Caleb Zigas of La Cocina, Ruth Reichl, and Alice Waters, at the Good Food Awards.

Ruth Reichl was standing in front of a gigantic American flag hanging like a banner along the wall of the Ferry Building on Friday, January 13th. It was a backdrop worthy of any Presidential hopeful stumping for votes in the heartland, but here, the stars and stripes were evoking not just Mom and apple pie but Mom's apple pie, and maybe great-granddaddy's moonshine, and now their kids' apple-whiskey chutney and curried cauliflower pickles. It was time to welcome the room of makers and media, gathered in San Francisco for the 2nd annual Good Food Awards, a celebration of the best of artisanal food production from coast to coast.

"Most of you are too young to have grown up in the white-bread world that I did," said Reichl. Every cheese was sliced and wrapped in plastic, all strawberries were huge and tasted like cotton. This changed, slowly, through the work of pioneers like Alice Waters, sitting off to one side of the podium, as well as dozens of other food pioneers. Reichl remembered the first time she walked into The Cheeseboard, in Berkeley and was handed a taste of Laura Chenel's Sonoma-made fresh goat cheese. Reichl lived on it all that summer, and knew that she had to meet the woman making something so new (to American tastes) and so delicious. Then there was "Artists of the Earth," an article she wrote for California magazine in the early 1980s, profiling nine men and women making a difference in the food world and beyond. "They are some of California's most valuable resources," she wrote then, "...perfectionists who work very hard not because they expect to get rich but simply because they expect to get the best."

Walking through Chino Ranch with Alice a few years later, she was amazed at the quality of produce surrounding them. Corn so sweet it needed no cooking. Strawberries so intensely fragrant that every fellow traveler on the small plane she and Alice were taking from San Diego to Oakland came up and begged for a berry off the flats they were carrying in their laps. "Every person said, 'I forgot strawberries could smell like that! Please, can I just have one?'" she recounted. "And I watched Alice give away that night's dessert for Chez Panisse, because how could she say no?"

"Back then, I never could have dreamed how huge the change was going to be. We now live in a country that has the best produce in the world...We are reclaiming our edible heritage. "Thank you for giving us the America we once dreamed we could have."

After this came the awards, 99 products in eight categories (coffee, chocolate, charcuterie, pickles, preserves, cheese, beer, spirits). There were no single winners; instead, each category had a fat handful of top picks, from seven coffee roasters to 14 preserve-makers. The winners, like food-world Olympians, got medallions stamped in the shape of the tools of their trade--a cleaver, a canning jar--strung on wide red-white-and-blue ribbons to hang around their necks.

It was hard not to feel a little hometown, homestate pride at the fine showing the Bay Area, and California, made in the final running. Two local beers made the cut, at opposite ends of the brewing spectrum: from San Leandro, Drake's Brewing Company's high-alcohol, rich-as-devil's-food Drakonic Imperial Stout, and from Petaluma, the Lagunitas Brewing Company's spritzy, grapefruity ale, dubbed A Lil' Sumpin' Sumpin'. In the coffee category, Equator Coffees from San Rafael won for its fair trade/organic Ethiopian Watadera beans.

In pickles, California snagged three of the 11 winning picks, including Farmhouse Culture's Smoked Jalapeno Sauerkraut, Emmy's Pickles and Jams' Turmeric Cauliflower, and the Devil Sauce made by Let's Be Frank, of grass-fed hot-dog truck fame. (And we'll give a California hug to OlyKraut, which was founded by Sash Sunday, a former San Franciscan who got into the kraut biz shortly after relocating to Olympia, WA. Plus, she makes nettle kraut!)

OlyKraut, from left: Sash Sunday, Alexia Crousnillon, Nate Massé (not pictured: Summer Bock)

We tied with New York in the cutthroat preserves category, winning for Artisan Preserves' Orange Honey Marmalade, Chez Pim's Blueberry-Golden Raspberry Preserves, and Wine Forest Wild Foods' Wild Elderberry Shrub.

Wylie Whiskey, from left: Matt Jones, Garrett Hale, Sarah Swearington.

