Even in my jaded moments (like, say, when we’re in the throes of shipping our October issue and are wondering why on earth we decided to put so many goddamn words in each story), I realize I live in a pretty unique food town. And not simply because we have such good raw product to work with and so many talented chefs and great restaurants, but also because we live in a town where people are willing to take chances.


In-town turkeys: potential ingredients for OPEN City?

This weekend, I strongly urge you to check out OPEN City, the second event of OPENrestaurant, a social sculpture-cum-site-specific installation-cum-supper club put together by Jerome Waag and Sam White. This event will showcase the ways in which food is produced in an urban environment, and the meal served will be made almost exclusively with ingredients sourced from within (Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco) city limits. Backyard chicken coops have been raided; urban farms have been culled from. The sit-down portion of the evening sold out almost immediately, but directly following that, at 8:30 p.m., they’ll be offering a no-reservations-required menu of small plates, and the bar is open all night long, from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., for drop-ins (note that early drop-ins won’t have access to the small plates; that’s only for later-comers).

I’m urging you to support this event not only because Jerome and Sam are class-A nice guys (though they are) but also because the event has greater implications: Moving art into public space, discourse on the state of food into everyday life, and ritual and a good meal into a most unexpected location (the dinner is created and served at New Langton Arts at 1246 Folsom Street). See you there!