Foodie alert! Later this month, a national tasting event is coming to San Francisco, the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America evening.
It brings together chefs, special guests and diners from all over the U.S. to pay homage to the local restaurants in our city that uphold the high standards of the James Beard name. (As a small city that hosts 28 Michelin-starred restaurants within in its small 47-mile radius, we’d expect nothing less.)
Held at the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco on February 23, the walk-around tasting features food stations hosted by TasteTwenty chef Nelson German of alaMar Dominican Kitchen and Sobre Mesa Afro-Latin Cocktail Lounge in Oakland (and many more—see below); German was selected by the James Beard Foundation to be part of the Taste America series. At each station, you can get a taste of the chef’s signature style and the restaurant’s unique culinary offerings, and judging by what you see below, the food is going to be incredible. (We expect to hear a lot of “mmmmms” emanating from the room that night!)
Although chefs from restaurants throughout the Bay Area will be featured, the San Francisco restaurants include Altamirano, Nightbird, ABACÁ, Luce at the Intercontinental Hotel, Dalida, Besharam and MKT Restaurant and Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel. There will also be beverage stations and other stations from local and national sponsors.
Other Taste America evenings are being held in Boston, Nashville, San Juan, San Antonio, Chicago, Phoenix and Philadelphia.
In San Francisco, the evening begins at 6:30pm with tickets priced at $175 ($225 for premier, which includes entry an hour earlier at 5:30pm). It’s hosted by Tanya Holland, chef, author and James Beard Foundation trustee. She was the executive chef/owner of the internationally renowned (and sadly mourned) Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland. The full slate of offerings includes:
TasteTwenty chef and Chef Bootcamp alum Nelson German
alaMar Dominican Kitchen and Sobre Mesa Afro-Latin Cocktail Lounge, Oakland
Serving: charred goat with Hass avocado crema, miso-buava BBQ, McCormick tamarind sazon and tostone
Carlos Altamirano
Altamirano, San Francisco
Serving: halibut cebiche
James Beard Award semifinalist and Chef Bootcamp alum Kim Alter
Nightbird, San Francisco
Serving: tartlet with smoky leek filling, trout roe and dill
James Beard Award semifinalist Francis Ang
ABACÁ, San Francisco
Serving: Tsar Nicoulai caviar with kampachi kinilaw and sunchoke ice cream
James Beard Award nominee Geoff Davis
Burdell, Oakland
Serving: chicken liver mousse-cornmeal waffle with maple vinaigrette and crispy skin
Dennis Efthymiou
Luce at The Intercontinental Hotel, San Francisco
Serving: crab sandwich, crab salad with Tsar Nicoulai Greek Golden Osetra caviar
Monique Feybesse and Paul Feybesse
Tarts de Feybesse, Oakland
Serving: pistachio malunggay eclairs
Paul Iglesias
Parche and Jaji, Oakland
Serving: Wagyu posta negra with cola-panela demi-glace, coconut-yuca cracker, sweety drops and toasted coconut shavings
James Beard Award semifinalist Intu-on Kornnawong, Oakland
Serving: kanom krok poo, with coconut cake with crab relish
James Beard Award nominee and James Beard Award semifinalist Gaby Maeda
Friends and Family, Oakland
Serving: Les Eggs, shoyu cured egg with yuzu kosho aioli, smoked trout roe, bubu arare and chives
Deborah Mullin
The Grove at Copia, Napa
Serving: lion's mane "crab” meat with ravioli of turnips, cocktail sauce and bearss lime-pink peppercorn dressing
James Beard Award semifinalists Laura Ozyilmaz and Sayat Ozyilmaz
Dalida, San Francisco
Serving: Berkshire pork souvlaki: pork collar, Presidio rhubarb tkemali and Shasta county porcinis
James Beard Award semifinalist Heena Patel
Besharam, San Francisco
Serving: Dahi Wada
Kevin Tanaka
MKT Restaurant & Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco, San Francisco
Serving: Balik salmon crudo with meyer lemon, Asian pear and shiso
Please note, some of the menu items above may contains alliums, dairy and wheat. Some may be made gluten-free or vegetarian upon request; please see the official Taste America website for specific details.