…And ate some more. And ate some more!
Yesterday was the main event of the Foodbuzz Festival! If you’re just tuning in, the Foodbuzz Festival is an annual event in San Francisco for all the food bloggers who use Foodbuzz as their advertiser. It’s a weekend filled with food, wine, and connecting with other bloggers, both old friends and new :)
So, what did we have for lunch? An entire tasting pavilion full of vendors, of course.
The major highlights:
1) A Fresh Express station with to die for quinoa mixed green salads, topped with smoked nuts. The smoked nuts were out of this world, and the dressing was amazing, too. Very flavorful!
2) Fresh, juicy, amazing pears from Frog Hollow Farm, my new obsession.
These were seriously the best pears of my life. I’m tempted to order some from them! They are based here in California and apparently are best known for their peaches — I can’t imagine how good those are if their pears are this good!
3) The gorgeous weather! Since when is it sunny in San Francisco? :)
The tasting pavilion was on the roof of a building and we had some great views of the city.
After some R&R and soaking up the sunshine, we got all dressed up for the main event — a full 4 course dinner in the Ferry Building! We were in the “Great Hall” — it was HUGE and beautiful!
Here I am with Tina and then showing off my outfit — I rocked my new cowboy-ish boots from Target again and wanted to show them to you guys! :) They are so comfy and match everything, I love them. Sorry for the blurry photos — lighting was weird!
The dinner tables were set beautifully — loved the moss-like centerpiece! Check out all the glasses — we had a wine pairing with each course courtesy of Bonny Doon Vineyard — the first two courses were paired with a white wine, the main course with a red, and dessert with a sweet white dessert wine. We were spoiled!
I had a really fun table, too :)
From top left — Ali, Brittany, Cate, Cara, me, Tina!
Aside from the great company, the food itself was incredible — the best I’ve had this weekend by far!
First course: a Roasted Golden Beet Tart with crimson beets, feta and currants, wild arugula, and a basil puree. Damn this was good. Very unique!
Second course: Seared Scallops with braised fennel, garnished with fried fennel fonds. I absolutely love fennel (and scallops!) — I need to make fennel at home sometime soon.
Main course: Rosemary and Garlic Infused Rack of Lamb with Pinot Noir sauce. Omg.
Served with Butternut Squash Puree (mmmm):
And sautéed local Wild Mushrooms. So flavorful and tasty it was ridiculous.
I was just sad that I couldn’t finish much of the delicious lamb — I was getting pretty full by this point!
Dessert was a Tarta de Almendras with Oranges — a buttery almond cake with oranges and Spanish sherry sabayon.
Mmmm… I especially loved the fresh figs! The only thing this was missing was ice cream :)We headed back to the hotel last night full, happy, and sleepy after all the food, wine, and great conversation!
So, what’s next now that the Festival portion of the weekend has ended? Jenna, Tina, and I are currently rocking out on a bus to Santa Rosa in wine country! Jenna lives in Santa Rosa and Tina and I are staying over until tomorrow morning. There’s talk of a food and wine pairing at Kendall Jackson for lunch… stay tuned! :)
Anne, I love your hair! It’s so pretty! :-)
Foodbuzz looks like so much fun, not to mention the food! YUMMY!
I just adore your boots! Have a fab day in Santa Rosa!
You look gorgeous! Love the boots!
We did have a super fun table!! I’m glad I had the chance to get to know you a little better. ;)
Have fun wine tasting today!
PS- I love the boots- Target always surprises me with their clothes and shoes selection.
It was great hanging out with you, too! :)
Oh Anne, the food looks fANNEtastic, and your boots are adorable as well as your outfit. Taste a few of the wines for me. I like red’s. Keep the pics coming.
It was great to see you again this weekend!! Didn’t even realize you were at the table next door last night. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip and have a safe flight home!
It was great seeing you, too! :)
All of this looks beyond fantastic…I really am so jealous of all you ladies who got to spend the weekend in San Fran!
Wow, looks super! And that includes the boots! Wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
This food looks so so so good! How does the amateur blogee get to go to this festival?
You can go to the festival for free (meaning to festival fee – you still have to pay for your hotel/airfare) if you’re a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher (aka have their ads on your site). Or, you can pay to go to the festival, but it’s expensive!
So great to meet you! The dried peaches in the Frog Hollow Farm goodie bag are my favorite of the weekend. I am definitely ordering more online. And the pear was a great airplane snack. Hope you had a fun last day in wine country!
Looks fun! I’m dying to check out SF!
I buy almost all my shoes from Target — love those!!
Love your outfit… Target is the best!
Wow – look at the wine glasses! How could you keep from stealing your neighbors by mistake? Ha ha – or not by mistake? The lamb is making me drool. So yummy. Thanks for sharing your great perspective.
wow, all the food looks AMAZING!