Tea Time

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Sure, you’ve enjoyed your black, green, white and herbal teas.

But have you ever sipped a tea with actual peppers in it?

Fred Hempel, owner of the 9 1/2-acre Baia Nicchia farm in Sunol, is known far and wide in the Bay Area for his incredible tomatoes, some unique varieties of which this former geneticist has actually created from scratch, too.  But now, he’s also gaining a reputation for his unusual teas.

They’re all caffeine-free and made from organic herbs and vegetables that he grows, dries and combines to create arresting blends that can be enjoyed hot or cold.

The varieties vary throughout the year, depending upon what’s in season at the farm. Delicate and natural tasting, the teas can’t help but make you feel as if you’re sitting on a porch overlooking a lush garden as you sip them.

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Il Cane Rosso — A Tiny Spot That Delivers Big

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The staff at Il Cane Rosso inside San Francisco’s Ferry Building like to joke that they don’t have a real kitchen or dining room.

But what they’re able to create inside this tiny space that was once a takeout rotisserie is fairly miraculous. Cane Rosso’s open-face, warm egg salad sandwich with anchovy garlic butter is legendary. And its regular $25 three-course dinners have earned loyal fans.

Chef Lauren Kiino, who named the place after her three-legged rescue dog, Cody, opened the restaurant in 2009 in partnership with Chef Daniel Patterson of Coi in San Francisco. When that business relationship fizzled this year, Kiino took complete control of Cane Rosso.

A restaurant named after a chef's rescue dog.

The friendly staff and tiny kitchen.

She’s also been scouting locations in the Bay Area and Los Angeles to open another restaurant. Meantime, Cane Rosso has started doing a series of pop-up restaurants, in which the cooks borrow another establishment for a night to do a special prix fixe dinner. May 19 and May 20, they’ll be hosting one seating each night at 7 p.m. in honor of Mariquita Farm in Watsonville, which supplies a lot of Cane Rosso’s produce. Farm owner Andy Griffin will be on hand each night to talk about his farm as Kiino cooks up such dishes as crispy pork belly with Mariquita Farm roasted nettle and fregola salad. Crates of freshly picked strawberries will be available for purchase, too. The dinner, to be held at Coffee Bar in San Francisco, will feature four courses for $40, plus an additional $15 for wine pairings. To reserve a seat, email: info@canerossosf.com.

June 5 , Kiino will take over the Slow Club in San Francisco, for seatings at 6 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. The $55 three-course prix fixe (which includes cocktail pairings) will feature slow-cooked spring lamb with chicories and black olives. For reservations, email: info@canerossosf.com.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being invited as a guest of Cane Rosso to its first wine dinner. The dinner spotlighted Romililly Wines of the Russian River Valley, which was started in 2006 by brothers, Aaron and Jesse Inman. The duo leases land from their uncle, Joe Briggs, who started August Briggs winery in Calistoga, which makes a fabulous Pinot Meunier, which I fell in love with a few years ago.

The name, Romililly, is an amalgamation of the three siblings’ middle names, Jesse (Ro)bert, Aaron (Mi)chael and sister Susan Lilly, who’s still too young to drink legally. The dinner was a chance to taste the creations of newbie winemakers, including an earthy, leathery, rich 2009 Romililly Piinot Noir made from 40-year-old vines.

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Cookie-Candy in One

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A Dark Chocolate Lovie that's both candy- and cookie-like.

It’s a cookie. It’s a truffle. No, it’s actually both in one sweet confection known as a Lovie.

Oregon’s Leah Dancer and her mother, Denise Padgett, started creating these cookie-candy-like treats two and half years ago.

Made by their Love Bucket Baking Company, they’re akin to petit fours, only instead of cake, imagine chocolate ganache wrapped in a tender shortbread-like cookie, then dipped in chocolate.

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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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Gather Around Gather in Berkeley

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Seared panisse -- wedges of crisp polenta-like cakes made of creamy, custardy chickpeas -- at Gather restaurant.

At Gather restaurant in Berkeley, it’s all about head-to-tail and root-to-shoot cooking.

The nearly year-and-a half-old restaurant at the David Brower Center takes the unique approach of making its menu 50 percent vegetarian with plenty of vegan options.

If you’re rolling your eyes, thinking it’s some hippy-dippy Berkeley joint that won’t appeal to gauche, non-Birkenstock-wearing carnivores, you’d be wrong. In fact, my husband, aka Meat Boy, has happily eaten there twice with me, once when we paid our own tab and most recently when we were invited to dine as guests of the restaurant last month.

Popular with theater-goers, the restaurant was packed almost from the moment it opened its doors for dinner at 5 p.m. that Saturday evening. The space is very California-like with a warm, laid-back vibe. There’s plenty of rustic, reclaimed wood, as well as metal, steel and concrete. Fun touches include light fixtures made from recycled vodka bottles, filtered water served in recycled milk bottles, and comfy banquettes crafted from old leather belts (I even spotted one still sporting its Gap insignia).

The dining room made with reclaimed materials.

Filtered water in recycled Straus Creamery milk bottles.

The restaurant was started by Bay Area food activists Ari Derfel and Eric Fenster, who founded Back to Earth,  a nine-year-old organic catering company. Executive Chef Sean Baker, former sous chef at the vegan restaurant, Millennium in San Francisco, and executive chef at Gabriella Cafe in Santa Cruz, was named “2010 Chef of the Year” by Esquire magazine for his intriguing and innovative cuisine.

The compact menu features organic, local and sustainable ingredients, with vegan and gluten-free options spelled out clearly.

One dish, above all, has received a ton of buzz since the restaurant opened — “vegan charcuterie” ($16). It’s a beautiful wood board arrayed with four or so little tastes that change regularly. It doesn’t try to mimic meat salumi in any way except in its convivial nature that makes it perfect for sharing. It’s a great way to start the meal with a glass of wine.

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