Man, I am so feeling for everyone who works in a kitchen or near a pizza oven today. Heck, most restaurants in SF don’t have air conditioning, so it’s gotta be rough right now. Thanks for keeping us all fed, industry folks. Meanwhile, most somms must be carefully eyeing their rosé stock right now, everyone is drinking the stuff like water. I know I am doing my part. And so begins my favorite time of the year in San Francisco.
Although I had a pretty idyllic 24 hours in Calistoga for the holiday—went up to Indian Springs for my first time, I can’t believe I have never had a mud bath there before! What a cool resort, which has a Palm Springs vibe in Wine Country. And their mineral pools, fueled by the geysers on the property? Pretty amazing stuff, especially when you’re floating in a 90-degree Olympic-sized pool at 11:30pm at night, with the stars overhead, and the sounds of the geyser trumpeting and flowing into the cooling tank nearby. Talk about rejuvenating.
I’ll be writing about this getaway soon—you’ll want to head up there, stat. Especially to check out chef Kory Stewart’s summery menu (yes, we had watermelon and corn soup!) at the resort’s recently opened Sam’s Social Club (although his fall menu won’t be a slouch either—the man lives for mushrooms).
I was also lucky to be invited to a designer pal’s house in Santa Rosa, who happened to have one of the prettiest and most refreshing pools I have dipped into in a while. Northern California in September, you are a dream. I also have to encourage you to catch the sunset at the beach tonight if you can—I left my desk (and deadline crush) for a couple of hours last night and it was so worth it.
On Saturday, I had a chance to dine at a friends and family test dinner at Oro—it’s due to open on Friday; read all about it in the chatterbox.
We are taking this Friday off and will see you next week—yours truly will be busy celebrating her sister’s birthday this Friday. Can you say spa day? And Friday brunch, what a treat.
Enjoy the heat. I sure am! Marcia Gagliardi
Yay, breakfast at Sam’s Social Club: toad in the hole, with Parmesan-crusted house brioche, mushroom fondue, and arugula. Photo: © tablehopper.com.View tablehopper Newsletter from Wednesday, Sep 9 2015