It's a cascade of riches from our part of the Golden State: Costa Rican chocolate bars from Dandelion Chocolate in SF; white whiskey from Wylie Howell Spirits in Petaluma; Carmody (my favorite!) and whole-milk ricotta from Bellwether Farms in West Marin; yogurt cheese from Sonoma's St. Benoit, pork, rabbit, and duck terrine from Fatted Calf in SF and Napa; speck from Oakland wine bar/salumeria Adesso.

Dandelion Chocolate: Alice Nystrom, Todd Masonis

Come the next morning, many of the previous night's winners were out in force at the Good Food Awards Marketplace, a tasting/selling spread of tables organized by category set up under the archways of the Ferry Building. Reichl, who now runs the specialty food (and content) site Gilt Taste, was on hand with a keen appetite, even after a late-night dinner with Alice and friends at Locanda in the Mission. Already, she's tried the chilaquiles and shrimp ceviche at the Primavera market stand, and tells me, joyfully, of the "best breakfast sandwich" she's ever had, from 4505 Meats: a soft, buttery brioche bun piled with a maple-bacon sausage patty, an oozy-centered fried egg, and a frizz of snappy peppercress. Speaking of her talk the previous night, she laughed at the thought of trying to profile just eight makers now. "At the time, it was hard to find even eight people, enough to write about. I had to include a produce distributor, a guy who was raising pigs and lambs for Chez Panisse. Now, that would be ridiculous. You'd have to write an encyclopedia!"

If anything, she thinks we're underestimating the strength and staying power of the artisan movement. Already, the food makers' landscape has changed drastically in just the past five years. In the next five, ten years, what will it look like?

Kathryn Lukas of Farmhouse Culture

There's no doubt, though, that the movement is fostering ever-closer relationships between chefs, makers and farmers. These products, from basil vodka to sea-vegetable kraut, are only as good as their raw ingredients. Recounting a cabbage blight that decimated the California crop last year, Farmhouse Culture founder Kathryn Lukas quoted Let's Be Frank's Larry Bain, laughing, "It's hard when you're in business with God."

Occupy Oakland General Strike on November 2, 2011. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Have you moved your money yet? A lot of imperatives have come out of the Occupy movement of late; this one is both concrete and far-ranging, something that anyone can do.

What does it mean? It started with a call to action for people to pull their money and investments out of the big banks, and put them into smaller, locally-owned and locally-responsible credit unions and community banks. It's like voting; the amount in my tiny checking and savings accounts means nothing to MegaBankUSA, but add my numbers to thousands and thousands of others, and suddenly a bank could feel some impact.

That's just one part. Like the concept of eating locally, which started with food miles and then grew into a much larger movement, even revolution, about how and what we eat, the idea of "moving your money" can be applied in so many ways.

And it's not limited to how or where you spend your actual cash. On the style blog Ironing Board Collective, my friend, writer and health coach Sara Seinberg, has posted a great Move Your Money gift guide, with suggestions for everything from art-museum memberships to shared activities and bartered services. Her list, and the fact that right now, like so many of us, I am luckily rich in friends, family, and good intentions, and not-so-rich in disposable income, have got me thinking even more about value this time of year. About surplus. About what we use to get what we need, and how we can support the needs of others--friends, family, your community, your neighborhood and beyond. This holiday season, what do you have that can bring delight and deliciousness to those you love, while keeping your money out of the coffers of the big corporations?

How about chocolate? There are lots of locally-made chocolate treats available to sweeten your holidays. Or you can make your own with this easy chocolate truffle recipe. Dandelion's bean-to-bar chocolate store will be opening in San Francisco next month or early next year; until then, find them at local farmers' markets, including the Mission Community Market and the Noe Valley Farmers' Market.

With the explosion of books, classes, and blogs dedicated to food preservation for fun (or profit), it's easy to spend a little time whipping up a gift batch of something, especially if you turn the simmering or brewing into an all-afternoon stir-and-gossip session. What do you like best to make? It's a little late in the season to make jam, but there's always apple butter, pear butter, slow-roasted quince paste (so tasty with cheese), Meyer lemon marmalade or tangy lemon chutney. WorkshopSF has classes in beer-making, tea-blending, cheese-making, even vintage apron sewing coming up in December; take one yourself, or take a friend along.

