[A Pig at Large by Wilfrid: November 14,2009]
I knew we weren't really lost, but I thought it would have done no harm to pause for refreshment and regrouping at a bar called the Bonanza in an otherwise pitch-black back street south of San Francisco central.
After all, the bar advertised a lingerie show, and I have always been interested in fashion. But no.
The Pim-mobile sped on through the velvet dusk, pulling up eventually among produce trucks parked outside the Greenleaf warehouse in the San Francisco produce terminal. Greenleaf serves, I suppose, much the same function as a farmer's market, but with greater reach, sourcing selected seasonal produce (apparently not all local) and distributing it to restaurants and retailers. An inspired choice of location for the closing event of the Foodbuzz festival.
The hosts, Outstanding in the Field had set a family table for over two hundred online food writers, snaking around the warehouse floor, in and out of the produce displays. Randall Grahm, creator of Bonny Doon wines - a laidback but, despite himself, very impressive personality - was glasses of his Ca' de Solo Albariño at the entrance. I was fortunate enough to sit opposite Randall during dinner, and among the many advantages of that position was that the wine never ran dry. Nobody can uncork bottles with the confidence of the person who actually made the wine.
The dinner - six courses - was to be served family style. A spirit of sharing and generosity was evoked. Nevertheless, there were squabbles over some of the dishes - this was a large and moderately dysfunctional family.
Nevertheless, the occasion hardly demands a critical review - suffice to say that, for food served banquet style, much of it was very good.
A plate of kimchee and other pickled vegetables prepared the palate.
Bowls of mushrooms and other crunchy, healthy items awaited a miso bath from the Namu restaurant team. By now we were onto the 2007 Cigare Blanc.
The following course - Udon noodles in a butter-ponzu sauce - was garnished with toasty chunks of grilled Monterey squid.
I snatched a taste of the baked sea trout with dried seaweed, served with a maitake mushroom risotto, but much preferred the beef cheeks.
Supposedly some braised oxtail in there too, but I only came across the cheeks, soft and comforting. Very good fingerlings. Rich red Cigare Volant with this, of course.
And with speeches and awards, the evening crumbled into sated merriment and sips of Bonny Doon's sweet, Roussanne-based Vol des Anges. The Pink Pig went unadorned, although Midtown Lunch and I contemplated a smackdown for the Best New York City "blogger" who actually showed up.
This was as much fun as it seemed, and since my post-prandial thirst directed me to Chinatown's venerable Li Po bar later that evening, I skipped Sunday brunch. Almost the conclusion, then, of the foodbuzzing escapade, although I'll follow up with details and some links to bloggers of interest, of whom I met not a few.
