One Rockin’ Night

Last night was the evening of the century. Well, the evening of my century.

My friends at Eventbrite threw a party called “An Evening with Food Heroes” to celebrate Bay area culinary artisans and to celebrate the release of my book. It was at Terroir, which is my new favorite place.

It has so much charm, and a meaningful wine list with a story behind each wine. And it’s run by a very cool Frenchmen.

My friend Charles Chocolates was there serving up his exquisite chocolates. And so was CMB Sweets, with her natural pure tasting jams that made me want to go sit in a corner with a spoon.

Chuck even went out of his way to order Stranahan’s whiskey from the chapter in my book and made the truffles on the left using the whiskey. They were a revelation.

And there was this cool cat. He and his wife are big fans of the Chez Panisse foundation and so they came out to celebrate since all of the proceeds went to the Edible School Yard project in Oakland.

And then there was this.

I want to take a moment to talk about pizza. Because, as you know, I have thoughts on pizza and pizza crust. I have recipes even.

If you ever have a chance to sample the wood oven pizza from Pizza Politana, consider it a life’s milestone. And eat a whole lot of it. Like I…. maybe did.

Clarine’s Florentines and Frog Hollow fruit!

Clarine asked me if I’d ever had a florentine before, and after tasting hers I decided I hadn’t.

And Frog Hollow… well… you’ve heard me rant and rave before…

Four Barrel coffee was right next to them but I somehow didn’t snap a photo. But I did have their coffee for breakfast, and it was excellent.

And the Chez Panisse foundation.

And my new friend from Book Passage! He was there selling the book.

The event sold out. It got even more crowded but I couldn’t maneuver my camera.

And this is the legendary farmer Al from Frog Hollow. I was so flattered he stopped in to check out the scene.

My mysterious friend Sean looking serious…

A view of the balcony…

And this gal! She was responsible for the sold out show. She’s one of the talents from Eventbrite.

I may have spent a lot more time by the pizza…

And then there was Oren’s nuts. Wild rosemary nuts are sitting in my kitchen right now beckoning to me. They sell them at Whole Foods if you want to taste.

And this is the lovely Paula from Paul Bertolli’s delectable salumi operation, Fra’Mani. I met him a few weeks ago and was star struck.

And Tamara. She’s the marketing director at Eventbrite but she also happens to be my friend. We went to the same college and grade school!

You know what makes her especially cool?

This.

Thank you San Francisco, thank you Eventbrite, thank you Terroir, thank you Book Passage, and thank you to all of the culinary artisans doing such important things with food. I met some of the most interesting thoughtful people last night. It was a night to remember.