San Francisco Blog

The solstice says it's summer, but the fog hovering over the bay hasn't yet made up its mind. The sun will eventually peek out, and when it does you'll want the right wine: perky, light, clean, and cheap.

Vinho Verde, a Portuguese white that literally means "green wine," fits the bill. Famega makes one of the best, with bright acidity, crisp-apple freshness, and an ever so slight petillance -- and D&M Wines and Liquors in Pac Heights (2200 Fillmore at Sacramento) sells it for $8.99.

It's made from three grapes you've likely never heard of: Avesso, Azal, and Pedernã, all hyperlocal to the small Minho region in Portugal that produces them. It's low in alcohol (9.5 percent), so think about picking up a few bottles.

Green sparkler.

Italy's wine industry is no stranger to biodynamics. Hilberg-Pasquero and Cascina degli Ulivi, both from the Piedmont region, are leaders in the movement that grows grapes holistically and naturally, often with the influence of astronomy on planting and harvesting. But these wines aren't often exported to the U.S. market. And what Americans are consumed with these days isn't so much holistic green practices as the label "organic," which biodynamic wines also are. But since Italian producers haven't shown much interest in branding their wines organic as a marketing ploy or mere trend, they're usually not certified.

One Italian winery, Mionetto, has finally gotten the message -- it just introduced a certified organic prosecco to the American market, currently available only at Whole Foods. At $15.99, Mionetto Organic Prosecco is significantly cheaper than champagne, more on par with a California sparkler. And it's not made biodynamically, but all of the grapes that go into this bottling are certified organic from the Valdobbiadene DOC in the Veneto. And in another nod to eco-chic, everything is recyclable, from the foil and the necker to the packaging it's shipped in.

Mionetto has been making mid-priced prosecco since 1887. This incarnation, a nonvintage brut, has notes of fall fruits (pears and apples) and anise, and is slightly bitter on the finish. It's a nice, uncomplicated sipper. And it's sure to be only the beginning of the organic bubbly import trend.

heather/Flickr

Heart of the City market: Low carbon footprint?

Agoraphobic? Is it raining out? Or maybe you're just too lazy to drag your ass to the farmers' market. Spud, the largest organic food delivery service in North America, can hook you up. But is that entirely a good thing?

It is if convenience is your chief value. Spud, which began its grocery delivery business in Vancouver more than a dozen years ago, launched locally in January 2008, before the proliferation of city farmers' markets (we count eight, with at least one more planned for July). Spud's highly customizable program allows you to put together an a la carte box of organic produce, delivered right to your door. You can also get staples like butter, milk, and bread, and even a few prepared foods (there's a 5 percent discount on standing orders).

Prices are pretty good when you consider that you have to do nothing more than point and click to accomplish your week's grocery shopping. A quart of Clover organic milk is $3.59 and you can get a head of organic butter lettuce for $2.55. The company is carbon neutral, meaning, in this case, it purchases carbon credits from My Climate to offset emissions it can't avoid in running this huge, er, industrial operation. My Climate then puts this money to use for projects that reduce the use of fossil fuels and promote the use of renewable energy sources, many in developing countries.

Not flabby

Umbria grows a lot of warm-climate grapes, so you might expect some flabby, low-acid wines from Italy's only landlocked region. But the influence of the Apennine Mountains ensures cool nighttime temps, which means more complex tannins (i.e., structure). Falesco Vitiano Rosso is a blend of Sangiovese (the main Chianti grape), Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and it drinks like a $25 bottle -- but it's only $9.99 at The Wine Club in SOMA (953 Harrison at Fifth St.) -- and it's one of the few cheap wines from any country that Robert Parker himself deigned to review. In case you're wondering, he gave it an 88. We like it too, for its spicy nose, its pretty red-fruit flavors, and its easy-on-the-oak palatability.

Yamanize via Flickr

Who invented the Popsicle? Test your food IQ on Sunday

Test your food-trivia mettle Sunday at Edible San Francisco's third installment of Edible Pursuit, a food-themed trivia game the magazine is hosting at Acme Chophouse, with emcee Marcia Gagliardi of Tablehopper.

A little-known fact: Our very own John Birdsall almost won last time, his team managing to hold its own against crack teams from Let's Be Frank and other sponsors. (Bi-Rite Market's three teams dominated the playing field in the first installment.) This time, Edible SF editor and publisher Bruce Cole promises that a new distribution scheme will ensure that the same teams don't win all the prizes.

Did somebody say prizes? Organizers are remaining tight-lipped, but they just might include $100 gift certs to Coi, Fatted Calf, and Magnolia Brewpub.

The stumper question last go-round was, "What teen pop diva played a starring role in the movie version of Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation?"

Answer: Avril Lavigne. Who knew? Turns out, no one.

B. Gohacki via Flickr

The Alemany Saturday market: Rock the vote

Do you schedule your Saturdays around your weekly walk-through of the Alemany farmers' market? Feeling territorial about Heart of the City? Cast your vote for them in a contest sponsored by American Farmland Trust (AFT) to select the best small, medium, and large markets in the U.S.

