Happy New Year, sweeties! I know so many people are greeting 2018 with open arms. I am wishing you so much happiness and abundance and good health this year (and I found a big ole glass to raise to you!). Let’s rock.
Greetings from sunny Los Angeles, where I’ve been having a total blast catching up with friends, eating all kinds of pasta and French onion soup, and New Year’s Day dinner was in a booth at the classic Hollywood hangout Dan Tana’s, with a table covered in a red-and-white checkered tablecloth and hearty plates of chicken Parm and toasted ravioli and Manhattans. One of the better starts to the New Year I’ve had in a while (and a total hangover crusher). Filing that one away for a reunion.
I have also been down here touring local dispensaries and checking out the local cannabis scene and products. Recreational sales is so exciting—I kind of can’t believe it’s happening. Even though prohibition has ended, there are still some things that are underground, like cannabis dinners, which is the subject of my latest piece for KQED’s Bay Area Bites. Yeah, the hopper got a little high at a recent one. Tabletoker.
Another article I recently wrote was for Via, featuring the top 10 restaurant openings in SF in 2017 (with some casual spots I liked too). Take a look and see if you’ve visited them all. We’ve had some quality openings this past year.
We had such a fun and festive tablehopper holiday dinner a couple of days after Christmas at Maybeck’s, with beef Wellington, Scotch cocktails and pairings from Bruichladdich, and such a fun crowd. The highlight for me was that our little raffle over dinner raised $543 for the SF-Marin Food Bank! Tremendous thanks to everyone who attended and so generously contributed, and especially to Bruichladdich and the Maybeck’s team who rocked the evening out of the park.
Sad you missed the party? You can head over for grower Champagne and fried chicken tonight, or beef Wellington Wednesday tomorrow! (And the Blood and Sand we enjoyed at our dinner is on the bar menu right now and was a total crowd fave.)
Or here’s an idea: you should buy a ticket to the upcoming Pencils for Kids fundraiser on Wednesday January 17th that I have been working on! We have a wonderful lineup of restaurant, spirit, and wine partners, and it all goes to an amazing cause: providing children in rural areas with school supplies and helping to support their education. Take a look at today’s listing and get your ticket! Thanks for spreading the word and supporting this event—every guest helps tremendously. I need your help in selling this out, thanks everyone!
Okay gang, it’s also time for my annual rant, the bore, of 10 things I don’t want to see in the new year. I kind of can’t believe I have been writing that kvetch piece for 10 years—and I know many of you have been reading it for that long too! Thanks for being such dedicated subscribers.
I’ll be back with the news and more next week. Cheers and best wishes for now! XO! Marcia Gagliardi
This is how to do New Year’s Day dinner in LA: Dan Tana’s! Photo: © tablehopper.com.View tablehopper Newsletter from Tuesday, Jan 2 2018
