Life Skills: Surviving Food Festivals with a Dietary Restriction

My grandmothers would not approve of wandering through a big social affair juggling drinks and food in each hand and stuffing my face with mini entrees along the way. And certainly not on board with my peppering the host/chef with questions like ‘is there any dairy/meat/eggs/gluten in this beautiful dish you’ve slaved over’? But that’s the nature of food festivals, and the dietarily restricted brave enough to attend. Despite the disapproval of my grandmothers and the occasional ‘omg there is literally nothing for me to eat’, I’ve turned eating and drinking well at these events into a sport: how many healthy and plant-based bites can I cobble together in a sea of foie burgers, pork baos and bread-bread-bread?

After a month of back-to-back food fests (including the polar opposite Tastemakers SF and Veg Society’s VegWorld Fest), I put my survival tactics to the test. After living to tell the tale, here is my take on food fest need-to-knows:

1. Eat before you go

This is really survival 101 for me. Unless you’re the kind of eater with an iron stomach and an open mind to all things meat and fried, fuel up in advance. If you forget and arrive with an appetite but without options to match your dietary constraints, chances are you’ll end up hangry and unleash that hanger on things you normally wouldn’t normally like a mouthful of truffle fries, random rice side dishes, chips and guac and margaritas (guilty of this with all of the above). Which is fun until it isn’t: tummy ache and regret are 100x worse than a hangover imo. If you instead pre-game eat before the event then you can spend more time mingling and sampling a combo of healthy and slightly naughty bites without being an insatiable, ravenous beast.

At Tastemakers last weekend, a first time event in San Francisco, the only vegan bites were a delicious-but-teeny kiwi popsicle and squares of chocolate from my fave SF chocolatier Dandelion chocolate. Had I not done it up on spaghetti squash and meatless meatballs earlier, I would have been starving or my blood sugar would have been cray. At VegWorld Fest, most of the options were treats - so after a pre-game meal I tried one dairy-free ice cream bar and didn’t need to stuff myself with fried empanadas or greasy noodles.

2. Get info in advance

Get the scoop before the day of the event. Email the organizers, DM their social person on Instagram, whatever you have to do to inquire about vendors making something to fit your dietary restriction. Maybe you’ll be surprised to hear there is someone doing vegan, paleo waffles. Or that unfortunately all you’ll be able to do is drink and eat dark chocolate (this happens to me a lot) so that you can prepare accordingly. This brings me to:

3. Don't be late

Arriving fashionably late is not a thing when it comes to crowded, buzzy food and drinks events. Getting there right when the doors open is the way to guarantee you get as much as you can, sans potential queuing, have the freshest food and get to chat with vendors before they are sweaty and exhausted. At an extended evening affair like Tastemakers SF, that ran from 7pm - 1am, the early birds were the only ones who got to try the IG-famous donut wall. Most of the food was gone by 1030pm, which was the time I was able to get a drink in my hands due to crazy queuing. At niche or more casual events like VegWorld where some vendors were serving food out of large containers - I’d rather have something early rather than after 50 people have talked over the food, getting who knows what into it. Having arrived there thirty minutes after it opened, I had my pick of where to eat - and was able to nab the hot ticket items like Conscious Creamery’s decadent chocolate-covered hazelnut ice cream bar.

4. The best ones are in new places

Getting to run into friends and say hi to favorite restaurateurs while sipping craft cocktails is one of the main reasons to visit a food festival at home. On the road though, checking out a local Pinot fest or Sake Saturday is an easy way to try all of the restaurants on your ‘must visit’ list in one go and possibly make new local friends.

5. There is no dress code

Unless explicitly stated on the invitation, dressing for a food event is a moving target. At Tastemakers, the first woman I saw at the entrance was teetering out of the venue on black stilettos, strapped into a white Herve Leger band-aid dress. The first guys I saw when walking in were in plaid shirts, hoodies and casual jeans. Inside, it was all-out-glam, just-out-of-bed and everything in between. At VegFest, well, we know what the fashion is like at grassroots vegan events: lots of vegan slogan tees (my favorite was a vegan bad bitch cropped version), Tevas and hiking gear. Basically, I would think even my grandmothers agree that ‘you do you’ is the best policy when it comes to crowded food parties.

