Slow Food Dinner - Hayes Street Grill - The Pass

We were seated very close to the kitchen, which I loved. We could look over and see the staff tending to the wood fire oven which was used to grill a few of the seafood dishes. The entire restaurant was used for this dinner so the staff had to prepare about 80 plates for each course and then they were served all at the same time. Not an easy task! We were impressed. But we were the only ones looking in the kitchen. The rest of the guests were content listening to the fishermen describe their boat and their families and the types of fish they caught. We were more happy to watch as the guys in the back of the house took those beautiful fish and prepared them carefully into a VERY tasty meal.

Slow Food Dinner - Hayes Street Grill #2

I wonder why they sat us at our own table...

Slow Food Dinner at Hayes Street Grill

Here I am at the seafood dinner at Hayes Street Grill in San Francisco. We were the only ones with children with us. We had a table to ourselves, which is unusual as Slow Food dinners are meant to bring people together. We didn't mind, it was a great meal.

Slow Food Nation 2008 - Bread Snail

We took the kids to San Francisco for the Slow Food Nation weekend. They loved this snail at the tasting pavilion. It's made of loaves of bread.

Slow dinner not slow enough?

The fund raising dinner at Campanile on Sunday night was a rousing success. I believe a lot of money was raised for the Slow Food event in San Francisco in May of 2008.
Two wines, a Pinot Gris as well as a Riesling were poured freely in the fountain entry and the appetizers were passed by tray by the waitstaff who were eager to please. But this didn't seem slow at all to me. It was a press opportunity for some. Alice Waters and Suzanne Goin were hosting questions and being as personable and homey as possible in such a see-and-be-scene town.
For a minimum of $250 per person, guests were romanced by the grilling virtuosity of Mark Peel (found him out front nursing the lamb legs, we remembered him, not so much on his side...), and the seasonal genius of Alice Waters.
She spoke before we were served our main course. For quite a while she spoke. It was inspirational and very informative to people like my husband who have only heard one person espouse the virtues of eating locally and consciously. For me, it was preaching to the choir. I needed a pep talk about how to make Los Angeles county as foodie friendly and as in touch with American culinary heritage as places like San Francisco, Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles and Temecula.
I had a great dinner. I was happy to participate. But I was craving more. It just wasn't slow enough for me. Maybe I was wrong to expect that?