Ahhhh, hullo, Friday! I’m sure all of you have quite the holiday party lineup (and list of elf errands) this weekend, amIright? Today we have a hopper holiday gift guide for you in case you need some inspiration—and one more idea for you: buy a ticket for your friend or coworker to join you at the upcoming tablehopper two-martini lunch at Bix on Friday December 18th! We have just five tickets left! I’m giving you an excellent reason to play hooky and leave your office early that day.
On Tuesday night, I was fortunate to be invited to the MoAD Diaspora Dinner, hosted by chef-in-residence Bryant Terry and The People’s Kitchen. Each delicious dish told a story of place and people (and so many folks came together to put this meal on, thank you!). We learned about benne cake and bunny chow and finished the night with Red Bay Coffee and iconic bean pie by PieTisserie, all while listening to the beautiful music of Marcus Shelby (and others) throughout the engaging and thought-provoking meal. Looking forward to future MoAD events! This was a special one.
So you want a little treat too? I’m sure you deserve it, I see you, right there at the top of Santa’s “nice” list. Last week we mentioned the special holiday dinners Shorty Goldstein’s is hosting on Friday nights this month (there’s a Hanukkah one tonight at 8pm—say hello to duck confit matzah ball soup!). We have two tickets to give away to next Friday’s dinner, which will feature “Jewish Christmas,” a Chinese-style dinner, complete with pastrami and scallion pancake and dumplings (and considering owner Mike Siegel used to work at Betelnut with Alex Ong, he knows what the hell he is doing!). We will award two tickets to the Friday December 18th dinner (at 8pm) to one lucky winner who comments on our Instagram post by Monday 1pm PST. Good luck and happy holidays!
Today I want to give a special thank-you to 707 scout correspondent Heather Irwin, who has been covering the 707 for us for many, many Fridays. With my upcoming move to New York and an impending shorter tablehopper column, this will be our last 707 scout column from Heather. But you can keep up with all the Sonoma County news by signing up for the BiteClub newsletter. Thanks for all the reporting, Heather!
One last thing: did you see my post on Tuesday about the “Adopt-a-Student” holiday drive for students in the ECS CHEFS (Conquering Homeless Through Employment in Food Services) Program? There’s still time to take part! They have requested simple but important items such as shoes and clothes to help them prepare for school. For more details, please click here to be assigned a student. Thanks everyone!
Have a great weekend, filled with holiday cheer(s)! Marcia Gagliardi
The stunning vintage chandelier at Alfred’s Steakhouse (had to say farewell before they close on New Year’s Eve!). Photo: © tablehopper.com.View tablehopper Newsletter from Friday, Dec 11 2015
