Get Out and Check Out a Food Event

Like I said above, I’ll be out of town for most of October. I’ll be posting from where I’m going [fingers-crossed], but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy many of the great Bay Area food events that are happening while I’m gone.

So instead of me taking you to these events with my posts, it’s time for you to take up the challenge and visit these food events for yourself. Here are a few I probably would have gone to if I were in town:

Oct. 1–31: Eat Local SF. Slow Food took up the Labor Day weekend, but Eat Local SF is dominating the entire month of October. There will be a variety of events to highlight local, sustainable food products, defined as those grown within a 150 mile radius. A list of participating restaurants will highlight locally grown items on their menus, and several special events and cooking demonstrations will take place at locales like Bloomingdales, La Cocina Kitchen and The Commonwealth Club. For more details, check out the group’s Web site.

Oct. 7 (Tuesday): McCormick & Kuleto’s 15th Annual Shuck & Swallow Challenge and Benefit. Hmmm, oysters. This is the season. And you can watch people compete in this shucking challenge that benefits the Marine Mammal Center in Marin. Competition takes place at the restaurant at Ghiradelli Square (900 North Point) in San Francisco, starting at 5 p.m. But there’s also an oyster and wine pairing from 6 to 8 p.m. Viewing of the competition is free and the oyster-and-wine pairing costs $30 per ticket with proceeds helping those cute sea lions and such. For more information call 415.929.1730.

Oct. 8 (Wednesday): City Bites at Macy’s. This is the third in a series of local food events at the San Francisco Macy’s in Union Square. On this night, it’s all about two new restaurants—Miss Pearl’s Jam House at Oakland’s Jack London Square and Midi in the Galleria Park Hotel. Chefs Joey Altman of Miss Pearl’s Jam and Michelle Mah of Midi will be demonstrating some recipes and offering tastings for $10. The money benefits the Glide Ensemble Gospel Choir in the city. Event starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Cellar. For more information, go to www.macys.com and search for store events in San Francisco.

Oct. 8 (Wednesday): Wines on Wine at The Fifth Floor. This high-end restaurant’s master sommelier, Emily Wines (oh, now I get the title), offers this first in a series of wine classes at the recently revamped restaurant at the Hotel Palador near Union Square/SOMA. This first one focuses on wine and cheese and will cost $45. (Most of the other classes, all on Wednesday nights throughout the fall, will be $35.) Call 415.348.1555 to reserve a spot because space is limited. You can check out the entire series on its Web site.

Oct. 10 (Friday): Second Annual WhiskyFest San Francisco. Put on by Malt Advocate magazine, this is the second year of this tasting event where everyone jams into a ballroom and drinks really good whisky. Talk about a party. Tickets to this event at the San Francisco Marriott is pretty steep ($110 for general admission) but you’ll taste whisky from around the world. If you don’t go to this event, there are several smaller whisky-related events at local bars like Absinthe in the week leading up to the WhiskyFest. Learn more at Malt Advocate’s Web site.

Oct. 10–12 (Fri.–Sun.): Asian Food Beyond Borders. This is a symposium put on for the first time by the Asian Culinary Forum at the San Francisco Ferry Building. Speakers will focus on the contributions of Asian communities to the culinary world. For more information, check out the group’s Web site. (Hurry, because some events have already sold out.)

Oct. 11 (Saturday): Crush Party ‘08 at V.Sattui Winery. This venerable St. Helena winery is hosting its annual dinner to celebrate the fall harvest and crush (actually, several events take place in Napa during this busy time of year). The dinner from 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. at the winery will include pizza, pasta and grill stations. I’m sure you’ll also get a chance to taste some freshly crushed grapes. Cost is $75 and generally sells out. For more information, go to the winery’s event page.