On a recent trip to San Francisco, I had an opportunity to escape the hectic urban energy and explore the bay side of the San Francisco Peninsula.
The Peninsula is the thumb of land south of San Francisco that separates the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay. Small beach towns like Pacifica and Half Moon Bay line the side of the peninsula facing the ocean. The side facing the bay offers its own natural escape from the city, and from the highways that lead to Silicon Valley, the high-tech capital of the country just a few miles away.
To find nature thriving not far from the urban scene and far removed in spirit from technology was a treat indeed.
I became immersed for a few hours in the vibes of both a historic estate and the impressive metamorphosis of a former brewery into a sleek, modern restaurant.
Filoli the Magnificent
The sprawling Filoli estate, located midway between the bay and the ocean, occupies 654 acres of prime Bay Area real estate. It features 16 acres of historic gardens, and a magnificent home open for touring and special events.
The home was built in 1917 as a private residence and is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian revival architecture in the country.
We did not tour the 54,000-square-foot mansion, but we wandered among various manicured gardens, catching a glimpse of the “Gentleman’s Orchard.” A one-mile trail winds through natural lands and five distinct ecosystems.
Wine Tasting al Fresco
Our visit had a food and wine focus. And where better to enjoy a wine tasting than in a garden as magnificent as Filoli? The 10-acre walled garden is divided into smaller “rooms” to serve various purposes. It was in one of these rooms that Master Sommelier David Glancy shared his innovative approach to wine enjoyment with our group.
A Master Sommelier, Glancy founded the San Francisco Wine School in 2011. Since then, his name has become associated with world-class wine education. He is one of only 12 master sommeliers in the world to also hold the Certified Wine Educator designation.
His underlying message? “Throw away the rules and forget your preconceptions.” Glancy challenged us to define our likes based not only on the wines, but also on the different ways various foods alter our individual perceptions of each wine.
Glancy suggests ignoring the dictates that pair specific wines with certain foods. If you’re serving wine with dinner, he says, select two wines to accompany each course and allow guests to choose their favorite. Alternate sipping each wine with tasting each food. Consider how different foods affect your enjoyment of each wine.
That’s what we did under his tutelage at the Filoli wine tasting.
Each guest received four glasses of wine. We first had a small sip of each.
Our samples included an Abruzzo Pecorino, a dry Italian white the color of straw, a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, a French red – St. Estephe – from the left-bank region of Bordeaux, and a Mosel Spatlese Riesling. We drank in the beauty of the site as much as we enjoyed tasting the various wines. Hearing this expert’s views and recommendations was a bonus.
Then, the tasting became more interesting.
Individualizing Our Enjoyment
A small plate of various food samples prepared by Cynthia Bloebaum, resident chef at San Francisco Wine School was set at each place. The selections included triple cream brie, pickled squash, wedges of hard pecorino cheese, and spicy eggplant Calabrese. Glancy noted that the food selections represent the four basic flavors of most foods: fat, acid, salt, and spice (or heat).
We sipped each wine alternately in tandem with each of the food samples.
“We all have individual palates and unique perceptions,” according to Glancy, who notes that there is no single best way to select wine for a particular food. In general, his advice is to match the intensity of the wine with the intensity of the food to be served. Offer light wines with light foods, and heavier wines with more robust menus. Beyond that, he said, enjoyment is about personal preference and individual taste.
The tasting, moderated by Glancy and Kristin Campbell, chief operating officer of San Francisco Wine School, was unlike any tasting or pairing event I had previously attended.
The Takeaway
It was enlightening and exciting. Among our group of wine enthusiasts, there was little consensus. A show of hands confirmed that favorite pairings tended to be almost equally divided among the group, and that surprised us all. Except, perhaps, David Glancy.
It was time well spent. I left feeling more secure about “breaking the rules” of wine pairing, both when dining out and when serving wine in my own home. The bottom line? No single wine will enhance all foods, and varied foods affect good wines in distinctive ways.
For anyone with a serious interest in wine, San Francisco Wine School offers programs for both online and personalized instruction. Summer programs can help you boost your wine knowledge before a wine country vacation or give you the confidence to order from the best restaurants in the world.
If you’re in the area, check out programs like Wine Wednesday Workshops, Thirsty Thursday Tastings, and Foodie Friday Pairing Dinners. Glancy’s online eWine School employs a university-style curriculum that can lead to specialist certification, and innovative programming also makes hybrid/ZOOM tastings and other online seminars available.
Savor Plant-based Fare at Twelvemonth
Later the same day, we were once again surprised, this time by dinner at Twelvemonth. The relatively new plant-based restaurant is in the heart of Burlingame’s historic downtown.
