Hello hello! For those of you who celebrate Holi and Nowruz and Passover and Easter, I hope your recent celebrations have been sweet. This past Sunday’s Easter gathering with vaccinated (!!) family members was especially poignant (I was also looking forward to our family lasagna and roasted capretto and pastiera napoletana from Rulli all week!).
And last week’s sunny weather definitely put spring into my step (dinner on the outdoor patio at Prubechu was purr-fect, file that one on your to-do list!). We’re seeing a bunch of places come out of hibernation with the 50-percent indoor seating allowance, announcing their fully vaccinated staff (yes!), and everyone I know is trying to hire managers and cooks and servers. The hospitality industry is finally able to get off its knees and try standing—a bit shakily, but let’s be there to help steady their stride.
Personally, I felt a huge shift when I dined at Californios a couple weeks ago on their gorgeous new patio—it was such a special (and moving) experience, and definitely heralds a return to visionary and transportive dining, and elevated hospitality. I mean, the dessert course is a rainbow! I floated out of there with a huge smile on my face. You can read more in today’s preview piece.
SF Restaurant Week is returning for a spring run, starting this Friday April 9th through Sunday April 18th. Over 150 participating restaurants will be offering prix-fixe menus for lunch (two-plus courses set at $10, $15, or $25) and dinner (three-plus courses set at $25, $45, or $60). (The La Cocina Municipal Marketplace is now open and taking part, by the way!) AND we have a fun giveaway for you in today’s column: two dinners for two from participating restaurants China Live and Wayfare Tavern!
Next Monday April 12th, is a virtual presentation of the 12th annual TASTE AWARDS, and I am so honored to be named a Special Achievement Award Winner (for the Food Champion Award) for my work with tablehopper and the On the Fly podcast (we did it, Lola!). Meowza! You can tune in at 5:30pm on Facebook and the TASTE AWARDS website (you can set a reminder here). Watch it and see who wins for the most exciting and creative food, fashion, and lifestyle programs, videos, films, series, podcasts, and radio.
I have been on a documentary deep dive over here (those of you who follow me on Twitter have seen my updates). If you’d like some recos on some cool things to watch, I have thoroughly enjoyed The Glorias (an experimental biopic about Gloria Steinem); Everybody Street blew my mind watching street photographers in New York do their thang (nerves of steel, I swear); the recent Rolling Stone: Life and Death of Brian Jones (this story is beyond tragic—that case needs to be reopened); and I loved watching Westwood about the iconic and punky designer, Vivienne Westwood. Film buffs can’t miss Hal, a portrait of visionary stoner-director Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude, Shampoo) and his fight to make art while the studios just wanted to make money (typical). (I’m also so proud of my friend who was a producer of this film!) Oh, and Audrey on Netflix ended up dissolving me into a complete puddle of tears at the end. What a lovely tribute to the iconic Audrey Hepburn. That woman had the sweetest heart of gold—if only more people in Hollywood dedicated themselves to charity like she did, using her fame for so much good.
I hope you have a swell week. Some quick ideas on how to make it so: order some food from the La Cocina Municipal Marketplace (like this stellar sandwich!), Cambodian chicken wings from Shlap Muan, Indonesian dishes from Kirimachi, and drive out for Vinny’s Gabagool at Long Bridge Pizza in Dogpatch for lunch! Who loves you?
Buon appetito! Marcia Gagliardi
Fully feeling uplifting, “we’re back, baby!” vibes during a recent meal at the new Californios. “Smising” so damn hard. View tablehopper Newsletter from Tuesday, Apr 6 2021
