Greg La Follette. Photo: La Follette Wines.

Greg La Follette ‘listens’ to his wines and that may be why they ‘speak’ to some of us. Earlier this year I tried a La Follette Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and was hooked. It was a lovely wine with great acidity and subtle tastes of raspberries and spice. I later found out the winemaker was a kind and quirky scientist, with a reverence for the land and a knack for the bagpipes. With his chatty personality, and jamming wines, La Follette could easily be one of those rock star winemakers but he may be too humble for the limelight.

La Follette started at Beaulieu Vineyards in 1991 and spent time overseas as a wine consultant. His work included being a consultant at Yarra Ridge in Australia. Back in California he made a name for himself at Flowers and then at Tandem wines. Last year La Follette went out on his own to make cool climate, Burgundian style, Sonoma Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. I recently found a few reasonably priced La Follette Pinots at Bottle Barn in Sebastopol and plan on breaking them out for Thanksgiving.

Besides eavesdropping on his fermentations, La Follette generally avoids commercial yeasts, gravitates toward unconventional equipment built by hand using pieces from salvage yards, and experiments with practices such as fluff racking.

Greg La Follette was born in Iceland. His wife came to the U.S. from Germany and together they have six children. I recently had a chance to talk with La Follette at his shared winemaking facility in Sebastopol.

How do you describe your style of winemaking?

I see myself as more of a translator of the land rather than a dictator or someone who just wants to do everything in a prescribed way. I let the land take the lead on things. I have a strong collaboration with growers and am on call 24/7 with them. A lot of winemakers don't have the plant biology training that I do. Nowadays many more winemakers are realizing that wine is best made in the vineyard and so winemakers are getting more viticulture training.

Why do you say you practice unsafe winemaking?

Well, we take risks. Safe winemaking is when you inoculate something, put in plenty of sulpher dioxide to knock out the bad guys, you put it at a temperature where its going to go through safely, you follow a formula. For us, frequently our fermentations don't finish until June, the following year from harvest, which adds layers of richness. If you like the taste of forest floor and mushrooms in your pinot, that’s a compound produced by grapes and it's brought forward when you provide oxygen at just the right time. It’s also about using your body, I have had broken ribs, torn rotator cuffs, concussions and other injuries. Our style of winemaking is a full contact sport.

Speaking of dialogues with your wines, why do you listen to your fermentations?

I am listening for the activity in the wine. That is a good clue for us to tell when we need to do things like add sulphur dioxide. Most winemakers, when the malolactic is done they say, “ok, lets add the sulphur dioxide now." And I say, “no, let's wait until they quiet down.” I am really focused on mouth feel, which means getting away from the hardness. By the way, the secondary fermentation has a different sound than the primary fermentation. But you have to spend the time listening, it's not that different than listening to your spouse or your kids. It makes for better relationships.

How do you describe mouthfeel?

It’s what I focused on when I was getting my Masters at U.C. Davis. Mouthfeel is how all the parts in the wine work together. It’s what brings pleasure to your mouth. They are broken down into three parts, entry, mid-palate and late palate. You have to tie together the whole union of the wine.

You follow some natural winemaking techniques which include using native yeasts and little filtration. What do you think of this trend which has received so much buzz?

Well, I think of minimalist interventions. But here is the problem, there is less manipulation with the more commercial style of winemaking. We are playing with our wines all of the time. We really and truly live the wine and are on top of our fermentations, literally, several times a day, smelling, looking, tasting.

La Follette with assistant winemaker Simone Sequeria. Photo: La Follette Wines.

How did you choose Pinot Noir as your grape, it is so challenging to make.

I like introducing people to what Pinot Noir can do. It can just love and caress your tongue. I finally had to surrender to it and say "take me I'm yours." Pinot is great to make if you have Chardonnay to give you a rudder of sanity. I wanted it to have weight and structure but be light and have it at a price point where we can make friends. It's a new label so that's important. (La Follette’s wines range from $29.99 to $49.99).

La Follette’s talent as a Pinot Noir maker may never have come to fruition had he not reached the conclusion that his first love, playing the bagpipes, was not a practical career. His dream as a teenager did not match his parents' career expectations of him. La Follette saved his milk money to pay, secretly, for lessons and eventually became a ship's piper on the Queen Mary. Now the bagpipes are a hobby to wind down from winemaking.

Since I have Scottish ancestry I assumed the bagpipes might be something I could pick up, after all, I can blow a lot of hot air. But I was quickly humbled after one short lesson from La Follette.

You can meet Greg La Follette and check out his wines at the “In the Cellar with Greg” series. The next one is scheduled for Friday, December 2. For more information you can go to "events" on his website.

This event is one in an occasional series on California winemakers.

La Follette Wines
4900 West Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg, California 95448
Phone: 707.395.3902
info@lafollettewines.com
Facebook: La Follette Wines

Thanksgiving works a little differently for us vegans and vegetarians. We also love to celebrate and give thanks with those closest to us. We also love to share a grand meal and reflect on the past year. We also love pie.

What we do differently is not just swap out the meat with a squash or a store-bought substitute. We also make sure to think about the hundreds of millions of birds who are slaughtered each year during this time and give thanks to the individuals at sanctuaries around the country who take in the more fortunate. We thank the restaurants who cater to our lifestyle of compassion. And we thank the animals who make our lives richer, funnier, eye-opening, and loving.

Below is a list of events happening in the area to celebrate Thanksgiving AND the turkeys, plus options on places to order a vegan meal and desserts:

1. November 12: Join Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary for Toast for the Turkeys in honor of the rescued turkeys at the sanctuary.

   
   Two of the residents at Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary, Bill and Sierra. Bill was found wandering the streets of Berkeley before being pickup by Animal Control. He is a gentle giant with the manners of a perfect gentleman. He spends his days gracing the green pasture with his buddy, Sierra. Photo Credit: Christine Morrissey

   The event, sponsored by such Bay Area establishments as Cinnaholic, Vegansaurus, D.O.V.E. Distributors, and Rainbow Grocery will also feature a “Humane Harvest” vegetarian food drive, to benefit the Emergency Food Bank of Stockton/San Joaquin.

Check out this video from last year's Toast to the Turkeys:

2. November 19: Take part in Farm Sanctuary’s annual Celebration FOR the Turkeys which features a vegan feast, musical performance, guest presentations, and the most adored of all – the Feeding of the Turkeys celebration, where the turkeys are the center of attention and dine on squash, pumpkin pie, and cranberries (on silver platters of course!).

