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. . . 
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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!
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Hey Traveleatlove readers! Mucho thanks goes out to Meghan for letting me do a guest post while she is at FoodBuzz this weekend. My name is Erin and I write/blog over at Big Girl Eats! I’m relatively new to the blog world after starting my own blog in July ’09. I was inspired to chart my own course after reading through the journeys of some of the bigger bloggers out there. I wanted a way to hold myself accountable to the changes I was eager to make in my life. Plus, I love cooking, baking, and eating! Thus, Big Girl Eats was born!
It was a little nerve racking to start the blog. While I don’t consider myself a super private person, I wondered what would happen if I put my life, my goals, and my thoughts out into the internet-osphere (yup, totally made that one up). I was worried I would feel like a failure if I didn’t measure up to the idea that I had in my head of what a blog “should” look like. And who would want to read my rambling stories about things like batch cooking and The Babysitters Club? (I thrive on randomness, really.) After four months of blogging, I feel like I’m finally getting into my groove. The blog world is nothing if not supportive, encouraging, and FUN! I never would have discovered something I really enjoy doing if I didn’t decide to take a risk. Taking risks is hard. If you’re like me, you talk yourself out taking the risk a million times over. You make pros and cons (holler if you’re a list maker!). You call your mom. You debate with friends. You get mad at yourself for not being able to just make the damn decision already! One of the best experiences of this past year, and perhaps my life, was a big risk. I was scheduled to go on a three-part vacation in June, with one part being three days in San Francisco with my roommate. She is a jewelry designer and was having a show in SF the same time I would be in California visiting friends. I decided to join her in the city before leaving for Colorado. (That’s Newport Beach, CA to SF, CA to Colorado. Told you I love randomness.) I booked my plane tickets months in advance and waited for the Roomie to confirm the show. Turns out people aren’t super interested in buying jewelry during a recession – and the show was cancelled, leaving me with three days in SF – solo! I debated cancelling that part of the trip. I tried to figure out if I could get a refund, how much I would lose, etc. I thought about how it would be scary traveling around a new city, on the complete other side of the country, by myself. “How would I get around? What if something happened? And, and, people will think I am a total loser for eating dinner alone! GASP!!” Then, I thought back to when I was 16 years old and went to Germany as an exchange student. I thought back to when I graduated from college and moved to Delaware from Connecticut, not knowing a single person, place or thing. I thought about moving to Rhode Island, and my life now. I thought about my current realization that I want to go back to school. All of these involved some element of fear, anxiety, and the unknown. And all of them turned out to be some of the best experiences of my life, things that have shaped who I am today and what I value. I booked myself a hotel in SF for three nights the day after the Roomie told me about the cancelled show. There’s no way I could let fear and anxiety stop me from visiting a city I’ve always wanted to go to. And as with all of the other decisions that turned out to be right for me, I’m SO glad I listened to my gut. That’s what I remind myself whenever I have to make a tough decision, especially one involving risk, anxiety, fear, or the unknown. I think about the amazing blue skies as I rode around in the top of an SF tour bus.
I think about the family I met while stopping to try the first Irish Whiskey bar in America. 
I think about the amazing food I ate.
I think about the time I spent, walking around the city, riding on the trolleys, soaking it all in and being proud that I was out there. I was living.
I am SO glad I listened to my gut.
It doesn’t have to be traveling to another city, or changing jobs, or huge life decisions. It can be little risks, little ways to improve your life – however you want to! – every day. The quote below reminds me to act like the Big Girl that I strive to be. 
A ship in harbor is safe. But that is not what ships are for. -John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of San Francisco and that you’ll take a risk this week. 🙂 Thanks Meghan!
Thank YOU Erin for sharing this trip with us! I love the photos. Once I went to Nice, France by myself for a weekend after a conference in London. I didn’t have a very good time. . . but that’s for another post! I was still glad I took the risk!
Tags: San Francisco, Travel, traveling alone
Hi there! I am completely behind on my Foodbuzz Festival recaps, and I hope you will bear with me over the next couple of days as I catch up! It is Sunday morning, and the festival is nearly over. I am completely exhausted but have had a blast. The festival kicked off Friday night with a cocktail party on the terrace of the Hotel Vitale near San Francisco’s beautiful waterfront.
I met Natalie from Natalie’s Killer Cuisine and Cristina from The Wayward Chef and had a great time soaking up the beautiful view and the massive number of foodies around me! I then found Mardi and Andrea, and we walked over to the Ferry Building for the street food extravaganza that Foodbuzz put together. We had dessert first 🙂
I tried a red velvet cupcake from Mission Mini’s. I love red velvet, and this was the perfect size! We followed the cupcakes with beer, of course. 
The Thirsty Bear Brewing Company was pouring a wheat beer and a pilsner, and I had the pilsner. It was quite yummy, especially when paired with a couple of Kumamoto oysters. 
And a beet and Point Reyes blue cheese salad. . . and some pizza. 
And a bean taco from Tacolicious. . . and a zucchini and gruyere pie from The Pie Truck, possibly the best thing I have eaten all weekend. The crust of the little pie was so buttery and flaky, and the filling was rich and savory. So amazing. We topped off the night with coffee ice cream from Straus Family Creamery. Nothing beats ice cream that is this fresh.
I have so many more photos to share and so many stories of great food and great bloggers, so stay tuned. The Friday night kickoff was just the beginning. . . I am off to pack and to hit the road for the Sonoma Coast and a night at The Timber Cove Inn. Have a great Sunday!
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