San Francisco Food Blog

T. Palmer

Melisser of Sugar Beat Sweets dispenses dangerous frosting shots.

​The last edition of the S.F. Vegan Bakesale in October raised $2,600 in just three hours to save kitties from Death Row, so organizers at Vegansaurus have decided to make it a bimonthly happening.

Cottontails are the focus of the next event, with fierce local bakers such as Sugar Beat Sweets, Violet Sweet Shoppe, Bike Basket Pies, Brassica Supperclub, Fat Bottom Bakery, and Cinnaholic selling animal-free delights to benefit Save a Bunny and Food Empowerment Project. Get baked on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in front of Ike's Place (3506 16th St. at Sanchez).

Do your karma a favor -- throw back a few.

​Kimpton Restaurants is donating money for each "special" cocktail purchased this month. The Cocktails for a Cure fundraiser is to benefit HIV service organizations, and is part of an ongoing, 20-year commitment by the S.F.-based hospitality chain.

It's easy to participate: Saddle up and order any of the four featured cocktails from master mixologist Jacques Bezuidenhout. A buck from each Cocktails for a Cure purchase goes to the cause (see the list of beneficiaries here). Get your drink on locally at Grand Café, Harry Denton's Starlight Room, Scala's, and others. Bezuidenhout's creations range from the Orange Blossom Fizz, a mashup of Belvedere orange, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, pineapple juice, and sparkling wine, to the more classic Grapefruit Spritzer: Ketel One Citroen with Campari, grapefruit juice, and club soda. The promotion ends Dec. 1, World AIDS day.

Prop. 8 haters, take note: Apparently, Utah is not on board. Kimpton's statement on that is terse: "Cocktails for a Cure promotion not available at Bambara in Salt Lake City, UT." What's that all about?

Mission Mission

​Mission Street Food gets saucy this week with Booze Night for Ladies' Night on Thursday, Nov. 19. In other words, MSF will present a menu of alcohol-tinged tastiness, with proceeds to benefit Ladies' Night, a nonprofit program from the Women's Community Clinic, the Mission Neighborhood Resource Center, and the Haight's Homeless Youth Alliance that hosts a weekly sit-down meal and other vital services for women.

Steven Gdula, author of The Warmest Room in the House: How the Kitchen Became the Heart of the 20th Century Home and proprietor of Gobba Gobba Hey, will be the guest pastry chef for the evening. He plans to offer a flight of three alcohol-infused gobs (kind of a cake sandwich): chocolate raspberry with Absinthe, buttered rum with spiced pumpkin, and Irish coffee. Sounds like a good accompaniment for the other dessert offering, a scoop of Humphry Slocombe Secret Breakfast ice cream (bourbon and corn flakes). Elyse Winery will donate wine, which will be sold for half off the retail price.

Peruse the entire tipsy menu after the jump.

T. Palmer

​Oakland's Meals for Change offers premade vegetarian and vegan entrees for sale at local independent grocers like Rainbow and Real Foods. Proceeds benefit East Bay nonprofit Bay Area Community Services (BACS) in its programs such as meals on wheels and culinary enterprise instruction.

We seriously heart MFC's vegan Shepherd-Less Pie, made with sustainable and locally sourced potatoes, azuki beans, carrots, and peppers. The fluffy potatoes are served as a rectangle on the side so they don't get soggy or soak up all the juice; the combination makes for a closer mimic of the traditional UK recipe. Sure, this meatless twist might be sacrilege to many Brits, but this is the Bay Area, where freshness of produce and subtlety of flavor is celebrated.

Tibetan Aid Project

A scene from last year's Taste & Tribute in S.F.

​Nah, the Dalai Lama isn't some Tibetan simulacrum of an Amish ascetic. He eats meat (Alice Waters served lamb when he showed up at Chez Panisse). So the idea of a benefit for Tibet that includes 20-odd chefs cooking high-end food at tableside? Not as incongruous as you'd think.

