Hello, friends. Did you have a stellar weekend? Mine was off the charts—like the heat! I headed up to Sonoma on Friday for my salumi class at Ramekins with Peter Temkin (look for a redux of it in San Francisco soon!), followed by the singular pleasure of a late dinner alfresco on the patio at Estate. Yes, we had more of John Toulze’s housemade salumi (we featured his Mano Formate coppa in the class, and thanks to chef Staffan Terje of Perbacco, we also turned the class on to ‘nduja!). My dining posse and I finished the night with amari and selections from Estate’s extensive grappa cart—my kind of nightcap.
Saturday I enjoyed sleeping in (oh, thank you, sweet Jesus), leftover Estate pizza in bed (I love being an adult), and a swim at MacArthur Place (totally charming grounds, full of flowers and trees and grass). I checked out and headed over for lunch at the girl & the fig (I kept cool with steak tartare and the famed fig and arugula salad), and checked out the new Crisp Bake Shop from darling couple Moaya Scheiman and Andrea Koweek. They make delicious cookies, from sandwich (hello, shortbread with salted dulce de leche) to macarons to classic chocolate chip, and gluten-free folks, you won’t believe the selection (I recommend their version of a Hostess cupcake)! I am so coming back for their sandwiches (hmmm, the Cubano or muffaletta?) and a cake.
I spent Saturday evening in Healdsburg, visiting two friends at their new cottage tucked among the vineyards along Westside Road. Yeah, it’s heaven up there—I didn’t want to leave. Sunday was Father’s Day, so I had to scoot down to San Mateo bright and early. My sis and I spent the day bottling wine with our father (these are my kind of father-daughter activities—sports or yard work, not so much) and had a beautiful family dinner—my mother styled us with delicious Moroccan lamb and a seasonal fruit galette. Damn, that woman can cook and bake.
So it’s one of my favorite weeks in San Francisco: Pride! Desperately trying to get all my work done this week so I can enjoy the weekend celebrating the inimitable and fabulous diversity of our fair city. The energy is jubilant, electric, happy, proud. Say it loud!
Bisous!
Marcia Gagliardi (Marcia rhymes with Garcia; bonus round: the second “g” is silent in Gagliardi)
Peach Pimm’s Punch at Harry Denton’s Starlight Room. Photo: © tablehopper.com.View tablehopper Newsletter from Tuesday, Jun 19 2012
