like something to look forward to on a Saturday night.”