   
   Me bonding with a turkey at the 2009 Feeding of the Turkeys. They are incredibly friendly animals and love to socialize and be petted!

   This year’s guests will include vegan writer and chef Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter and the new Biz & Livia Stone Foundation, who became vegan after visiting Farm Sanctuary. You will also be able to tour the farm and visit with all the other animals. I was taken to the Celebration FOR the Turkeys for my 30th birthday, and it was the best birthday I ever had (good job, husband!).

   
   Two turkeys enjoying their feast of pumpkin and veggies. At factory farms, turkeys' beaks and toes are clipped (without anesthesia), so these guys have a little trouble eating without getting messy. But they definitely still enjoy the feast that so many turkeys don't get to experience.

   Farm Sanctuary (who recently took in 25 baby turkeys from a factory farm that were dumped on their doorstep) truly changes your perspective on farm animals as you spend time with them, experience their different personalities, and watch them thrive in a free and loving environment. [If you can’t make it, consider sponsoring a turkey!]

3. November 24: Join Café Gratitude (who recently opened a location in LA!) for their annual vegan Free Thanksgiving Meal, where this super compassionate establishment gives back with a feast served by volunteers from the community.

   
   Cafe Gratitude's Annual Free Thanksgiving Meal. Photo Credit: Cary Mosier
   
   If you prefer to stay in, you can still experience some Gratitude on your table by ordering a pie to go. Their desserts are seriously delicious (and probably the most healthy you’ll ever eat). It's sure to please vegans and omnis alike.

4. Order your vegan holiday meal from Souley Vegan, everyone’s favorite vegan soul food restaurant! This year the offerings include Southern fried tofu, roasted garlic mashed potato with gravy, and cornbread dressing, among other delicious options. You can also order pies and cheesecakes.

   
   Photo Credit: Souley Vegan

   Check out their homepage for a link to the menu and ordering instructions (order must be received by November 21).

5. Cinnaholic is promising some exciting holiday flavors this year, including pumpkin spice and egg nog frostings, and toppings like gingersnaps, candy cane pieces, and peppermint “Oreos.”

   
   Photo Credit: Michael Lang/Cinnaholic

   They’ve also teamed up with the aforementioned Harvest Home Sanctuary to celebrate the Toast to the Turkeys by donating, for the entire month of November, 50% of all Baby Bun sales to help out with feeding, housing, and general care for the animals.

And if you are simply looking for a way to complete your holiday table with something sweet, here are a few other places to check out for ordering Thanksgiving desserts:

Wholesome Bakery: Try their Sweet Potato Pecan Baby Pies
Rainbow Grocery: They always have an assortment of vegan treats from various local bakeries.
Mission Pie: They're offering a Vegan Apple-Cranberry crumb-top pie this year for Thanksgiving.
Fat Bottom Bakery: You can special order some Pumpkin Cupcakes with vegan cream cheese frosting.
Idle Hands Baking Company: Try their Spice Cake (gluten-free option available) or Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

On Sunday the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW); participants of the Community Food Security Coalition's Food Justice conference and Bay Area community allies marched in Oakland for farmworker justice. The destination was Trader Joe's where the group planned to deliver a letter, calling on the company to support human rights for farmworkers, specifically the workers who harvest tomatoes sold in their stores. The CIW's Campaign for Fair Food has gotten commitments from other food industry corporations (including Taco Bell, McDonald's, Subway, Bon Appétit Management Co. and Whole Foods) to provide a penny-per-pound increase to raise wages for tomato harvesters and to use suppliers that abide by a strict code of conduct for farmworkers. Trader Joe's has been repeatedly called on to support these efforts but has not been willing to sign an agreement with CIW. TJ's made a statement regarding the issue on 10/21/11 (posted on website 10/23/11) and CIW responded. CIW basically claims that TJ's solutions are not verifiable and lack accountability. Since the public image of Trader Joe's relies on being politically correct and it ranks as a top ethical company the marchers' messaging calls into question the company's lack of transparency and potential hypocrisy: "Traitor Joe's - a wolf in sheep's clothing?"

Lucas Benitez from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers addresses the participants at the beginning of the march

The marchers did not obtain a permit so they peacefully marched along the sidewalk for two miles from the Marriott in downtown Oakland where the Food Justice conference was being held, past the Occupy Oakland encampment, along Lake Merritt and concluding the march at the Lakeshore Avenue Trader Joe's. One of the consistent chants reflected the influence of the Occupy movement: "Trader Joe's owners are the one percent, one penny more won't even make a dent."

Once the marchers arrived at Trader Joe's, Lucas Benitez went inside the store with others to present the management with the letter and explain their intent.

Lucas Benitez presents letter to Greg, a Trader Joe Captain at Trader Joe's on Lakeshore Ave. in Oakland

Meanwhile, the marchers chanted in front of the store.

It will be interesting to see how Trader Joe's responds to the continued efforts of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

Here are some more photos from the march. (slideshow mobile version)

Related Posts and Videos:
• Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's - Full Version (8/23/10, by Beth Kowitt, CNN Money - FORTUNE)
• Why is Trader Joe’s short-changing farmworker justice? (2/15/11, by Sean Sellers, Grist)
• Coalition of Immokalee Workers YouTube Channel
• Protest Questions Human Cost of Trader Joe’s Cheap Tomatoes (8/11/10, by Bonnie Rosenstock & Scott Stiffler, Chelsea Now)
• After Long Fight, Farmworkers in Florida Win an Increase in Pay (1/18/11, by Kristofer Rios, NYTimes)
• Politics of the Plate: The Price of Tomatoes (3/09, Barry Estabrook, Gourmet)
• Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit (Published 6/7/11, Barry Estabrook)

I was taking photos to cover the Occupy movement's General Strike in Oakland for KQED News on 11/2/11. I followed a few smaller contingents to document their marches including the education protest at the University of California and the Anti-Capitalist March. Here is my perspective on the situation that occurred at the Oakland Whole Foods during the Anti-Capitalist March. I have also included a couple of graphic videos by others to reveal some of the activities that took place.

