Culinary Muse

Food from the Heart: Join the Muse for Chocolate Tasting

The fifth annual “FOOD FROM THE HEART” at the FERRY BUILDING MARKETPLACE  kicks off on Friday, February 8th, with a benefit for Slow Food from 5:00-8:00 p.m. The public is invited to stroll through the candlelit Grand Nave where the merchants and restaurateurs of the Marketplace will offer seasonal hors d’oeuvres ($2 - $4 per taste) and Slow Food volunteers will pour wine from several wine bars ($6 per glass). There will also be music by Golden Gate Hot Club and Classical Revolution, tango dancing, and a chocolate tasting led by Karletta Moniz of this website, Culinary Muse, and THE ART OF TASTING CHOCOLATE . Scharffen Berger has kindly donated chocolate.  Proceeds from wine bar and hors d’oeuvres purchases benefit Slow Food San Francisco. The entire Marketplace will be open until 8:00 p.m. for Valentine shopping. Inspired by the season of love, the Epicurean revelry and delights carry on through Saturday, as the Marketplace and the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market will be brimming with heartfelt foods and local chefs will offer cooking demonstrations on how to prepare seasonal, romantic meals.
Slow Food San Francisco seeks to promote the pleasures of farm to table gastronomic culture through taste education and community involvement. In addition to their efforts to protect the pleasures of the table, Slow Food raises funds to support a variety of organizations with similar goals. The proceeds of the FOOD FROM THE HEART event will be directed towards the Sanchez School Garden Program and will sponsor a Ferry Plaza Farmers Market food artisan, producer or farmer to Terra Madre, a world forum for those who are also engaged in the ideals of sustainable, local and human food production.

ALICE SHOPS

And what did Alice Waters purchase last Saturday at the Sur La Table in the Ferry Building? Charming French paring knives.  Or more precisely ‘traditional French paring knives...perfect for peeling, coring and other small, delicate tasks.’ Surely these must have been for a pique-nique? Hard to imagine a chef at Chez Panisse hacking away at a wild boar with a wooden handled paring knife. Even if it is French.

SIPPING COCKTAILS WHERE NO MAN WOULD HAVE TREAD BEFORE

The Muse turned to Mr. Muse Sunday evening over cocktails at the AMERICANO and said "If someone had told me 20 years ago that I would be sitting outside on the Embarcadero, sipping a cocktail and perusing a bar menu and that the temperature would be 70 degrees at 6 pm in July in San Francisco I would have called them a nut case". Yesterday’s nut case has become today’s prophet.

First, let’s talk about the flora and fauna of the neighborhood. To get an idea of what it looked like in 1968 watch the Steve McQueen movie BULLITT. The flophouse where Bullitt is assigned to protect a witness stood just a few feet away from the HOTEL VITALE. The movie gives you a good idea of what a dark and grimy part of town this was. The Ferry Building was a very scary place. Mr. Muse was once shooting photographs from inside the tower of the Ferry Building and he heard a loud hissing behind him. He turned around to face a cat-sized wharf rat up on its hind legs, baring its teeth. Lovely. Using his tripod to keep the rat with the glowing red eyes at bay, Mr. Muse escaped. Trust me. This was not an area that you would want to hang out in.

STAY COOL WITH PEET'S

How does a wilting Muse stay cool on these too hot days in the City? By drinking tall, cold glasses of Peet’s new Scharffen Berger Chocolate Mocha Freddo. We were introduced to this addictive drink last week at the Coffee and Chocolate Pairing free event hosted by the PEET'S in the Ferry Building and SCHARFFEN BERGER CHOCOLATE. The tasting was led by Peet’s John Reynolds, roastmaster emeritus, and John Scharffenberger. Four separate pairings were offered. Our favorite was the pairing of Peet’s Guatemala coffee with Scharffen Berger’s 62% Cacao Mocha semisweet chocolate. Sublime.

Sign up to receive Peet’s and Scharffen Berger's newsletters where these events are listed. We note that on Saturdays, August 12 and 19 Peet's will be sampling this delicious new drink from 2-4 at all of their stores.

The Muse’s love affair with Peet’s coffee goes back to college days at CAL. Berkeley flipped this suburban white girl’s world upside down. And the flip side of my family’s percolated coffee was a cup of Peet’s sipped on the way to campus. The dark, bitter brew was the magic potion that spoke of other worlds and promised a transformation that only Berkeley could provide. Thank you, Peet's.

Martha Stewart Looks Good

So there she was yesterday at 5:30 roaming from store to store. Was I the only one who recognized her?  I stood to the side and watched her shop.  Looking like all the other upper middle class, well-coiffed women who frequent the Ferry Building Marketplace, she seemed to be enjoying her casual stroll.  And she looked great: blue blazer, khaki slacks, wedge sandals and no purse.  Yes, no purse.  I am concerned by this.  Where does Martha stow her lipstick?  Does she just walk around with a credit card in her pocket?  Too bad she wasn't there on Saturday.  We could have set her on the trail of the Man in Madras.  Now that would be interesting. Martha Stewart reinvented as Nancy Drew.  Which in a way she is.  She is my generation's version of the intrepid Titian haired ingenue who always gets to the bottom of things. No nonsense.  Case solved. 

Mystery Man in Madras

So who is that dapper fellow who holds court at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant every Saturday morning? He is ready at the gates before they open. Decked out in a wardrobe that ranges from pastel madras to yachting attire, he prepares his table (always the second table from the end). First the blue Provencal table cloth is spread out. The vase of flowers is placed in one corner. Next he carefully arranges three white plates. Ripe red strawberries are strewn amongst wedges of ripe cheeses. The next platter is for charcuterie. Then a plate for dessert. Are those cookies or petit fours? The plates are placed in a three tiered silver plate holder. Now he orders his bottle of wine. Last week it was a rose. By noon there are four other people sharing his table. Are these friends? Or other customers of the Wine Merchant. And what does the Wine Merchant think about a customer who sets up camp all day? I guess if he buys enough wine, who cares?  Can you bring your own food into a wine shop if they don't serve food? Does anyone know what is going on here?  Please let us know.