Northern California's New Retreat Center has the BEST Teacher Lineup and Awesome Food

Northern California's most ambitious new wellness destination—aimed at solving everything from vitamin D deficiency to jiggly tush to addictions to sugar and screen—quietly opened this past May just 60 miles south of San Francisco.

On 75 acres in the redwoods outside Santa Cruz in Scott's Valley, 1440 Multiversity is bringing a dose of modern mindfulness to a former bible college with a higher-education-meets-retreat-style model of classes, workshops, healthy eats, and overnight stay options to fit all budgets. Beyond the old school and every day retreat programming like Qigong and Tai Chi, the magic is in class sizes that feel almost private, and a calendar full of more contemporary offerings features a faculty that reads like a Coachella lineup for yoga and meditation enthusiasts. After a weekend yoga workshop, I left feeling like 1440 is one of the best domestic havens for the 21st century.

As someone who plans family vacations around wellness retreats (it's for their own good!), I got a serious case of FOMO when I first saw the property's massive catalog. This season 1440 will host leading meditation instructors Sharon Salzberg and Davidji; Hollywood favorite yogi Steve Ross and SF's own Wanderlust headliner Jason Crandell. I elected to try Crandell's Optimizing Your Vinyasa weekend yoga retreat—because to this health nut, nothing sounds more luxurious than a weekend full of lunges and anatomy jokes with one of our city's best.

When I checked in for my 36-hour stay, I popped into a general welcome session in the property's stunning, converted mid-century chapel, and then to dinner, where I ate enough tofu and cassoulet to feed a health-conscious army. After dinner, on a very full stomach (I didn't know our first session started that night until a new friend mentioned changing for class over chocolate cookies), I joined about about 25 students for our first two-hour yoga session with Crandell. We dove into the weekend's coursework of opening and strengthening all of the muscles and joints used during traditional Vinyasas (downward dog, chaturanga, lunges, etc). The following morning, midday and afternoon sessions followed a similar pattern of lecture on the day's topic followed by an active yoga session to put into practice what was just discussed. Most of the class plunked down around $700 to stay on campus for an all-inclusive weekend, while a few others were Airbnb-ing or taking advantage of a locals-only day pass. I loved staying on-campus, but also appreciate that they are so flexible in how people want to mold their own stay.

1440's hotel rooms—a mix of converted dorms with rustic shared bathrooms and former public spaces now with private bathrooms and balconies overlooking the surrounding redwoods—might be as close as the Bay Area gets to a five-star wellness resort. But at the end of each day of hours-long yoga practice, all that really mattered was having solid A/C, comfy linens and a view to distract me from my exhaustion as I applied an entire tin of Tiger Balm. Soon there will be an infinity pool and a full spa geared toward soothing those sore muscles (will report back on that one soon); for now, you can try walking it off on the handful of short hiking trails that crisscross the property, or meditate in the redwood "cathedral."

If you prefer to eat your pain—and happen to be vegan, gluten-free or both —you will have come to the right place: 1440 serves thrice daily buffets of health-conscious omnivorous eats that tread the line between corporate offsite and eco-stylish. While not totally plant-based (I wish they were, but I'm assuming this was a business decision to not scare off the South Bay's big tech company meeting planners), high brow takes on traditional retreat fare is served at each meal, which plenty of vegan options. During my visit, I dug into vegan pastries and locally made coconut yogurt each morning; there was also customizable vegan pad Thai and vegan pot de creme. Nearly everything offered is gluten- and sugar-free.

During my last meal, while stuffing my bag with 1440's vegan, gluten-free banana bread, I was already bookmarking pages in the property's catalog for a future visit - to Sadie Nardini's long weekend - COME! As happy as I was as a solo traveler making a yogic pilgrimage, the creature comforts and heavily staffed event production team seem fit to attract big companies—and there is plenty of room and course options to keep us all happy.

Weekend and weekday workshops can be booked with a room and board package, or a la carte. For locals or those who don't require accommodations, a $95 day pass is available for dining and grounds access. Single rooms start at $175 per night.

