Category Archives: Enticing Events

An Odiferous Time in Gilroy

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Smell that pungent, mouth-watering aroma?

You will as the day draws nearer for the 30th anniversary of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, July 25-27 at Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy.

Over the years, the popular event has raised nearly $8 million for local charities. And it’s fed quite a crowd _ more than 3 million, who have consumed 376 tons of beef, 119 tons of pasta, 68 tons of scampi, 50 tons of calamari, and 72 tons of California garlic.

This year will be more of the same as booths will dish out all things garlic, including garlic frog legs, garlic Kettlekorn, Cajun fried catfish, garlic chicken pizza, lumpia, garlic fried-green tomatoes, and of course, the ever popular, garlic ice cream.

July 26 at 10 a.m., eight amateur cooks from across the country will duke it out in the annual cook-off. This year’s local contestant is Linda Wang of Sunnyvale, who will be trying to sway the judges with her garlic corn creme brulee with pan-seared scallops and garlic pancetta saute. For the first time, the cook-off will be telecast over the Internet on the festival’s Web site.

July 27 at noon, the professionals get in on the act when four area chefs will vie for a top prize of $5,000 and 1,000 pounds of fresh garlic. This “Garlic Showdown” will feature chefs Mark Ayers of the Highlands Inn and Hyatt Regency Monterey; Christopher Preyale of the Fountaingrove Golf & Athletic Club in Santa Rosa; James Waller of the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa; and Ryan Scott of San Francisco’s Mission Beach Cafe and a contestant in this past season’s “Top Chef” show. This “Iron Chef”-style challenge will feature a not-so-secret ingredient — garlic, of course.

Tickets to the festival are $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 6-12 and for seniors, and free for kids under age 6.

For those who want to bring a part of the festival home — well, besides the resulting garlic breath — pick up a copy of “Any Bozo Can Cook,”  a collection of 102 recipes inspired by everyone’s fave smelly bulb. It was written by Sam Bozzo and Gene Sakahara, both festival cooks and former festival presidents. The $16 book will be sold at the festival, and online.

For a sneak taste, try this recipe from the book:

Garlic shrimp with spicy garlic peanut sauce

Read more

Taste of Terroir in Livermore

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What do you get when you put 16 of Livermore’s top wineries with 16 top Bay Area chefs? You get “Taste of Terroir,” the sixth annual wine and food experience, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. July 24 at the Palm Event Center at Ruby Hill in Pleasanton.

The chefs and vintners will be creating food and wine pairings that will vie for “Most Innovative Pairing,” “Best Expression of Local Ingredients,” and “Judges’ Best” awards. Guests also will have a chance to vote for the “People’s Choice” award. Afterwards, guests will enjoy desserts paired with Livermore Valley ports.

Participating wineries include Concannon Vineyard, Steven Kent Winery, and Page Mill Winery. Restaurants include Scott’s Seafood, Maholo Grille, and the Restaurant at Wente Vineyards.

Tickets are $75 per person.  They are available here or by calling the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association at (925) 447-WINE.

Are You What You Cook?

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That’s the thought-provoking title of the Asian cuisine event, 6 p.m. July 21, upstairs at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

Join Chef Kelly Degala of Pres A Vi in San Francisco and Va de Vi in Walnut Creek; Eric Gower, author of “The Breakaway Cook”(William Morrow); Michelle Mah, former executive chef of Ponzu in San Francisco; Kirti Pant, executive chef of Junnoon in Palo Alto; and Chef Charles Phan of the Slanted Door in San Francisco. They will talk about how they developed their signature styles.

Appetizers will be served, along with wines from Filipino-American estate winery, Eden Canyon Vineyards.

Tickets are $35 for general admission; $25 for full-time students and those in the restaurant trade. To register, click here.

The event is a kick-off for the Oct. 10-12 Asian Food Beyond Borders symposium at the Ferry Building. The event is being spearheaded by Bay Areans Andrea Nguyen, author of “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen”(Ten Speed Press), and cooking instructor and Asian foods expert, Thy Tran.

The three-day event will celebrate how Asian communities have created dynamic cuisines around the globe. Among the speakers will be: cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey; Public Television star Martin Yan; Google cafe chef and former San Francisco Chronicle food writer Olivia Wu; and James Oseland, editor in chief of Saveur magazine.

Yours truly also will be overseeing an Oct. 11 wine-pairing seminar hosted by Edwin Soon, oenologist and author of “Asian Food With Wine” (Tide-Mark Press), at Le Colonial restaurant in San Francisco. For more information, click here.

Celebrate Bastille Day In A Big Way At Left Bank Brasserie

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Jugglers, clowns, mimes, fire-breathers, French poodles on parade, and more — that’s what’s in store when Left Bank Brasserie at San Jose’s Santana Row celebrates Bastille Day, July 12-14.

A triple-peaked big-top tent will be erected next to the restaurant for “Cirque de la Bastille,” 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 12 and July 13, where French circus performers will entertain. Admission is free.

Noon to 2 p.m. July 13, bring your four-footed doggie friend to take part in a competition, “French Poodles on Parade.” And no, your dog doesn’t necessarily have to be a French poodle. Registration is $10; proceeds benefit the Humane Society of Silicon Valley.

July 12-14, try your luck at pentaque, one of Europe’s most popular lawn games. Everyone is encouraged to sign up to play at no cost.

Tickets Now On Sale For Slow Food Nation

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Labor Day weekend (Aug. 29 to Sept. 1) in San Francisco is sure to bring out even more foodies than usual this year.

That’s when Slow Food Nation takes place. bringing together farmers, food artisans, political leaders, environmental advocates, health-care experts, and artists at a mega-event to celebrate the connection between plate and planet.

There will be a 50,000-square-foot food pavilion, a marketplace where farmers and producers will show off their wares, a music festival, workshops, films, dinners, and hikes.

The “Food for Thought Speaker Series” ($5 to $25 per ticket) will feature author Wendell Berry, author Marion Nestle, Slow Food organization founder Carlo Petrini, author Michael Pollan, author Eric Schlosser, author Vandana Shiva and Alice Waters of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse.

The huge Taste pavilion will showcase such artisan products as beer, bread, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, fish, honey & preserves, ice cream, native foods, olive oil, pickles & chutney, spirits, tea and wine. In the “green kitchen” there, chefs will demonstrate techniques for making simple, everyday dishes sustainable. Tickets to the Taste pavilion are $45 to $65.

For more information, click here.

To get into the spirit, sit back and take in a thought-provoking flick, 6:30 p.m. July 25 at the Delancey Street Theater, 600 Embarcadero in San Francisco.  That’s when “Strawberry Fields,” will show. The film depicts a day in the life of Palestinian farmers in Gaza.

Ticket are $15, and includes Fra’Mani salami, Harley Farms cheese, dessert, and beverages. For tickets, click here, or send checks made out to Slow Food San Francisco to Slow Food San Francisco, 210 Littlefield Ave., South San Francisco, CA 94080.

And if you notice the lawn in front of San Francisco City Hall looking a little different, that’s because it is being transformed into an edible garden.

July 12, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Slow Food Nation founder Alice Waters of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse restaurant, and more than 100 volunteers will begin planting seeds for herbs and produce.

The project, dubbed the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden, takes its name from 20th Century wartime efforts to tackle food shortages. Back in the early 1940s, San Francisco residents were encouraged to plant gardens on private and public lands to add to the supply of domestic food during wartime. Back then, San Francisco’s program was one of the top ones in the nation. Golden Gate Park alone boasted 250 garden plots.

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