Photo Credit: Marc Fiorito Gamma Nine Photography
The 10th annual Eat Drink SF, a three-day long culinary bacchanal, is going down this weekend at Fort Mason. From Friday, August 24 through Sunday, August 26, the Bay Area’s best chefs, bartenders, and winemakers will be serving bites, shaking cocktails, and pouring sips at the foodie celebration. Hosted by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association (GGRA), Eat Drink SF is a food festival unlike any other.
Photo Credit: Marc Fiorito Gamma Nine Photography
“We’re lucky because our talent is all local,” Gwyneth Borden, the GGRA’s executive director, recently told Haute Living. “Many festivals, in other places, fly in chefs from other cities, big-name celebrity chefs to headline the festivals. But we have amazing chefs here.” Eat Drink SF is a festival that honors the local community, from sustainable farmers to artisanal makers to Michelin-starred chefs. Another thing that makes Eat Drink SF unique? The robust cocktail program. It mimics the incredible cocktail scene that flourishes in the Bay Area today.
Photo Credit: Marc Fiorito Gamma Nine Photography
The festival consists of four distinct grand tastings: Friday evening (7:15 to 10 p.m.), Saturday afternoon (12:45 to 3:30 p.m.), Saturday evening (7:45 to 10:30 p.m.), and Sunday afternoon (12:45 to 3:30 p.m.). No tastings are alike as each one features over 30 different restaurants. At one, festival-goers may enjoy caviar puffs from Comstock Saloon, and at another, they may delight in Sorrel’s yellowfin tuna crudo. Sunday’s tasting is brunch themed, and participants include One Market, the Saratoga, and China Live.
Photo Credit: Marc Fiorito Gamma Nine Photography
Each tasting offers a VIP selection of bites, from more sought-after dining establishments such as International Smoke, Perbacco, and 25 Lusk. There are chef demos during the tastings, too. Mourad Lahlou, Dominique Crenn, Roland Passot, and Tony Gemignani are some of the chefs set to appear on the festival stage.
Photo Credit: Marc Fiorito Gamma Nine Photography
According to Borden, there is plenty of excitement to look forward to. “The Ice Museum is doing something fun and creative,” she says. “We will have the Warriors championship trophies on Saturday night. We’ll have the Warriors drum line. We’ll have the Glide choir.” The GGRA partnered with Wine Spectator magazine to curate the wineries involved. Sinegal Estates, Charles Krug, and Far Niente are some of the wineries who will be pouring at Eat Drink SF.
Photo Credit: Marc Fiorito Gamma Nine Photography
Although Borden notes that it’s an interesting time in the San Francisco restaurant industry—“the costs are at an all-time high for restaurants”—she believes the community will come together for one spectacular weekend. “Food is the one common unifying experience that people seem to love.”
Tickets for Eat Drink SF are now on sale.
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