Category Archives: Enticing Events

Sunday Mornings, Please Do Not Disturb (Sponsored Post)

CoffeePost

Peace. Quiet.

Two simple things in short supply these days. With weekdays full of honking cars during dreaded commute traffic, ring tones that jolt, emails that never cease and all manner of pinging high-tech gadgets tethered to us 24-7, our lives are assaulted by so much noise – both figuratively and literally.

So, when Folgers recently asked me to write about how coffee and music play into my morning ritual in order to help tout its Folgers Jingle Contest that supports aspiring musicians, I got to thinking. I realized there are few things I appreciate more now than the stillness of an early Sunday morning. I covet creeping out of bed before my husband wakes, when sunlight is just started to seep through the edges of the curtains. The soothing sound of solitude is broken only by the rustling of the pages of the morning’s newspaper, the whistling of the kettle as I make my French press coffee, and the caressing vocals of Adele that emanate softly from the CD player.

Yes, I’m old-school. And I make no apologies for it.

Sure, I carry a smartphone, write my articles on computers, shoot with a digital camera and exercise to streaming tunes. But when it comes to Sunday mornings, I want none of that. I don’t want to read words on a backlit screen. I want to hold a real honest-to-goodness newspaper in my hands, the kind that lands with a thud on the porch. I want to turn its pages, one after the other, joyously discovering story after story just because they happened to catch my eye. In the background, I don’t want a thumping techno beat created by the wizardry of electronics, but a soulful, plaintive voice of a chanteuse that harkens back to another era. And I don’t want the latest-greatest gadget that dribbles out one tiny solitary cup of coffee at the touch of a button. No, I want the civilized ritual of actually pouring steaming water over fragrant grounds until they swell, before I push a plunger down forcefully to release the deep, dark, brooding brew.

To me, that is a perfect Sunday morning. I relish each and every one of them, too. Because like a great cup of coffee, it does its intended job. It relaxes me, then slowly but surely perks me up me to take on the challenges in the week ahead.

Only one thing could make it even better: If Folgers could ever get Adele to croon its jingle. Now, that would make my Sunday complete.

 

Folgers Jingle Contest: Be sure to vote for the best Top 10 finalist in Folgers’ Jingle Contest. Meet the Top 10! Take a look at Folgers® Jingle Contest Finalists, and listen to the tracks that earned them a spot in the Top 10. Cast your vote once every day through June 19. You could win exciting prizes, like free Folgers Coffee, iTunes® gift cards, signed CDs from Gavin DeGraw, and even a $10,000 Grand Prize just for voting. Vote now. Click here for official rules.

Your Chance to Try the Food Gal App, Cindy Pawlcyn Celebrates with Cake, and More

FoodGalApp

Try the Mini Food Gal App — For Free

Yes, now here’s your chance  to try a mini version of my Food Gal “Ultimate Guide to Bay Area Dining” — for free.

Available at the iTunes store, the  free version has 21 recommended restaurants on it. If you like what you see, you can download the complete app with 70 more restaurant write-ups for a mere $1.99. It’s just like trying a cookie sample at the supermarket. With that first bite, you’re sure to enjoy it so much that you’ll want the whole shebang.

The map feature cleverly lets you find my recommended spots closest to you no matter your location in the Bay Area. Also new to the app is the ability to make reservations through OpenTable.

There might be no such thing as a free lunch. But now you can partake of my delicious mini app for free.

Cindy Pawlcyn Celebrates 30 Years

Chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s pioneering Mustard’s Grill in Yountville will celebrate its 30th anniversary in a very sweet way.

We’re talking cake — a different one featured daily for 30 days, from now through June 15.

Chef Cindy Pawlcyn celebrates a mega anniversary. (Photo courtesy of Alex Farnum)

Chef Cindy Pawlcyn celebrates a mega anniversary. (Photo courtesy of Alex Farnum)

The cake will be available on the dessert menu daily not only at Mustard’s Grill, but at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena and Cindy Pawlcyn’s Wood Grill & Wine Bar in St. Helena.