When the ninth annual Taste & Tribute gala rolls out at the Four Seasons Friday, asceticism will be about as distant a concept as Everest's Camp VI. Tag teams of 22 Bay Area chefs will spin four-course luxe meals -- a different menu at each of 11 tables. Which chefs? David Bazirgan of Chez Papa Resto, Mark Dommen of One Market, Elizabeth Falkner of Citizen Cake/Orson, Bruce Hill of Bix, Jennie Lorenzo of Fifth Floor, ex-Aqua chef Laurent Manrique, Jean-Pierre Moullé of Chez Panisse, Morgan Mueller of Jardinière, and Liza Shaw of A16. A sort of rockestra of local food talent, in other words, and that's only a partial list. There's a silent auction, too -- peruse the schwag here. Proceeds go to the Tibetan Aid Project, which seeks to preserve, even restore, Tibet's cultural and spiritual heritage.

Like we said, it happens at the Four Seasons (757 Market at O'Farrell). Tickets are $300. Pricey, but hey: Think of the karma you'll be buying. Check out the menu for Table 10 (after the jump), by Elizabeth Falkner and Morgan Mueller.

Alligator bites: A fitting background for hot sauce.

​On Sunday, we braved the well-appointed wilds of Marin County to devour a Savory Thymes-sponsored feast of game and foraged delicacies to benefit Swamp Cabbage, a documentary-in-process by Hayley Downs and Julie Kahn.

The irony in the occasion -- patrons and gourmands gathering at a mansion high in the hills of the country's fifth wealthiest county to celebrate a movie about isolated "cracker" communities populating rural Florida's rapidly disappearing natural landscape -- was as palpable as the fine flavors in the dishes savored and the potency of the drinks imbibed. The setting was sumptuous, and the food, a massive spread of snacks and platters tucked into nooks along paths and clearings in the large backyard, proved worth the trek. Especially Morgan Maki's venison and boar roasts, lavender shortbread cookies, and an endless parade of beehive-oven pizzas topped with chanterelles, hen of the woods mushrooms, thyme, olive oil, and Bellwether Crescenza cheese. The best thing we ate, however, had to be the crispy alligator bites fried up by Linh Phu of Flour + Water. Skewered, they were soft and chewy, sort of like clam strips, a sweet, subtle canvas for hot sauce dribbles and lemon squirts.

In addition, this blogger had the honor of weighing in on a jerky-crafting contest rather dangerously dubbed a Jerk Off. In our judgely capacity, we picked the Marin Suns Farms entry, citing its deep, rich taste and agreeably balanced union of jerky-appropriate essences with a welcome dearth of overbold one-dimensional flavors jutting out from the mix. Early in the evening, as we were face-deep in a mug of mead, we'd overheard a man grousing very loudly to his companions, histrionically slamming our favorite jerky for off-putting saltiness. We briefly fretted over our mead-scarred palette, but felt vindicated when the selection tied for first in the popular vote with Maria Finn's brittle, sugary sockeye salmon Squaw Candy. We also learned that the complainer had to have been joking.

He was, as it turned out, Nate Dorris, the man who'd made the jerky we'd chosen.

T. Palmer

Spark partners with companies such as Recchiuti to mentor youth.

​Spark is an exciting nonprofit that arranges apprenticeships between local businesses and youth. It includes a fair amount of food-oriented mentoring, setting up what might be considered dream jobs, such as learning the confectionery arts from Recchiuti.

You can support Spark's endeavors and enjoy a dizzying, legal high at the same time via its Sugar Rush benefit tomorrow night (Thursday, Nov. 12), 7-9 p.m. at 111 Minna Gallery (111 Minna at Second St.), where a star-studded list of high-end eateries including Chez Panisse, Boulevard, Michael Mina, Humphry Slocombe, Recchiuti, Spruce, and Millennium will tempt with sweets. There will also be cocktails and a silent auction. Admission is $50 online and $60 at the door.

Up Late Cakes/Flickr

It's totally a good thing.

​Cookies, sprinkles, finger sandwiches, and a good cause: 'tis the season! Or at least the beginning of it. On Saturday, One Market (One Market at Steuart) is hosting a cookie decorating party. You get a cookie-pimping kit assembled by Patti Dellamoncia-Bauler, the restaurant's pastry chef: three cookies, and enough icing, sprinkles, and candies to morph them into your own creations. Finger sandwiches and non-alcoholic drinks are included in the $20 ticket price; additional cookies sold for $5 each. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Advanced reservations needed -- call 777.5577 and mention "Gingerbread Wishes Decorating Party."

