The Socialite

One of my favorite restaurants, ~WINTERLAND~, is celebrating their one-year anniversary on Tuesday, March 28. They will be offering a six-course prix-fixe dinner for $90, with complimentary champagne with dinner, from 5:30pm-10pm. You can just swing by for cocktails and snacks in the lounge from 10pm-midnight. Happy birthday, Winterland.…

Arlequin Wine Merchant and Absinthe are pairing up for a pretty special evening this Wednesday, March 22: James Beard Foundation  Honoree ~FRITZ MAYTAG~ of York Creek Vineyards (also proprietor of Anchor Steam Brewery and Anchor Distilling Co.) will lead a tasting of his estate offerings (you didn't know…

For those looking for a different groove to taste wine to, there's  ~HIP TASTES~, described as "wine tastings [that] are stylish events for adventurous enthusiasts looking to broaden their knowledge of the good stuff." The events definitely seem to draw a fun crowd. Hip, if you…

Hey, here's something that's NOT Italian. But it sure is boozy. March 24-25 is the ~WHISKIES OF THE WORLD EXPO~ at the Hotel Monaco and aboard a boat, the San Francisco Belle. Not sure who thought hosting a whiskey tasting/expo on a boat is great…

Photo from Fra'Mani Okay, oink oink on this one! On March 21, the Commonwealth Club will be hosting a panel discussing one of my greatest loves, salumi. And not just any old panelists, try Paul Bertolli, (Founder, Fra'Mani Handcrafted Salumi, Berkeley), Chris Cosentino (Executive Chef, Incanto…

I went to one of the cooking classes at Purcell Murray in Brisbane (not Benicia) a couple weeks back, and I gotta tell ya, it's a nice little setup. Friendly people, social vibe, good food, and man, what a gorgeous showroom. It's like Euro stove porn…

This appeals to my Italian blood for obvious reasons: Ottimista Enoteca, the wine bar and eatery on Union Street, is hosting classes on regional Italian wines led by Jerad Ruhl, Ottimista's co-owner and wine director. You'll be kicking it on the heated patio while tasting some…

You'd think I was Italian or something with all these Italian events for this week. (You might as well get used to it.) This Wednesday, March 8, ~A16~ will be celebrating "La Festa Della Donna," which is International Women's Day. In Italy, all you…

Okay, I am so totally going to this: on Saturday March 4, kitchen goddess and Provence princess, ~GEORGEANNE BRENNAN~, is doing a cooking demo on springtime ingredients for a perfect Provençal menu. Think lamb, and early spring produce like morels, asparagus, and fava beans. There will be a lunch following…

As if you need further inspiration to visit ~K&L WINE MERCHANTS~,  but here you go: on Saturday, March 25, they will be offering a special tasting of wines from small producers who make organic/biodynamic wines from the Loire Valley, Burgundy, Jura and Southern France. The wines are…