cookiesinheaven

San Francisco here I come! 

Watchout @KarlTheFog...I'm heading up your way to attend the Fancy Food Trade Show to see the latest, greatest and tastiest foodstuffs on the market...or hoping to be on the market. 

Looking forward to your cold, clammy enveloping embrace....and that Serrano Ham from Spain.

Labels: Fancy Food, Food, Karl the Fog, San Francisco

In January of each year, San Francisco is the Mecca of the munchie addicted, as George Moscone Center is the epicenter for all food that is of fancy in nature. (OK...some not so fancy.) 

We are talking food from everywhere. Spain. Australia. Korea. Sweden. Podunk USA. The show is THE time to see what flavor profiles are out there and trending. What is available in packaging and design. What foods are trending. Who can supply what foods...ingredients...it truly is an amazing 3-days of whirlwind activity for the tastebuds and the senses. I tend to make a beeline to the Spanish contingent first for samplings of the Serrano Ham but I keep a lookout for local food vendors at the show. Love running into the Santa Barbara Olive Company!

Got my hotel booked. (GREAT deal on a Nob Hill area venue)
Got my train tix procured.
Now....figuring out where to make Open Table reservations as it IS "SF Dine About Town" time.

Labels: Fancy Food, restaurants, San Francisco

Patxi's Pizza (pronounced pah-cheese), a popular Chicago deep-dish and Italian thin crust mini-chain (Bay Area and Denver) is set to land at 515 State Street (the former Territory Ahead space) in the Spring of 2014.



They apparently have baked dough styled with four types of mozzarella and 30+ toppings. Mmmmmmm. 'Za-riffic!

Labels: Denver, pizza, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, State Street

on their menu in San Francisco.

Chipotle, concerned about rising meat prices and eager to shore up its popular support among vegetarians, is soon testing tofu as its newest burrito filling in a few San Francisco locations. - HuffPo

Called “Sofritas”, the tofu will be braised with tomatoes, chipotle sauce, and poblano peppers. Ironically, the move to embrace tofu as a meat-free option comes as Chipotle and other fast food restaurants struggle to deal with the rising costs associated with meat production. “Beef and dairy prices have been rising because of the drought, which sent the prices farmers pay for hay and other feed skyrocketing,” writes the AP. - Ecorazzi

Labels: Chipotle, San Francisco, Tofu, Vegetables

I'll be there this weekend. Will you?

Labels: Fancy Food, San Francisco

Labels: Golden Gate, Huell Howser, San Francisco

Labels: San Francisco, Tony Bennett, YouTube

is sold at a foreclosure auction and Santa Barbara's SIMA Corp is the top bidder at $11.4 million.

A bastion of casual elegance since 1885, The Casa Madrona Hotel and Spa is poised on a lush hillside overlooking the San Francisco bay and it's environs. Located on the waterfront in downtown Sausalito, a picturesque and upscale Bay Area community north of San Francisco, just accross the Golden Gate Bridge. Our intimate hotel perfectly blends the amenities of a full-service hotel with the charm of a historic bed and breakfast. Discover a new standard of relaxation in our 63 guest rooms, showcasing both historic and contemporary style. For true bliss and rejuvenation, indulge in the soothing treatments of our 3,000-square-foot Spa. - CasaMadrona.com

Labels: Hotels, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Saucelito

Labels: Fancy Food, San Francisco

Labels: Cookbooks, Oregon, Recipes, San Diego, San Francisco

At a farm in Manteca, in San Joaquin County, workers smack labels onto watermelons freshly cut from the vine, each sticker bearing a unique string of letters and numbers that identifies where they were harvested.

"With food safety as big as it is, we can give each watermelon its own code so a consumer can check on the Internet to see where it is grown," said Ryan Van Groningen of Van Groningen & Sons Farms, which sells watermelons under the Yosemite Fresh brand.

This new code, called the HarvestMark, is being developed by the Redwood City startup YottaMark Inc. at a time when Congress is considering food-safety legislation that could make some type of tracking system mandatory.

...The tracking system is not unprecedented. For example, premium San Francisco chocolatemaker Original Beans prints similar locator codes on its wrappers to show where the cacao beans in an individual bar were grown. - SFGate

GottaLove it

Labels: California, California Agriculture, Chocolate, food safety, San Francisco

is up in San Francisco...for the moment

Labels: Animals, San Francisco

Through out Europe, The term "Scampi" takes a few left turns....

We'll start off with the shrimp, I think I went overboard with the amount, but hay, what's new. 5lbs for 7 people...

Here is the method bit I love. Scampi is all about the garlic and we're going to coax the sweet flavor out...

Now here is where you could blow it. Don't salt right away and don't stir like a maniac...

The salt will make the shrimp weep and will ruin our beautiful crust and stirring will create steam that will do the same thing....

Color equals flavor and we want to build a crisp crust on the shrimp. so leave it alone...

This is an Italian American dish, so Pinot Grigio, buttery Chardonnay whatevs. As long as it's something you want to drink...

Labels: Recipes, San Francisco, Scampi, twitter, tyler florence, Wine

came to Santa Barbara last night on his gubernatorial adventure. Very impressive....oh, and his talk was good, too.

Labels: politics, San Francisco

Labels: Retro, San Francisco

for the Fancy Food Trade Show.

Talk, blog or snack amongst yourselves this weekend!

Labels: Fancy Food, San Francisco, Trade Show

...Consider what he does when he's not producing segments of "Tyler's Ultimate." Having just completed six holiday special segments for the Food Network, he is promoting two lavish cookbooks that hit the shelves this week.

Plus there's the construction of his latest restaurant, Bar Florence, in San Francisco, set to open in the spring. And readying Tyler Florence wine for wide distribution next year. And adding high-end cutlery to his personal line of culinary gear. And expanding retail operations beyond his flagship store. - San Jose Mercury New

Labels: Restaurant, San Francisco, tyler florence

Slow Food Nation Celebration up in San Francisco this weekend...I wasn't able to make it. Hope you did.

Labels: San Francisco, Slow Food

In collaboration with Victory Gardens 2008+, Slow Food Nation will herald the era of self-sufficiency through the creation of an ornamental edible garden in the heart of San Francisco’s Civic Center. Planted on the same site as the post-World War II gardens 60 years ago, the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden demonstrates the potential of a truly local agriculture practice that unites and promotes Bay Area urban gardening organizations, while producing high quality food for those in need.

Featuring a wide variety of heritage organic vegetables suited to the Bay Area microclimate, the garden displays the diversity of urban food production practices. It is a garden of communities: all food grown in the garden will be harvested and donated to those with limited access to healthy organic produce through our partnership with local food banks and meals programs. - Slow Food Nation

Labels: Foodies, San Francisco, Slow Food, Sustainable