Made in SF: Brew, Chocolate, Coffee and More!

The Anchor Brewery sits tall on the foot of Potrero Hill. The exterior has the appeal of a post office, off-white and navy blue and rectangular. Inside sun shines in through the windows, the copper kettles glow, and there's an earthy smell somewhere between burnt toast and barley soup. The tasting room is shades of brown, from the mahogany bar to the leather seats and coffee carpet to the amber ale being poured into tasting glasses. I want to say that my grandpa's parlor is like this but Grandpa Jack drinks Trader Joe's version of corona and Grandpa Dick sticks to vodka on the rocks, and neither of them have parlors. I'm here at 12:10 pm on Monday and someone has already placed a beer in one of my hands and a salami cone in the other. Gonna be hard to finish the week.

Monday's event was a journalist retreat including a tour, lunch and panel aimed to introduce writers to San Francisco food and brew, hosted by Anchor Brewing as part of the Craft Brewers Conference. So how did a potty-mouthed blogger like me get in? I work for SFMade, a non-profit that supports, promotes and celebrates San Francisco manufacturers. While I'm trying to hold off on committing shameless promotion, I will say that part of the fun of working at SFMade is getting to know crafters, chefs, brewers, bakers, candlestick-makers that rock whatever it is they're passionate about, push consumers to try new things, and believe in building community. Lucky us, who have them in our backyard.
Anchor Brewing 

Anchor has got a host of good beers (there's more than Steam, which is what we typically see at local bars), a friendly, knowledgeable staff, and a distillery that produces small batch whiskeys and gins. They offer free tours twice a day by reservation. Unfortunately you'll have to book months in advance.

Chris Cosentino, Incanto & Boccalone
Chef Cosentino prepared a three course food and beer pairing, and is entirely responsible for my long afternoon nap which I awoke from five minutes before I was being picked up for a date, during which I was not hungry, nor thirsty and mostly just bored my date to death talking about the amazing lunch I had. This is the second course, steam beer cured local sardines, radish and calçots, which seemed to convert most of the "oh I'm not really a sardine person" people at my table.

During the panel, when Chef Cosentino was asked about his experience doing business in San Francisco, he called it "the land of misfit toys." And while yes, in his case, specializing in turkey lungs and pig head is not exactly of the ken barbie doll make, he was also referring to this city and its culinary culture allowing all sorts of passionate chefs and food producers the opportunity to shine. "This is a place where if you stand up for what you believe in, in the end you win, " he said.

Ritual Coffee

Brewed in SoMa, sold here and other cafes around the Bay (like Remedy). The Bay's OG of "third wave" coffee making (along with Blue Bottle). Freshness, quality, and technique rule here. During the panel Eileen Hassi, owner, mentioned a disloyalty card Ritual has with other coffee bars- a neat way (yes, I said neat) to promote the greater coffee community. Buy seven drinks at any of the participating coffee bars and get the 8th free (hint: you may have to ask for the card if you don't see it on the counter).

Recchiuti Confections

Fancy (pricey), tiny labors of love. Remember those simple yet delicious sesame candies? The truffle on the left is toasted sesame seeds and caramel topped with a blend of pure milk chocolate and caramel, and enrobed in pure bittersweet chocolate. How juiced would you be to get THAT in your trick-o-treat bag?

Leadbetter's Bake Shop
Jamieson Leadbetter is pretty much a one man show, carrying on a five-generation family baking tradition. His English muffins are fluffy and giant. Find them here. 


Got the travel bug?
http://www.anchorbrewing.com/
http://incanto.biz/
http://www.boccalone.com/
http://ritualcoffeeroasters.com/
http://www.recchiuti.com/index.html
http://www.leadbettersbakeshop.com