Around the bay in January 2011

The 10th annual Dine About Town San Francisco returns from January 15 to 31.

Published: January, 2011 

Dine About Town…Only in San Francisco Returns

The 10th annual Dine About Town San Francisco returns from January 15 to 31. Diners may select from more than 100 Bay Area restaurants, each offering prix fixe lunches for $17.95 and/or dinners for $34.95, exclusive of tax and gratuity. A la carte menus will also be available. Dates and times of participation vary by restaurant. Reservations are encouraged and may be made online through a partnership with OpenTable.com. On January 12 at 6 p.m., celebrate the 10th year of Dine About Town at City View at Metreon. With a $25 donation to Meals On Wheels, you can sample delicious food or beverage offerings from over 25 participating restaurants. The evening will also include wine tastings and a keepsake San Francisco wine glass. Tickets for the launch must be purchased in advance and space is limited. For more information or to view the extensive restaurant list, visit www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/taste/dineabouttown. Information is also available by calling (415) 391-2000.

Oakland Joins More Than20 Cities in California Restaurant Month

This year more than two dozen Oakland restaurants will celebrate Oakland’s first Restaurant Week from January 23 to 29. Oakland Restaurant Week will provide visitors and locals with an opportunity to taste some of Oakland’s finest cuisines, with special meals and deals from many of the city’s top restaurants. Special prix fixe dinner menus at $20, $30 and $40 will be included. Many restaurants will also be hosting tasting events in partnership with wineries and food producers. Tickets and special passes are not required, but reservations are strongly recommended. Oakland’s restaurants are known for focusing on sustainable practices, purchasing ingredients from local farmers markets and designing menus based on what is currently in season. Oakland’s culinary scene is found in diverse locations, from the waterfront at Jack London Square to the uptown entertainment district to Montclair Village in the Oakland Hills. Participants include acclaimed restaurants such as Bocanova, Plum, Pican, Camino and Oliveto that have been highlighted as culinary destinations by national media, as well as local favorites such as ChopBar, Farmers Market Bistro and Encuentro. Details and information on participating restaurants will be available at www.visitoakland.org/restaurantmonth. Oakland Restaurant Week is part of California Restaurant Month. More than 20 destinations across California, from the desert and coast to wine country and High Sierra, are hosting restaurant weeks this January. More information on California Restaurant Month, including Marin and Napa Valley participants, is available at www.visitcalifornia.com/restaurantmonth.

Anniversary of the Sea Lions’ Arrival

Every January, PIER 39 commemorates the anniversary of the sea lions’ arrival. Through the years, these playful pinnipeds have taken up residence at PIER 39’s K-Dock to the delight of thousands of spectators.  Each January, these marine mammals return in droves for herring season in San Francisco Bay. In celebration of the anniversary, from Friday through Sunday, January 21 to 23, visitors can take a “sea lion walk” and talk with knowledgeable naturalists in addition to enjoying sea lions in close proximity. The free, guided walks leave from the sea lion statue every hour on the hour between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. Don’t forget to stop by The Marine Mammal Center and Aquarium of the Bay booths for a complete educational experience. PIER 39’s K-Dock has been declared a “Watchable Wildlife” viewing area by the California Watchable Wildlife Project.

V. Sattui Barrel Tasting & New Release Party

Though Harvest and Crush are always exciting times, this event is one of the most anticipated of the year. The mustard in the vineyards will be in bloom and Napa Valley is just breathtaking. The 2010 vintage at V. Sattui is believed to be exceptional. You will be able to taste and evaluate 17 vineyard-specific wines straight from the barrel and have the opportunity to purchase these wines as futures at special pre-release prices. The event takes place on Saturday, January 29 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Cost is $79 for members and $89 for non-members. For more information, visit www.vsattui.com or call (707) 963-4324.

SFMOMA Opens Windows to the Ocean and Environment

The SFMOMA Artists Gallery’s Windows venue will show the work of San Francisco-based artists Judith Selby-Lang and Richard Lang through June 1, 2011. As a collaborative team, Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang combine their love of the natural world with an interest in science to produce an ongoing series of artworks about oceans and the environment. Since 1999, they have collected and composed art with plastic debris from Kehoe Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore. “Ghost Net,” being displayed at Minna Street, is a haunting reverie on the pernicious entanglements of fishing line, polypropylene rope, monofilament line, and plastic bits that float in the ocean, ensnaring everything (birds, fish, marine mammals) that enters its domain. To depict the magnitude of the problem, this skein of trouble is expressed in way that will snare the passerby with beauty, then tell the tale of this destructive force. “Block Party,” at Natoma Street, consists of 4,600 plastic pieces hung in a display designed to simulate the colorful bits of plastic floating in the ocean. Scientists report that there are on average 46,000 pieces of plastic in every square mile of ocean. This shocking fact, along with our inability to visualize that quantity, compelled the artists to count and exhibit a representative sample. The work therefore contains plastic pieces numbering 4,600, the amount contained in one city block or one-tenth of a square mile of ocean. The SFMOMA Artists Gallery located at Fort Mason Center organizes the Windows Program. It uses the SFMOMA Garage’s street-level windows located at 150 Natoma and 147 Minna Street (Between Third and New Montgomery Sts.) to showcase artwork. The SFMOMA Artist Gallery’s Windows venue can be viewed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The SFMOMA Artists Gallery is located in Building A at Fort Mason Center. Gallery hours are 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission to gallery exhibitions is free. For more information, visit www.sfmoma.org or call (514) 441-4777.

Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival

Join six of the Bay Area’s youth orchestras as they come together for a celebration of music in our vibrant community with a special concert at Davies Symphony Hall.  Proceeds from the concert will benefit six organizations, one within each orchestra’s local community, that provide resources to underserved and homeless youth. The participating youth orchestras include: the California Youth Symphony, the Oakland Youth Orchestra, the Peninsula Youth Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra. The program will include works by Dvorak, Rimsky-Korsakov, Marquez, Ginastera, Sibelius, Richard Strauss, and Respighi. The event is at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on Sunday January 16 at 3 p.m. Admission is $30-$60 general and $15 for students. Tickets are available at www.sfsymphony.org or by calling (415) 864-6000.