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If It’s Monday, It Must Be Time For Burgers & Burgundies

Posted on February 17, 2020 by foodgal Leave a comment

The Selby's burger. — The Selby’s burger.

There is Meatless Monday. And there is Meatball Monday at some establishments.

But for the ultimate highbrow-lowbrow experience, there is Burgers & Burgundies on Monday nights at Selby’s in Redwood City.

Bacchus Management Group, which operates Selby’s, had featured Burgers & Burgundies for years at its Michelin-stared Spruce in San Francisco. Although discontinued there, the tradition has been brought over to Selby’s.

Last week, I had a chance to try this irresistible combo when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant.

The three burgundies offered by the glass last Monday night.

Enjoy one glass of burgundy -- or a flight. — Enjoy one glass of burgundy — or a flight.

The burger-wine combo can be enjoyed either in the dining room or at the bar. Think of it as a more low-key dining option at the posh restaurant when you don’t want to linger for hours over a multitude of courses.

Too Good To Wait: Marbled Red Wine and Chocolate Bundt Cake

Posted on October 14, 2019 by foodgal 11 comments

A cake made for chocolate and wine lovers.

Whenever my Mom started reading a new novel, the first thing she did was turn to the last chapter to see how it ends.

My Dad and I used to laugh and shake our heads in disbelief.

But I think I inherited a little of that gene because I don’t always adhere to strict order, either.

Take the new “365: A Year of Everyday Cooking and Baking” (Prestel) by Berlin-based food writer Meike Peters.

I couldn’t wait to tear into Peters new cookbook, especially because I loved her first one, “Eat in My Kitchen: To Cook, to Bake, to Eat, and to Treat” (Prestel), which won a James Beard Award.

As the name implies, this new cookbook, of which I received a review copy, offers up an entire year’s worth of recipes. Yes, one for each and every day.

The recipes are arranged from January to December, with everything from soups to salads to mains to desserts. The delights include “Saffron and Clementine Cake” in February, “Salmon with Juniper-Gin Butter” in April, “Squash Pasta with Orange, Maple, and Sage” in September, and “Spiced Chestnut and Apple Pie” in November.

I know it’s October, but when it came time to try my first recipe from the book, I leaped ahead unapologetically to January. Hey, you would, too, for a taste of “Marbled Red Wine and Chocolate Bundt Cake.”

SF Bakesale for Planned Parenthood, Mixology Fun & More

Posted on September 23, 2019 by foodgal One comment

Get your sweet tooth on at this wonderful bake sale for a great cause. (Photo by Molly Decourdreaux)

Zuni Cafe and Guittard Chocolate Team Up With A Host of Bakers For A Grand Bakesale

Get your sweet fix — and support a worthy cause — at the “SF Bakesale for Planned Parenthood,” 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 13 in Rose Alley between Gough and Market streets (behind Zuni Cafe) in San Francisco.

Modeled after a similar event in New York City, this local one is presented by Annie Callahan of Zuni Cafe and Amy Guittard of Guittard Chocolate Company. It will feature a tantalizing array of baked goods for sale by some of the city’s top restaurants and bakeries. A live auction also will be held, with one of the items up for bids a dinner at NOMA Copenhagen.

All proceeds will benefit Planned Parenthood NorCal and Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates.

Among those baking the sweet treats are: Atelier Crenn, Bi-Rite Creamery, Boulevard, Cala, Che Fico, Frances, Liholiho Yacht Club, Mister Jiu’s, Nightbird, Quince, Rich Table, Saison, Tartine Bakery, 20th Century Cafe, and Zuni Cafe.

Unable to attend the event, but still want to help? A GoFundMe site has been set up to take donations.

Mixology Classes From The Mulberry Guy

You know him as the Mulberry Guy, the farmer who brings prized, fresh-picked mulberries to sell at the Palo Alto Downtown Farmers Market in the summertime. Now, Kevin Lynch is putting a newfound hobby to work — he’s hosting mixology classes in his backyard full of mulberry trees.

Kevin Lynch is known for his home-grown mulberries. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

Lynch and his wife are both teachers, so they know how to instruct so that the lessons stick.

Cheers to the Portland Trail Blazers With Limited Edition Wines

Posted on September 16, 2019 by foodgal Leave a comment

Some very cool labels on these two very cool wines by Adelsheim Vineyard.

OK, Warriors fans, don’t hate me for writing about the Portland Trail Blazers.

After all, it’s really two special wines that I’m concentrating on here. And admittedly, I am partial to Oregon pinot noirs, which one of these is.

To celebrate the monumental 50th anniversary of the Portland basketball team, Adelsheim Vineyard, the first winery founded in the Chehalem Mountains in the Willamette Valley, has come out with two limited-edition commemorative wines: a pinot noir ($50) and a chardonnay ($50), both 2017 vintages.

All Roads Lead to A16 Rockridge

Posted on September 6, 2019 by foodgal Leave a comment

An especially meaty, sweet, tender tasting prosciutto at A16 Rockridge.

I have been a fan of A16 ever since it opened its doors in 2004 in San Francisco’s Marina district. But I may have become an even bigger fan now of its younger sister location, A16 Rockridge in Oakland, which opened in 2013.

That’s because parking is a breeze, especially on an early Sunday evening, as when I visited recently. In contrast, visiting the original location will always involve circling the blocks over and over to hunt for a parking space.

In Oakland, I save time in the car to spend more of it comfortably at my seat in the restaurant, done up in rustic-industrial style with exposed brick walls and duct work on the ceilings.

The restaurant, which takes its name from the highway that spans across Italy from Napoli to Bari, specializes in the food of Campania.

The comfortable dining room with high ceilings and large windows overlooking the sidewalk.

Its wine list is also killer. In fact, Wine Director and Co-Founder Shelley Lindgren won a James Beard Award for it. So when our server recommended a half carafe ($26) of the 2018 Terredora di Paolo “Rosaenovae” Montefusco, Avellino, Campania rose, on the warm summer evening, we knew it would hit the spot. And it did with its pale salmon color, and light, dry, minerally-forward character.

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