Hey gang! I’m back in NYC, after 10 glorious springtime days in SF and a week in Washington state for a visit with Wines of Washington and my cousin’s wedding—thanks WA for also being so generous in delivering some spring weather!
Today in New York is cloudy and perfect writing weather, which is what I have been doing a LOT of the past few months. (Fortunately I brought a bag home of the new Side Door espresso from Ritual’s new Haight café to keep me chuggin’!) So did you hear a giant whoooooooosh sound last night? That was me sending the third and final 18,000-word chapter to Louis Vuitton for their 2017 San Francisco guidebook. I’m still working on a few smaller things, but dear lord, the beast has left my life! I’m looking forward to having more time to explore this city—the time is passing so quickly.
A highlight of my trip home was dining at Atelier Crenn, what a magical meal. Dreamy. So I was even more thrilled to hear the news that Dominique just won the San Pellegrino World’s Best Female Chef title (the World’s 50 Best Restaurants will be released on June 13th at a ceremony here in New York). And the first episode of the new season of Chef’s Table airs on Netflix on May 27th, which Dominique is profiled in. Can’t. Wait. (You can watch the trailer here.)
Last night, as I was writing my column, I had the James Beard Foundation Awards on, and I can’t believe SF got the big ole goose egg. Our city is so en fuego right now! Whatever, we don’t need awards to validate how amazing SF’s culinary scene is, and yes, many of the other winners were so well deserving. (The full list of winners is here.) And don’t miss a look at the 2016 Book, Broadcast & Journalism Award winners too.
But you really should take the time to watch this video in homage to Leah Chase of Dooky Chase’s in New Orleans, who won a Lifetime Achievement Award, and also get inspired by this video of Humanitarian of the Year, Father Greg Boyle. Both of them make us all look like a bunch of slackers, I tell you.
I may not have attend the JBFA event, but I am definitely looking forward to being back at the Beard House for dinner tomorrow night: Matthew Dolan of SF’s Twenty-Five Lusk is serving a dinner, Bay Area Seafood Sophisticate. Well then—pinkie up, darling!
Did you know this Friday May 6th is the seventh annual International #SauvBlanc Day? I will be celebrating at Cull & Pistol over some oysters, looking forward to it.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there! Sorry I didn’t get a roundup to you of places in time. We mention a couple of options in tablehopper today, and at this point, I’d say OpenTable’s list is your best friend. :)
I’ll have a lot more about events and other food news next week—someone has a LOT of catch-up to do, bags to unpack, and deadlines to meet. And a cold is trying to come on, and I’m like, uh, no. Been healthy for all of 2016 and I intend to stay that way, thankyouverymuch.
Mwah!
At Coi: the absolutely stunning turbot with “scales” made of root vegetables by chef Matthew Kirkley. Double rainbow! Photo: © tablehopper.com.View tablehopper Newsletter from Tuesday, May 3 2016