Jesse Friedman/BeerandNosh.com

Might be worth putting up with this.

​Within weeks, Nombe, a joint venture of O Izakaya's Nick Balla (along with Mari Takahashi and Gil Payne of Sozai) promises to bring a blend of traditional and contemporary izakaya food -- Japanese tapas-like dishes that go well with drinks -- to the vacated Tacos Santana space on Mission at 21st Street. Tonight, Balla is previewing the Nombe menu at Mission Street Food, and from the looks of it, braving the daunting line wouldn't be a bad idea. We already have our unreasonably hefty order planned out: Fuyu persimmon with bitter greens and grated wasabi ($6); the fusion-y Mission Motzu, or tripe, heart, liver, and short ribs in a soy-based broth with chiles, cabbage, garlic chives, and avocado ($8); rib eye with nagaimo, spinach, and whole-grain mustard ($9); and, for dessert, the wonderfully esoteric crab fritters with edamame purée, pickled hon shiallameji mushrooms, and nori "soil" on flatbread ($10). What's just as wonderful is that a healthy portion of the proceeds go to free restaurant Martin de Porres House of Hospitality.

bunrab.com

​The 35th Winter Fancy Food Show descends on Moscone Center January 17-19 and will leave glad tidings behind in the form of a charitable donation. In an initiative launched in conjunction with Feed The Hungry at last year's edition of the trade conference, organizer NASFT once again aims to donate over 100,000 pounds of specialty food products to various community organizations after the show.

SFoodie counts down the days to each year's installment of Fancy Food, where we love learning about new products and companies and the eating is real good. That nothing will go to waste in this impossibly large display of gastronomic delights of all types makes it that much more exciting.

​Dine out at one of the participating spots in the Mission next Wednesday, Nov. 11, and the restaurant will donate between 25 and 100 percent of the proceeds to Mission Graduates, a nonprofit focused on fostering college preparedness in K-12 students in the Mission District. It's all in honor of MG's annual Food for Thought campaign.

Peep the full list of of the 25 restaurants participating in Food for Thought after the jump.

The only vegetarian offering: Peach cupcakes with gummy eggs and bacon.

​The usually businesslike lobby of the building on Second Street that houses CBS Interactive (yes, that CBS) looked like the lawn of a suburban elementary school this afternoon. Folding tables strewn with carefully labeled homemade baked goods were set up on the polished floors, not far from the modernish cube-shaped furniture. Behind the tables, a flat-screen TV showed, bizarrely, a rotating slide show of soothing images: kitties, flowers, etc. But the kitties and cube-couches were easily overpowered by the pervasive smell of bacon.

Every year a group of CBS Interactive employees hold a bake-off to raise funds for a nonprofit and to foster friendly competition between co-workers. This year's beneficiary was Habitat for Humanity. And for the first time ever, the bake sale had a theme. Everything up for grabs today was made with either bacon or faux-bacon.

​ Chocolate-bacon cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting. The pig had no comment.
​These maple bacon bites oozed with creamy filling.
​Tiny apple-bacon crumble cakes were selling like, uh, hot cakes.
​ Not all the wares were traditional baked goods. One person brought bacon-caramel apples, while another had whipped up bacon brittle.
​
​This baker didn't shy away from the secret ingredient. On these cupcakes, sprigs of fried bacon adorned healthy dollops of frosting .
​There was a little something for everybody. Those who didn't have a sweet tooth could snap up these bacon cheesy poofs.
​What's a bake sale without chocolate chip cookies? Bits of bacon were bursting out of these gooey versions of the childhood favorite.

​S.F. public school teachers get a whopping 50 cents per student per year for art supplies, a fact that has motivated Crème Brûlée Cart to pitch in with a fundraiser on Sunday, October 18 from 2-4 p.m. at Fabric8 (3318 22nd St. at Valencia).

There, you'll be able to buy a brûlée ($4) or receive one for free in exchange for bringing usable art supplies. All proceeds and donations will be given to the San Francisco Unified School District's STAR Schools Art and Music Planning Program.

