A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of attending An Evening with Food Heroes with fellow foodies Angela and Amy, hosted by Eventbrite San Francisco at Terroir Natural Wine Merchant. The event was timed with the release of Georgia Pellegrini’s book, “Food Heroes,” which documents her international travels in pursuit of true heroes of the culinary world.
While there were several impressive local vendors sampling at the event, two stood out above the rest. Before I sing their praises, I feel compelled to couch that statement with the obvious: I am a sucker for cheese and chocolate. My roommate and I even had an entire conversation once about what life would be like were we restricted to a diet of only foods that began with the letters C and H, and eventually decided that thanks to cheese and chocolate, we would likely survive.
“CH” diet and joking aside, Pizza Politana and Charles Chocolates really took the cake.
Pizza Politana is proof that simplicity wins in my book, every time. Warm slices of Margherita pizza with tomato sauce, basil, and fresh mozzarella fresh out of their signature wood-fired oven could not have been more delicious.
To satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth, Charles Chocolates offered Fleur de Sel Caramels, Signature Peanut Butterflies, Raspberry Hearts and more. You can imagine my surprise and delight when Charles Chocolates was featured on Groupon the following week. Let’s just say there will be more Charles Chocolates in my near future.
The best part? All proceeds benefited Chez Panisse Foundation’s Edible Schoolyard, a program that includes a one-acre organic garden and kitchen classroom project hosted at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School right down the road in Berkeley.
Hot Italian Announces New Affogati Menu
Good news, Hot Italian just received their liquor license, and in addition to now stocking a full bar, this has allowed them to add a few new dishes to their menu. We were recently invited to sample a few items from their new line of Affogati (Italian for “drowned”) desserts: a heaping scoop of gelato literally drowning in your choice of liquor. Of course, we couldn’t pass up also ordering a pizza or two in the process.
Christine on the Fiori Pizza
Okay, yes we were technically there to try the new Affogati menu, but when we walked through the doors fresh from a long day at the office it was hard to resist the pizza calling (yelling!) our names. We started the evening with a Fiori Pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella, arugula, mushrooms, prosciutto parma, truffle oil) which is a standing favorite of the foodies. Hot Italian has officially convinced me that any pizza drizzled with truffle oil is a good thing. Since this was the “opening” of the new liquor license we also felt it necessary to taste a few of the cocktails so I had the Cuba Pestato (dark aged rum and cola with muddled brown sugar and lime). Yum and yum.
Liz on the Borriello Pizza
Two words: burrata mozzarella – that’s all I needed to read before I knew we were ordering this pizza. If you’re not familiar with burrata, it’s different from regular mozzarella because of its very creamy and soft texture – it’s almost spreadable. Besides burrata, the Borriello is topped with tomato sauce, fresh heirloom tomatoes and basil, and in my book, it does not get better than that. The pizza plus the Sgroppino Limone cocktail (made with Limoncello, vodka, prosecco and limon sorbetto) topped off with affogati galore and my night was officially a success.
Cristina on the Dark Chocolate with Frangelico Affogati
As any woman will tell you, we are suckers for chocolate. Take that and pair it with Frangelico and you have one happy lady. Hot Italian was nice enough to invite the SacFoodies to taste the new addition to their menu, Affogati. Although I was lucky enough to taste all the variations, my favorite was the Dark Chocolate with Frangelico. The gelato was rich and creamy and well balanced with the hazelnut flavor of Frangelico. The flavors married well and followed a meal of salad and pizza perfectly. Will definitely go back and bring my husband.
Cecily on the Mr. Espresso with Kahlua Affogati
When Andrea, one of the owners of Hot Italian, described the new Affogati menu as “a selection of adult sundaes,” I was immediately sold. I mean, who doesn’t like sundaes?? Each Affogati selection comes with two scoops of gelato drowned in liqueur and topped with crushed hazelnuts and fresh panna. Mouth watering yet? We were lucky enough to try three of the new selections and, while my sweet tooth had no problem going for second (and maybe third!) bites from all of them, my favorite was definitely the Mr. Espresso with Kahlua. Give me coffee with a splash of Kahlua any day and I’ll be a happy camper!
Jenna on Madagascar Vanilla with D’Sarrono
Anyone who knows me knows that I am ALL ABOUT everything almond. Almond croissant? Yes please. Medium soy latte with two pumps of sugar-free almond syrup? That’s me. So when I saw the Madagascar Vanilla with D’Sarrono on the new Affogati menu, I had to make it mine. The vanilla gelato was delicious dunked in the D’Sarrono amaretto – a true almond-lovers delight!
Hot Italian, located on 16th and Q in Midtown, has always been known for their specialty pizzas, but as you can tell, we are delighted they’ve been able to put their new liquor license to good use with their delicious new line of desserts.
Quick Bite: Chocolate Three-Way
You either are one or you know one. Locally, you might find them hanging around Rick’s Dessert Diner , the Cookie Connection or Ginger Elizabeth’s. They can name every varietal in a box of See’s and will fight to lick the whisk at the end of a brownie-baking marathon. They’re chocoholics. And let’s be honest – you probably know a few.
If you’re ever looking to make the chocoholic in your life happy – all you have to do is take a quick trip down to 33rd Street Bistro in East Sacramento. Last Sunday, I was fortunate enough to try what they call the “Chocolate Three-Way” and let me tell you, it was heaven on a plate. Just take a look at the photo above – drooling yet?
33rd Street Bistro
3301 Folsom Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 455-2233 phone
Slow Food Sacramento Presents a Chocolate, Port and Coffee Tasting Soirée
Saturday February 23 – 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Old Soul Coffee Company
1716 L Street (rear alley)
$25 Slow Food Members, $30 General Public
GET TICKETS NOW
Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first. We at Slow Food Sacramento echo American writer Ernestine Ulmer’s sentiments and are pleased to partner with three local treasures: Old Soul Coffee, Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates and Bogle Winery to host an educational seminar to learn about the dynamics of chocolate, coffee and port pairings, and to meet some of our area’s finest food and beverage artisans. And, after dessert, port and coffee, why not have dinner at one of Midtown’s excellent eateries?
Image courtesy of the Sacramento Bee.
Chocolate.
Ginger Elizabeth Powers, purveyor of Ginger Elizabeth Chocolate in Midtown Sacramento, will discuss the different kind of cacao beans and the trees they come from, as well as how chocolate is made and how fine chocolate differs from regular chocolate.
See what others are saying about Ginger Elizabeth Chocolate:
Sacramento Bee
TwinSoup
Sacatomato
Vanilla Garlic
Port.
Winemaker Eric Aafedt from Bogle Vineyards and Winery in Clarksburg will share his port-making approach as well as the family’s history and winemaking style. Eric is responsible for crafting Bogle’s unique Petite Sirah Port, sourced from the Old River Vineyard, directly across Elk Slough from the Bogle homestead.
Coffee.
Jason Griest, expert coffee roaster and co-owner of the Old Soul Company, will host the educational seminar and talk about his philosophy of community, using only fair trade and organically grown beans.