San Francisco Blog

Just as Slow Food International finished its epic annual Terra Madre event in Turin, Italy earlier this week, Slow Food Nation back here in SF has just created a new online space to continue its bloggery. Recent entries on Civil Eats discuss ways to eat well in tough times, the New York Times Magazine food issue and farm policy for the next White House administration. —Tamara Palmer

Slow Food Nation's Victory Garden in Civic Center, from which 100 pounds of produce a week is currently being harvested (according to SFN founder Alice Waters), was just granted an extension to remain in place on-site until November. Organizers had planned to move it to a permanent location before the end of this month.

"By all accounts, this has been a wonderful installation for the city and has been a highly visible demonstration of our commitment to the issues embodied in how our food system operates," said Mayor Gavin Newsom in a press statement. "From protecting the environment, to supporting our local and regional economy, to ensuring we can provide access to wholesome, nutritious food for all San Franciscans, the Victory Garden has given us a powerful platform from which to make the case for more good, clean and fair food in this country."

The Victory Garden has had its detractors and critiques for being heavily guarded by security and not actually feeding the homeless who need it in the immediate area. But it is hopeful that San Francisco citizens will learn lessons of both community and just how easy it is to raise one's own food in these climes.

"I just got Gnarls Barkley all jacked up on Hippie Crunch!" exclaims Jeff Shepherd.

When it comes to artisan chocolates and confections, Lillie Belle Farms of southern Oregon is a personal favorite. Indeed, the Shepherd's Hippie Crunch (dark chocolate covering big chunks of caramelized crisped rice) has been known to induce fits of fiendishness, while his chocolates continually push the envelope of flavor profiles -- whether in a sublime blue cheese truffle, a fleur de sel caramel infused with lavender or a berry cordial made of fruit grown on Lillie Belle's organic farm.

While familiar with Lillie Belle's hippie aesthetic, I didn't realize that Shepherd is a truly dedicated Deadhead; he also mentioned that his chocolates have been on the tour buses of legends like Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Steely Dan and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. After asking the probably very obvious question of whether he was looking forward to catching today's Slow Food Rocks headliner Phil Lesh & Friends, he decided to give us a quick look at his secret stash. —Tamara Palmer

(Video after the jump!)

The White House Organic Farm Project travels the country to share the dream of building an organic garden on the lawn of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The group braved the mean streets of San Francisco on Friday night, getting their beautiful optical illusion of a school bus unceremoniously tagged with graffiti while parked in the Mission District. Yet, by Saturday afternoon, when they made their first appearance at the Slow Food Rocks festival, they were undeterred from the task at hand: Gathering signatures to present to Washington.

We asked TheWhoFarm's Daniel Bowman Simon to explain their mission to balance the presidential diet and "reconnect our country to its rock 'n roll and agricultural roots."

-- Tamara Palmer

(Video after the jump!)

Slow Food Rocks
Great Meadow at Fort Mason
August 30-31, 2008
Review by Tamara Palmer; Photos by Missy Buchanan and Tamara Palmer

Better than: Two days without brisk breezes, good tunes and creative culinary delights including Grateful Dead-themed chocolates.

The musical companion to Slow Food Nation provided nourishment for the body as well as the soul, with Saturday's headliners Gnarls Barkley a certain highlight. The deliciously leftfield band, spearheaded by singer/rapper Cee-Lo and production whiz Danger Mouse, have routinely been playing much larger venues. It even sold out the 17,000-seat Hollywood Bowl last month, so catching Gnarls Barkley at the relatively intimate environs of the Great Meadow at Fort Mason was a real treat.

At last night's preview of Slow Food Nation's Taste event, a scent of smoke wafted through the outdoor (and hallowed) Hall of Bread. The pair responsible: Oregon's Kiko Denzer and Hannah Field, authors of Build Your Own Earth Oven. The book details how one can create a working oven out of mud in under a day and enjoy a cooking ritual that's over 4000 years old. Field and Denzer, who are building a full-size oven during today's sold-out Taste sessions, took a moment to give us a quick look.

--Tamara Palmer

(Video after the jump!)

Wandering into Taste's chocolate pavilion, I met Shawn Askinosie of Springfield, MO's Askinosie Chocolate. I learned of his commitment to fair trade as well as a pretty sweet initiative to help the homeless and low-income citizens of his hometown, a program that he calls Chocolate University.—Tamara Palmer

(Video after the jump!)

(Click on the picture for a full Taste slideshow.)

Slow Food Nation's Taste Pavilions
Fort Mason Center
August 29, 2008
Review and Photos by Tamara Palmer

Slow Food Nation's Taste Pavilions were the hot culinary ticket in town this weekend, with all four tasting sessions sold-out in advance (and at $65 a pop, not including the additional cost of actually tasting the food and drink).

Friday's Taste was a special preview for special people, including the architects that built the individually themed pavilions which were dedicated to pleasures such as bread, meat, cheese, chocolate, olive oil, seafood and spirits. Their contribution was an unexpected delight, crafting a culinary playground that perfectly highlighted the artisan creations, whether the summer picnic motif of the jam and honey pavilion, the puffy white couches and pastel pillows of the ice cream wonderland or the buoyant umbrellas framing the cocktail area.

The evening's exclusivity was confirmed with an early spotting of Mayor Newsom in the beer pavilion. As he shuffled off towards the main hall, I hustled my way after him, intent to ask what he was looking forward to eating, but then quickly realized that chasing after him might actually be considered stalking. Besides, food was the star of this show.

Slow Food Nation is officially in full swing, and founder Alice Waters just gave her introductory remarks at a press conference held at the War Memorial Opera House. Enjoy the above video and stay tuned to SFoodie as I bring you nibbles from the sold-out Taste at Fort Mason tonight and sonic notes from Slow Food Rocks (at Fort Mason's Great Meadow) over the weekend. Once again, eating for the people.

—Tamara Palmer