"STRIKE" spray painted on Oakland Whole Foods window during General Strike demonstrations

The Anti-Capitalist March that started from the main area surrounding Frank Ogawa Plaza as part of the General Strike ended up including Oakland Whole Foods along their route. Why Whole Foods? I don't know if Whole Foods was originally planned as a protest destination along with financial institutions, but I got the impression that the marchers were following up on information shared by a speaker addressing the crowd at the General Strike in Frank Ogawa Plaza. The speaker told the crowd that a Whole Foods employee was told by management that his/her employment status would be jeopardized if he/she chose not to work to attend the General Strike. This information was circulating on Twitter (12:43pm) as well. [Update 11/5/11: iwhole foods oakland @wfm_oakland tweeted rumors are false at 2:07pm] Whole Foods Market Northern California dispelled this information as rumor on their Twitter feed (2:29pm) and Facebook page (at 2:28pm). I believe the protesters got to Whole Foods at approximately 2:40pm shortly after this information went out via social media.

The Anti-Capitalist March before leaving the main protest area surrounding Frank Ogawa Plaza. Note food reference: The Hunger Games.

The Anti-Capitalist March en route. Note food reference: The Vegan Police.

When the marchers got to Whole Foods one protester immediately started spray painting the window of Whole Foods with the word "STRIKE." Another protester attempted to break the window using the long pole with the black flag he/she was carrying. Conflict ensued as a protestor tried to physically stop the protester who had been trying to break the window. Andrew Stelzer reporting for KQED News shot video of this incident (see below). I moved to the periphery of the scene and took photos as a number of protesters in the contingent began to throw chairs and tables into the street, broke a window and spray painted the exterior of the building. Numerous other protesters mobilized and eventually got the protesters who were vandalizing Whole Foods to stop their activities (see TomVeeTV video below). During this incident I did not see any police in the area. This conflict was resolved within the group. The protesters regrouped, and the march moved on.

Protestor from the Anti-Capitalist March spray painting window at Oakland Whole Foods

Video shot by Andrew Stelzer of the incident at Oakland Whole Foods

Oakland Whole Food -- protesters throwing chairs, tables, attempting to break windows, spray painting

The massive crowd of protesters at Whole Food in Oakland -- some protesters vandalized store property

TomVeeTV's video is quite graphic and shows the conflict between the protesters. Whole Foods incident starts right after 2:25 minutes into video

Related Posts on KQED News:
• Video: One Protester Tackled by Another Over Smashed Whole Foods Window
• A Day of Demonstrations: Occupy Oakland General Strike
• Video: Jon Stewart on Occupy Oakland Vandalism

Related Video:
• Video: An aerial view of the Whole Foods incident (NBC Bay Area)

Gabrielle Hamilton. Photo: Melissa Hamilton

Gabrielle Hamilton can write, there's no doubt about that. Craft infuses her recent bestseller, peppered as it is with references to both body and kitchen fluids.

Still, this writer was reluctant to read the memoir of this reluctant chef. When a book like Blood, Bones & Butter gets so much advance praise it's hard to believe it can live up to the hype.

Let's review, shall we? There was the excerpt in The New Yorker, a New York Times profile and laudatory reviews from the paper of record by Michiko Kakutani and Frank Bruni, along with glowing accounts in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. Of course, the womens' glossies weighed in with pleasure, as did the blogosphere, including the Times (again), 5 Second Rule, and Bay Area Bites.

Top chefs chimed in too: Her book boasts bubbly blurbs from Bourdain, Batali, and Boulud.

Curious to find out what all the fuss was about, this reporter went to hear Hamilton speak at Omnivore Books in March, when she swung through town on book tour, and again last Thursday, when she appeared on stage in conversation with Kim Severson as part of the City Arts & Lecture series. Oh, and in between this reporter devoured her almost 300-page coming-of-age story.

The book is an indisputable page turner, but let's dispose of one major beef up front: The last section -- "Butter" -- feels rushed and not ready for prime time, in large part because the central concern -- the unraveling of her lonely marriage -- was not resolved in real time. No matter, the publisher wanted that memoir hitting the shelves pronto and mass marketing waits for no one. (Hamilton said Thursday that she's since addressed the marriage matter -- in life and on the page in an epilogue for the paperback edition, available in January.)

Clearly, the woman has a talent with pots and pens. The owner of Prune, a wildly popular little bistro in Manhattan's East Village, (the restaurant's title comes from a childhood nickname), Hamilton recently won a James Beard Award for best New York City chef after receiving nominations for the coveted title three years running. (Though some grumbled that the gal who serves Triscuits and canned sardines at the bar won more for what she represents than what she cooks.) She's written about the chef's life for Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and Saveur, where her sister Melissa Hamilton was an editor, and appeared in six volumes of Best Food Writing.

Hamilton has worked hard and overcome obstacles to get to the top of her game, in two creative fields no less. She survived a largely feral childhood followed by a drug-fueled, unsupervised adolescence, turned to cooking to find family, home, hope, structure, and salvation and wound up, on a whim, running a restaurant of her own.

She's not interested in glamorizing either pursuit. If anything she has a tendency to martyrdom: Hamilton recounts cleaning human excrement off the restaurant stoop and deposing of a dead rat riddled with maggots found on the back steps. She turns hundreds of eggs on the breakfast line, while major-league pregnant and, later, with babies clinging to her breast. Her autobiography, a decade in the making, is scribbled on brown paper between services, on subway rides, and while putting those babes to bed. There is never enough time or sleep.

Professionally, Hamilton is a big talent and a huge success. Her personal life, as she reveals in her book, is a bit messier. Estranged from her mother for decades, she identifies as lesbian but ditched the sisterhood for a clandestine affair with an Italian man she ends up marrying. He is the father of her two boys, though from the beginning of their coupling trouble is brewing. For starters, Hamilton seems more in love with his mother and summer visits to the Italian clan's compound than her actual husband.

These personal revelations would seem meaty subjects for seasoned interviewer Kim Severson in her City Arts & Lectures discussion with Hamilton. But Severson -- now the New York Times' Atlanta bureau chief who appears to keep her hand in the food beat and her heart in San Francisco -- was in a tricky situation. Just days before Hamilton landed in town the New York Post had dropped a bombshell about the celebrity chef's love life.

Of course, who Hamilton sleeps with is really nobody else's business, except that her memoir includes revelations about her adventures in the sack as well as an apron. And Hamilton talks a lot about the value of being honest and authentic in the kitchen and on the page. To top it off, the New York Post item on Hamilton was recycled in the local food media the day before her appearance.

