2008 Block Party. Photo by Calvin Tsay

Two years ago, Bi-Rite and Delfina threw a large birthday block party on 18th Street. Many have labeled the block as a blossoming Gourmet Ghetto, and the party was a mix of gourmet food and the desired "community building" fundraiser that has people chatting and hanging out over plates of food. Getting the block to close down required planning and permits, but the attendance levels were boisterous, meaning a lot of people showed up. Spit-roasted Niman Ranch pork shoulder was on display and for sell, and adults sipped in a beer garden while kids dug in to sundaes and ate farm fresh corn or Fulton Valley brick-grilled chicken. It was a warm weekend day, and seemed to match the ideal of a San Francisco summer day.

The Whole Hog at the 2008 Block Party. Photo by Calvin Tsay

The prep work for the 2008 block party was for multiple days made up of cooks from Delfina and Bi-Rite. It turned out to be a party with major organizational effort that led to months of planning. Eaters camped out in Dolores Park, drinking aguas frescas and mulling over plates of pig. This blogger participated as a prep cook for the 2008 event, and learned that the costs and details for the Block Party may have provided a challenge that was tough on the organizers, who are in the business of selling food rather than putting on street events. Hence what led to a two-year wait for a repeat performance.

Post-event analysis got the organizers (mainly: Bi-Rite's Sam Mogannam and Delfina's Craig Stoll) thinking it was a great idea, but one that should happen every other summer. "We'll make it a bi-annual thing," said Mogannam. This year's 18th Street Block party happens on Saturday, August 28, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mogannam said, "We want to create some fun energy and bring people together. That's what we're all about." The uniting factor will be food, as well as beverages of all stripes. Regalito will offer suckling pig carnitas, and Delfina will have porcetta pork loin for sale; no whole hog to ogle this time.

The SF Brewers Guild has been brought in to do craft beer. Products from Out the Door, Regalito, La Cocina, Kasa, Unti Vineyards, and Earl's Organic Produce will also be used and highlighted. All proceeds will benefit the neighboring Women's Building, as well as the BuenDia Family School, literacy org 826 Valencia, Next Course, and Pie Ranch.

There is also a pie contest for the first time. Mogannam said, "We want it to have a county fair feel. So folks can make pies, and be judged based on flavor and appearance. There will be one judge, who is a non-professional, chosen as a raffle prize." Bakers need to fill out an online entry form, and the rules are:

• Entry Fee is $20 which will be donated to Pie Ranch (paid on day of contest).
• Entrants will be chosen on a first come/first served basis.
• Entrants accepted into the contest will be notified via Email by August 23rd.
• Entrants are required to supply two 8 inch pies (same) on August 28th (location to be announced to accepted entrants)
Pies must be able to be served Cold or Room Temperature

Event Information:
Women's Building events: Party on Block 18
Women's Building newsletter: Party on Block 18

2008 block party coverage :
SFoodie -- Tamara Palmer: Party on Block 18 This Saturday
Jalapeño Girl (aka Mary Ladd): 18th Street Block Party this Saturday afternoon

The 4th of July is a huge event in our house. My daughters classify it as the third best holiday, after their birthday and Christmas. Yes, I realize their birthday isn’t a holiday, but try telling that to them.

My daughters’ enthusiasm is due in large part to the fact that our city, Piedmont, goes a bit nuts on July 4th. The day starts off with a pancake breakfast hosted by the fire department (which actually we’ve never attended, but it’s there for all to enjoy). Later, we have a homespun parade, complete with Scottish Highland bands, dog brigades, soccer teams marching, and the Oakland Raiderettes. There’s then a big party in the park with a band, hot dogs and shaved ice. Later in the day, the small streets of Piedmont become no-traffic zones as the majority of neighborhoods settle into their annual block parties.

Each neighborhood’s party is a little different -- there are those with bounce houses for the kids, while others have potato sack races -- but the common denominator for all are hordes of kids running, scootering, and cycling around what becomes a parking lot of garden chairs in the road filled with adults of all ages. Some may think our parties are a bit hokey, and they may be right, but there’s really something to be said for breaking bread (or rather a hot dog roll) with your neighbors at least once a year.

My favorite part, however, is that there is serious food to be had. Although the parties offer the standard hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers you see throughout America on July 4th, this is by and large a potluck affair where every family brings a dish. I love scoping out the tables to see what everyone has brought. Sure, some people bring the Safeway platter of cut fruit, but more often than not, my lovely neighbors bring something homemade, which warms my heart and makes me feel less irritated later in the year when I hear their dog barking all night or when a buzz saw wakes me up at 7:00 a.m. on a Sunday because someone has decided to put in a new planter box (Oh wait. That was my husband.).

As our neighborhood’s party just happens to land right on my doorstep, I’m lucky to have the main food table literally touching my front yard. I love checking out the selection and finding out who brought what. We start with the appetizers, brought by families with last names from A-G. These usually include some freshly made guacamoles and salsa, deviled eggs, and prosciutto and cheese plates. Each year, a mother and her daughters bring homemade lychee, maraschino cherry, and lime gelatin in Dixie cups. I barely know this family, and I’m not a big fan of gelatin, but I admire their spirit of culinary experimentation. When I catch a glimpse of them throughout the rest of the year, I fondly recall that they’re the Jell-o family.

H-O families then bring the salads. There’s usually a great range of these, from Capreses and mixed greens, to taco salads and Asian cole slaws. I find it impossible to choose only one or two and so usually opt for small tastes of each.

Finally, the P-Z families bring the desserts. Homemade berry pies are the real stars here, although I am also quite partial to the coffee cakes with brown sugar toppings and freshly baked cookies as well. Sure, some people bring see-through plastic containers of hydrogenated store cookies, but these are always left to linger while the neighborhood discusses recipes and unabashedly debates which dessert is the best.

I am technically an “L,” and so therefore should bring a salad. But, for many years I was an “S” (as in Santoro), and my signature block party dish was always my peach crisp with vanilla ice cream. When I got married, a neighbor asked me to stick with dessert because she looked forward to eating my crisp each year. Since then, I have brought my crisp, even when I had infant twins and just wanted to sack out in a garden chair.

I love this crisp recipe because it’s huge, feeds a crowd, and is ridiculously simple to make. You will see that the directions are a bit vague, but that’s the beauty of this dessert. It’s something you throw together and then share with the neighbors, much like we do with ourselves at the block party.

Block Party Peach Crisp

Serves: 10 people (or thereabouts)

Ingredients:
Filling
4 - 5 pounds of peaches or enough freshly sliced peaches to fill a 9x13” baking pan
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour

Topping
1 cup flour
1 cup Instant oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter

Preparation:

1. Slice enough peaches into 1/4 inch slices to fill a buttered 9/13” baking pan to the top
2. Mix in sugar and flour
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal and brown sugar.
4. Incorporate the butter until it is broken into small chunks (you can do this in a food processor, but I think it comes out better if you just squish the butter with your hands)
5. Set the topping on top of the filling in the pan, spreading evenly.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until the topping is browned and you can see the peach filling bubbling inside.
7. Set aside to cool a bit and then serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.