Does everyone rave about your ramen, your cranberry bread, your caramel apple pie? Do you want to share your mom's recipes with everyone who loves her? There are dozens of print-on-demand services that let you turn those scribbled-on recipe cards into a surprisingly chic and stylish personal cookbook. Pop-up holiday markets are also a good place to find quirkily perfect host/ess gifts made by your friends and neighbors. On Dec. 9, La Cocina is holding its 3rd Annual Gift Bazaar, featuring unique products developed in La Cocina's incubator kitchen in the Mission.

Or, depending on what you have to spare, you can give money, time, or expertise to organizations who redistribute the wealth across the Bay Area's tables. Did one (or ten) of your Facebook friends and Twitter followers post Mary Risley's hysterically practical YouTube video, Just Put the F*cking Turkey in the Oven? Now, with over 100,000 hits, let's hope she can make the follow-up, Just Give Your F*cking Leftovers to Food Runners.

Risley isn't just a cooking teacher, she's the founder of Food Runners, which moves thousands of pounds of fresh, useful leftover food from restaurants, grocery stores, and catering businesses into the kitchens of shelters, low-income senior and youth programs, and other organizations that serve the needy. Mary talks about Food Runners on this episode of Food & Wine This Week in Northern California.

There's two kinds of restaurants in this world: the ones that bring instant name recognition (in the case of the East Bay, there's Chez Panisse) and the sleeper hits that have great local buzz in the community, but not nationwide acclaim (such as Brown Sugar Kitchen.)

The "household name" restaurants are burdened with living up to great expectations as their reputations precede them; their merit is often hotly contested on an ongoing basis at Yelp and other review sites. The underground sensations just keep quietly doing their own, wonderful thing, with only those in the know appreciating these local gems.

Chop Bar, located near Jack London Square in Oakland, is one of those places that you only tell a select special circle of food aficionado friends about because a) you know they'll appreciate it and b) you want it to be popular, but not so popular that you can't get in and/or it loses its charm. It's the go-to place for me and my husband to get a burger. We'll force ourselves to go on long, arduous bike rides so we feel that we've earned that burger and not feel guilty about the bacon and cheese that's heaped upon it. (I would write sonnets about their burger if I could write decent poetry.)

Then there's their monthly spring/summer all-you-can-eat pig roasts that brings out the carnivores in full force. Using a la caja china, or "The Chinese Box," the Chop Bar folks host a big pig party on the 3rd Sunday of every month during prime porcine season. The lids of the wooden boxes are filled with charcoal and provide a consistent heat that cook the pigs to perfection.

Yesterday was their first big affair hosted at the Linden Street Brewery as the event had outgrown their restaurant space. Four big pigs from local farmer John Bledsoe were on deck for the hungry crowd. Check out photos from their fantastic feast.

Chop Bar
Address: map
247 4th Street #111
(4th & Alice)
Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: 510.834.2467
Twitter: @ChopBar
Facebook: Chop Bar

Hours:
Monday -Thursday
Breakfast 7-11am
Lunch 11am-3pm
Dinner 5:30-100pm

Friday
Breakfast 7-11am
Lunch 11am-3pm
Dinner 5:30-11pm

Saturday
Brunch 9am- 3pm
Dinner 5:30- 11pm

Sunday
Brunch 9am- 3pm
Dinner 5:30- 10pm
Pig roast third Sunday of every month

Jesse Friedman shows off Almanac's beer. Photo courtesy Damian Fagan.

Almanac Beer Company is one of the newest players in the ever-active San Francisco brewing community. Partners Damian Fagan and Jesse Friedman joined together to form the company, which took several years and culminated in a launch brew that was produced in the summer of 2010 and will be available this month. Jesse is known in the food and drink community for his three-year old blog Beer & Nosh, and he is overseeing the beer production. Damian, an accomplished designer and artist, is in charge of day-to-day operations at Almanac. The two met in their home brewing club, recognized each other's talent, and soon set off on a more serious beer venture.

