Category Archives: Enticing Events

Porky Fun and a Food Gal Giveaway

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Win some porky goodness and a cookbook autographed by Chef Richard Blais.(Image courtesy of the National Pork Board)

You know it as the “other white meat” and the current darling ingredient of so many chefs, including “Top Chef All-Stars” champ Richard Blais.

Yes, pork.

After all, you’ve got to love a beast that gives you everything from bacon, ham and prosciutto to lard, chicharrones, ribs and juicy loin.

To get you in an even more porky good mood, I’m giving one lucky Food Gal reader the all the fixings for a spectacular piggy feast.

The porky prize package. (Image courtesy of the National Pork Board)

Contest: One person will win a “Be Inspired with Pork Kit,” which is being provided to the Food Gal by the folks at the National Pork Board. It includes an 11-inch square grill pan; a 16-jar revolving spice rack; a pig-shaped wood cutting board; a digital thermometer; a copy of the cookbook, “How to Cook Like a Top Chef” (Chronicle Books), autographed by Blais; and a gift card to a local retailer to purchase some tasty pork to cook up.

Entries for the contest, open only to those in the contiguous 48 U.S. states, will be accepted through midnight PST May 21. Winner will be announced May 23.

How to win?

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New Sustainable Sushi Restaurant, Food Bloggers Bake Sale, Guy Fieri & More

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The interior of the new Ki in San Francisco. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

San Francisco Welcomes a Second Sustainable Sushi Restaurant

At the new Ki in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, you can enjoy your sushi without any guilt.

That’s because the new izakaya-style restaurant is dedicated to serving food that’s local, seasonal and sustainable. Owner Paul Hemming, a DJ, art gallery owner and record store owner, has teamed with Casson Trenor, author of “Sustainable Sushi: A Guide to Saving the Oceans One Bite at A Time” (North Atlantic Books). Trenor also helped launch Tataki Sushi & Sake Bar in San Francisco, the Bay Area’s first sustainable sushi restaurant.

Executive Chef Brian Beach, formerly executive chef of Infusion Lounge in San Francisco, sources many of his ingredients from within 150 miles of the restaurant. At Ki, you won’t find bluefin tuna, hamachi or eel — all of which are over-fished. Instead, the spotlight is on sardines, local albacore tuna, artic char, and other sustainable seafood. Dishes ($6 to $17) include kasuzuke, a seasonal fish cured in sake lees and cooked on a cedar plank; and karaage, sous-vide fried chicken served with pickled chile-usukuchi sauce.

Sushi Chef Isamu Kanai, formerly executive chef of Deep Sushi in San Francisco, turns out specialties such as scallop carpaccio served on a chilled Himalayan salt plate with grilled cherry tomatoes, red shiso pesto and baby mizuna; and “Fish ‘n’ Chips,” a specialty roll with tempura striped bass and pickled slaw topped with crushed potato chips.

Enjoy an extensive selection of sakes, served by the 4-ounce or 8-ounce pour or by the bottle.

San Francisco Food Bloggers Bake Sale

Foodies all over the nation will be baking up a storm for the second annual National Food Bloggers Bake Sale on May 14 to benefit Share Our Strength, a national organization working to eradicate child hunger.

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Cool New Water Bottle and Food Gal Giveaway

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Win a new Groove water bottle with built-in filtration system. (Image courtesy of Camelbak)Camelbak, maker of those nifty water packs for biking and hiking, wants you to get into the Groove.

A new portable filtration water bottle to be exact.

The Camelbak Groove is a reusable water bottle that comes with its own carbon filter built into the drinking straw. Fill the bottle with tap water, and as you sip, the water is filtered before it hits your mouth.The straw has a bite valve — the same one apparently used by NASA astronauts in space — that locks into place when not in use, so you don’t have to worry about spills or leaks.

It’s great to stash in your car or to keep at your desk. Or tote one in your purse or briefcase. No more spending money on disposable water bottles or worrying about recycling them.

The 20-ounce bottle is made of BPA-free plastic and comes in four colors. It sells for $25. Replacement carbon filters (each of which should last for up to 60 gallons) cost $10 for a two-pack.

The Grooves are available online at the Camelbak Web site or at stores such as Target.

Contest: I’m happy to be able to give away one Camelback Groove to each of five lucky Food Gal readers. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST May 14. Winners will be announced May 16.

How to win?

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Convenient CSA Pickup at a Caltrain Station

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Would you believe you can pick up this bounty at a train station?

Leave it to Luke’s Local — the gourmet convenience store at a Caltrain station — to make getting farm-fresh produce on your commute even easier now.

The tiny store, which opened last year in a long-vacant ticket office at the Hillsdale station in San Mateo, just started offering a Community Supported Agriculture “Meal Box” that folks can pick up once a week at Luke’s Local. Imagine getting off the train after a long day at work, then picking up a box that contains not only fresh fruits and veggies, but a couple of ready-to-heat meals that you can load in your car to take home.

A sample "Meal Box'' from Luke's Local.

Luke Chappell, owner of the store, is offering this new service in a joint effort with Farmshares, a Community Supported Agriculture program of local farms in the Capay Valley. When you subscribe to the service, you pick up your box every Wednesday night at the train station.

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Peet’s 45th Anniversary and a Food Gal Giveaway

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Peet's special 45th Anniversary Blend Tea. (Image courtesy of Peet's)

Would you believe that it was 45 years ago that Alfred Peet began roasting coffee in Berkeley, which forever cemented our love affair for a dark, strong brew made with fresh-roasted beans?

Now, each year, Peet’s commemorates the anniversary of the founding of the company by releasing an anniversary blend each of coffee and tea. No two years are alike, either, as each celebratory blend is made with that season’s new crop of the best and most interesting coffees to ensure especially bold and bright flavors.

And the companion 45th Anniversary Blend Coffee. (Image courtesy of Peet's)This year’s Anniversary Blend Coffee features Costa Rican, Burundi and Antiqua Guatemala beans. The Burundi lend a black cherry-like note to this lively coffee with subtle sweetness.

The Anniversary Breakfast Blend Tea features four micro-lots from China: Keemun Mao Feng, Yunnan Golden Snow, Golden Congou and Imperial Red. The tea blend, with its rich and malty flavor, is substantial enough to stand up to milk and sugar, if you like to sip it the British way.

The Anniversary tea and coffee are available for a limited time only — until about May 24 or until supplies last. The coffee is $15.99 per pound at Peet’s locations; and $8.99 to $10.99 for a 12-ounce bag in stores such as Safeway and Andronico’s.

The tea, $14.95 for a four-ounce tin, is available at Peet’s locations and on the Peet’s Web site.

Contest: Now, five Food Gal readers will get a chance to try both the Peet’s Anniversary Blend coffee and tea. Each will receive a one-pound bag of coffee plus a tin of the tea.

Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST May 7. Winners will be announced May 9.

How to win?

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