Items such as Sharpies, scissors, yarn, and paint brushes are desired. Take a look at the list of the most-needed supplies after the jump.

Life Begins @ 30

Job trainees in the Meals for Change kitchen.

​Nibbles, film, discussion, and a good cause: Sounds like a recipe for an interesting evening. Got any plans for tonight?

Meals for Change is a nonprofit, food-based social enterprise kitchen that seeks to boost Bay Area Community Services' programs for the elderly and disabled, all while supporting family farms and keeping food spending in the local community. Oh, and shrinking our carbon footprints here in the Bay. Whew! How? By selling packaged vegetarian and vegan entrées made from locally sourced ingredients, stuff like onion-chard bread casserole, mixed mushroom polenta pie, and Moroccan vegetable couscous. Find them at DeLano's IGA (4201 18th St. at Collingwood), Rainbow (1745 Folsom at 13th St.), and both S.F. Real Foods stores (3060 Folsom at Filbert, and 2140 Polk at Vallejo). Home delivery is also available via Planet Organics.

Tonight's Commonwealth Club event in the Port Commission Hearing Room at the Ferry Building (second floor, One Ferry Building at the Embarcadero) combines a food and wine tasting with a short documentary about the venture, as well as a panel discussion and the official Meals for Change entréee product launch. The panel discussion features Brahm Ahmadhi of People's Grocery, with Larry Bearg of Planet Organics, Kent Ellsworth of Bay Area Community Services, and chef Dominique Crenn of Luce. Moderator is Jen Maiser, Life Begins @ 30 blogger and co-organizer of the Eat Local Challenge. Tickets are $18 for the general public, $12 for Commonwealth Club members. Advance purchase (like, right now) through the Commonwealth Club's Web site is recommended, or just show up. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., the tasting is from 6 to 7 p.m., and the panel and film are from 7 to 8 p.m.

Robert Lauriston

Get ready to gulp. Seriously.

​People like oysters. And they like dolphins. They're not totally unrelated: Both are cold, wet, and both, though we've never tasted a dolphin (not knowingly, anyway), allegedly damn tasty. Tomorrow, McCormick & Kuleto's (Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point at Polk) offers a sort of mashup of these fellow sea creatures, with its 16th annual Shuck and Swallow oyster challenge, followed by a benefit for the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, which works to protect things like dolphins and seals.

First up at 5 p.m.: An oyster shucking and eating competition, with reps from Anchor & Hope, 21st Amendment, Ana Mandara, Farallon, and Sauce, among others. Teams will open and slurp as many oysters as possible in 10 minutes (the current record is just under 200). From 6 to 8 p.m., you'll be able to swallow your own oysters (though you won't have to shuck) at a wine and oyster tasting, like we said, a benefit for the Marine Mammal Center. Being a spectator at the shucking competition is free; the benefit tasting is $30.

The roster of judges for the October 6 shucking contest include this blogger, axed DJs Fernando and Greg the Gay Sportscaster from now-defunct Energy 92.7, and Lick My Spoon blogger Stephanie Im. Delicious.

kewlio/Flickr

The gallery's trying to do the right thing.

​Hungry to support another street-food event for a good cause? The Mission's Fabric8 Galleries (3318 22nd St. at Valencia) is promising to set aside a portion of the proceeds from tonight's Street Food Friday for hurricane relief in the Philippines -- or possibly earthquake relief in Indonesia. "It's hard to know," Fabric8 co-owner Olivia Ongpin told SFoodie. "We are tryig to determine the best way we can help." Part of Ongpin's disaster-relief dilemma? She's Filipina, while her co-proprietor is part Indonesian. One thing is certain: Tonight's cart lineup is the trio of Crème Brûlée Cart, PizzaHacker, and Gumbo Cart, 6-8 p.m.

T. Palmer

Sugar Beat Sweets' vegan cupcakes rock.

​After last year's successful local installment of the Worldwide Vegan Bakesale, local blog Vegansaurus has announced the debut of the SF Vegan Bakesale on Saturday, October 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in front of Ike's Place (3506 16th St. at Sanchez). Savory and sweet treats will be on offer from local purveyors such as Bike Basket Pies, Violet Sweet Shoppe, Fat Bottom Bakery, and Sugar Beat Sweets (the latter has plans to open an actual storefront bakery soon). Proceeds to benefit the Gimme Shelter Cat Rescue, which Vegansaurus dramatically but correctly boils down to saving kitties from Death Row.