Owner Bob Trahan, once Facebook’s director of engineering, left the high-tech world to become a restaurateur. He worked both as a prep cook and a line cook at different eateries before becoming a business owner.
From the beginning, this contemporary, upscale restaurant has been a hit with locals. With a signature rotating menu that changes seasonally, Trahan and his staff have taken locally sourced dining to new heights. And they’ve done it by serving plant-based food that earns rave reviews even from dedicated omnivores.
I don’t think I had ever had vegetarian dishes so imaginatively prepared and beautifully presented.
The Vision Become Reality
Housed in a former brewery that closed during the pandemic, Twelvemonth’s physical space is a blend of aged brick, mirrors, glass, soothing earth tones, live plants, and comfortable seating options. There are tables for two, curved banquettes, long tables for larger parties, and private rooms for groups.
The soaring open space is divided into manageable sections around a central bar. It doesn’t feel cavernous, even with the former brewery’s high ceilings.
An inviting dog-friendly courtyard leads to the entry. Umbrella tables and lounging banquettes surrounded by growing trees and flower-filled planters invite guests to order a before-dinner aperitif, or linger after dinner to enjoy coffee under the stars.
Trahan based his restaurant vision on a commitment to contribute to a “healthier, more sustainable world.” He traded his office for a greenhouse and a cookstove to help fulfill his vision of a better, more natural lifestyle.
Twelvemonth fulfills that goal for its patrons – from morning coffee at the restaurant’s adjacent Bakehouse to a happy hour drink at the bar, from after-work hors d’oeuvres on the patio to an eight-course tasting menu in the evening.
It’s All About the Food
The food served at this sleek, contemporary restaurant certainly captured my attention. I had never imagined that a plant-centric menu could be so appealing.
Food is fresh, locally grown or produced, and prepared with care. “We source from local farmers, champion waste reduction, and push the boundaries of vegetable-first creativity,” explains the founder. He added that “everyone can play a part in imagining a healthier, more sustainable world.
It’s the creative part that is so evident at this eatery. We all know that vegetables are good for us. But dining at Twelvemonth is akin to embarking on a treasure hunt to find the prize. Only, in this case, each selection is a prize.
What’s Not to Love?
Starters on our menu included roasted beets with cultured yogurt, crispy maitake mushrooms with pickles and a whipped ranch dipping sauce, cucumbers and melons with mint and a green tahini dressing with black lime, and two distinctive soups.
Portions are generous, and our table opted to share multiple appetizers and several entrees.
We also sampled the Autumn Chop Salad with brussels sprouts, kale, pomegranate, pickled carrot, shinko pear, blue cheese, chickpeas, bird seed, and a herb vinaigrette.
Our tasting menu included Campanelle, a type of pasta with maque choux, feta, and Cajun spiced corn nuts. Maque choux is traditional to Louisiana. It is derived from braising onion and garlic with corn, celery, green bell pepper, and sometimes okra and tomato. We also ordered Squashio e Pepe, radiatori pasta paired with honeynut squash, black pepper miso and parmesan.
There were also blue corn tamales with smoked oyster mushrooms, served with barbecue sauce and collard greens, and a pear curry featuring jasmine rice with pearl onions, Brussels sprouts, fennel, sweet potato and butternut squash.
Needless to say, we all tasted it all. And I loved them all.
And, because of what we had learned at the afternoon’s wine tasting, we also chose a variety of wines to enjoy with our food. However, the cocktail menu is nearly as enticing as the food options. Diners may choose from imaginative zero proof cocktails and house-made sodas, fresh-squeezed juices, or cocktails made with distinctive spirits and fresh fruit.
True to Trahan’s Vision
Plant-based ingredients are exclusively used to prepare Twelvemonth’s dishes. He makes no apologies and there is no attempt made to mimic non-vegetarian options. The dishes stand alone and proud, and they’re delicious.
Even the building was refurbished with inclusivity and sustainability in mind. It received a Platinum LEED rating. The rating is based on the installation of solar panels, a rain-water catchment system, upgraded insulation, and construction materials that reduce environmental impact and maximum energy savings.
An outdoor garden and greenhouse produce some of the restaurant’s menu ingredients.
Trahan says that Twelvemonth exists to foster genuine connections – with the city and its people, the community and visitors, and with diners and their food. It works. “It’s all about harmony with one’s environment,” he adds.
The San Francisco Peninsula hosted my visits to Filoli and Twelvemonth.
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Adrienne Cohen blogs at Good Food and Faraway Places.
