Look for food fresh from the farm in August
If there’s one month of the year when the colorful outpouring of seasonal produce at our farmers markets is impossible to resist, it’s August. Taste the bounty from many Bay Area chefs who regularly shop the markets for their restaurant kitchens at the Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM)’s Dine Out Farmers Market Week from Aug. 6 through 12.
On scheduled days and times throughout the week, participating restaurants will feature a special market-driven menu or dish. This includes Bar Bocce and Blooms End pop-up craft bakery based in Sausalito; Mill Valley’s Buckeye Roadhouse, Coho, Playa, Floodwater, Piazza D’Angelo and Bungalow 44; Picco in Larkspur; and Petaluma Pie Co. in Petaluma. In San Francisco, visit Octavia, Angler, Frances, Fiorella, Lazy Bear and Saison.
The event coincides with the Farmers Market Coalition’s 24th National Farmers Market Week that draws attention to the vital role these play in our nation’s food system.
A portion of the hosting restaurant’s proceeds are donated to AIM’s Racial Equity Fund that supports BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) businesses getting started at the farmers market.
For restaurant schedules and reservations links, go to agriculturalinstitute.org/dine-out-week.
Dine in season
Farm brunches and dinners are in full swing at the Fork in Point Reyes Station, the culinary and educational facility on the pastoral property of the Robert Giacomini Dairy that is also home to Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.
Locally sourced, seasonal brunches are from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Aug. 5, Sept. 9 and Oct. 7 and include cheese, house-made baked goods and three courses of rustic California comfort food served at communal tables on the patio overlooking bucolic pastures and Tomales Bay ($85).
Inventive four-course dinners are from 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 24 and Sept. 21 and are served family-style ($125). Menus change each week based on what ingredients are at their peak. The farm also offers table bookings through September for cheese tastings ($45 for a wide assortment along with house-made accompaniments) during which local charcuterie, unique grilled cheeses, mac and cheese, and house-made ice cream sandwiches from the Fork’s state-of-the-art kitchen are available for purchase.
Private hosted cheese tastings with a guided tour of the farm are offered year-round ($260 for up to four guests, $65 additional guest). Or add on a chef’s choice menu that includes small shareable plates ($380 for up to 4 guests, $95 additional guest).
The Fork is at 14700 State Highway 1 in Point Reyes Station. Find details, reservation information, other experiences and order cheeses online at pointreyescheese.com.
Cooks and books
Fall dates are now on sale for Fresh Starts Chef Events in Novato where culinary experts, authors and winemakers share their talents over a prepared meal.
On Sept. 14, award-winning sommelier and author Shelley Lindgren, owner and operator of A16 restaurant in San Francisco, talks about her new book, “Italian Wine: The History, Regions, and Grapes of an Iconic Wine Country.” The publication date is in August and the book is available to purchase at the event.
Dinner is from the book’s co-author, chef Kate Leahy, who was a line cook at A16 before she left to begin her prolific food writing career which includes the 2008 acclaimed book “A16 Food + Wine.”
Naturally, the evening’s Southern Italian menu draws on recipes from the award-winning restaurant. It features bruschetta three ways; braised salmon with basil, almonds, lemon and chicory salad; and cannoli with ricotta, candied orange and pistachio.
On Oct. 24, celebrity chef Tanya Holland, a Bravo TV “Top Chef” contestant, cookbook author and restauranteur known for her modern soul food and comforting classics including the now-closed Oakland restaurant Brown Sugar Kitchen, is joined by Novato author Anita Gail Jones to celebrate National Book Month.
The evening of soul food and stories includes recipe demonstrations from Holland’s “California Soul” cookbook published last year while Jones is reading from her debut Southern American novel “The Peach Seed,” a generational tale set in the South that carries readers across decades of Black history.
Reservations include a choice of one of the two books with a personal autograph.
Dinners are at the Key Room at 1385 North Hamilton Parkway in Novato. Purchase individual tickets or reserve a table ($100 for one, up to $800 for table of eight) and view the full calendar of chef events at thekeyroom.com/chef-events or call 415-382-3363, extension 243. Proceeds support shelter, housing and job-training programs at Homeward Bound of Marin.
Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer and restaurant columnist. Email her at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with news and recommendations and follow on Instagram @therealdealmarin for more on local food and updates on the launch of The Real Deal Marin restaurant search guide.