Sunday, August 31

  • Jardiniere and The HEAL Project

    Sunday, August 31 | Jardiniere | 300 Grove Street, San Francisco, CA | $110.00 (gratuity not included)

    Jardiniere, one of San Francisco’s top restaurants, hosted a dinner on behalf of The HEAL Project, a hands-on program that instills healthy lifestyle habits in elementary school children while inspiring agricultural and environmental awareness. The dinner menu included: Dry Farmed Tomato and Watermelon Salad; Bellwether Farms Ricotta Crostini; Housemade Potato Gnocchi; Sugo of Liberty Farms Duck and Local Chanterelles; Prather Ranch Lamb with Brentwood Corn, Summer Squash and Sausalito Springs Watercress, Salsa Verde; Chefs Selection of Local Cheese; and for dessert: Mission Fig Baba, Pinenuts and Marshall’s Farm Honey Ice Cream. $25 of each ticket sold went to HEAL to support their programs.

  • Maverick and San Joaquin Foundation for Agriculture Education

    Sunday, August 31 | Maverick, American Eatery and Wine Bar | 3316 17th Street, San Francisco, CA | $90.00 (with wine pairings) or $65.00 (without wine pairings)

    Maverick American Eatery and Wine Bar hosted the San Joaquin Foundation for Agriculture Education, an organization with the mission to promote agriculture as a career for our young people. The evening’s menu was a five course, “Whole Pig” Dinner. Pigs were supplied by Long Ranch in Manteca. All produce for the dinner was provided by local farmers from San Joaquin County. Wines were beautifully paired and provided by wineries local to San Joaquin County. Menu included: Apertif: Charlyn Melon Juice. First Course: BLT – Crispy belly, sliced purple cherokee tomatoes, butter lettuce, pig brain mayonnaise, levain toast. Second Course: Sausage and Peppers – Fresh sausage link, piquillo and gypsy peppers, caramelized torpedo onions, blistered cherry tomato sauce. Third Course: Pan Fried Pork Cakes – Pig’s head and trotter cakes with almond crust, chicory and sorrel salad, concord grape pork jus. Intermezzo: Sliced watermelon, basil, honey, crispy pig ears. Fourth Course, served Family Style: Roast Pork Loin with White lima beans, sweet corn and red bell pepper succotash, pork jus. Fifth course: Apple Walnut Bread Pudding with Sea salt caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream.

  • New Delhi Restaurant & The Oakland Institute

    Sunday, August 31 | New Delhi Restaurant | 160 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA | $55.00 (gratuity not included)

    A Traditional Indian Menu at New Delhi Restaurant benefited The Oakland Institute, a policy think tank whose mission is to increase public participation and promote fair debate on critical social, economic and environmental issues in both national and international forums. The Family-Style Menu included: Hors d’oeuvres: Bari Pakora – Vegetable fritters and Hariyali Tikka – Chicken barbecued in a tangy mint and cilantro marinade with Mint and Tamarind Chutney. A New Delhi” Specialty Entrée: Murg Akbari – an exotic preparation of chicken with cashews and raisin simmered in a blend of mild spices, Karahai Gosht – a flavorful Lamb curry cooked in North Indian spices. Vegetarian Dishes- Paneer Makhani – housemade paneer cooked in tomato cream sauce and seasoned with fenugreek leaves, Alu Palak – spinach cooked with potatoes and seasoned with garlic, Kali Dal New Delhi – slow simmered black Lentils with Ginger and Tomatoes and Peas Pullao – saffron flavored Basmati rice with green peas. Dinner accompanied with Nan, Achar, Chutney, Kachumber Salad, Condiments and Raita. Dessert service included: Chilled Rice Pudding with Alfanso Mango Float.

  • Millennium Restaurant and SaveNature.org

    Sunday, August 31 | Millennium Restaurant | 580 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA | $70

    A collaboration between Executive Chef Eric Tucker of Millennium Restaurant, dedicated to supporting the essential earthly concepts of organic food production, small farms, sustainable agriculture, recycling and composting and SaveNature.org, a conservation organization dedicated to inspiring children and adults to save rainforests and coral reefs around the world; supporting sustainable and economic development among local communities and fighting global climate change. Millennium cooks with fresh produce delivered every day, and choose organic whenever possible creating a gourmet dining experience out of vegetarian, healthy, and environmentally friendly foods.

    The dinner featured the produce of Eat well Farms, Maraquita Farms, Animalitos Farms, Happy Boy Farms and Blossom Bluff Orchards. The cuisine is influenced by the flavors and styles of many cultures and all of our dishes are completely animal-free and completely free of genetically modified foods. This dinner was a fundraiser for SaveNature.org celebrating their 20th year of saving nature.

