Foodbuzz Fest Day Two

The second day of the Foodbuzz Festival started out bright and early. Up before 4 am, I waited until about 6:30 when the sun was coming up to go running. The weather in San Francisco was super, warm enough to run in shorts and a light windbreaker.I headed down Market Street and down to the waterfront where I ran for about 40 minutes before meeting the hubs to have an iced tea in the Ferry Building. After that I headed back to the room, showered, changed, and went to my first session of the day. I had chosen the Farm to Table session with Chef Paul Arenstam of the Americano restaurant at the Hotel Vitale and Brian Kenney from the Hearst Ranch. Though I don’t eat beef, it was still very interesting to hear all about grass fed beef and about Chef Arenstam’s relationships with the producers of the food he uses. Its amazing how close he gets to the source of the food, I find that makes it taste even better! I was able to meet and chat with Chef Arenstam, a Massachusetts native, later in the day at the Tasting Pavilion, and he is so super nice! I have never met such a well known chef before! After the session, I went to the Ferry Building to get some coffee and met Lindsay from Life with Lindsay while doing so. We chatted and ended up wandering around the indoor and outdoor markets before we met up with Andrea and Mardi again. I couldn’t get my big head out of the way. I had oysters for breakfast.

And then there was cheese. We  attended the session put on by Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building. It was so interesting and delicious, and now I am ready to start making my own cheese. I just need to find a good, fresh, unpasteurized milk supply. I wish we could have our own cow. . . \ Suzanne from Cowgirl Creamery did a really amazing job explaining the cheesemaking process for different cheeses, telling us about the cows and creamery they use for their milk supply. We also got to try four cheeses. My favorite was the Inverness which was buttery, gooey, and reminded me of La Tur, which I love. The session went by quickly, and soon it was time for us to go to the Metreon for the Foodbuzz Tasting Pavilion. Completely amazing and slightly overwhelming! It was a beautiful, sun flooded room lined with food, wine, and beer vendors. First, I went for water. I was so thirsty after all of that amazing cheese tasting! I tried some yummy Rogue Imperial Stout. I tried a savory tart with pomegranate seeds and blue cheese. And stopped by the Kerrygold table to sample some cheese with Irish whiskey. I didn’t eat the butter because it is a staple in our house. I got chatting to Martin, the representative from Kerrygold, and it turns out he went to the same college in Galway that Eric and I went to. I loved the Kerrygold cheese with whiskey. We have quite a bit of Dubliner cheese at ho
me at the moment, but I am tempted to buy a few more varieties. I tried a delicious watermelon wheat beer from 21st Amendment which had an insanely refreshing and light melon flavor. Watermelon beer = brilliant!
I got an amazing sweet and spicy cocktail and a shot of tomato soup from Mezzetta olives. Deliciousness. Spicy cocktails are my new favorite thing! Then it was time to watch Mardi work her magic in the Bertolli kitchen. She is one of my favorite bloggers, and I was so happy when she won to be on the menu at the festival.

Her deconstructed pesto pizzas were amazing. I don’t usually use jarred sauces, but this Bertolli sauce was so yummy. I can definitely see myself making this dish very  soon. My final event of the afternoon was a Merlot seminar by Alder Yarrow from vinography.com. It was in an absolutely beautiful room.

I really like Merlot, and the presentation and tasting was entertaining, interesting, and yummy. I only tried three of the wines. It was getting late, and I needed to shower and change before dinner so I snuck out a bit early. Exhausted, I headed to Bread and Cocoa, the most adorable cafe next to our hotel.

They both weren’t for me. While  I was eating all day, hubs was biking all over San Francisco, and he was a bit woozy and in need of sugar and caffeine, as I was. Tasting (and not sleeping) is tiring! He is planning his own parallel posts someday soon. 🙂 I’ll leave off here for now, but I will be back with the incredibly amazing Outstanding in the Field dinner which included lots of food, wine, awesomely nice bloggers, and an overall good time. I can’t thank Foodbuzz ( and the sponsors) enough for their warm welcome, awesome planning, and total and complete generosity throughout this event!