Severson gave a nod to the matter early on in the chat: "I'm going to ask you the question on everyone's minds, [theatrical pause] How do you keep your skin so dewy?" That set the tone for an evening of mostly softballs from Severson, who made a running gag about not being "bitter" that Hamilton's memoir was a better read than her own, Spoon Fed.

The Times staffer did try some shock value, noting the book's unusual intimacy, which a friend described to Severson this way: "I feel like I know every fold in her vagina." But she quickly found herself in the role of comforting colleague, after an earthquake literally shook the subdued Hamilton, who looked like she wanted to bolt from the stage when things started rocking.

A few sips of wine later, however, Hamilton regained her composure and temporarily shut down Severson, as she meandered through her self-described cliched questions. Case in point: "What's the last taste you would want in your mouth before you die?" Surely not the first time Hamilton's fielded that query.

"I thought we were going to have an intelligent conversation about writing and you want to know if I keep lube in my bedside table," Hamilton scolded at one point. Note to Linda Hunt: Not all KQED subscribers may be amused by the repartee between these two, who wondered if any couple, regardless of orientation, can keep sex alive in a long-term relationship -- though, it must be said, the crowd at Herbst Theater ate it up.

During the audience Q&A fans gushed about how much they loved Hamilton's book, even if they hadn't finished it, and her restaurant, even if they hadn't eaten there yet. In such an environment, this reporter felt it would have been a hostile act to ask the writer-chef if she cared to comment about the recent allegations in the press. Instead, she opted for the more discreet email follow up to both Hamilton and Severson, neither of whom jumped at the opportunity to explain why the subject wasn't broached on stage.

Hardly surprising. Hamilton made it clear at her book signing at Omnivore that she's selective about what aspects of her private life the public get to know about through her writing. Her mantra: If it's not in there, it's not tellable -- readers don't get all of her. Fair enough.

It's this kind of contradiction -- the tell-all that keeps secrets -- that makes Hamilton such a fascinating creature. She's full of inconsistencies -- aren't we all? -- only hers are on display for all the world to see and hear. Hamilton often says she loathes being called "a female chef" and yet when TV came calling looking for just such a demographic, she jumped at the chance to take one for the team.

Similarly she thinks the term "food writer" is demeaning; she's simply a chef who is also a scribe and cooking is what allowed her to come to the party. Yet, when asked what readers can expect next from the literary writer she responds: A cookbook.

During the talk Hamilton mentions the moms at her sons' school, who she says look at her disdainfully as she drops off her kids. Her children eat poorly and often in the car on the way to school, she confesses. And yet, one can't help but get the impression that the 45-year-old looks down her nose at them. Severson counters that perhaps the other moms are intimidated or awed by the successful chef with the best-selling memoir but Hamilton dismisses this notion out of hand.

And the Beard Award is silly, Hamilton says, until she wins it, and then it's the most important culinary honor a chef can earn. Thankfully she has a sense of humor about all this flip-flopping.

One gets the sense that Hamilton doesn't give a hoot if you like her, agree with her opinions, or want to read her book. It's what makes her intriguing and may well be an essential part of why she's so talented on the page and in the kitchen. She's just doing her own thing and not seeking anyone else's praise or approval.

During the course of the 90-minute City Arts & Lectures dialogue she laments the fetishization of food (the cult of farmers' markets, home cooks with sous vide machines), discussions of gender issues in restaurant kitchens (snoozeville), and the plethora of social media around food culture. Reading about food online, she says, is like eating at McDonalds. "You end up feeling hungry, undernourished, tired, and full of self loathing."

She's also down on the rise of reality TV cooking shows, even though she's had her own turn in front of the camera. (She slayed Bobby Flay on "Iron Chef"). "It's starting to suck for all of us, since TV isn't about cooking it's about entertaining," says Hamilton. "It's impossible to be quiet or subtle with food on television because actual cooking is really quite dull and repetitive."

Plans for a movie based on the memoir are already in the works, Hamilton told fans Thursday. She jokes she'd like to see Robert Downey Jr. play her.

That seems about right. Hamilton has balls. And a muscularity to her convictions and craft that the actor could convey handsomely. Audiences with a taste for Hamilton's contrarian ways might just go for such gender-bending casting. Stay tuned.

Listen to the conversation between Gabrielle Hamilton and Kim Severson broadcast on KQED Sunday, November 27 at 1 p.m.

The pair behind "A Public Affair" play at the table. Photo: Dudley Flores

Seated in the center of the industrial-chic dining space at Orson in San Francisco last week, Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein look like any other cute, urban couple catching up over a meal.

But--wait--the twosome are picking at unadorned lettuce, albeit artfully arranged on the plate. Under the table they sport ballet slippers. And, diners are about to discover, not as some quirky fashion statement. For a few nights this month, Elizabeth Falkner's restaurant, which has a rap for adventure in the kitchen, is bringing some extra buzz to the table.

Smith and Rein, the long and lithe co-creators of the popular local company RAWdance, are giving eaters something to chew over while they dine out. Their 10-minute A Public Affair, showtimes roughly at 7 and 8:30, makes fun, flirty use of objects on hand (greens get nibbled suggestively, napkins are tossed playfully over a partner's head, and chairs morph from obstacles to props).

This week, the couple will perform their new work, billed as "California cuisine with a side of violins and a dash of dance," on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Think a riff on traditional dinner theater with a surprise twist a la flash mobs.

This isn't the duos first foray into performing sans a stage: They've danced in an empty store at the Westfield Shopping Center during the holiday season, strutted their stuff in Union Square Park, and just last week took their modern moves to a UCSF LGBT mixer on the rooftop grass patio at the Mission Bay site. (Gotta love the bounce back a sprung surface like grass provides.)

Smith and Rein, partners in dance for more than a decade (and housemates too), are artists-in-residence at ODC Dance Commons, where they teach classes in the wildly popular Rhythm and Motion program (Full disclosure: This writer has been an R&M devotee for 20 years.)

And, like fellow teacher Amara Smith, the pair want to play with food in their creative work. "San Francisco has such a strong, pulsing food culture that we're all naturally pulled to it," says Smith. "I also think there's something about the sense of community around food, the act of bringing people together to share an experience, that's really appealing to tap into."

