First Annual Foodbuzz Festival

A Canadian from the east taking a trip to the west is something to look forward to on the list of "great things to do". Taking a trip to San Francisco for the first annual Foodbuzz Festival was more than a great thing to do - it had huge big WOW factor. From the minute the plane landed each hour had something very special to offer.



I arrived a day early to just do some sightseeing and see things I hadn't seen in previous visits to SF. So here's a question. How many of you that went to the festival found yourself singing the song "Candlestick Park" on the way from the airport? How many don't know the song? Am I really aging myself?

After checking into the hotel I finally got to meet Val from More Than Burnt Toast. Can you even believe it? We've been co-administrators of BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine and working together all this time and this is the first time we've actually met in person.

We went out for dinner and found that we both like chicken. Val had the lemon chicken

and I had the cashew chicken

From my previous post, you probably already gathered that I get a kick out of the quirky things in life. Now, honestly...how many restaurants can you go to where the guy at the next table is staff and he's shelling peas for dinner?


Let's not forget a short jaunt over to Little Italy to visit the Italian French Bakery (that one confused me a little) for one of their gigantic macaroons


Maybe Zoe from Zoe Bakes can teach us all how to create these lovely breads that we found at the Boudin Cafe.





and no trip to Fisherman's Wharf is complete without a visit with the ever entertaining sea lions



Day 1 was a registration day followed by a cocktail reception well managed by our new BFF, Brian the bartender.

After a bit of getting to know you filled with "so you're so and so" and "oh I've been following your blog forever" and watching everyone, camera in hand doing everything you've been doing for so long. The real difference was that you didn't have your family around you telling you "you're not taking another picture are you"... we were all just doing what we do naturally and it was all okay. Whew!!! I'm not crazy afterall.

Then it was on to experience the street food of San Francisco and you enjoyed everything from burritos to pizzas;

to pork sandwiches

(by the way - these were to die for)

and fungi vol au vente


and, of course - doesn't every city have oyster street food?



Day 2
A visit to the market, olive oil tasting and becoming an expert in sparkling wines from the inside out, followed by a salon filled with 60 purveyors and a ton of samples.

Day 2 - Evening - Outstanding in the Field

Entering, we were greeted by an outstanding display of local produce

and a series of tables that snaked from one end of the warehouse to the other

The Menu

Let's not forget our incredible chefs!!!



To all our friends, new and seasoned - we were so happy to meet you and spend such precious time with you. From Canada - A Bientot!!! (See Y'all Soon)

To all the hard working folks at FoodBuzz - This first annual festival was incredibly well put together. You worked very hard at making it happen and you did it with style, flair and made everyone feel welcome. Thank you so very much. Can't wait until next year!!!

Note to Psychgrad - You're coming next year!!!!!

Back from Foodbuzz

It's been a whirlwind few days in San Francisco finally getting to meeting blogging buddies and just taking in the whole flavour of Foodbuzz's first annual festival. I have about 400 pictures to go through but wanted to just let you know that my expectations of this festival were exceeded. Kudos to the entire Foodbuzz Team for an exceptional job!!! There's so much to show and tell but for today and maybe even tomorrow a rest is in order.

Here's just a couple of the "you think you have problems" things we caught along the way.





Is San Francisco a city with a great sense of humour or serious issues??? Let's go with the sense of humour.

Apple, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins

Oh the pressure! I'm in charge while Giz is in San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival.


I, on the other hand, am stuck in Ottawa in what "feels like" -5 Celcius, at home with a cold (because going to work with a cold might get me excommunicated in times of H1N1 panic) with next to nothing in my cupboards (I shouldn't complain about this last one, since that was the goal). Ok...pity party over.

Now, I'm just trying to use up whatever is left in my cupboards. So, here we go with another apple post.

This time I made Apple, Oatmeal and Raisin muffins with a recipe on Cooks.com.


Apple, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins

1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1 c. raisins
1 apple, chopped
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. sugar
1 c. oatmeal

Beat egg. Stir in remaining ingredients, mixing until just moistened. Pour into greased muffin tin and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.


I was pretty skeptical about this recipe once I started it. Everything in me said "don't just beat the egg and then add everything else in". So, I separated the dry ingrediants from the wet ones. In the end, it turned out decently. Maybe a bit on the mushy side because of the apples (doesn't seem to have lingered once cooled). It tastes like a healthy muffin, which is code for "it's not very sweet". But with only 1/3 a cup of sugar, that's to be expected. In hindsight, I should have gone with Hopie's recipe for apple muffins.