  • Pappo and Alameda Point Collaborative

    Sunday, August 31 | Pappo | 2320 Central Avenue, Alameda, CA | $55 (included wine)

    A collaboration between Pappo and the Alameda Point Collaborative. The evening’s three-course menu included: First Course: Carrot Soup, Herbed Crostini or Little Gem Lettuces with Cucumber, Tomatoes and Creamy Mint Dressing. Second Course: Stuffed Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Fennel, Chard, Onion, Oregano and Goat Cheese Polenta or Grilled Sonoma Lamb with Roasted Potatoes, Chard and Rosemary or Pan Seared Ling Cod with Carrot Puree, Caramelized Fennel and Baby Arugula. Third Course: Basil Ice Cream with Honey and Candied Lemon Peel or Peach Gallette with Fresh Cream.

  • Camino and People’s Grocery

    Sunday, August 31 | Camino 3917 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA | $125 (wine included)

    People’s Grocery is a community-based nonprofit organization that addresses health problems in the inner city community of West Oakland stemming from a lack of access to and knowledge of healthy, fresh foods. Camino is a new restaurant in Oakland that uses carefully sourced ingredients cooked in a large open fireplace. For this dinner, People’s Grocery and Camino celebrated a long, luxurious summer feast at Camino’s communal tables. The five-course meal with wine featured homemade sausages and paella cooked in the fireplace and vegetables from the People’s Grocery farm in Sunol. There was one seating at 6:00pm so guests could enjoy the entire evening together. $25 of the ticket price went directly to People’s Grocery.

  • Laiola and Alemany Farm

    Sunday, August 31 | Laiola | 2031 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA | Price Varied

    Laiola and Alemany Farm paired for a dinner celebrating local food systems. Laiola is San Francisco’s little Spanish darling: A 50-seat taverna with fire colored walls, a long copper bar and high top leather banquettes housed in a Spanish revival building in the Marina. Three star reviews from both The Chronicle and The Examiner prove Laiola’s 100 Spanish label wine list and best of season menu by Chez Panisse alum, Mark Denham, are sure to please.

    Alemany Farm, a 4.5-acre organic fruit and vegetable operation, is San Francisco’s largest food production site. Through our teen apprenticeship program, we give low-income youth meaningful job skills in the budding green economy. Through our participation in the Bayview-Hunters Point farmers market and our free senior citizen food distribution program, we help ensure that all communities — regardless of ethnicity or income — have access to quality organic food. Our weekend community workdays give residents from across San Francisco the chance to learn how to grow their own food.

    Alemany Farm produce including lettuces, basil, beets, carrots, and tomatoes were served at the dinners. Ten percent of proceeds from the dinners benefited Alemany Farm.

  • Nopa and Community Alliance with Family Farmers

    Sunday, August 31 | 560 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA | $40 (average meal price) plus donation

    Nopa and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) joined forces during Slow Food Nation to increase awareness of Nopa’s dedicated local food procurement practices and the spectacular work of CAFF and their Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign. Guests savored a delicious, seasonally inspired meal and donated to CAFF’s efforts to preserve sustainable, family-owned farms.

  • Frantoio Ristorante & Bar and the California Olive Oil Council

    Sunday, August 31 | Frantoio Ristorante | 152 Shoreline Highway, Mill Valley, CA | $79 (included wine pairings, but excluded gratuity and tax)

    A five-course Italian feast prepared by Duilio Valenti, Executive Chef at Frantoio Ristorante. The dinner included heirloom tomato and cucumber bruschetta, Frantoio’s own award-winning olive oil marinated heirloom eggplant and house made mozzarella rollatini, house-cured bresola with fresh lemon and Frantoio olive oil, Marin Roots Farm’s little gems and aged grana, house-made ravioli filled with black cod, Sausalito Springs’ watercress pesto, and olive oil cured black olives, Bill’s Bolinas boer goat (wood oven roasted and served with Annabelle’s local chicory and a balsamic sauce), topped off with Vin Santo gelato and Fairfax wild fennel pollen biscotti. The dinner included fine wines, including Pey-Marin Vineyard 2007 Riesling “The Shell Mound” (Marin County), and Barham Mendelsohn 2004 organically grown Russian River Pinot Noir (Sonoma County). A portion of the proceeds of this dinner benefited The California Olive Oil Council.

    Dan Flynn, Executive Director of the UC Davis Olive Oil Center, Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, and Roberto Zecca, former President of the California Olive Oil Council and owner of Frantoio, were both on hand to speak.

