so what’s happenin’, mama? (17 feb)

thursday, february 17

9pm-12am.   Mad Men Thursdays at The Pearl.   Throw on your best vintage 60’s party gear and head to The Pearl for their weekly Mad Men party.  Mad Men on the big screen over the pool, 60’s jams, and specialty “Mad Men” cocktail menu.  Email carcher@thepearlsd.com for the chance to win a $100 Mad Men party food and beverage credit.

friday, february 18

5pm – 8pm.  Fifty Seven Degrees Wine Bar is hosting San Diego’s largest (and, uh, first?) mobile food gathering ever.   Our friends over at San Diego Food Trucks speculate that Friday’s event will see feature debut of two new delicious, delicious trucks! 

saturday, february 19

5:30pm – 9:30pm.  The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum’s 15th Annual Banquet celebrates Yuan Xiao Jie (Lantern Festival) at Pearl Restaurant.  Musical performances, silent auction, and a ten-course Chinese feast.  Tickets start at $60 to celebrate fifteen years of preserving Chinese culture and history in San Diego. 

sunday, february 20

10am.  San Diego Mycological Society celebrates all things mushroom at  their annual Fungus Fair at Casa del Prado in Balboa Park.  Event includes mushroom cultivation and cooking demos.

1pm – 2:30pm.  Curds and Wine hosts free hands-on winemaking event at their Clairemont Mesa location.  Class goes through all of the basic steps of making wine from kits, from start to bottle.  RSVP at the link.

monday, february 21

4pm – 12am. Classic Cocktail Party at URBN to celebrate the release of their Classic Cocktail menu.  Check out URBN’s Facebook page for the details and a list of classic cocktails that will be $6 all night.   If you were looking for a place to wear your suspenders, bowler hat, and handle-bar moustache while eating coal-fired pizza and drinking a Sazerac, this is your night!  Extra points if you arrive on an old time-y bike.

6pm.  With more than 75 combined years in the meat business, Stan Glenn (master meatcutter and supervisor of meat operations at Iowa Meat Farm and Siesel’s Old-Fashioned Meats) and Chris Brill (Chef Instructor at San Diego Culinary Institute and Chef at Siesel’s and Iowa Meats) present meat information and tasting at Great News cooking school.  $59.

wednesday, february 23

3pm – 7pm.  Adams Avenue Certified Farmers’ Market.   Fruits, vegetables, eggs, fresh baked bread and pastries, fish, meat, cheese, flowers, spices, olives and sauces, local artists and craftspeople, live music.  Check out the San Diego Farm Bureau for a complete daily listing of farmer’s markets around town.

thursday, february 24

7pm.  Dinner with 6 Strangers.   Fifth in the series, this three-course, family-style meal at Alchemy offers paired dinner and drinks and conversation with 5 people you’ve never met, with the goal of  uncovering “a well of conviviality, with deep pots of food and laughter.”  Reservations at the link – this event is limited to 3 tables of 6, so sells out early.  $48.

 

the weekly ish

recipes

• Jason Wilson, WAPO Spirits columnist, takes on the Singapore Sling and reinvents it.  And by reinventing it, I mean brings it back to its original composition – a light drink of gin, cherry brandy, and lemon juice.  I haven’t really developed a taste for gin yet, but I’ll keep practicing.  
• The Seattle Weekly tackles making Girl Scout cookies at home.   Since only an estimated 10-20% of the cost of a box of cookies goes to the scout’s troop (approx. 50% stays with the regional council and the rest goes to the manufacturer), why not make a batch or two from scratch this year and donate the whole $4 (or more) to your local troop? 
• Fascinating article on the art of Chinese noodles.  Oh, and anyone who would like to FedEx me a bowl of you po che mian?  I’ll be sitting here waiting patiently.  Waiting.  Yep.  Patiently.  Annnnytime.
• In case you hadn’t heard, the Superbowl is this weekend.  In case you hadn’t settled on a dish, Pioneer Woman and the NY Times have helpfully collected their best recipes for you.  In case you haven’t picked a team, Go Tiger Cubs!