After a couple years of research and trials, Jesse and Damian settled on what they would like to produce: beers using seasonal ingredients that were local to the Bay Area. "It dawned on us that we should be doing to beer what's being done to food—particularly in the Bay Area," says Damian. They wanted to "design a beer that's on par with the food that we have on our tables."

Sebastopol Berry Farm blackberries. Photo courtesy Jesse Friedman.

For this first beer, dubbed Summer 2010 Blackberry Ale, Jesse and Damian settled on a Belgian-style golden ale that is barrel-aged with four varieties of Sonoma County blackberries (Cherokee, Marion, Ollalie and Boysenberries). The beer was produced last summer and aged in red wine barrels for 11 months before blending. A team of friends and family bottled the beer in late May 2011—309 cases of 750 milliliter bottles—and it is now finishing up. The first time the public can taste it will be a launch party at City Beer Store on June 30 (details below).

The beer that Almanac has produced is dry, crisp and complex and should appeal to those who would normally avoid beers made with fruit. "It's not that we're not fruit beer fans, but we want people to know that it's not a cloyingly, fruity beer," says Damian. It has a plush mouth feel, a fruity nose and a punchy, tart flavor, and I was surprised that it was quite apricoty for being billed as having blackberries. Damian explains that the fruit changes on a molecular level during fermentation. "You start with blackberries, but with fermentation and aging the molecules actually change and mutate, which is why you get hints of other flavors. The blackberry notes came out as apricot and mango. That was a really interesting evolution."

Almanac Summer 2010 Blackberry Ale. Photo by Jennifer Maiser.

The beers are bottle conditioned which means that they go into the bottle uncarbonated, and that natural yeast and sugar is added individually to each bottle, where the final fermentation occurs. Bottle conditioned beers usually have more complexity and can be held on the shelf longer than force-carbonated beers. Bottle conditioned beers also have some variation from bottle to bottle, which means that the beer won't taste the same way twice—a feature that most beer connoisseurs really enjoy.

Of all the steps that it took to get this beer to market, the bottle conditioning was the most stressful part for Jesse and Damian. "Looking at all the hurdles that we had to cross along the way, the only thing that could have spelled disaster for us had been if the beer didn't carbonate," says Damian. The tricky part to bottle conditioning is to be sure that you get carbonation, but not too much. Laughing, Damian said "It was such a sigh of relief when Jesse and I opened the bottles separately and heard the carbonation. And of course, waiting for a few seconds to make sure that the beer didn't come roaring back out of the bottle."

Almanac is a "gypsy brewery," a term that refers to brewers who borrow space or rent at already established breweries to craft their beer. Almanac used space at Drake's Brewing in San Leandro for the Blackberry Ale. They were able to lean on Steve Altimari of Highwater Brewing for advice on this first brew. Altimari also brews out of Drake's.

Damian and Jesse aren't the first Bay Area brewers to attempt a local beer—last year, Thirsty Bear Brewing released a delicious "Locavore Ale" in conjunction with farmer Nigel Walker at Eatwell Farm. They did this using Eatwell's own malted barley and hops grown by Hops-Meister in Clear Lake, California. That may have been the only batch of Locavore Ale, however. The costs were prohibitive, and it required a huge amount of effort to produce the beer. Systems aren't set up for some parts of the beer to be created locally at the moment; Eatwell's barley had to be sent all the way to Colorado to be malted.

Almanac's beer will be available at several events (see below for information), and at a few places around the Bay Area for sale: City Beer Store, Healthy Spirits, Jug Shop and some Whole Foods locations in San Francisco. It will retail for approximately $20 for a 750 milliliter bottle.

What can we expect next from Almanac? "Stone fruit is in season, and we're looking to brew in July. It's looking like it may be a saison with some kind of stone fruit. We both really, really want to brew a saison."

In addition to Almanac's beers, be sure to track down Jesse's delicious, seasonal sodas around San Francisco. You can find them at the Hapa Ramen booth and at the New Taste Market Place. His smoked strawberry vanilla bean soda was one of my favorite sips last month.