  • Woodward’s Garden and Animal Welfare Approved

    Sunday, August 31 | Woodward’s Garden | 1700 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA | $50 (Reception only); $125 (Dinner)

    A collaboration between Woodward’s Garden, a San Francisco gem known for its intimate hospitality and expert preparation, and Animal Welfare Approved a non-profit program and food label working to promote the well-being of animals and the sustainability of humane family farms.

    This dinner-from-the-field featured award-winning pork from Niman Ranch, the first farmer network to receive Animal Welfare Approved accreditation. The evening provided the opportunity to hear directly from Animal Welfare Approved’s outstanding farmers, including Niman Ranch’s own Paul Willis (founder and manager of Niman Ranch pork division and free-range pig farmer) and Will Harris (White Oak Pastures; fifth generation grass-fed cattle farmer). These stewards of the land shared their experiences in practicing humane husbandry, and explained how tradition and innovation have shaped their farming practices today. The reception and dinner featured wine donated by Beringer, a California winery known for its commitment to sustainable agriculture, and also included light hors d’œuvres. 15% of every ticket sold benefited the Animal Welfare Approved program.

  • Poggio Restaurant

    Sunday, August 31 | Poggio Restaurant | 777 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA | A la carte

    Poggio is a classic Italian trattoria with comfortable neighborhood charm and destination-caliber cuisine just steps away from the Golden Gate Bridge overlooking the Sausalito harbor. Residents and city dwellers flock to their outdoor sidewalk tables to enjoy Chef Peter McNee’s daily changing menu featuring inspired classics of Northern Italy, simply and earnestly prepared including: pizzas fresh from the wood burning oven, home made pastas, house cured salamis, sausages, and other meats; and this time of year heirloom tomatoes with fresh mozzarella cheese made three times a day so it is incomparably soft and creamy. The restaurant is at once quintessentially Italian and at ease in its Northern California locale. This year the restaurant has just released their own wine in partnership with winemaker Brian Graham from Ramian Estates.

  • Slow Club and Three Stone Hearth

    Sunday, August 31 | Slow Club | 2501 Mariposa Street, San Francisco, CA | $80.00 (gratuity not included)

    A collaboration between Slow Club, a restaurant renowned for using produce and meat from farms and ranches that practice ecologically sound agriculture, and Three Stone Hearth, an organization that is dedicated to healing our community, our planet and ourselves by building a sustainable model for community-scale food preparation and processing that honors culinary traditions and provides nutrient-dense foods for local households and beyond. This 4-course family-style dinner featured wine from Sutton Cellars. First Course: Liberty Farms Duck Rillettes; Heirloom Melon with Chili Salt and Truffled Honey. Second Course: Wild Arugula Salad with Sweet 100’s, Mint, and Aged Balsamic Vinaigrette; Grilled Nectarines with Prosciutto and Mache. Third Course: Lindner Bison Briciole with Spigariello or other Greens and Tomato Relish/Chutney; Roasted Mary’s Chicken on Anson Mills Polenta with Wild Mushroom Jus; Fourth Course: Scharffen Berger Chocolate Pot de Crème; Peach Cobbler with Bi-Rite Creamery Vanilla Ice Cream. Various items on the menu come directly from Three Stone Hearth, including: Corn Relish, Dilly Beans (Garden Beans), Ginger Mermaid Sauerkraut (Sea Beans, Ginger, etc.), Green Veg. Sauerkraut (Kale, etc.), Pink Panther (Beet and Fruit Relish); and Lacto-Fermented Coolers: Antique Rose Cooler (Rose w/ Hibiscus), Lavender Cooler (Lavender w/ Grape Juice) and Douglas Fir Cooler (Douglas Fir Essence w/ Lemon).

  • Americano Restaurant & Bar and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

    Sunday, August 31 | Americano Restaurant & Bar | 8 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA | $85.00 (gratuity not included)

    Americano Chef Paul Arenstam hosted a Slow Food Starlight Supper to benefit the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Established in 1981, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy is the nonprofit partner that supports and assists the Golden Gate National Parks in research, interpretation, and conservation programs. This al fresco reception and dinner on the heated Americano/Hotel Vitale patio, overlooking the Ferry Building and the Bay Bridge, featured a menu of ingredients from farmers and partners including Hearst Ranch, Anson Mills Polenta, Gioia Burrata, Acme Bread, Brentwood Corn and Yolo County Tomatoes and Wine Forest Mushrooms. The dinner included local and biodynamic wines including Paul’s own 2005 Dreamer Syrah from Thompson Vineyard, Los Alamos Hills, Santa Barbara County. $25 of every ticket went directly to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

    6:00pm Reception
    Artisan Salumi, Grilled Fig with Aged Balsamico and Ricotta Bruschetta, Neapolitan Style Pizza

