From Oakland to Sac-town, the Bay Area and back down
So much to say...so much to say...I've been too busy doing stuff to stop long enough to blabber at your inbox. You are welcome :)
Last week some of us Moxies hit the road for some inspiration and interning out in California. Maurizio (Bread Godfather), John (Sugar Man) and Max (My Main Man) did a little Santa Cruz>SF>Sonoma>San Diego mission.
Our primary goal was a full day stage at Quail & Condor, the official best bakery in California in my book. Melissa and her stellar team loaded us up with so many new ideas our short time there that we could hardly zip them all into our suitcases. Our Sugar Man Chef John Parkinson is playing with different fermentation schedules with our croissant dough, and we hope to release a newer croissant in the coming weeks once we perfect it. Whole wheat has also found a bigger place in our pastry department, so don't be surprised if you find yourself eating really delicious sweet things from us that also have a little higher nutrient density.
Some other amazing stops along the way that we want to share appreciation for the huge hospitality to let our gang of 4 crowd the space, or perhaps "hold the space" as some might say: Cat & Cloud coffee in Santa Cruz, Midwife and Baker in Mountain View, Tartine in SF, Buy Rite SF, Routier in SF, Hog Island, Freight & Salvage Berkeley, some pawn shop in SF that surrendered a 000-28 slot head Martin to me, and every farmers market we could find.
I ended up buying some fresh caught Monterey Bay hamachi and big eye tuna at the Oakland Farmer's Market which I brought on my carry on down to San Diego. Then at the Leucadia Farmer's Market we picked up some squid ink fettuccine, 2 year cheddar, fennel, garlic, rosemary, artichokes, pistachios, and I got to cook my mom up a really special meal. The produce manager at Buy Rite gave us a personal tour of her favorite stuff which resulted in a $180 bag of groceries of epicness including the most beautiful rose colored radicchio ever. Maurizio cried a little holding one up to the light while muttering something in Italian that definitely included the words mama and dios.
It is also possible that in addition to the Martin guitar, I also picked up some amazing crystals, California white sage, Japanese art and textiles that are now on display for sale in our NoBo and Lyons outposts. Tons of great gift ideas for your sweetie. There are two stunning kimonos (or happi coats technically) that I brought back from David Allen hanging in our Boulder shop. These are custom made in Japan using vintage textiles from Asia as embellishments. One of them has an antique Thai Buddha on the chest. Totally stunning.
Chef Brian just cranked out some Cassolette for your mamma too. We will have limited availability at all locations of this divine French comfort food available.
The Frangipane Tart will be available work walk up this weekend as well alongside limited floral bouquets by Lo. We continue to press for pre-orders as you may have noticed, but try to leave some stock available for walk ups as well.
We held a staff appreciation pizza party for our dear friends at Kari Traa who donated over $100,000 in clothing to our community in this time of need. Did you know that Kari is a Norwegian ski racer who took gold in Salt Lake at the Winter Olympics in 2002 in moguls, and this was also the anniversary of her big win.
Nick and Devon Forster stopped in for a hello during the party and I showed my new resonator guitar off to Nick who promptly plucked out a little blues ditty for the party. Gotta love that. We are still working on the details of our E-Town fundraiser, but now Nick is busy preparing to host the star studded virtual fundraiser concert with Dave Mathews, Trey Anastasio and just about every other favorite band we have. Tickets are available HERE
Today we will hear from one of the most innovate bands around right now River Whyless. Check out the violinist Halli Anderson's very Eastern take on her instrument. It often reminds me of old Chinese music the way she plays it.