Category Archives: Enticing Events

Foodie Flick, Veggie Grill to Open & More

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A scene from "Trattoria'' guaranteed to make you hungry. (Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society)

“Trattoria” Flick Opens “Cinema by the Bay”

The San Francisco Film Society’s “Cinema by the Bay” series, Nov. 9-11, opens deliciously with the local premiere of the foodie flick, “Trattoria.”

The feature film by Jason Wolos looks at San Francisco’s competitive restaurant culture as it follows the travails of Chef Sal Sartini and his second wife Cecilia, who have just opened a new Italian restaurant. See what happens when the chef’s estranged son comes to help out at the restaurant.

“Trattoria” is the opening night film, 7 p.m. Nov. 9,  for the festival, which takes place at New People Cinema, 1746 Post St. in San Francisco.

At the end of the movie, the opening night party will take place at 9 p.m. Nov. 9 at Yoshi’s in San Francisco. For those who can’t make it to the first showing, “Trattoria” will repeat at 9:30 p.m. that night.

The chef of "Trattoria.'' (Still from film courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society)

Tickets to the film showing are $13 per person; or $25 per person for admission to the film and party.

Wahoo’s Fish Taco Opens in Sunnyvale

For those of you mourning the closure of Wahoo’s at Santana Row in San Jose, you’ll be glad to know you can get your taco fix on with a new locale up the road at 691 Tasman Dr. in Sunnyvale.

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Celebratory Matt Cain Cocktail, Taste of Italian Coffee at Santana Row & More

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A cocktail to honor Giants pitcher Matt Cain. (Photo courtesy of Chef Hiro Sone)

Giants Fever at the St. Regis in San Francisco

Look for the bell hops and front desk staff at the St. Regis to sport black and orange baseball caps in honor of the San Francisco Giants incredible World Series sweep.

But that’s just the start. Step inside to toast the team’s victory with “The Perfect Cain” ($14), an ode to Giants pitcher Matt Cain.

The cocktail, available at the bar or at restaurant Ame, is a frothy blend of Breaking and Entering Bourbon, Campari, simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, orange water flower and egg white.

First Lavazza Cafe On the West Coast to Open in Santana Row

Italy’s famed coffee roaster Lavazza will open its first West Coast cafe on Oct. 30 in San Jose’s Santana Row.

The Bay Area already may be saturated with coffee outlets, but Lavazza hopes to distinguish itself with its quality, innovation, and integration with high fashion, sleek design and contemporary cuisine, including its collaboration with revolutionary Chef Ferran Adria.

Ferran Adria's liquid-to-solid coffee concoction. (Photo courtesy of Lavazza)

The 35-seat cafe, which will feature stunning artwork, will serve coffee in every preparation imaginable, including the signature Èspesso, Adrià’s ingenious liquid-to-solid coffee creation served playfully with a spoon that sports a hole in it.

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Orange & Black Attack in Honor of the SF Giants and Halloween

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Do you think of the SF Giants when you look at this risotto dish? You should! (Photo courtesy of Prospect restaurant)

Prospect’s Ode to the SF Giants

In honor of the San Francisco Giants’ winning streak, Prospect restaurant in San Francisco has created a new dish that sports the team’s trademark colors.

Black risotto with uni and a gently poached egg is a most appropriate dish to celebrate this classy baseball team’s triumphs, don’t you think?

The $16 dish is not on the regular menu. Those in the know just need ask for it.

Chef Pam Mazzola plans to make it available as long as the Giants keep winning or fresh sea urchin is available.

The "Humm Baby'' cupcake from Sift Cupcake + Dessert Bar. (Photo courtesy of Sift)

Sift Cupcake’s Sweet Salute to the Team

Starting today, Sift Cupcake + Dessert Bar in San Francisco, will be baking up the “Humm Baby” in honor of the Giants.

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World Premiere of “SOMM” & More

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One of the featured sommelier candidates from "SOMM.'' (Still courtesy of the filmmakers)

An Insider’s Look at the Rigorous Master Sommelier Exam

Anyone who’s a fan of wine will be drawn to the new documentary, “SOMM,” which will hold its world premiere Nov. 7 at the 2nd annual Napa Valley Film Festival at the Napa Valley Opera House.

The Master Sommelier exam is one of the most grueling around. Fewer than 200 people around the world have passed it. The film by Jason Wise follows four people as they prepare for the examination.

Bay Area folks will recognize some familiar faces in the film, including Chef Michael Mina, Sommelier Rajat Parr, Winemaker Bo Barrett, wine legend Fred Dame and Master Sommelier Reggie Narito.

Another candidate opening a bottle of Beaujolais. (Still courtesy of the filmmakers)

The filmmaker will be on hand at the fest, as well as the featured sommeliers. They also will be guests at the gala at Robert Mondavi Winery on Nov. 8.

Single-day passes are $50 to $60; a festival pass for five days of access, Nov. 7-11, is $250. A $500 Pass Plus gets you five days of screenings, plus access to the gala and wrap parties.

For a taste of what the film is all about, take a peek at the trailer: SOMM

Forget the Popcorn, Enjoy Italian Food Instead at Redd Wood

To tie in with the Napa Valley Film Festival, Redd Wood in Yountville will be featuring its rendition of the famous timpano from the classic film, “Big Night.”

The timpano di macceroni, a huge domed pie of baked pasta, meatballs, sausages and tomato sauce, will be available during the entire run of the festival, Nov. 6-11.

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Magnus Nilsson — The Chef of the Moment

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Oysters brought to the table on smoldering redwood branches at Coi in San Francisco, similar to the signature dish of scallops on smoky juniper branches at Faviken in Sweden.

The latest culinary rock star appropriately enough sports a mane of long blond hair, a scruffy beard, a too-cool aura and a laid-back cerebral nature.

If Rene Redzepi put Danish cooking on the map when his Noma restaurant in Copenhagen was named San Pelligrino’s “Best Restaurant” in the world for three years running, then Swedish sensation Magnus Nilsson of Fäviken Magasinet has only solidified the fact that Nordic cuisine’s moment has arrived with a wallop.

Nilsson, who previously cooked at three-Michelin starred L’Astrance in Paris and is a trained sommelier, took over Fäviken Magasinet in a remote, rural part of Sweden four years ago. The rather improbable restaurant is located in an isolated 24,000-acre hunting estate. Like Redzepi, Nilsson is all about cooking only with local ingredients. That may be fine in temperate California. It’s a whole ‘nother thing in the wilderness of northwestern Sweden, where the winters are beyond brutal.

Even so, Nilsson, who’s not yet 30 years old, has managed to turn this tiny, isolated 12-seat restaurant into not only one of the Top 50 in the world, but the most talked-about sensation these days in the culinary stratosphere.

Swedish sensation Magnus Nilsson cooks with Daniel Patterson of Coi.

With the launch of his first cookbook, “Fäviken” (Phaidon), he’s been bringing a taste of his innovative cuisine to the United States, including to Coi in San Francisco, where he cooked an extraordinary dinner with Chef-Proprietor Daniel Patterson on Saturday, to which I was fortunate to be invited as a guest.

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