{Food Events} Foodbuzz Festival Day 1: Foodie Swap and Street Food Fare

Last night we attending the first day of the Foodbuzz Festival (the reason why we're in San Fran!)  Like last year, there was plenty of food and opportunity to meet with our foodie friends in person.  Between the Food Network camera crew filming Mission Minis cupcakes for an upcoming episode of Cupcake Wars and trying to keep up with the tweets on this event (follow hashtag #fbzfest), we did manage to stuff ourselves silly.

Our favorite foods of the night included both food trucks (French cuisine from Spencer on the Go and spicy Indian food from Curry Up Now), fresh fruit from Frog Hollow Farm, strong beers from Magnolia Pub and Brewery and The Social Kitchen and Brewery, the porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti, and sweet treats from Mission Minis and Straus Creamery. 

Though the pear tarts were good, we loved the fresh ones (and the figs and grapes) better from Frog Hollow Farm.

The porchetta sandwich with its crispy pork skin was well worth the wait! The organic Brown Sugar Banana ice cream was dangerously addictive.

Faves included Curry Up Now's kati roll (spicy!) and Spencer on the Go's New England lobster cappuccino, braised lamb sandwich, and escargot puff lollipop.

The beers from Magnolia Pub and Brewery and The Social Kitchen and Brewery were strong and amazing!  If I couldn't find my husband in the crowd, I knew he would end up there!

Oh, and what did we get during the foodie swap?  Delicious homemade goodies from Ken of HungryRabbitNYC.com (one of the NY bloggers we had to travel to SF to meet!) and Korean treats plus a menu signed by Chef Ludo Lefebvre (one of the Top Chef Masters contestants) from Rosa of TheCattyCritic.com.  Suffice it to say, we're having a good time in San Fran!

HLFD in SF: Chapeau!

Though my husband is not always keen on early bird specials (he thinks we're too young for them - I never pass up a deal!), I managed to convince him to try the menu out at Chapeau!, a well-received neighborhood French restaurant in San Francisco.  After all, we were still on NYC-time, so dinner at 5:30 PST would feel much later for us.  So we hopped on a bus and headed out for our $28 three course meal.

My hubby ordered a glass of 2008 Sean Minor "Carneros" Pinot Noir ($9), which was a simple, fruity red wine.  Our amuse bouche was a salty smoked trout with creamy fingerling potatoes.

We started off with the Traditional Escargots de Bourgogne.  Because snails themselves have little flavor, it is often drenched (as seen above) in butter, parsley, and garlic.  The dish was rich but we loved it - as we soaked our crusty bread in the tasty remainder of the sauce.

Our other appetizer was the Trio of Salmon which was a salmon tartare wrapped in smoked salmon with a sprinkling of salmon caviar.  The micro herbs and light potato chip added some nice texture, while the egg and capers on the plate added a rich saltiness to the dish.

I opted for the Pan Seared Duck Breast with creamy truffled polenta, salsifis, pears, grapes, and green peppercorn sauce.  Though I found this dish to be a tad too salty, the portion size was large and the meat was tender. 

My husband's Pork Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin was incredibly juicy.  The
Gratin Dauphinois (scalloped potatoes with cheese), spinach soubise (spinach with a rich French onion sauce), and apple-calvados sauce (sauce made with apple brandy) made the dish so much richer, like something Juila Child would make!

Though my husband lacks a sweet tooth, he did enjoy his Basil Napoleon which was like a gourmet fruit salad.  With pineapple, mango, banana, kiwi, and strawberries, every bite reminded us of the tropics while the basil, champagne-citrus pastry cream, and paper-thin Feuille de Brique brought us back to France.

I have a weak spot for creme brulee (i.e. if I see it on the menu, there's a 90% chance I will order it!) so I chose the classic Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brûlée.  I love cracking the top layer to reveal the smooth, creamy interior.  This dessert was exactly as I expected it to be: traditional and sweet.

According to their website, "chapeau" means "hat" and "chapeau!" means "wow".  Though the meal was not extra-ordinary (this isn't The French Laundry!), it was a solid French offering at an exceptional price.

Chapeau! is located at126 Clement St. in San Francisco, CA.