Arthur Perley

Monday's benefit at Cafe Rouge has been nixed.

​The day after a Bi-Rite raffle raised over $8,000 (plus a $2,000 company match) for Soul Food Farm, poultry farmer Alexis Koefoed sounded almost surprised by the level of support the figure represented. "I didn't realize that Slow Food Farm had traveled so far into people's houses," she told SFoodie. "I think it shows that it's important for people to be able to connect with their own personal ideas and values," she said, referring to Bi-Rite customers who bought raffle tickets -- even those for whom Koefoed's prime birds might prove too pricey for regular purchase.

At the same time, Soul Food Farm's blog announced Wednesday that a benefit scheduled for next week at Berkeley restaurant Café Rouge was canceled, due to what the blog called "unforeseen circumstances and slow ticket sales." Refunds are available for those who shelled out the $50 admission price to the October 5 event.

Wednesday also saw Soul Food Farm's fund-raising auction go live online. Auction swag includes a lunch with Chronicle Books' cookbook super editor Bill LeBlond (feel free to pitch your book idea), an autographed Michael Pollan library and tickets to his sold-out November 4 City Arts lecture, and dinner for two at the kitchen table at Chez Panisse. Bidding closes at 4 p.m. October 10, and winners will be announced at a benefit party at Pizzaiolo the next day.

slowpoke_sf/Flickr

Little Skillet's donating a portion of its own sales.

​Little Skillet (360 Ritch at Townsend) has firmed up the vendor list for tomorrow's street-food fundraiser for victims of hurricane Ondoy in the Philippines, 5-8 p.m. Skillet chef and manager Christian Ciscle told SFoodie to expect Wholesome Bakery, Brazilian Bites, SweetCart, Bacon Potato Chips, Soul Cocina, and Toasty Melts. Also on board: a long-time employee of Ciscle's named Teresa, who'll be hawking Yucatecan panuchos and tamales. And Ciscle invited anyone who doesn't have a cart, but who might want to show up, bake-sale-style, to sell home-made goodies (with proceeds donated to flood relief). You can also swing by with donations of clothing, blankets, and other items.

By the way, today was day one of Little Skillet's own three-day fundraiser -- the takeout spot will donate 15 percent of all sales from today, tomorrow, and Saturday - to a relief agency.

J. Birdsall

Poleng Lounge chef Luym at the S.F. Street Food Fest in August.

​Yesterday we told you about Papalote on Fulton's plans to donate 30 percent of tomorrow's sales for Philippines flood relief. And starting today through Saturday, Little Skillet is donating 15 percent of its sales (with a still-evolving food cart party benefit slated for tomorrow evening). Now comes word that Poleng Lounge chef Tim Luym is crafting special menus for this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, with a percentage of sales going to the Philippine National Red Cross. Menu details should get hammered out later today, but it looks like the Filipino-themed tapa-style menus will go for $35 for two, with an optional drinks pairing for $10 more. Hours are 5:30 to 10 p.m. each night. We'll update when we get the menus.

Michael Halberstadt/Flickr

Bi-Rite Market sells pastured chickens and eggs from Soul Food Farm.

​Bi-Rite has raised over $8,000 in raffle ticket sales for fire-struck Vacaville poultry rancher Soul Food Farm, according to Sam Mogannam, co-owner of the Mission District market and its sister, Bi-Rite Creamery. "It's been unbelievable," Mogannam told SFoodie. With the $2,000 Bi-Rite pledged as a match, it brings the company's donation to the sustainable poultry farm to over $10,000. The raffle ends today.

On September 11, Mogannam announced the benefit raffle to raise funds for Soul Food Farm, which has been recovering from a fire that scorched dozens of acres of pasture, destroyed two chicken houses, and killed hundreds of baby chicks. Bi-Rite put up half a dozen raffle prizes, including gift baskets and a dinner for eight. Over the course of the month, ranchers, winemakers, and others kicked in about a dozen more offerings. A handful of restaurant benefits are also seeking to raise money for the farm. Winning bidders of an online auction will be announced October 10 at Pizzaiolo.

tor tor tor/Flickr

It'll leave you uncomfortably full -- of good karma.