restaurant news

• Another food trend hits San Diego.  Chef Dan Moody, former sous chef for Chef Ludovic Lefebvre (seen on this season of Top Chef’s Restaurant Wars), will be opening his own pop up restaurant, Relate, in San Diego February 3 through 26.  Set menu will be $55 plus drinks (via the UT).
• Speaking of food trends, San Diego Copper Chimney closed their food truck last month so that Chef Allen could move to a fixed kitchen location in Spice Court Grocery & Restaurant at 9474 Black Mountain Rd, San Diego, CA 92126.  Its slated opening day was February 1 – hopefully I will be able to make it this weekend for some of Copper Chimney’s awesome Hyderabadi dishes.
• Eclipse Chocolates has released their Valentine’s Day Chocolate tasting menu.  If you must insist on eating at a restaurant on Valentine’s Day, this one might actually be worthwhile. 

around the web

• This week’s episode of Top Chef All Stars is up, for all my cable-deprived friends.
• A big “Happy Birthday” to Kirk over at mmm-yoso.  His blog is an amazing source for all things delici-yoso in San Diego and beyond. 
• The government releases the kind of dietary advice that you’d expect from, well, the government.
• 2011 is heating up for recipe contests, including upcoming deadlines for POM Wonderful Valentine Cupcake Contest, King Arthur Flour and Fleischmann’s Yeast’s  National Festival of Breads contest, the Ritz Recipe Challenge, and the 45^th annual Pillsbury Bake-Off.  Check out Contest Cook for a full listing of contests. 
• Why not practice for those contests by signing up as a baker for Bake for Hope?  Held each year throughout the US in the week leading up to Mothers Day (May 1-8 2011), volunteers coordinate community bake sales to raise money for their local Susan G. Komen for the Cure affiliate to support breast cancer treatments for women with breast cancer within their local community.  Several San Diego groups are already beginning to form up for this year’s sale!
• Does your cake look a bit…naked?  Perhaps you need to get a set of these edible Angry Bird cake toppers from artisan cake company‘s etsy site. (via My Food Looks Funny)

so what’s happenin’, mama? (3 feb)

 

thursday, february 3

5:30pm-10:30pm. Wine Vault & Bistro offers a final opportunity to sample some their best selling reds for all of 2010 with a $20 prix fixe and $10 wine pairing.  If you haven’t been to Wine Vault for their $20 tasting menu, you are missing one of the best deals in San Diego.  Nori braised beets with nettle pistou, sous vide tri tip, and 34-year-old px sherry float with housemade butterscotch ice cream for $20?  Yes, please! 

 

friday, february 4

3pm-7pm.  Mission Hills Certified Farmers’ Market, W Washington St & Falcon St, San Diego, CA 92103.  Check out the San Diego Farm Bureau for a complete listing of farmer’s markets around town.

 

saturday, february 5

6pm-9pm. Temecula Valley Slow Food’s 4th Annual 100 Mile Dinner.  All principal ingredients in this five-course dinner will be sourced from within 100 miles of the Temecula Valley and each course paired with Ponte Family Winery wines.   $100 a ticket with proceeds benefiting Slow Food in school programs in the Temecula Valley (via Gayot).

 

wednesday, february 9

6:30pm-9pm.  Beer & Cigars at Stone Brewery.  $65 gets you cigars, food, and Stone brews. 

 

saturday, february 12

12pm-5pm.  Pizza Port Carlsbad Brewbies Festival!  20 local handcrafted beers plus a special edition Pizza Port pink beer. 100% of the proceeds go directly to Keep a Breast to support their efforts to increase breast cancer awareness among young people.

1pm-5pm.  For the Love of Chocolate.  Downtown Escondido festival will include vendors, chocolate pairings by local breweries and wineries, champagne garden with live music, and beer & wine bar.  Tasting tickets are $20 for 10 tastes.