A Finger in Every Pie

California Dreamin': Meetings With Remarkable Bloggers, Again

Even before I wrote a post about having met up with Molly, Jen and Shuna, I had, of course, had a number of other meetings with remarkable bloggers.  I just hadn't called them that.  So instead of calling this "Meetings With Remarkable Bloggers, Part II" as I had originally intended,  I'm going right back up there to the title bar and striking "Part II"  through and adding "Again".  Damn.  Typepad won't let me do a strikethrough on the title bar, and I'm an HTML idjit who won't take the time right now to figure out if it's even possible.   I'm still on vacation, by the way, and have been very busy having fun, laughing with friends, spending copious amounts of time with my best beloved, and eating and drinking well.  Too busy to blog, in fact, but I'm going to do a quick "drive by" since one of the highlights of my trip occurred 9 days ago.  I'm in danger of forgetting even more details than I already have.  Sadly, none of my pictures of the evening in question can be put up, lest I offend fellow bloggers -- or the management of the restaurant, since the food pics came out even worse than the people ones. 

About a month ago, I emailed Shuna, letting her know that G and I were going to come to the Bay Area in early August.  I had mentioned our planned trip during our dessert excursion, and Shuna had asked me to tell her when our plans were firm.  A lovely chain then ensued, where Shuna contacted a bunch of Bay Area food bloggers, Sam contacted a bunch more, and Sam then took over and coordinated a dinner at the Helmand in SF, so that I could meet some of the food-blogging community.  How incredibly nice was that, I ask you.   It was an absolutely delightful evening.  It was only our second day of vacation, and we were just getting acclimated.  What better way to do so than among strangers who immediately treat you like friends? 

The food at the Helmand was very good, but the company was even better.  Shuna picked us up at our Berkeley hideout, and together with Kat drove us across the bridge and to the restaurant.  Our talk was lively, and they both had lots of great recommendations for our stay in the area -- especially when they heard of G's devotion to tacos.   We were the first group to arrive at the restaurant.  Shortly thereafter, the Bunrabs appeared, Recchiuti chocolates in hand (thank you!).  Suddenly food bloggers and their camp followers started pouring in from everywhere:  Amy and her husband Lee, Catherine, Jen, Derrick, Anita with beau, and finally hostess Sam, bestowing lovely homemade amaretti on all comers.

Derrick chose wonderful wines, and I had a chance to talk to some bloggers I've long admired.  I was seated next to Amy, and we talked about what it's like to have "food-blog feelers" from places like the Food Network, who are intrigued by your blog but then actually ask if you don't also have a story about feeding a dying loved one since it's more dramatic than your quite authentic tales of food and fellowship and family.  The Bunrabs talked eloquently on a number of subjects, including good ways to get rezzies at hard-to-reserve restaurants (G: [long suffering sigh] "We can eat at your French Laundromat if you want to.  I just hope they don't expect me to wear clean clothes").  Jen told me about her tasting menu at Redd, where we had a reservation a few days hence.  After the meal, a large group of us repaired to Naia for gelato, where I got to hear even more Bay area food gossip.  It was simply lovely to meet bloggers as gorgeous and clever as their blogs, like Catherine and Anita.  I was sad to miss those who couldn't make it -- Dr. Biggles, Fatemeh, Joy, Cookiecrumb and Stephanie (whom I fortunately caught up with later, at Cowgirl Creamery). 

Big thanks once again to both Shuna and Sam, for giving me such a great opportunity  -- and thanks again to so many great Bay Area food bloggers, for sharing their community.  Proof of the power of blogging -- it doesn't have to make us sit alone in our little cubicles, as our loved ones are wont to fear.   Instead, it can cause  us go out and play in the sunshine (or in the kitchen) with like-minded folks. 

More Bay Area chronicles to come (possibly): in the Edible Schoolyard, lunch at Vik's Chaat House, adventures in Napa, Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market with Sam, in the stillroom with June Taylor, Copia, Redd, Bouchaine Vineyards, dinners with friends in Berkeley and San Rafael, lots of excellent taco trucks and shops, Mitchell's ice-cream, Munchies candy store in Sausalito...and who knows what today may bring? 
 

Still Life: Placeholder with Baked Goods

For the next few weeks, AFIEP will be on vacation.  We're going to the West Coast, but bookending it with brief trips to Vermont.  We'll drive up today, hitting the Southern Vermont crafts fair in Manchester as well as the fave diner in Bennington; tomorrow we'll fly to Oakland from Burlington.  We enjoyed our Bay Area vacation last year so much that we decided to do it again.  An added bonus, of couse, is that the weather there is apparently hovering around 68 degrees and sunny, so that denizens of that zone are probably frolicking in the lovely summer weather rather than baking alive as we've been doing here in the east.  I'm packing a jacket or two for when the evenings get even cooler, hallelujah. 

As for the above pic (which I put in for you to have something pretty to look at while I'm gone), yes, even people who make homemade goodies all the time do frequent bakeries upon occasion.  As a matter of fact, some of us (and I'm not saying whom) are known for our inability to pass a likely bakery by.  This is actually a very good policy, especially when it's about a hundred degrees out.  As a matter of fact, I recommend that in such weather, that's exactly what you do.  Go into the nice air-conditioned bakery, try some free samples, and get some cakes or some tarts and some croissants and whatever else looks good.  Girls and boys, please avoid lighting your ovens when the mercury goes above ninety.  It's just not a pretty sight when your house heats up and everyone becomes more irritable than they already were.  Even if you're handing around freshly-baked something-or-other. 

The picture is actually from a few Saturdays ago when I was at the Union Square Greenmarket.  I noticed a shop across the way that was new to me.  There were artful gold letters above the door which said Tisserie.  "Tisserie?"  I said to myself.  "As in RO-tisserie?"  But no, it was as in PA-tisserie.  So instead of a roasted chicken, I brought home the box of goodies pictured above as well as some croissants and pains chocolats and such.  The bakery is French-style, with some interesting South American resonances (apple pastelitos, for example), and has one other outpost in Venezuela.  The NY shop is their second shop.  Not everything is stellar, but the croissants were good, and that little oval cake filled with chocolate is excellent.  It's called a cats' eye, and it's a kind of almond pain de Gênes with a little pool of ganache in the center.  What could be bad? 

I may do a bit of blogging while we're gone, depending of course on internet access, time, inspiration, and inclination.  I do know of one post somewhat in advance -- but I wouldn't want to spoil it for you.  Let's just say that another installment of "Meetings with Remarkable Bloggers" may be coming your way soon...