// 1440 Multiversity, 800 Bethany Dr. (Scott's Valley), 1440.org

Evacuating Wine Country Fires and How to Support

Courtesy of Sandman Santa Rosa

A 3:30am Call in Santa Rosa

I woke up Monday morning at 3:30am to the landline ringing in my hotel room at Santa Rosa's Sandman hotel, a design-y, recently renovated nouveau motel downtown. I picked up after three rings and all within the next minute, maybe a minute and a half, I was told to 'evacuate and evacuate now because the fire was closest to your building', threw on pants/sweatshirt/shoes and grabbed what I could with one arm on the way out to the car. At some point during all of that I opened the front door to assess what was going on, and how big of danger we were in, and a huge billow of thick smoke blew right in, and along with it howls and screams and gusts of wind. 

Once we got downstairs and to our car, we followed another car leaving from the hotel lot as it made a right onto the main road. Because this was the first time I'd stayed in Santa Rosa I had no idea where I was or how to navigate. And because the entryway to the hotel was already in flames, and much more so the vegetation across the street, following someone who might know more than me was what my fight or flight mechanism deemed safest. Seeing we were driving into more fire - to the left and the right and raining from above, my fiance turned around to avoid driving into any larger fires that might lay ahead. At this time there was no news or emergency warnings distributed via mobile to say what this fire was or more importantly what to do and where to go. We were clueless and just trying to GTFO. 

On the other side of the street from the hotel property was a gas station, with a fire truck at one of the pumps and a very calm looking fireman next to the truck. We pulled in, I hopped out of the car (in my nightie/yoga pants/sweatshirt combo) and taking in his relaxed-despite-armageddon all around vibe, attempted to be super chill about the 'why is everything on fire and am I going to die in it?' thoughts swimming in my brain. 

He told us how to get to the freeway going south, where to go and all in such a calm way . We found the onramp, which was also on fire, plowed through the smoke and flames and booked it back home to San Francisco. All the way looking at flames to our left and listening to some super unprepared late night easy listening DJs on the radio try their best to share updates on what was happening. 

Despite the horror of evacuating without knowing what it was we were running from, where to go and where the fires were coming from, I lost nothing. The hotel I stayed at was spared, and the beyond gracious hoteliers have managed to return all of my belongings: phone, clothing, wine in the last couple of days.  I cannot imagine what it's like for those who went through this process to lose every.single.thing. The North Bay communities have been devastated, and continue to be ravaged, by these insane fires. 

So what can we all do? Short of getting a firefighting license or vet tech certificate, most of what these communities are asking for are donations. Cash, clothing, supplies. 

Here are some of my favorite organizations, and how to get involved:

Sweat to support in SF

Sonoma SPCA x Well + Away ride at SoulCycle Castro
Many of the shelters in the Sonoma areas are taking in evacuated families, both those who have lost their home and those are waiting to find out if they still have one, but are unable to accept animals. Sonoma SPCA is temporarily housing so many of these evacuated animals, but also housing strays and treating those who have been burned in the fires. Join us for a Saturday afternoon ride with instructor Chris on October 21 at SoulCycle Castro in SF, all proceeds will benefit Sonoma SPCA. Sign up via Eventbrite. 

MNTSTUDIO benefiting Napa Valley Community Foundation
MNT's studio director Carlie Long is a Napa Native with family throughout the Napa area. MNT is hosting a mat Pilates bootcamp class this Saturday, Oct 14, at 9am. Sign up via MindBody. 

Outside of the Bay Area

Make a donation in any amount to the following funds:

• Sonoma County Resilience Fund:  https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1431417

• Napa Valley Community Foundation:  http://napavalleycf.org/fire-donation-page/

• Community Foundation of Mendocino County:  http://www.communityfound.org/for-donors/donate-today/community-funds/disaster-fund-for-mendocino-county/

Well in SF: Sober Dance Party, Yoga at Bloomies and the class Pop-up

Daybreaker Breaks Dusk

From the creators of the early-morning, non-alcoholic dance party series known as Daybreaker, comes Dusk, this Friday night at Grace Cathedral. The party starts with an hour of yoga taught by Paige Earl, followed by a booze-free dance party DJ'd by the team at Opulent Temple. If you're up for this sober shindig, boozeless happy hour treats will be provided. But be sure to BYO yoga mat if you're planning to take class. // Friday, Oct 6; yoga 6:30-7:30pm, dance party 7:30-9:30pm; at Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St. (Nob Hill); tickets ($25-35) available at daybreaker.com.

