21 Apr

Get Your Tickets for Check Please Bay Area Taste & Sip Event April 26!

The Check Please Bay Area Taste & Sip is just a week away! Do you have your tickets yet? If not, what are you waiting for???

 

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!

 

Tickets, as usual, are going VERY fast, but there’s still a chance to come hang out with me Tuesday, April 26th! Last year was a blast and this should be no different, so grab your tickets and come drink and eat with me while we enjoy live music performed by the gorgeously talented Tiffany Austin courtesy of SFJAZZ.

Tiffany Austin

 

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It’s a gorgeous event at the San Francisco Design Center and we have great fun every year. Join me, take a selfie or two on the red carpet and eat and drink to your hearts content!

 

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This year’s Taste & Sip celebrates some of the Bay Area’s most delicious restaurants, wineries and distilleries! 

Food from :

31st Union, 1300 on Fillmore, Aly’s on Main, Bacon Bacon, Baker Street Bistro, Bistro Liaison, Bistro Viz,Boboquivaris, Buddy’s Bites and Brews, Bull Valley Roadhouse, Camber Montclair & Camber Uptown, Canela Bistro & Wine Bar, Chop Bar – Oakland, Cole’s Chop House, Copita Tequileria y Comida, Cosecha, Davey Jones Deli: Inside the New Bait Shop, Della Santina’s Trattoria and Enoteca Della Santina, DOSA, encuentro, Farallon, farmerbrown, Gamine, Green Chile Kitchen, Hana Japanese Restaurant, Hog Island Oyster Co., La Costanera Restaurant, La Mediterranee, Lers Ros, Los Moles, Lovejoy’s Tea Room, M.Y. China, Marnee Thai, Maykadeh Restaurant, Mescolanza Restaurant, Nick’s Crispy Tacos, Old Jerusalem Restaurant, Old Skool Café,Pappo, Paradiso Restaurant, Perbacco, Picán Restaurant, PICANTE, Plaj Restaurant, Poesia, Poggio Trattoria, Sapore Italiano Ristorante, Sauce,Trattoria La Siciliana and Zatar Restaurant and Catering

Wines From:

B.R. Cohn, Balverne Wines, Giesen Wines, Iron Horse Vineyards, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Jamieson Ranch Vineyards, Joseph Carr, Josh Cellars, Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Matua Wines, McEvoy Ranch, Napa Cellars, New Zealand Winegrowers, Pernod Ricard New Zealand, Robert Oatley , Sebright Cellars, Sonoma Coast Vineyards andViansa Sonoma

Spirits From:

Distillery No. 209 Gin and Redemption Rye

 

 

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!
03 Apr

Check, Please Bay Area Returns! Tequila Anyone?

Check, Please will be returning April 14th for it’s 11th Season (!!) and while it won’t be the Tequila Extravaganza that Wendy wrote about on Bay Area Bites (Check it out, it’s HYSTERICAL) , it’s going to be a new season of fabulous restaurants, amazing wine and of course, our incredible guests.

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photo credit – Wendy Goodfriend

 

So, in honor of the new season, we got to talk a little bit more about my love affair with Tequila.

What is your relationship to tequila?

I have a love/love relationship with tequila. I love it and thankfully it loves me by erasing my memory of most things I do once I drink it. When I behave badly on tequila, I put myself on a TTO (Tequila Time Out). Luckily, I’m not on one now.

What are your favorite tequilas and have you dabbled in mezcal? Have you ever eaten the worm?

Big fan of Casa Noble, Partida, and for everyday drinking, Don Julio. If I could splurge, my sites are set on uber-expensive Casa Dragones, a stunner tipping the scales at close to $300 a bottle.

Oh yes, I have more than dabbled in mezcal (which, like tequila is made from agave, but in the Oaxaca region of Mexico). Mezcal is like the Marlboro Man of spirits — smoky, sexy and rugged. By the way, I have eaten a worm, just not the one found in cheap mezcal. I prefer my bugs fried with a crispy coating that I can wash down with a good shot.

Do you have a favorite Mexican restaurant in the Bay Area? What is your favorite dish?

My top pick is Copita and my favorite dish is tequila.

Check out the rest of the interview and hear about what my guests may or may not be doing on set in our first episode of Season 11!

Tune in on April 14th at 7:30pm as we start our 11th season of Check, Please Bay Area!

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29 Apr

Weekly Wine Picks | Rosé, Riesling, Red Wine

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This week, the second episode of season 10, we had amazing guests along with incredible restaurants, and of course we had incredible wine. Check out my tasting notes from this week’s episode!

2013 Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg “Kabinett” Riesling, Mosel, Germany ($30)
One of my favorite wine types is Riesling because it’s so flexible, pairing with a variety of dishes. Sip as a light-hearted aperitif, match with a hearty brunch, drink with spicy take-out dinner, or just take a glass with you to enjoy with a bubble bath. Dr. Carl von Schubert crafts this classic at the historic winery in Germany’s Mosel region. The area’s steep hillsides and slate-laden soils create wines with aromatic, floral notes and a core of racy minerality. A delicious, delicately sweet wine that has a taste profile to please.

2012 Ousterhout Rosé “Wood’s Vineyard,” Russian River Valley, California ($25)
Family-owned Ousterhout, is a winery quietly making a name for itself. Being a pink wine lover, I’m always on the look out for rosé with character and this one is packed with layers of flavor, elegance and complexity. A whisper of floral aromas is wrapped with strawberry and citrus scents, which is followed with succulent fruit flavors. With only 225 cases made of this wine, it’s a treat to sip. Don’t miss the other pinks in the trio of Ousterhoust rosés. A winning trifecta.

2012 Rodney Strong “Symmetry” Meritage Red Wine, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California ($55)
If wine could win an Oscar, this would take home a statue. The name aptly describes the balance of the wine with the five Bordeaux varieties fitting together seamlessly to achieve wine greatness. Cabernet Sauvignon is the star with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot playing supporting, but important roles. Grapes are grown on rolling hillsides in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley. I have sampled young versions of this structured, intense wine and those aged for up to a decade. If you can hold on to the wine for a few years you will be rewarded with a velvety texture that deserves the accolades it’s received as one of California’s icon red blends.