Rein and Smith, both vegetarians, cook, eat, and experiment in the kitchen together, which is the only room in their house they can dance in. They're also big fans of Top Chef, where Falkner has served as a judge. (This month she can be found among the competition on The Next Iron Chef on the Food Network.)

In flight: Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein of RAWdance. Photo: R. J. Muna

Despite the unconventional setting, the dancers choreography exhibits classic technique with a strong physicality, set to violin music composed by Sarn Oliver, one half of Tangled Duo, which performed live in the preview run of this work last Tuesday. Scheduling conflicts prevent the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra members from performing each evening.

The dance world can be insular and elitist, says Smith, which is why his company performs for the public in unexpected places. "We like to break down those boundaries by showing athletic, crafted work up close and personal without any distance from our audience," he says.

Dancing in a restaurant is not without unique challenges. "The performance is a constant negotiation between musicality, character, spacing and safety," says Smith of the self-contained piece performed in the heart of the dining room while staff ferry hot food to hungry customers. "We have to negotiate jackets hanging from chairs, purses on the floor, waiters passing by, and dropped spoons." He adds: "It's a tricky situation but a fun one."

This writer can report that no food went flying (except as choreographed) during last Wednesday night's two performances and diners seemed delighted by the cheeky interlude between courses.

The curious and couples looking for something special for date night should snag a table at Orson tonight or tomorrow.

And, heads up to those who want to catch the show without forking out major money in the dining room for, say, hangar steak: The bar or lounge serve as perfectly fine spots from which to watch.

Orson's Happy Hour menu, now available from 5 to 8, features duck fat French fries, curry cauliflower gratin, and mac & cheese, along with $5 cocktails. Watching patrons' reactions to the seemingly spontaneous display in the dining area: Priceless.

Details:
Orson Restaurant Bar + Lounge
508 4th Street
(between Bryant & Brannan Streets)
San Francisco
415-777-1508
October 18 and 19

Post by Emmanuel Hapsis
Photos: Wendy Goodfriend

This year's Treasure Island Music Festival couldn't have been more heavenly: Indian summer in full swing, out-of-control views, scantily clad hipsters, and of course hours and hours of great music. Check out photos of the scene, from the colorful crowds to the 60-foot Ferris wheel to scene-stealers St. Vincent and YACHT. It's all here!

ARTS & CRAFTS

The wonderful people from Workshop were camped out in a D.I.Y. tent, where they taught abbreviated versions of the classes they offer at their NOPA location. Need a cozy for your beer? No problem, they'll teach you how to make one. Want to put together a terrarium and lug it back home for 2 hours on public transport? No sweat! Other notable art was the face painting booth, where I may or may not have gotten an Adam and the Ants inspired look two days in a row. Caution: rad face paint will attract excitable drunks.

The focal point of the festival was a Bliss sculpture by Marco Cochrane that presided over the whole affair. Made of steel that weighs a whopping 7,000 pounds and consumes a space 40 feet by 30 feet, this gigantic representation of the naked female form was the perfect reminder to let go of inhibitions and feel as free as you do in your birthday suit. Another Burning Man-esque attraction was a bus that was converted into a pirate ship. One brief trip up a ladder led to the top deck, where you could get a good survey of the land while feeling as though the bus might tip over and crush you at any moment.

SAN FRANDISCO

I thought the Silent Disco was a strange idea, until I paid a visit and saw the headphoned crowd grooving and then all freaking out at the same time to the same song unheard by non-participating spectators. Now I know what people on the street think when they look into my apartment and wonder if I'm having a seizure.

RANDOM REVELRY

Other revelers roaming around the festival were a posse of monsters who cut a grassy rug and the liveliest bateria imaginable called the Loyd Family Players, who compelled bystanders with various dancing abilities to join the professional movers and shakers.

THE GRUB

You can't really expect to dance and roam for 12 hours without some sustenance. Thankfully, there were some seriously delish food vendors on deck. The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen offered up that gooey classic with tomato and fresh jalapenos for added bite. Epic Cookies provided sugar rushes galore (the chocolate cookie and coconut macaroon were tops). And there were spinach and potato knishes (what's that you ask? a dumpling of dough stuffed with goodness), as well as to more standard favorites like wraps and hot slices of pizza that were perfect for the chilly night shows. Everything tastes better when the sun's out and cute people with face paint are smiling in your face.

THE MUSIC

In my Treasure Island preview, I said that you would be a fool to miss St. Vincent's live set and I'm taking this opportunity to tap myself on the back because I was infinitely right about that. From the moment Annie Clark came out on the stage, she commanded the entire festival's attention. Her voice was immaculate, her guitar throttling was so intense that she broke a string, and her general demeanor was that of the girl you just fell perilously in love with.

The biggest surprise of the festival was British band Friendly Fires. I knew next to nothing about them, but my friend advised me that I should get ready to dance my heart out. Lead singer Ed Macfarlane is perhaps the goofiest dancer I've ever seen, hand placed at the back of his head and hips everywhere. His dancing with abandon was utterly infectious and had the crowd spazzing out as the sun blasted its rays into our faces. Every time the set seemed to be winding down, the band would surprise us with another conniption. Hysteria never felt so good.

Whoever orchestrated Beach House playing at sunset deserves a promotion. The golden light was the perfect glaze for the band's euphoric sonic dreams. The usually reserved Victoria Legrand was downright playful with the crowd and the band unveiled brand new songs that prove beyond a doubt that this duo is just getting started.

With the San Francisco skyline serving as a backdrop, YACHT took to the stage and delivered a high-energy set full of positivity and coordinated dance moves. Claire L. Evans played the role of the slinky temptress as Joan Bechtolt played every instrument on the stage. "Come on over, we're having a party for you," they sing on "Psychic City," and it truly felt like these two were putting on a fiesta for just us, their best friends.

The six members of The Head and the Heart met at an open mic night they all frequented in Seattle and went on to hone their sound in their practice space: a public library. That setting must have rubbed off on them because the lyrics of their harmonious folk tunes are perfectly worded and evocative. For example: "One day, we'll all be ghosts trippin' around in someone else's home." The band appeared to be having the time of their lives on stage. It's always nice to witness people living out their dreams.

