Category Archives: Enticing Events

Scenes from Frog Hollow Farm’s “Peaches & Tango”

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Nectarine tree at Frog Hollow Farm.

It’s not every day that you find giant canisters of liquid nitrogen and elaborate sous vide cooking equipment on a bucolic fruit farm.

But when “Top Chef All-Stars” Champ Richard Blais visits to cook an elaborate fund-raising dinner for 175 folks, that’s just what you need to make it all happen.

The occasion was Saturday’s “Peaches & Tango: A Dinner in the Orchard” at Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, an evening of gourmet eats, live music and tango dancing performances by Trio Garufa. Proceeds benefited the Chez Panisse Foundation.

Chef Richard Blais tears the skin off of fried chicken to serve it as a garnish with hamachi crudo.

Yours truly served as emcee for the fun event, which marked my first time visiting this incredible farm.

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New Sourdough Specialities, McEvoy Ranch Garden Walk, Wine Crawl & More

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Sourdough gnocchi with lovely lobster. (Photo courtesy of Boudin Bistro)

San Francisco’s Bistro Boudin Offers New Sourdough Dishes

Bistro Boudin at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf has upped the sourdough factor on its summer menu.

A variety of new dishes highlight the tangy, wonderful bread made by the cafe’s Gold Rush-era bakery.

Look for Bistro Shrimp Salad ($14.95) with grilled avocado, tangerines, chopped romaine and cilantro vinaigrette piled into a crispy sourdough cup; Grilled Salmon Al Tagine ($25.95) with clams, spinach, cherry tomatoes, Moroccan olives and capers served with sourdough crostini; and Sourdough Gnocchi ($23.95) with decadent chunks of lobster in a creamy pesto sauce.

Grilled salmon tagine with sourdough crostini. (Photo courtesy of Bistro Boudin)

San Francisco Wine Crawl

Sure, you’ve heard of food truck crawls, where those culinary four-wheelers gather in one spot to ply their delicious wares. Now, get ready for a wine version of that.

SF Wine Crawl, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. July 24, affords you the chance to taste wines from 10 of San Francisco’s urban wineries.

Treasure Island is the location for this unique event — only appropriate since several wineries already make their home there. Sip wine, meet the winemakers and enjoy a breathtaking view of the Bay.

The event is accessible by car and #108 Muni bus.

Tickets are $40 per person; $60 VIP tickets include a VIP shuttle to ferry you around to each winery.

Enjoy a visit to McEvoy Ranch -- complete with lunch. (Photo courtesy of the ranch)

Garden Tour and Lunch at McEvoy Ranch in Marin County

McEvoy Ranch — producers of spectacular estate-grown, certified organic extra virgin olive oils — is opening up its 550-acre property in the hills west of Petaluma for a garden walk plus lunch, 10 a.m. to noon July 22.

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Food Gal Giveaway of Organic California Olive Oil

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Luscious organic, local olive oil from Northern California by Sorelle Paradiso. (Photo courtesy of Daily Gourmet)

The Scianamblo family, who trace its roots to Puglia, Italy, has been farming in Northern California for 30 years. But it wasn’t until recently that their daughter, an integrative health practitioner and educator, convinced her parents to convert their 44-acre olive grove to all organic.

The family business, Sorelle Paradiso, now makes award-winning organic extra virgin olive oils pressed from their Mission, Sevillano, and Nevadillo Blanco olives.

The golden-hued Sorelle Paradiso Sevillano oil has a beguiling aroma of grass and pear, while the Mission Blend is all green apple, nuts and hay.

A 750ml bottle of the Mission Blend and a 375ml of the Pure Sevillano regularly sell for $75 plus $21 in shipping.

But through the end of this week, Daily Gourmet, is offering the duo for $62 plus free shipping (a $34 savings). The San Francisco-based company offers limited-time deals on gourmet products from around the country to its members. Becoming a member is as easy as signing up here.

Win these two bottles of organic olive oil (total value of $96). (Photo courtesy of Daily Gourmet)

Contest: I’m happy to be giving away one bottle each of the 750ml Mission Blend and the 375ml Pure Sevillano to one lucky Food Gal reader. Contest is open only to those in the continental United States. Entries will be accepted through noon PST July 21. Winner will be announced on July 22.

How to win?

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See’s Candies Exclusive Tour, Anthony Bourdain Comes to Town & More

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See's Candies summer-time suckers in root beer flavor. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

Win a Chance to Visit the See’s Candies Factory

See’s Candies will celebrate National Lollipop Day on July 20 in a big way.

First, stop in at any one of more than 200 See’s locations that day to get a free See’s lollypop.

Second, for an entire week, July 16–23, See’s will be putting all its lollypops on sale at 30 percent off. A box of 30 will sell for $12 (regularly $15.80) and a box of 12 will be $5.75 (regularly $7.15). The cube-shaped lollys come in chocolate, vanilla, cafe latte, butterscotch and the special summer flavor of root beer.

Lastly, you and a guest can win a VIP tour of See’s South San Francisco candy factory, which is not normally open to the public. As one who has had the sweet pleasure of going on such a tour, take my word that it’s an unforgettable experience. Included in this prize package is round-trip airfare for two, four nights at a San Francisco hotel, ground transportation and a $100 per diem per day. Entrants also will have a chance to vie for $50 See’s gift cards. Contest is open through July 23. Winners will be selected in a random drawing.

The one and only Anthony Bourdain comes to Oakland. (Photo courtesy of the Travel Channel)

Anthony Bourdain Comes to Oakland

Culinary bad boy and host of the popular, award-winning show, “No Reservations,” Anthony Bourdain will be making a one-night appearance at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland at 8 p.m. Oct. 21, in which he’ll be lobbing his trademark barbs and thought-provoking insights in a lecture-style setting.

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