Almanac Beer Co. Events

Bottle Release Party at City Beer Store
Thursday, June 30, 6pm - 10pm
1168 Folsom Street (map)
415-503-1033

Healthy Spirits presents Almanac Beer Co. at Fat Angel Food & Libation
Thursday, July 7, 6pm - 10pm
1740 O'Farrell Street (map)
415-525-3013

Shotwell's Bar
Thursday, July 14, 6pm - 10pm
3349 20th Street (map)
415-399-9898

Information:
Almanac Beer Company website
Twitter: @AlmanacBeer
Almanac Beer on Facebook
Almanac Beer photos on Flickr

The espresso ganache-based Obama chocolates that Cosmic Chocolates pours out in Oakland as part of their "Cosmic Icon" collection is old news in the Bay Area. Tasty, but old. Therefore, our Bay Area political chocolatieres should step up their game because Boston-based Burdick's is seriously outclassing them.

Check out Burdick's separate Obama and McCain chocolate boxes. Not only do you get a jean jacket-ready button touting either campaign and a festive box tied with blue or red ribbon and bearing the party's animal, but each box of chocolates is flavored in line with each candidate's history.

For example, the McCain box features an "Arizona Citrus" chocolate and a "Hot Pepper Tequila" chocolate. Separately, they are sort of a mystery -- when I think of citrus, my mind does not jump to AZ -- but together maybe they make sense. Sort of a chocolate cocktail. Try shoving both in your mouth at once and see if I'm right.

Also confusing in the McCain box is the "Kentucky Rye" chocolate, described as "dark ganache with a strong rye whiskey, seasoned with citrus." Huh? I guess it could just be one of their signature chocolates, along with the tiny chocolate mice and Kentucky Truffles also included in the assortment, but wouldn't it have made more sense to developed a beer-flavored chocolate?

The Obama box features a dark chocolate-coated Hawaiian pineapple pate de fruit and another made from Kenyan coffee ganache and coated with crushed coffee. The "Kansas Corn Crunch" -- dark Bourbon whisky ganache -- might seem confusing until you recall Kansas is his mother's home state. (Note: Obama won't do well in Kansas this fall, so Burdick's might want to rethink that one.)

In order to remain fair and balanced, I bought and tasted both Obama and McCain chocolates. (That way, their voting system could just toss out my vote.)

I grew up in a house divided, so for my parents' anniversary (September 11th, no less), I sent them boxes from each party. My Dad's a definite Republican, and while my mother has always been a liberal, I'm never 100% certain which way she'll go. She might see this as a bribe. I wrote, "Happy Anniversary to a couple who have always remained strong individuals even after 40+ years."

So, if you're undecided about which way to go in November, buy a 1/4 pound of each and let your tastebuds decide, because unlike the actual political parties, neither of these will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Can't you just see Stephen Colbert chewing these over, trying to determine which one tastes "more presidential"?

Another food purveyor tempting the nation's political palate is Northbrook, Illinois deli, Max and Benny's. They've baked and frosted cookies in the likenesses of Obama, McCain, and Biden. I'm not so sure I'd want to eat a McCain, though; check out the expression on his face! It's got indigestion written all over it.

Also, one of my favorite beer companies from back east, Magic Hat Brewing, has tricked out their 12-packs in all sorts of vote-happy colors and images as part of their get out the vote campaign with Head Count.

I think beer is getting a little out of control. It all started with the Bud Light Lime, which is an okay idea, I guess. I mean, I'd much rather jam my own lime slice down the long neck of a Corona, but for the lazier out there who don't mind the taste of artificial lime mixed in with their frat beer? God bless. Yes, they say it's "100% natural lime," but they had to stabilize the juice for shelf life and filter it for clarity, so not sure how much natural is left.

However, Michelob has really gone overboard with their Ultra flavors, because Lime Cactus? Pomegranate Raspberry? TUSCAN ORANGE GRAPEFRUIT? Are these beers or wine coolers? Look, if you didn't want your mass-produced, skanky beer not to taste like mass-produced, skanky beer, here's a tip: stop making mass-produced, skanky beer!