For those who want to see more of all the Treasure Island happenings and for those who just want to relive it all, check out our slideshows of all the festival's greatness below. Only 52 weeks to go until we do it all again!

SATURDAY SLIDESHOW mobile version

SUNDAY SLIDESHOW mobile version

Rum, chowder, and Otis Redding: could a Saturday afternoon on the waterfront get any better? It was the first of what we hope will be an annual event, Litquake's Words on the Waves, presenting a walkabout of eight readings presented on a cluster of Sausalito houseboats, followed by an open-air concert, cocktails, tasty eats, and tango dancing on the sunny South 40 Pier.

Originally, said Rachel Lehmann-Haupt, a writer and one of the event's organizers, the idea had been to feature food as well as spoken words on each of the eight houseboat sites. After all, we love books and writers here almost as much as we love our sea-salt caramels. But trying to put writers, houseboat owners, and cooks together proved a little too challenging for the event's first time out, and so food and drinks became part of the pierside party after the readings.

Amy Butcher and Hillair Bell serve up Anchor Out cocktails

As the sun danced between teasing ribbons of fog and longtime musician and houseboat dweller Joe Tate strummed his guitar and spun yarns about Otis Redding (yes, "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" was written here), houseboat dwellers Amy Butcher and organizer Hillair Bell squeezed limes into plastic cups of Anchor Out cocktails, created just for the event. Like a mojito without the mint, the drinks had a strong dark-rum base (what else for a crowd of literary pirates?) sweetened with ginger and kaffir-lime syrup, tarted up with lime juice and fizzed with club soda.

Oyster shucking by Martin Reed of I Love Blue Sea

Behind me, landlubbers and pirates alike slurp down Walker Creek oysters from Washington, adroitly shucked by Martin Reed, Captain of I Love Blue Sea, an online fish company for chefs and consumers. A Bay Area local, Reed moved to Arizona to work as a management consultant, and realized that the rest of the country had nothing like the Bay Area's abundance of fresh-off-the-boat, sustainable seafood. So, a little over a year ago, he started I Love Blue Sea, buying his products directly from fishermen and abiding by the guidelines set forth by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch. Reed's favorite seafood items right now? Besides this batch of briny, ocean-splashed Walker Creeks, he favors Kumamoto and Kusshi oysters, plus local albacore, black cod, and halibut. And not that we're lacking places to get great fish around here, but locals who order online can skip the shipping charges and pick up their fish at Radius Cafe at 7th and Folsom in Soma.

Jay and Emily Kell of Verge Wine Cellars

Prefer wine to rum? Maria Finn, houseboat dweller, author, and Words on the Waves organizer introduced me to Emily and Jay Kell of Verge Wine Cellars, pouring their 2007 Verge Syrah, made from organic grapes sourced in the Dry Creek Valley. Why Verge? Because they look for grapes grown "on the verge," with room for nature to run wild. When it turns out that the Kells hail from Arkansas, where I spent some very enjoyable months living and cooking at the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, well, we could chat all day about life in the Ozarks. Only the scent of chowder inspired by Melville can lure me away.

Serving up chowder from Davy Jones Deli

And it's good chowder, too, cod and clam, with milk, potatoes, bacon, bay leaves, perhaps even a little chicken stock in among the seafood--altogether more complex that the simple clam-or-cod soup served up by Mrs. Hussey of the Try Pots Tavern in Melville's classic tome, Moby Dick. This one has been made by David Jones of Davy Jones' Deli, a popular sandwich-and-more joint that operates at the back of the Bait Shop, a nearby convenience store. A little over a year ago, Jones convinced the shop's owner to ditch his microwaved hot dogs and Costco potato salad for handmade, colorful sandwiches stacked high with local, organic ingredients. "We're known for our beef brisket, our pulled pork, and our vegan wraps, all with housemade condiments, including our secret-recipe vegan aioli," says Jones. Once a sea and safari cook who taught environmental science on ships, Jones spied a book about Sausalito's houseboats, and, as he puts it, "For the first time I felt geographic envy. I said to myself, there I could be a landlubber.” He and his wife now live in one of the houseboats he once envied, running the deli and catering special events. His day to day clientele? “Gangsters, yoga moms, and the uber-rich, all rolled into one,” he says.

Sounds like a novel right there.

Chef Barry Schenker had an underground vegan supperclub going for years. Invite only and difficult to get an in, it’s said these meals were magic-filled and mind-blowing. The standout of the feasts was always Schenker’s ice cream. To procure it, you basically had to jump through hoops and promise your soul to seitan. But that’s all changed because at this weekend’s 12th annual San Francisco World Veg Festival. Schenker debuted Genuto his all natural nut-based ice cream, which will soon be available in Northern California Whole Foods.

Developed with his physician wife Diana Rebman, Genuto’s probiotic nut emulsion blend is cholesterol-free, antioxidant-rich, and low in saturated fats. It’s also ridiculously delicious.

At the festival, Schenker and Rebman offered up flavors Simply Pistachio, Chai Latte, and Chocolate Cardamom, and I basically had to try them all. Twice. If you held a gun to my head and made me choose a favorite, I’d call the cops, because who does that!? Then, I’d confess that the Crystallized Ginger, which was spicy and rich, with just a touch of sweetness, really spoke to my heart.

Yes, ice cream speaks to my heart and if that’s not the case for you, then maybe you’re not as obsessed with food as your average vegan. You see, we, as a people, have an appreciation for delicious veg food that’s either enthusiastic or psycho fanatic, depending on where you’re standing. Last weekend’s World Veg Festival was a celebration of all things vegan and awesome. Veg vendors, speakers, and non-profits descended upon San Francisco’s County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park, to meet and educate the masses about the glories of a veganism. I attended with a full wallet and empty belly, ready to take in all the sites, sounds, and snacks of the festival.

Before you even enter the building, you are greeted with vendors selling everything from vegan marshmallows to freshly made taquitos. Right off the bat, you’re made aware of the fact that it’s all about the eats.

In addition to Genuto, I discovered Eli’s Earth Bars, the new-ish organic, vegan candy bars from chocolate maker, Sjaak’s.

I sampled the Treasure Bar, which is basically a high quality Butterfinger, taken to the next level with a drizzle of caramel and a chocolate coating. Sure, they’re a little more expensive than your average truck stop candy bar, but they’re organic and Fair trade, so you don’t feel like an asshole when you eat one. Or four.

