Civil Eats

At first glance, it seems like a distant connection from the wood-paneling-and-mirrors saloons of 1860s New York, where the mustachioed, vested Jerry Thomas mixed drinks, to the sleek modern bars of the Tenderloin and North Beach, where a fresh crop of bartenders are making concoctions with seasonal fruit and fresh herbs. But ask Allen Katz, one of the curators of the Jerry Thomas American Cocktail Bar—also known as the Spirits Pavilion at Slow Food Nation—and the connection between bartenders of old and the modern cocktail is very real. Read More

At a Slow Food dinner seven years ago, native foods chef John Farais and California native landscaper Alrie Middlebrook began an ongoing conversation about the importance of integrating native plants into our daily lives and diets. Read More

As the nation’s leading dairy state and second-largest producer of cheese, California is a natural location for Slow Food Nation’s Cheese Pavilion—an homage to all things cheesy. Read More

“A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.”

–Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste (1825)

When most of us think of American wine regions, myself included, we think Napa, Sonoma, Willamette Valley and Walla Walla. But did you know that Pennsylvania makes a great ice wine? Or that you can get a sparkling wine from New Mexico or Missouri? Read More

Pickling and fermentation were probably invented out of necessity, as pre-industrial societies needed ways to preserve the harvest and provide sustenance through the winter. In more recent times, pickling and fermentation have become ways to create new flavors, enliven a meal, eat locally throughout the year, or improve the nutritional value and digestibility of a set of ingredients. Recent feature articles in the food sections of the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times point to a new popularity for pickles in restaurants and home kitchens. Read More

Tea, Camellia sinensis, is one of the most amazing plants used by humans. There are few foods that offer up such a wide variety of flavors from a single part of the plant (the leaves) with a single preparation method (steeping in hot water). Read More

When Peggy Knickerbocker, curator of the upcoming Slow Food Nation’s Olive Oil Taste Pavilion, was traveling in Morocco years ago, she became inspired by the endless groves of olive trees and their extraordinary beauty. She decided to write her book Olive Oil: From Tree to Table to capture the love that people have around the world for producing and consuming this “liquid gold,” as Homer put it, several thousands of years ago. Read More

There is a new meat culture sweeping the country – a culture that delights in an “All American” bologna sandwich, as long as the bologna is made from pastured animals raised with care. In this new tradition, Old World craftsmanship is respected but also used as a springboard for modern meat interpretations. And the mantra shared by all in this society is the desire to eat the whole animal, nose to tail. Read More

“As the principal source of intense sweetness for humankind until the mastery of the crystallization of sucrose, honey has carried an immense symbolic, mythic, and psychological load. This has been conditioned in part by the somewhat mysterious nature of its production, as a by-product of the survival of plant-species by insect pollination” (Sydney Mintz, 1996). Read More

The art of preserving the season’s bounty has been an important concern since the advent of agriculture. Enjoying fruits and veggies in the dead of winter required perfecting methods of stopping the aging process, creating a flavorful still life. Casey Havre, owner and producer behind the Bay area’s preserves company Loulou’s Garden, is curating the preserves pavilion at Taste. Read More

When you visit Slow Food Nation next month, you will be able to find the Bread Pavilion by following your nose. Pavilion curator Steve Sullivan of Berkeley’s acclaimed Acme Bread has selected a wonderful array of bakers and breads to showcase and share during the event. Slow Food Nation also marks a special date for Sullivan himself, who started Acme September 1, 1983. On Labor Day weekend, Acme celebrates its 25th anniversary of outstanding, delicious craftsmanship. Read More