Meanwhile, there are a ton of summer sippers out there just waiting to be quaffed. Here's my shortlist of summer suds:

Wailua Wheat, Kona Brewing Company (Kona, HI): Made by Kona Brewing in Hawaii and raved about here. In a nutshell, it's hoppy and fruity but not fruity like a fruit beer. The passionfruit is more of a kiss than a belt across the mouth. Also? It was featured in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. (You know you drink a lot of beer when you can recognize a beer by the neck label on a small television screen.)

Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema, Anderson Valley Brewing Company (Booneville, CA): I discovered Summer Solstice on a hot San Diego taco night. The spiced meat released the cold, creamy soul of the beer. If a root beer float were made with actual beer, it would be Summer Solstice.

Mothership Wit, New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, CO): Bright, white, and organic, Mothership is brewed with both wheat and barley malt along with a feisty dabble of bitter orange peel and coriander.

Skinny Dip, New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, CO): The bikini-friendly answer to New Belgium's classic Fat Tire. Skinny Dip is lower in calories and alcohol content but just as big and hoppy in the mouth. The light smudge of kaffir lime makes you happy to be alive.

Golden Monkey, Victory Brewing Company (Downington, PA): Spiky and weird, the beer bubbles in this pour are pure Belgian-style tripel. It sparkles in both your mouth and belly with a yeast-ful power that batters back even the stickiest of temps.

Sam Adams Summer Ale (Boston, MA): A wheat beer brewed with grains of paradise and citrus peel, making it lovely with an overstuffed lobster roll and a walk on a singing beach.

Boddingtons (Manchester, UK): The head on this beer is so thick, the ads in the UK show men shaving with it. It might be a bit on the hearty side for summer, but the bitter back-of-the-tongue thrill gives me happy goosebumps in any season.

Racer 5, Bear Republic Brewery (Healdsburg, CA): Unashamedly hoppy, this is definitely a beer for all seasons, but something about the heady strength makes it ultimate refreshment on a sweaty day or heavy night.

Magic Hat No. 9 (Burlington, VT): There's a strange but wonderful hint of summer stone fruit in this pale-ish ale, which the brewery itself calls "impossible to describe because there's never been anything else quite like it." I long for my East Coast life when No. 9 was stocked in my fridge and pray Magic Hat makes its delicious way West some day.

Akaka Falls, Big Island, Hawaii

I don't think I've disguised my deep and abiding love for all things New and Belgium when it comes to beer. I recently fell all over a coriander and bitter orange peel laced summer quaff called Mothership Wit Beer (New Belgium's first organic beer) and I do highly recommend that one as well, but I've got a bead on a fascinating new hot weather beer. Kona Brewing Company -- the self-same outfit that introduced my confused system to the awesomeness of coffee and beer -- has a new summer sipper out.

Wailua Wheat, coolly saronged by a bright, tropical label, is named for Wailua Falls on Maui's famed Hana Highway and brewed with tropical passion fruit. Or, if you're from the islands "lilikoi." Now, I'm not a fruit beer lover. I freely admit that I did the raspberry-blueberry-cherry beer thing in college, and they're probably the reason why the mere idea of fruit beers chokes my throat and offends my tongue. However, this is not what I would call a fruit beer. At least, not in the Boston definition of fruit beers.

The tart passion fruit in Wailua Wheat is neither sweet nor cloying, and its twangy edge matches as well with the crisp and hoppy wheat beer as a wedge of lemon in a cloudy pull of Hefeweizen. It's the heat and throb of the tropics crashing up against the centuries-old tradition of brewing and when the tide ebbs out, you're left with this icy bottle of exotic sunshine.

From the brewers themselves:

Wailua Wheat is an excellent beer to enjoy after a day on the water or at the beach (or even after mowing the lawn or playing softball in your "pau hana" summer league!). It typically pairs well with lighter fare like grilled fish and shrimp, roasted chicken, salads and Asian foods. Perhaps even a dish of vanilla ice cream.

I think I'll leave the vanilla ice cream for my Pipeline Porter, but I'm on board with the grilled shrimp idea. In fact, marinate the shrimp in this beer before grilling and see what happens.

You can find Wailua Wheat at BevMo.