Another food highlight was Melodi Donahue and her Obsessive Confection Disorder (OCD) Sweets.

Donahue burst onto the scene earlier this year with her insanely-flavored, absolutely irresistible vegan treats. Having previously binged on caramels with crazy flavors—think artichoke and Limoncello; blood orange, ginger, and beet; and sourdough pretzel, IPA—I was excited to see what she cooked up for the fest. Lucky for me, Donahue had some major winners! Her table overflowed with Apple Cider Caramels, Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce, and Caramel ‘Not’ Corn, which are popcorn-sized bites of marshmallow, coconut, rice, corn, caramel, and India Pale Ale, and will grace the goodie bags at next year’s Academy Awards.

Yes, I was eating something that Meryl Streep will eat, and I got to have it before her. Sometimes life is fair! Donahue said that she sold out on Saturday, and had to run home and make more of everything. She’s currently set to take over the nation’s sweet tooth when featured in next month’s O Magazine—we all know that whatever Oprah touches turns to CHA-CHING—so I plan on ordering a metric ton before that happens. She’s currently a one woman operation and I need my magical beer caramels.

Although World Veg festival is primarily about gorging on as many samples as possible, it’s also filled with non-profits like Food Empowerment Project and SaveABunny, both looking to spread the message, recruit volunteers, and save awesome animals. There were also tons of vegan companies peddling everything from message t-shirts proclaiming your love of kale to board games that teach kid compassion for animals. One of my favorites was Roni Seabery’s company, Daisy Wares, which allowed me to stock up on the most marvelous smelling lavender soap I’ve ever almost accidentally eaten.

In the adjoining rooms, the festival’s line-up of vegan-famous speakers tackled a variety of issues, including The Truth About Protein and our role in global depletion. Heavy stuff! Vegan cookbook author extraordinaire, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, gave a talk titled, "From Excuse-itarian to Vegan: Addressing the Blocks and Debunking the Myths that Keep People from Making Changes," which packed the house. Patrick-Goudreau is excellent to hear live, speaking persuasively about food and our relationship to it. She made the fantastic point that, “We flavor our meat with plants with ketchup, mustard, and spices... we're the only animal who flavors our meat,” She continued with, "We do not crave the flesh of an animal, we crave flavor, fullness, fat, and salt."

Through other booths and speakers, I acquired little tidbits of information that I can’t stop thinking about. For example, did you know that the organic label doesn't mean that workers or animals are treated well, it’s just that they're not exposed to chemicals? And that factory farms are always in poor areas, far away from anyone with power or money to be affected by the smell and horrific air and water quality. This is one of the most upsetting things about modern animal agriculture, the fact that it’s so hidden, and its enormous impart on poor communities. As Paul McCartney says, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.”

While this weekend World Veg Festival housed its usual high concentration of leather-free Birkenstocks, there was also a few Stella McCartney pumps in the house. The entire event is a nice reminder of where veganism has been, and where it’s headed. We’ve come a long way, baby! I left feeling uplifted, inspired, righteous, and so freaking full.

Eat Real Festival Crowd in Jack London Square, Oakland.
Photos: Wendy Goodfriend

The 3rd Annual Eat Real Festival kicked off their food extravaganza this past weekend, and the eager and hungry masses descended upon Jack London Square in full force once again.

I've attended the event since its inception and have always come away with a full, happy belly and lots of food porn. This dazzling array of culinary delights came about through a "social venture business" whose "mission is to help revitalize regional food systems, build public awareness of and respect for the craft of making good food and to encourage the growth of American food entrepreneurs," according to their website.

And Eat Real goes all out to foster this mission. This year they hosted 60 street food vendors, had 30 beers and wines on tap, an indoor marketplace with 30 craft food vendors, urban farmers leading Q & A sessions about homesteading, DIY workshops and demonstrations about baked goods, cheese and other foodstuffs, live music performances from local bands and DJs, butchery contests and more.

It's easy to get overloaded with this packed schedule -- even with 30 less food vendors than last year -- so I decided to seek out vendors that were new to the festival or that I hadn't checked out in previous years. I met up with BAB's editor and photographer extraordinaire, Wendy Goodfriend, in downtown Oakland on Saturday morning.

After checking in my bicycle at the East Bay Bike Coalition's free bike valet, we were ready to get our grub on. One of the first vendors that caught my eye was Fatface that hails from Davis. I've tried their popsicles before, so I was planning on strolling right on by until I saw the big sign that advertised a "bacon and egg" popsicle. (I think this sign made most people stop in their tracks.) Then I read the description: "Ginger-bacon caramel and vanilla egg custard featuring eggs from Vega Farm and bacon from Blesdoe pork also made with vanilla bean, heavy cream, milk, ginger, filtered water and cane sugar." After reading that list of ingredients and noticing that it was a "limited edition," I couldn't resist the call of the swine. I figured this would be a lovely breakfast (which I had skipped in anticipation of the afternoon of decadence) despite it being dessert. And it didn't disappoint. The frozen egg custard was rich and creamy, with a luscious caramel center of bacony goodness.

Next on the list was the San Rafael-based food truck The Taco Guys. This was their second visit to Eat Real, and Jason Hoffman and Justin Close are two chefs with 20 years of culinary experience under their belts that decided to branch out on their own into the street food scene. My husband Shawn ordered their Maui Fish Taco (panko-battered and fried Pacific rock cod, savoy cabbage slaw, pico de gallo, Sriracha mayo and pickled onions), while I had to try the Burmese Lamb taco (Fallon Hills lamb, Thai cucumber salad, preserved Meyer lemon yogurt, sweet herbs). We bumped into the guys later on as we were wandering through the festival, and they asked us how we liked their food. I let them know that we agreed with their slogan that it was "ridiculously tasty."

Onto the next course; the WOW Truck of San Jose was conveniently parked right near by. Despite being Eat Real first-timers, their popularity preceded them and they had a long line of patient folks queueing up for their fusion Filipino fare. And no wonder; I was willing to wait 15 minutes for a "WOW Silog Taco" with Niman Ranch cage-free egg and beef tapa, garlic fried rice and heirloom tomato on a flour tortilla. And I also had to try the "Silog Sushi Bite" with a fried quail egg on top of garlic fried rice, seaweed, hand-harvested Philippine sea salt (!) and Niman Ranch beef. Shawn went right for the "Turon Turon," a fried saba banana fritter roll. The Sushi Bite was one of my favorites of the day. It had an incredible savory quality that was umami to the hilt. (I'll stop now before I throw in any more pretentious adjectives, so I'll end with the declaration that it was unbelievably delicious.)