​If you plan on scarfing an achiote tofu burrito or special chicken mole at Papalote in the near future, consider booking time for Friday, October 9. All day (and night), Papalote's Fulton Street location (1777 Fulton at Masonic) will donate 30 percent of all sales to help support the victims of Tropical Storm Ketsana (aka Ondoy) in the Philippines. As you probably know, this is the biggest flooding and rainfall to hit the multi-island nation in over 40 years -- hundreds of thousands of victims have been left homeless, injured, or without belongings. If you can't make it on October 9, donations can also be made to BAYAN-USA, which is coordinating donations of food, clothing, and other basics for those in crisis. Yesterday, SOMA takeout restaurant Little Skillet announced it was organizing a street-food benefit this Friday, October 2, for flood survivors.

J. Birdsall

Little Skillet threw its first street-food party on Ritch Street in August.

​Today's food-cart benefit at the San Francisco Food Bank won't be the week's only charity event with street flavor. Little Skillet manager Christian Ciscle told SFoodie he's planning a benefit this Friday, October 2, for victims of recent flooding in the Philippines. Details are still forming, but Ciscle suggested the event would run from 5 to 8 p.m., with food carts parked near Little Skillet's takeout window at 360 Ritch (at Townsend). Check Little Skillet's Twitter feed for updates.

Ciscle said Little Skillet planned to donating 15 percent of its Friday evening sales (plus all tips) a flood relief agency TBD. He hoped cart vendors would make similar pledges. "San Francisco is the second largest concentration of people from the Philippines in the world," Ciscle said. "We all know people whose families are affected over there."

Tropical Storm Ketsana struck Manila on Saturday. The latest casualty figures put the dead at 246, with 2 million homes flooded.

T. Palmer

Wholesome Bakery's vegan whole-grain cupcakes

​Here's another cross-pollination of communities worth supporting: Bring your canned good donations to the S.F. Food Bank (900 Pennsylvania at 23rd St.) today from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and you'll be able to purchase and snack on local street-food fare at the same time. On the menu: grilled cheese sandwiches (Toasty Melts), pork and chicken adobo (Adobo Hobo and Adobo Rollo), mini pies (Bike Basket Pies), red posole with fresh tortillas (Soul Cocina), veggie and pork lumpia (Lumpia Cart), vegan sweets (Wholesome Bakery), cheesecake (Sweet Cart), chai (The Chai Cart), fresh juice (Urban Nectar), and Brazilian and Asian sweets (Brazilian Bites and Asian Street Sweets). Bring at least five cans to score a discount on selected items.

​If you haven't had a chance to sample S.F.'s current wave of street food offerings, or are as simply addicted as we are, Chef Roger Feely (who we interviewed earlier this week) of Soul Cocina has organized "Call to Flavor," a gathering where you'll be able to catch a number of these vendors in one spot, including the Gumbo Man, Toasty Melts, Adobo Hobo, Gobba Gobba Hey, Wholesome Bakery, Lumpia Cart, PizzaHacker, Magic Curry Cart, Brazilian Bites, Urban Nectar, Bacon Potato Chips, and Smitten Ice Cream.

Zman's Mom/Flickr

Daniel Patterson: Philosophically on board.

​Last week, Eater (and others) reported on several events scheduled to raise funds for Soul Food Farm, the source of pastured chicken and eggs for a small but influential cluster of Bay Area chefs. One of them, Daniel Patterson of Coi, Il Cane Rosso, and the upcoming Bracina, told SFoodie what makes Soul Food special. "It's about quality and flavor," he said. "The way Alexis [Koefoed, Soul Food's co-owner] raises her birds is important to me from a philosophical standpoint, but at the end of the day we use their product because they're the best." A few more details about the benefits have emerged since last week.

