M. Ladd

Fish & Farm's Ben Sebastien (left) and Chad Newton.

​Yes, there was pig belly, but you had to wait for that one-ounce wine pour. Less than half an hour into last night's sold-out Dine About Town launch party under the Westfield San Francisco Centre dome, the lines for wine were 18 to 20 deep. The food was for the most part, meat-centric. Chouchou won the prize for variety (three offerings); Fish & Farm's pork belly and Luce's beef cheek slider tied for best meaty delight. Other restaurants dishing it out included Café Andree, Chez Papa Resto, Lark Creek Steak, and Urban Tavern. Dine About Town starts tomorrow; check out Jonathan Kauffman's advice for negotiating the options. Additional chef shots after the jump.

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C. Alburger

Downstairs at Hayes Valley's brand-new tiki bar: A blur of insiders and rum geeks.

​All three floors of Smuggler's Cove -- Hayes Valley's new ode to tiki libations without high-fructose corn syrup -- were packed to the gills at last night's opening. Owner Martin Cate said an eager throng of some 30 insiders and rum disciples showed up as the bar opened at 5 p.m., placing them into a slammed frenzy right from the start. "We're busier than any of our pre-opening preview nights," he said.

C. Alburger

Veteran mixologist Jackie Patterson concocting one of the elaborate drinks.

​Sipping on a $13 Zombie (rum, lime, grapefruit, spices, Herbsaint) made by bartender Dominic Venegas confirmed allegations that SC is unlike most tiki bars. The quality of ingredients in these complex rum masterpieces is unprecedented in most of the U.S. Balk at the price tag, but know that this drink has the power and of two-in-one. You'll find a first glimpse of the menu's contents ― an encyclopedic account of rum through the ages ― and a sample of the bar's Exotic Cocktails From Legendary Tiki Bars after the jump.

Last night, cocktail geeks gushed over Cate's concoctions, while those who simply wanted to grab a drink and chill complained they didn't want to read a witty paragraph about their beverage before ordering. Others made jokes about the looong wait at the bar. But generally, the crowd proved San Francisco's tolerance when it's time to hold out for an expertly shaken, muddled, or, in this case, blended boozy concoction. (Makes us wonder where this stalwart resistance goes in the face of a temperature drop ― shiver me timbers!)

Some of Cate's drinks include upwards of eight ingredients ― not to mention requisite blending ― placing them firmly into bartender bad-guy territory. But Venegas and downstairs bar pal Jackie Patterson seemed to offer up their grumbles to the tiki gods. Cate mentioned Tuesday will be the regular night for these two. So if you want to try some of the best tiki drinks in the country prepared by some of San Francisco's most skilled bartenders, Tuesday's your night to dip into the SC sauce.

Smuggler's Cove 650 Gough (at McAllister), 869-1900; open daily 5 p.m.-close

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M. Ladd

It was a mix of the sliver-haired and the sliver-tongued.

​Last night was the 90th birthday party for North Beach institution Tosca Café (242 Columbus at Jack Kerouac Alley). By 6:30 p.m., the bar was crowded with silver-haired neighborhood denizens, journalists, and the local culterati (George Lucas, Carol Shorenstein Hays, Ward and Claudia Bushee, David Wiegand, etc.), as well as younger, leather-clad actor/dancer types. The $5 Anchor Steams were popular; so was a blend of cappuccino, chocolate, and brandy. The free spread included focaccia, olives, figs, tangerines, cured meats, and cheese.

Tosca owner Jeannette Etheredge glowed as she received a City proclamation from Mayor Gavin Newsom. She immediately took to the dance floor with friends, jamming to live music. Etheredge took over the bar in 1980. Since then, Tosca's not-so-secret backroom has welcomed Hollywood types of the likes of Sean Penn, Warren Beatty, Johnny Depp, and Clive Owen, to Pulitzer winners and international ballerinas. Ah, San Francisco. More pics after the jump.

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M. Ladd

Circa's Erik Hopfinger, bearing tasty lamb chops.

At the opening reception for SF Chefs.Food.Wine. in Union Square last night, several attendees were giggling over reports that horns had trumpeted the appearance of Mayor Gavin Newsom minutes earlier. SFoodie spotted Michael Bauer and other Chronicle food and wine staffers chatting up Newsom near the BIG tent's front entrance on Powell Street. Time for a glass of Domaine Chandon, to kick things off, yes?

 

While the festive and fun Los Compas band played, attendees strolled, sipping (cocktails, wine, or Fiji water) and eating. Some brave dancers later hit the floor to strut their stuff.

 Many industry folks were in attendance, including chef Thomas Keller and Laura Cunningham (holding hands for much of the night), cookbook author Joanne Weir, Brock Keeling (SFist), Paolo Lucchesi (Eater SF), chefs Hubert Keller and Jamie Lauren, Patrick Haig (Citysearch), and catering maven Paula LeDuc. Bar stars included Brooke Arthur (her Smoke and Mirrors cocktail knocked us out in the best possible way), Martin Cate, Marco Dionysos, Reza Esmaili, Dominic Venegas, Thad Vogler, Neyah White, and Carlos Yturria.