    7:00pm Dinner
    Yolo County Tomato Salad with Gioia Burrata and Basil, Sicilian Fisherman’s Stew with Grilled Acme Bread and Roasted Garlic, Grilled Hearst Ranch Skirt Steak with Anson Mills Polenta and Broccoli de Ciccio, Late Summer Berry Pudding with Mascarpone

  • Serpentine and the Center for Land-Based Learning

    Sunday, August 31 | Serpentine | 2495 Third Street, San Francisco, CA | $110.00 (gratuity not included)

    A collaboration between San Francisco’s Serpentine and the Center for Land-Based Learning, an organization with the mission to engage youth in learning experiences on the land that foster respect for the critical interplay of agriculture, nature and society. This dinner used produce from a farmer that leases land run by the Center for Land-Based Learning: Free Spirit Farms. It also featured walnuts grown by Craig McNamara, Founder and President of the Center for Land-Based Learning. The family-style, four-course meal included wine from Honig. The courses were: First Course: Toasted Tartine country bread and Clover Farmstead Butter; Charcuterie of Marin Sun Farms Pork Rillettes Pate, Brawn Strawberries and Shallots Escabeche, Marinated Pole Beans – Roasted Gypsy Peppers, Whole Grain Mustard, Grilled Levain. Second Course: Salad of Wild Arugula, English Peas, Nectarines, Walnut Pesto, Salad of Avocado, Baby Chioggia Beets, Cherry Tomatoes, Peppercress. Third Course: Roasted Mary’s Chicken, Valencia Orange Bread Salsa, Sweet Corn Puree, Haricots Verts, Red Pearl Onions; Grilled Prather Ranch Beef, Austrian Crescent Potatoes, Roasted Heirloom, Tomatoes, Betty Garland’s North Carolina Black Truffles. Fourth Course: Scharffen Berger Chocolate and Walnut Tart, Fresh Strawberries and Bi-Rite Creamery Vanilla Ice Cream. $50 from each ticket went directly to Center for Land-Based Learning.

  • Pisco Latin Lounge/Destino and The Center for Environmental Health and The Center for Food Safety

    Sunday, August 31 | Destino | 1815 Market Street, San Francisco, CA | $65 (cocktails only); $130 (cocktails & dinner)

    Pisco Latin Lounge, San Francisco’s hottest new cocktail and tapas lounge (and the first pisco bar in the country), paired with its neighboring restaurant, Destino, to host a joint fundraiser for The Center for Environmental Health, an organization that works to eliminate the threat that industrial chemicals pose to children, families and communities and the Center for Food Safety, which has initiated landmark legal actions to preserve the integrity of the food from technological techniques such as cloning and genetic engineering. Just as there are two locations and two benefiting non-profits, there are two levels of experience offered:

    Level One – A vibrant cocktail party at Pisco featured the recently rediscovered “Original Recipe Pisco Punch,” San Francisco’s legendary cocktail described by Rudyard Kipling as being made from “the wings of cherubs.” A full range of Latin and traditional cocktails, plus wines from Spain and Argentina also complemented the flavorful passed hors d’oeuvres such as a Spicy Pisco Flavored Roll Of Yellowtail Tuna, Marinated Prawns With Pineapple Salsa and Fried Quinoa Risotto Balls With Shitake Mushrooms and Romesco Salsa that take their lead from contemporary clubs in Barcelona, Buenos Aires, and Lima. A contribution of $25 from each ticket went directly to the partner charities.

    Cocktail Party. 5:30-7:30pm – $65 included complimentary hors d’oeuvres and two drink tickets.

    Level Two – Guests then headed next door for a four-course chef’s tasting dinner with paired wines at Destino, San Francisco’s premier Peruvian restaurant. Specialty wines from Spain and Argentina were paired with each course. Vandana Shiva and Andrew Kimbrell were present for this wonderful meal. A contribution of $45 from each ticket went directly to the partner charities.

    Four Course Dinner with Wine Pairing. 7:30pm – $130 included cocktail party (with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and two drink tickets) plus dinner and wine.

  • Boulevard and Greenbelt Alliance

    Sunday, August 31 | Private Room at Boulevard Restaurant| 1 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA | $150.00 (included wine pairings, gratuity and tax)

    The multi-course dinner prepared by the Boulevard chefs highlighted the bounty of the season and their world famous creativity and talent. Dinner was paired with fine organic wines by Handley cellars (Anderson Valley) and Skylark Wine Company, a collaboration between Boulevard Wine Directors John Lancaster and Robert Perkins. A portion of the proceeds of this dinner benefitted the Greenbelt Alliance. Greenbelt Alliance is the Bay Area’s advocate for Open Spaces and Vibrant Places, and has been for 50 years!