• On Monday, September 28, ex-Fifth Floor chef Melissa Perello (she'll be chef at Frances, slated for a fall opening) is doing a special seasonal dinner at Sebo for $55. Whatever you do, don't call Sebo; inquire about reservations at monday_night@me.com.

clementine gallot/Flickr

​It's a dare meant to get you thinking: Could you eat on just $4 a day? Next week, the Hunger Challenge will be asking folks to do just that. Four bucks is the average amount a food stamp recipient in Cali gets for daily sustenance -- tough to imagine surviving (not to mention rustling up something even vaguely tasty) on such meager funds.

The Hunger Challenge is a project of local food banks, bloggers (including Cooking with Amy's Amy Sherman, who gave us the heads up), CBS 5 ConsumerWatch reporter Sue Kwon, and recipe developers. Kwon will float cost-effective recipes during the challenge (let's hope they don't include the words "Top Ramen"). Organizers hope to raise awareness and donations -- last year, Tyson Foods donated 200,000 pounds of protein to Bay Area food banks. One fact that leaves us a little breathless: A 20 spot can translate into $180 worth of groceries via the San Francisco Food Bank.

If you feel up for trying the Hunger Challenge for a day, or even the whole week of September 20-26, e-mail HungerChallenge@SFFB.org so organizers can add your experiences to the event blog.

On Sunday, we went to the First Annual Center for Lao Studies benefit at the Women's Building. In a way, our table exemplified the crowd.

www.blacklava.net

It was kind of about expressing Lao identity, not the green papaya salad.

​A young well-dressed Lao guy was there alone. We overheard him telling the white American couple sitting across from him that he had come to forge business connections within the community. "We're pretty much here for the food," said the couple.

Of course, you can't assess a benefit banquet the same way you'd critique a restaurant meal. The form rests somewhere between haphazard home cooking and a Clintonian rubber-chicken flesh-presser. Nothing is prepared to order. There is no service, and to expect it would be rude. You don't complain when the sticky rice disappears. You don't fret when you have to pay for water. You just eat something else. Instead of demanding gratis quaffables of some sort, you just drink beer, which you feel much better paying for -- even though you're already yawning through a double-dose of brain-fogging cold medicine.

We weren't expecting the kind of food we'd eaten at Champa Garden, Green Papaya Deli, and Vientian Café in Oakland; just a good feed, authentic and fun. From what we could manage in the way of taste, the chicken laab was delicious, and the papaya salad, a dish subject to much cultural wrangling, well-balanced and semi-searingly hot. At least, it provided more nose-clearing relief than those ominous dark-blue gelcaps of acetaminophen, dextromethorphan, and doxylamine succinate we'd popped down the hatch hours earlier. We should really read labels.

cuesa.org

​Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA), the non-profit organization responsible for the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and its associated educational programming, will host its largest annual fundraiser in October. Attendees of this year's "Sunday Supper" will sit in communal tables in the rarely-seen upper floor of the Ferry Building; each will enjoy a different four-course meal cooked by a dream team of local chefs. Some notables in a long list of participating notables: Jamie Lauren (Absinthe/Top Chef), Ryan Farr (4505 Meats), Mourad Lahlou (Aziza), Craig Stoll (Delfina), Chris Cosentino (Incanto), and Laurence Jossel (Nopa). "Sunday Supper" 2009 takes place on Sunday, October 4 at the Ferry Building (One Ferry Plaza at the Embarcadero), with a reception beginning at 6 p.m. and supper served one hour later. Tickets are $75 for reception only and $200 for reception plus supper; score 'em here.

T. Palmer

Soul Cocina's panuchos: Neither Indian nor on the MSF menu, but also hot.

​Roger Feely, the culinary instructor/street food purveyor behind Soul Cocina, will once again collaborate with Mission Street Food this Thursday, September 10 at Lung Shan (2234 Mission at 18th St.). Feely told SFoodie that his "Soul Cocina Chaat" will be an Indian street food menu that will include small dishes such as bhel puri (puffed rice snack), poha, vadai (lentil fritters), and royal falooda kulfi (a dessert Feely used to make when he was the pastry chef at Citizen Cake). His proceeds will benefit his own nonprofit Beacon Culinary Project at the Western Addition Beacon Center, where he teaches inner city youth how to cook locally and sustainably.

Feely is also organizing a street food soiree called "Feed the Poor Eat the Rich" for September 27 (more details on that soon) and will host his next private homemade Indian cooking class at Jharna's Kitchen on October 17.