SF Weekly calls it the "city's premier gastronomic orgy" where guests can interact with their favorite chefs and have ample breathing room to explore and experience every nook and cranny.
While the main showcase occurs at the Fort Mason Pavillion, the fun is spread citywide. Smaller events happening from the Ferry Bldg to Foreign Cinema happen throughout the week. It's wise to keep an eye on Eater's must-go lists every year.
Proceeds go to support the Golden Gate Restaurant Association Scholarship Foundation, making the world a better place one chef extraordinaire at a time.
Thoughts on Food
The food was absolutely superb. Big name restaurants came out to represent their flavors and came up with uniquely designed dishes that made for a great chow-down. Kin Khao, Dirty Habit, AQ just to name a few created fantastic culinary eye openers.
We also had culinary demoes from titans like Chef Brandon Jew from Mister Jiu's (congrats on the 1 star!), known for his sizzling black cod dish. Meeting the chefs and cooking personalities is an incredibly way to connect with the local food scene in SF, a world-class dining destination.
A few notables that I need to throw on my list of future visits include restaurants like Pizzeria Delfina, Humphry Slocombe, Hog & Rocks, Luce, and Michael Mina just to name a few!
Thoughts in Beer
With outstanding flair, we've got beers being poured from the SF Brewers Guild from new local breweries and old-school breweries alike. Notables include Caitlin Landesberg's Sufferfest Beer proving that glutten free beer is every bit as good as regular, and Ed Gobbo's Harmonic Brewing which focuses on local farmhouse seasonal ales. While the event isn't purely focused on beer, there's a budging presence that signifies beer is not a second thought but a legitimate pairing alongside a chef's culinary repertoire.
On the other hand, distilleries like Heaven Hill have already established a strong presence through marketing and educational tastings that breweries could learn from. Efforts at major public facing events focused on food & drinks would go a long way with introducing new crowds to the intricacies of beer. But I digress.