M. Ladd

Swear to god, these sausages on a stick almost caused a fight.

Standout nibbles came from Erik Hopfinger of Circa, whose Moroccan-spiced lamb chops with chimichurri were succulent and tender. The scrum for a hot, spiced Eden Farms Pork Sausage with white Friulana polenta from Pizzeria Zanna Bianca almost got SFoodie in a girl fight (hey, we were there first, and had been waiting quite a few minutes).

SFoodie contributor Sam Prestianni may have caught him in a moment of pique

, but 5A5 Steak Lounge consulting chef Marc Vogel got plenty of love from Keller, who reportedly told the chef he liked his mushroom reduction appetizer best. It was flavorful, rich, and delicious. Besides, who are we to argue with Keller?

Sam Prestianni

​SF Chefs. Food. Wine.
Event: Festival Opening Night 
Venue: A tent in Union Square
Better Than: Watching Hell's Kitchen from the sofa

Great idea: Bring together dozens of the Bay Area's top chefs, winemakers, and mixologists for a Dionysian dream date to spotlight San Francisco as the premier city of epicurean delights. Great causes: Feeding America, Meals on Wheels, the San Francisco Food Bank, and Project Open Hand, all standing to benefit from the inaugural four-day festival's pricey tickets. They range from $40 for late-night dessert and dancing ("Chocolate Enhancement") to $250 for a "Gala Dinner" at Union Square's posh St. Francis ("American Culinary Pioneer Awards"). The essential question: Is it worth it?

At the SF Chefs. Food. Wine. opening ceremony last night, Mayor Gavin Newsom lauded our one-of-a-kind city as a food and drink nirvana where "people come from all over the world" to intoxicate their palates with the city's "diversity, innovation, ... and entrepreneurial spirit." Of course, he was right. There was no shortage of exotic enticements in the spacious tent's various booths, which featured sufficient bite-sized tasties and classy adult beverages to satisfy sophisticated and ravenous gluttons alike.

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Bacon Eggs!

BaconCamp

Private office location in SOMA
March 21, 2009

Click here for a full BaconCamp slideshow!

Inspired by last year's creative cooking competition and exhibition called CupcakeCamp and in solidarity with the growing popularity of events (see the recent Grilled Cheese Invitational), the first BaconCamp took place over the weekend. It was a well-organized and smoothly run event that simultaneously demonstrated just how much of a high bacon is currently on in terms of notoriety and how far people are able to stretch one culinary theme.

People were greeted at the door by free stickers and buttons with great slogans like "I'd kill a petite beagle for a bacon sandwich" and "If God didn't want us to eat bacon, why did he make it out of bacon?" People were also offered BLTs by Dr. Bacon, who wasn't an official contestant but just felt the swine spirit of the day.

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Janine Kahn

Samovar's third SF location is built into a Hayes Valley Victorian.

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Grilled Cheese Invitational
Dolores Park
February 21, 2009

The 2nd annual Northern California regional championship of the Grilled Cheese Invitational was held outdoors for the first time, the smells of sizzling sandwiches wafting out across Dolores Park. Anyone could enter and make a sandwich that fit into the categories of Missionary Position (traditional grilled cheese), the Honey Pot (sweet/dessert sandwich) or Kama Sutra (anything goes). Some people truly took the sexual theme to heart: A crew plated their "Ménage à Fromage" (croissant, balsamic, strawberries, almonds, ricotta, honeycomb) with a Magnum condom on the side, declaring, "They're so hot, they make you wanna fuck after you eat them!"

The anticipation for the event was heavy, and all 500 tasting wristbands (available for a $2 donation) were gone just five minutes after they became available, an hour before the start time. Because there were so many people waiting and observing, it wasn't enough to have a wristband in order to acquire and then judge a sandwich based on presentation, taste, "Wessonality" (aka style) and "spaz" (weird factor). You still had to stand out to a server in some way, whether screaming your head off, flashing your chest or standing out in a banana suit. But that became part of the fun and the spectacle, especially since it was hard for most people to see too much of the cooking process from behind the yellow tables.

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Meatpaper Issue Six Meat & Greet
Acme Chophouse
January 11, 2009
Better than: Uncreative protein

Outside the entrance of Acme Chophouse (24 Willie Mays Plaza) is a large letter A with a meat cleaver piercing it, an ideal location to celebrate the release of the new issue of Meatpaper, a quarterly journal inspired by edible endeavors of the flesh.

This wasn't the publication's first "Meat & Greet" event, but it was certainly its most popular. We arrived to a line almost out the door, and a quick look inside found several similar lines to taste some of the most provocative ideas in meat that we've ever had.

Warning: Images after the cut are NSFV (not safe for vegans) . . .
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