We understand if you're cynical, preferring not to take part in America's current national pastime, i.e., competition for its own sake. The farmers' market contest is a different animal entirely, more 4-H camp than Make Me a Supermodel, since it's mostly about bragging rights. The spoils are merely a buttload of No Farms No Food tote bags.

AFT's hope is to promote connections between food and farmers, something even we of the Bay Area's bountiful harvests could use more of. It also promotes AFT's Growing Local initiative, which encourages the protection of farmland and the development of local food systems, especially around cities where demand for local food is greatest. Now that's something even cynical local foodies can get passionate about.

Vote at AFT's Web site. Polls are open until August 8.

Top: The Ba Le contender. Bottom: The Saigon sammy.

A product of French colonialism in Vietnam, the banh mi is classic street food, a sandwich that combines elements of both nations' culinary traditions - France's baguette and pâté, usually, and Vietnam's cilantro, chiles, and pickled vegetables. One of the most popular banh mi sandwiches contains grilled pork. SFoodie tried versions at two highly touted spots, Saigon Sandwiches in the Tenderloin and Ba Le in Oakland, in our own take on the Bay Bridge Classic.

Breakdown

Baguette: Saigon's bread, toasted on the outside, wins points for crispness. Ba Le also toasts, but the overall effect is softer. Both scoop out some of the insides to allow more room for fillings.

Meat: Saigon serves tender strips of pork, hands-down better than Ba Le's odd, pressed composite of mystery meat, which has good flavor but weak texture. And Saigon stuffs in more meat than its Oakland rival.

Toppings: Saigon's pickled veggies do not include daikon - what's up with that? Ba Le's has scallions, while Saigon uses white onion. Both use carrots, and top with jalapeños (fresh, not pickled) and cilantro. Ba Le throws in a whopping wedge of cucumber -- somewhat distracting next to the julienne of other veggies. Both are the perfect combination of sweet and spicy with a hint of fish sauce. Winner revealed after the jump.

The just-launched store is roomy, but where are the eccentrics?

Overheard in the organic produce department at the new Berkeley Bowl West (922 Heinz at Eighth St., Berkeley), which opened this morning: "Geez, this place is unnervingly friendly." Maybe it's because shoppers have a wide berth in the 91,000-square-foot space.

A friendly rep is not exactly a hallmark of the original South Berkeley store, which continues to operate. Shopping there can be like navigating an obstacle course, especially in the produce aisles, and checkout lines can be ridiculous. Still, it's got a chaotic neighborhood feel and a cast of eccentric shoppers many find lovable.

Enter the new store, which features pristine aisles clear of carts. When we arrived at 9 a.m., there wasn't a single parking space in the ground-level lot, though one soon opened up. There are more than a hundred spaces underground, so parking may not prove as difficult as it is in South Berkeley.

Aprimo via Flickr

The Marin Headlands from the lodge's porch

The address is Sausalito, but tucked away into the Marin Headlands a mile from town, Cavallo Point Lodge isn't the tourist strip you know. Honeymooners and other celebratory types have discovered this place, a renovated Fort Baker outpost just north of the Golden Gate (601 Murray Circle at Kober, Sausalito). But it's managed to retain a secret-hideaway feel, at least for now. The lodge has a knack of feeling farther away than it is, no small point in a climate that values both escape and accessibility (see staycation). The good news? You don't have to stay at the lodge to breathe its rarified air.

Bike over the bridge and stop in for lunch -- the dining room, Murray Circle, is open to the public. Or stop in for a drink at Farley Bar (yep, named for the beloved comic strip by local Phil Frank) and sit out traffic on your way back from Wine Country or some other jaunt up Highway 101. Public spaces are front and center, situated in gorgeously restored former military buildings (think tin ceilings, wood-slat floors, and big porches with rocking chairs) with views of the city and the bay.

m j c via Flickr

Ame in the St. Regis: Pan Asian, international -- whatever

Guidebooks refer to the cooking at Ame in the St. Regis Hotel (689 Mission at Third St.), one of the city's most highly regarded fine-dining spots (it garnered a Michelin star last year), as Pan Asian, international, eclectic, or fusion. The restaurant's own Web site describes it as New American, maybe the vaguest tag of all. The tendency to name is understandable, but chef/owner Hiro Sone's exquisite cooking defies categorization, so why bother?

Wednesdays in June, the restaurant is offering themed prix-fixe dinners sure to confound categorization even further. The first, tonight, is Japanese (Sone grew up there). First course: Kurobuta pork cooked shabu-shabu style and presented in a salad, followed by gomuku sushi (chirashi from Kansai province -- sushi rice topped with five ingredients, gomuku meaning five). The meal ends with sake ice cream parfait. Price is $55 including beverage parings, in this case two junmai ginjo sakes and a nigori. Considering the cost of a regular meal at superluxe Ame, that's a deal.