The Grand Finale

Outstanding in the Field, an organization dedicated to helping diners explore the connection between the earth and the food on their plate, put on an amazing Korean inspired dinner at the GreenLeaf Produce Warehouse in downtown San Francisco. It was an unexpected place to have a foodie dinner, but ended up being the perfect space for an urban, farm-to-table meal.

Chef Dennis Lee of Namu and his kitchen crew weren’t behind closed doors so we all got a chance to see the chefs in action.

The prep station was a happening spot pre-dinner as the crew prepared a 7 course meal for 250 food bloggers.

We had a while to mingle and sip Bonny Doon 2008 Ca’ del Solo Albarino (white wine) while waiting for dinner to be served.

I had to take a photo with one of the quotes- as it was made for me.

My friends would gladly tell you that I’m the one to eat all the celery- especially when someone orders wings!

A little photo shoot with some blog friends.

Jasmine and I. Check out the table set-up in the background. It was the longest table I’ve ever seen with place settings for over 250 people without any breaks. The only annoying part was that if you wanted to get to the other side of the table it was quite a journey.

Ashley and I.

Everything at the meal was organic and locally sourced from California- even down to the bamboo chopsticks and bathroom soap. It was also exciting to see that many of the farmers and artisan producers attended the dinner as well. Perfect for those interested in finding out more about the source of the items we were served that evening.

I’m not going to pretend that I knew what all the dishes were just by looking at the menu descriptions so if it’s unclear I’m going to give a laymen description of the dish as well.

Course I – Ahi tonnato on pain de mie with gochukaru and parsley aka picked vegetables.

With each new dish, the cameras were a snapping. The best part was that no one was asking “Why are you taking pictures of you’re food???”

Course II- Mushrrom dahi, maitake, shimeji, enoki mushrooms aka shrooms, sea greens and broth.

After the mushroom dish everything that was brought to the table was served family style and one order of each was brought for the 8 people to share.

Course III- Udon, grilled monterey calamari in a browned butter ponzu reduction, cucumber, kaiware, frisee & yellow pear tomato with chojang & sesame vinaigrette. This course was served with the next white wine on the menu- a 2007 Le Cigare Blanc, which paired perfectly with the seafood.

I’m not a huge fan of calamari or udon noodles, but in the spirit of trying new things I had a tiny bit and surprisingly it was good. When cooked correctly, calamari can be quite delicious, however I’m still not a fan of the tentacles.

The Seltzer Sisters‘ blue glass carbonated water spigot was brought to our table with the most potent carbonated water I’ve ever tried. Before you even took a sip you could taste the carbonation.

I need this little contraption. How awesome would it be if they had a mini version that could fit in your purse?

Course IX Sea trout baked with dashikombu, fried garlic and Japanese curry powder and a mushroom risotto with koshihkan rice, crispy maitake mushroom.

Although the almost raw sea trout was relatively hard to eat with chopsticks, I throughly enjoyed both of the dishes. The risotto was amazing!

Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard came over to announce the red wine we were being served next- a 2005 Le Cigare Volant

A deep red – perfect to go with (or without) the meat dishes of the night. The drinks were definitely flowing and we had some funny convos going on at our table. It was a blast!

A between course photo… so glad I was able to meet Meghann. She is super sweet and we have similar day jobs.

Course XI – Roasted brussel sprouts with ponzu fried garlic

The brussel sprouts were probably my most favorite part of the meal – they were cooked to perfection and so delicious. The server even brought us a second helping because everyone at the table was raving about how good they were.

And, Soy Braised beef cheeks and oxtails, baby carrots, and fingerling potato, OB beer and denjang demi

I skipped this dish but everyone at the table seemed to throughly enjoy it.

Last but not least, dessert!

Course XII – Koshihkari rice pudding, cookie crumble and wareen pear.

The Frog Hollow Farm pears were delicious but the pudding itself wasn’t all that flavorful.

Still a good ending to the meal though.

During dessert, the Foodbuzz team hopped on stage and Ryan (The Girl) announced the winners of the Foodbuzz blogger awards.

A big congratulations goes to Tina (who won in three categories!), Kath, Jenna, and Caitilin. It was awesome to see so many healthy living bloggers on stage for food blog awards!! Health is important people!

I took some last minute photos with some lovely ladies, my (semi-close) neighbor, Quinn. The funniest part is that we live relatively close to one another (on the East Coast) yet ended up meeting on the West Coast!

And the totally rockin Allison

Saturday’s dinner was one of the best foodie events I have ever attended and was definitely the highlight of my weekend. Too bad it was also my last night in San Francisco. Seriously I am a true California girl at heart- since I was little I’ve told my parents I wanted to move there…. who knows, maybe one day!

Don’t worry, I am almost done with all the recaps and Eating Bird Food will (unfortunately) resume its normalcy. I’m off to an all day email marketing course for work and then a BIG concert tonight!

Have a lovely Tuesday my friends.

- Brittany

PS. I’m glad everyone liked the picture of me with the knife – I’m glad I didn’t come off looking like a crazy woman!