Category Archives: Enticing Events

Special Tomato, New Indian Sweets, Piggy Event & More

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Tomato Time:

Are these gorgeous tomatoes or what?

These lovelies, known as “Taste Tomatoes,” were created especially for Taste Catering of San Francisco. The tomatoes, a cross between the Maglia Rosa and Zucchero varieties, is the brainchild of Baia Nicchia Farm & Nursery in Sunol.

With their sweet flavor and unique look, the tomatoes proved such a hit in hors d’oeuvres and salads with customers that the catering company wanted to make them available to the general public.

Starting July 19, you’ll be able to buy your own “Taste Tomatoes” at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market at Allstar Organics’ booth on Saturdays; Menlo Park Farmers Market at Baia Nicchia’s booth on Sundays; Berkeley’s Tokyo Fish Market, Mondays through Saturdays; and Baia Nicchia’s farm stand in Sunol on Friday afternoons.

Sweets with Indian Flair:

That’s just what you’ll find at the new Bengali Sweets, which just opened at 783 E. El Camino Real in Sunnyvale.

Open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, the 50-seat cafe serves up sweets and chaat (snacks) made by chefs Sohan Bhatt and Bajrang Bhamu, both of Sakoon restaurant in Mountain View. This is the newest venture of the Bombay Garden Group, which also owns Sakoon.

The Bengali region of Eastern India is known for milk-based sweets, including “Chenna Jelabi”, a cottage cheese-style milk-based dough piped in coils, deep fried and soaked in a spice-infused sugar syrup.

On the savory side, enjoy entrees such as “Chole Bhatury”, a rich chickpea stew served with fried bread dumplings and curries such as lamb Roganjosh. For more information, call (408) 736-4000.

For Carnivores:

Lamb lovers will want to head to the “American Lamb Jam,” 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. July 18 at Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in San Francisco.

Executive Chef Matthew Accarrino of SPQR in San Francisco hosts this meaty affair that brings together dozens of top San Francisco chefs who will create succulent lamb dishes paired with local wines.

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Cookies, Beers, Wines & Winner of the $100 CSN Certificate

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The Cookies:

If you flew on an airplane during the 1980s, chances are you might remember these crisp, little Biscoff cookies that many airlines served back then.

Now, you can enjoy them with both feet planted on the ground, when Biscoff Coffee Corner and Biscoff Coffee Carts open for business at Pier 39 in San Francisco on June 30.

Europeans have long enjoyed these cookies that taste like a cross between a gingersnap and a graham cracker. Last year, Lotus Bakeries North America in San Francisco started baking them for airlines, retail stores and online orders. Now, it has partnered with the Simco Restaurant Group to open the first North American store to sell the cookies, whose name a derivative of “bis”cuit and “coff”ee.

Indeed, that’s how the cookies are intended to be enjoyed — with a cup of joe. So when you purchase any coffee at the cafe or cart, you’ll get a free cookie.

Take a taste on July 8, when Biscoff Coffee Corner will host a grand opening, featuring a cookie juggler and an official cookie-breaking ceremony. Proceeds from all cookie sales that day will benefit the Marine Mammal Center, which helps maintain the healthy sea lion population at Pier 39. Starting July 9, 1 percent of each day’s cookie sales will be donated to the center.

The First Anniversary:

San Francisco’s Thursday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market celebrates just that on July 1 with pinatas, party hats and prizes, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Drop your card into a 5-gallon salad spinner to win a chance at one of 50 prizes, which include tote bags, T-shirts, roasted almonds from Lagier Ranches, and coffee beans from Blue Bottle.

The first 111 people to visit the farmers market information booth that day get a $1 gift coin that can be used towards your next market purchase.

The Brewski:

As the Fourth of July approaches, there’s nowhere better to get into the festive, patriotic spirit than at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company in Princeton-by-the-Sea.

Throughout July, the brew pub and restaurant celebrates its 10th anniversary with a series of special events.  In particular, July 2-4, the brewing company will feature live music in the evening and a giveaway.

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Time for Cake, Cheese & Sorbet

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The cakes:

As in cupcakes, whoopie cakes and other classic cakes you’ll find at the new SusieCakes bakery, which has opened its first San Francisco location in the Marina district, a short hop from the Hilton at Fisherman’s Wharf.

This marks the second branch of the Los Angeles bakery, which has opened up North. The first one debuted in January in Greenbrae in Marin County.

The new Marina bakery will celebrate its grand opening on June 26, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., with an old-fashioned sock hop, featuring ’50s tunes, kids activities, a costume contest, tasty treats, and prizes, including a raffle for a one-year membership in the SusieCakes “Cake of the Month” club.

The cheese:

Have you spotted these adorable truncated 1966 VW buses done up to resemble baby loaves of Tillamook cheddar?

My hubby actually saw one recently and had to do a double-take. See for yourself as Tillamook’s “Love Tour” continues through June 25 in the Bay Area.

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Bay Area Rising Star Chefs Shine the Night Away

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The stars were out in force on Wednesday night at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco.

That would be the glittering roster of Rising Star Chefs, as chosen by StarChefs.com, the online culinary magazine. StarChefs.com chooses only four cities each year in which to pick its rising star chefs. Of course, I’m biased, but there’s no way the magazine could ever leave San Francisco off that list, right?

The walk-around tasting event featured gourmet eats with wine and cocktail pairings.

Chef Joshua Skenes and Sommelier Mark Bright of Saison were on hand to be lauded for “best concept” for their San Francisco restaurant, despite the fact that they were re-opening it the very next night after a major renovation that includes a pricey new stove and kitchen, an outdoor oven large enough to cook a couple of whole pigs, and an expansion and enclosure of the garden patio dining area.

Also in attendance to mingle with colleagues were Chef Stuart Brioza and his wife, Pastry Chef Nicole Krasinski, both formerly of the shuttered-Rubicon in San Francisco, who are expecting their first child in three months — a baby boy.

Here’s what this year’s Rising Stars cooked up:

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