Northern Italy's Piedmont region is known as one of the country's greatest winegrowing areas, and local purveyors Ottimista Enoteca-Cafe (1838 Union at Octavia) want to take a virtual detour from the beaten path of classic wines like Barolo and Barbaresco. This Wednesday, Aug. 27, they're hosting a Wine Tasting & Seminar: The Other Piedmont, hoping to turn on willing quaffers to some of Piemont's lesser known drinkable gems. Both reds and whites are on the menu, including Timorasso, Nas-cëtta, Ruché, and Croatina, not to mention some regional cuisine: cheese, meats, the works. The $55 price tag includes the tasting, food pairing, and educational materials -- it is a seminar, remember. To sign up you'll need to email Melissa Gisler or call 415-674-8400.
-- Brian Bernbaum
As most foodies in town already know, Slow Food Nation is plopping its giant, sustainable, locally-sourced, green ass on the Bay Area starting this week with enough food, events, and good old fashioned hype to choke a free-range, grass-fed cow. Among the festivities are a ton of Slow Dinners, where local restaurants team up with non-profits for special mash-up meals. Here are two to watch:
Delfina Restaurant and La Cocina Community Kitchen's "Cucina-Cocina" dinner, happening this Thursday, Aug. 28 at Delfina (3621 18th) in the Mission. The dinner will showcase a special alla carte menu chock full of Delfina's Italian dishes alongside a selection of La Cocina's Latin food specialties. Reservations are required. Call Delfina at 415-552-4055.
Nopa (560 Divisadero at Hayes) and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) are putting together a dinner of seasonally-inspired urban rustic fare meant to highlight Nopa's local sourcing practices and CAFF's Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign, which helps sustainable, family-owned farms keep doing what they do best. So snag a few seats by calling 415-864-8643 and do what you do best: eat, eat, eat. It's happening this Friday, Aug. 29.
-- Brian Bernbaum
-- Brian Bernbaum