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Pop-Ups by Former Ad Hoc Chef, Love Apple Farms Celeb Cooking Demo, and More

Chef Dave Cruz will be cooking in Oakland. (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Chef Dave Cruz will be cooking in Oakland. (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Chef Dave Cruz To Do Pop-Ups in Oakland

You know him as the original chef for Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc restaurant in Yountville. Now, after leaving the Keller fold, Chef Dave Cruz is embarking on a series of pop-up events in Oakland — a prelude to opening his own restaurant some day.

The first dinner, May 18, will feature Chefs Simone Fung and Sebastian Mendieta of S+S Gastropub, cooking with Cruz at their downtown loft on Jackson Street in Oakland. The five-course dinner that night will be reminiscent of the hearty, seasonal meals he did at Ad Hoc. Dishes will include salad of Asian baby greens with slow cooked egg; crisp pork belly and clams; and strawberry shortcake with strawberry sorbet, Tokaiji-macerated strawberries and arlette cookies. Price is $85 per person.

Two seatings are available for the BYOB dinner: 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The exact location of the dinner will be emailed to guests after a reservation is made.

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Maui Part II: The Island’s Bountiful Agriculture and Aquaculture

Snails -- being raised for escargot and other gourmet dishes -- on an urban Maui farm.

Snails — being raised for escargot and other gourmet dishes — on an urban Maui farm.

Napili FLO Farm

If former massage therapist Monica Bogar has her way, Maui restaurants will some day spotlight organic snails on their menus.

After all, there’s already a waiting list of restaurants eager for the mollusks she is growing aquaponically in ingenious systems devised by her and her Uncle Tony. I had a chance to visit their homestead on the west side of the island, during my trip to Maui, courtesy of the tourism and conventioner’s bureau.

An urban farmer for the past 12 years, Bogar started her Napili FLO Farm a year ago. She now sells her microgreens, edible flowers and watercress to Maui restaurants such as Star Noodle, Hula Grill, and Pineapple Grill, the latter where Isaac Bancaco is chef and a huge supporter of hers.

Monica Bogar and Chef Isaac Bancaco inspect one of Bogar's aquaponics systems.

Monica Bogar and Chef Isaac Bancaco inspect one of Bogar’s aquaponics systems.

Pick you way through Uncle Tony’s backyard to find a miraculous series of tanks — built from scavenged items, including styrofoam boxes, old fish tanks and a grandson’s former wash tub. “We are aquaponics dumpster-divers,” Bogar says proudly with a chuckle.

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Free Tickets to Beta Tasting, Humphry Slocombe Now Available at Slider Bar, and More

Try the frozen Fosters waffle from Waffle Amore at the upcoming Beta Tasting. (Photo courtesy of Waffle Amore)

Try the frozen Fosters waffle from Waffle Amore at the upcoming Beta Tasting. (Photo courtesy of Waffle Amore)

Come Hungry to Beta Tasting in the South Bay

Dishcrawl, the creator of tantalizing foodie meet-ups around the Bay Area and beyond, is introducing a fun new event on May 2.

At “Beta Tasting,” folks will get a chance to vote on their favorite eats from 20 experimental dishes created by more than 10 food trucks from the Bay Area. The event will take place at a secret location in the South Bay that will be disclosed closer to the May 2 date.

Some of the new dishes to be unveiled include: ice cream taco by Treatbot, frozen Fosters waffle from Waffle Amore, lemongrass slider from Yummi BBQ, and veggie musubi from Rice Rockit.

Tickets to the event are $2 per person. Dishes will be priced from $3 to $5.

Lemongrass slider from Yummi BBQ. (Photo courtesy of Yummi BBQ)

Lemongrass slider from Yummi BBQ. (Photo courtesy of Yummi BBQl)

Proceeds will benefit the Bay Area Mobile Food Vendors Association, a non-profit organization that helps support food trucks.

 GIVEAWAY: Dishcrawl is generously giving away free tickets to any Food Gal readers who would like to attend the event. Just use coupon code: foodgalfriends.

Get Ready for Blind-Tasting Bingo

Yes, that would be playing bingo while blind-folded. How much goofy fun is that?

The San Francisco Cooking School and Edible San Francisco invite you to an evening of just that at 7 p.m. May 1.

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