We decided to give our stomachs a time-out before diving into the next course. After perusing the goods in the indoor craft food market, we headed over to the DIY Eat It & Oven area. Amy Remsen and Blake Joffe of Beauty's Bagel Shop were just finishing up their bagel making workshop. This was the first appearance at Eat Real for the Oakland-based duo, and they're currently looking for a space to set up a brick-and-mortar bagel shop. In the meantime, Amy and Blake have a wholesale business making Montreal-style bagels that are "hand-rolled, boiled in honey water and baked in a wood-fired oven" for local restaurants Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen in Berkeley and San Francisco's pop-up deli Wise Sons Delicatessen. They also sell their bagels through a vendor at the Kensington Farmers' Market. I was lucky enough to score a sample of one their freshly baked bagels from a workshop participant, which was still warm from the handmade on-site clay oven.

Moving onwards, we stopped by the latest venture of Eat Real founder Anya Fernald, who is also the CEO of Belcampo Meat Company. They made their debut at the Los Angeles Eat Real Festival in July and were making their first appearance as both a sponsor and vendor in Oakland this year. Based near Mt. Shasta, they're a "multi-species organic start-up farm" that raises grass-fed and pastured animals -- everything from "cattle to quail," according to farmer Kylan Hoover. Kylan, who was helping to serve up their hot dogs with his co-worker Peter Sterling, used to run his own farm in Livermore. He now works with Belcampo in designing and managing the Siskiyou County farm, which has been in the research and development phase for the past 5 years. They plan to open up butcher shops throughout the state along with their own processing facility in Yreka in 2012. I decided to try a cone of their French fries, which were golden and crispy as a result of being fried in grass-fed beef tallow.

Photo: Jenny Oh

There were long, long lines for festival newbie Tikka Bytes, "savory Indian bites" from Milpitas, so alas, I had to pass them up. Lines were also snaking around the plaza for the seasoned festival darlings Chairman Bao Truck, Senor Sisig, and Tru Gourmet Dim Sum.

Wendy grabbed a bite to eat at Vesta Flatbread -- she had been showing great discipline up until now -- and ordered up their vegetarian dish with carrot hazelnut pate, labne, beet salad, and of course, their delicious flatbread made right in their truck.

We said hello to Steven Gdula of Gobba Gobba Hey, who had his new cookbook and cool Indian-inspired Ganesh t-shirt for sale along with his fantastic treats.

We also popped by to chat with Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats, who showed us his fresh-off-the-presses galley copy of his new cookbook that's due out in November. He was slapping cheese on his burgers in rapid fire -- "it's like dealing cards" -- while extolling the virtues of his immensely popular "bacon-studded hot dog on a stick." Ryan serves up these crowd-pleasers at festivals because, "Who doesn't love food on a stick?"

This was Iso Rabins' (ForageSF) third time at Eat Real, but this year he decided to "go for it" and cook this year. Preparing food for "over a thousand people was taking it to the next level" (thus he'd had only 2 hours of sleep the night before), but he was thrilled with selling food made on the spot as opposed to pre-made goods in the craft market. Iso was serving up deep-fried smelt (which he personally deep-fried himself) because he "loved bait fish such as mackerel, sardines and anchovies." A colleague told him that he was taking a risk with selling this unfamiliar fish, but he wanted to take a gamble and "introduce people to new food." Iso flirted with the idea of calling them, "fries with eyes," but thought it might be "off-putting" to the masses. (I think it would have worked like a charm, personally.)

We took another food break and listened to part of the Q & A session with Heidi Kooy of The Itty Bitty Farm in the City. Heidi and her husband have a contracting business, but they're also urban homesteaders in San Francisco who raise chickens, bees and goats -- one of which she was milking onstage as she answered questions from the audience. The other one was gamely allowing adoring fans to pet her.

After all of this gorging, did I have room to eat any more food? Apparently so. I'm a sucker for a good grilled cheese sandwich, so GBD (which stands for Golden Brown Delicious) was my last food order for the day. The Point Reyes Farmers' Market was on the lookout for some prepared food vendors to augment their produce stands, and Osteria Stellina's chef-owner Christian Caiazzo thought grilled cheese sandwiches would be the perfect item. He knew there were plenty of great cheesemakers in Marin to source the main ingredient, such as Pt. Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company and Cowgirl Creamery. The Eat Real edition of GBD grilled cheese sandwiches were made with Estera Gold cheese from Valley Ford Cheese Company and generously brushed with butter from Strauss Family Creamery. Metropolis Bakery of Berkeley provided the delicious sourdough bread (normally Christian bakes his own bread, but he couldn't handle the volume required for the festival). I ordered the "The Bill From Bo," the grilled cheese made with brisket prepared with beef from BN Ranch, Bill Niman's illustrious new company.

Wendy and I were ready to call it a day after over 5 hours of snacking and sampling (Shawn had already reached his crowd saturation point several hours earlier). On my way back to the bike valet, I realized I was a) terribly thirsty and b) passing by the opulent and vaudeville-esque booth belonging to Taylor's Tonics of San Francisco and Santa Cruz. We stopped to talk with the nattily dressed Aaron Dolson, one of the co-founders, while his equally dapper partner Taylor Peck handed out samples and sold bottles of their Chai Cola. This was their first visit to Eat Real -- and it had been quite successful, as they had sold out of everything but their cola. Aaron's background included working with a raw juice co-op based in Eugene, Oregon, while Taylor was an experienced chai barista (read more about his eclectic background here) before they launched their successful enterprise. Aaron's a firm believer in the health benefits of tea and they use only natural ingredients in their drinks. They keep the sugar content low (and no high-fructose corn syrup), add medicinal herbs such as nettle and ginger, and use pasteurization and citric acid to preserve the drinks.

The spicy, sparkling Chai Cola was a refreshing way to end the day, and I was ready to roll home -- literally and figuratively. Tired and sated, we bid farewell to the event until next year, when we'll be ready for another round of the East Bay Eat Real Festival.

Check out BAB's Eat Real Fest slideshow to view more of the festivities.