Vinyasa 40 Stories Up

Loews Regency Hotel is bringing Sky Deck Yoga back this fall for those wanting to downward dog with a 180 degree view of the city. Now through October 31st, and in partnership with Wheel House, the property will host two weekly Saturday morning classes: one athletic power Vinyasa class, the other a precision Vinyasa with an emphasis on alignment and breath. Both classes end with tray-passed green juice from in-house restaurant Brasserie S&P. Yoga mats and towels are provided. // $25 per class, Saturdays, Loews Regency, 222 Sansome St., (FiDi), loewshotels.com/regency-san-francisco.
 

Core Power + Rosé All Day At Bloomie's

To kick off its October Pink campaign, Bloomingdale's is hosting a pink-themed morning yoga class, taught by Core Power instructor Monica Kaufman, accompanied by pink wine and goodie bags from Spiritual Gangster. What does this mean for your weekend? Saturday morning yoga and rosé literally all day (10am to 4pm), courtesy of Coravin. There is a $10 reservation fee, 100 percent of which will be donated to the breast-cancer-fighting Carey Foundation and Marisa Acocella Marchetto Foundation. // Yoga mat and goodie bags included; doors open at 8:30am, yoga at 9am; Bloomingdales, 845 Market St., (SoMa); sign up at Eventbrite.

Sunset Hike on the Peninsula

Get outside to soak in the fall sights and smells with the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). Amid the glow of the setting sun, trek five miles from the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve to the top of Mindego Hill (newly opened to the public). Snacks will be provided at the top of the hike, and POST guides will be on-hand to share the history and planning of the lands they protect. // Free, Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, (Redwood City); reservations at Eventbrite.

Strength, Spirit and Recovery

If this is the first you're hearing of Taryn Toomey's pop-up class at The Assembly, sadly both Saturday and Sunday sessions are sold out. Keep an eye on the waitlist to sign up for all of the other wellness options the Assembly has in store for its first full weekend of fitness, mindfulness and creative coursework. Classes include HIIT-style strength with Tony Forte, spiritual-strength with Rachael Brooke (of the famously packed 7am SoulCycle classes), and new mobility class called 'The Release' with local fitness celeb Liz Letchford. Art-focused mandala making and a private tour of new work led by artist Heather Day round out the weekend. // The Assembly, 449 14th St. (Mission), theassemblysf.com

Iconic California Dude Ranch Alisal Adds a Touch of Wellness

Source: Alisal

The one time my family of native Angelenos tried to go camping together, it turned out like Troop Beverly Hills or The Parent Trap—an embarrassing comedy of errors. After trying to take one for the team, my city slicker dad got overwhelmed by outdoor noises, lack of heated toilet and low sleeping bag thread count. He checked us into a hotel after he patted himself on the back for making it through two DIY campfire meals. Instead of trying that again the following year, we checked into The Alisal, the classic guest ranch in Solvang, where turndown service, nearby wine tasting, and 10,000 acres of trails to hike and ride got us hooked; a trip to The Alisal became an annual family escape during my childhood years.

It's been nearly 20 years since I last visited The Alisal as a kid on a family trip, so when I heard there had been a large renovation to the spa and a healthy menu upgrade, I grabbed my mom and headed to the ranch resort, located 40 miles north of Santa Barbara. The footprint is the same as it was on my last visit, and just as it was in 1949 when Clark Gable was married on the property; just as it was when the Jackson family opened the property to guests in 1946. A long driveway lined by sycamore trees ends at the barn and a row of cottage-chic guest rooms. At first glance, the only thing that had really changed was the itch that the ranch would scratch for my modern adult self: With nary a bar of network coverage, this trip obliterated any resistance I had for a total digital detox.

There's no major signage or dramatic foyer with sophisticated floral arrangements to receive you upon arrival, just a low-key front desk and a couple of college-age staff to hand over keys and a map of the grounds. The historic ranch, which has hosted the likes of Ava Gardner and Gregory Peck, has been wooing people with simple creature comforts and a five-star ranch experience for generations.

Of the many ranch-appropriate activities offered daily, including archery and air-rifle target practice, morning and sunset horseback trail rides remain the biggest draw. Offered three times per week, a classic Alisal breakfast ride is an hourlong trek across the ranch's stunning acreage.

The wranglers are experts on everything Alisal, from its history to the way they track local animals such as bears, owls and two resident bald eagles. Wranglers will point out things that might otherwise go unnoticed—bald eagle nests and their feathers on the trail. The breakfast that takes place halfway through the ride is a traditional continental affair, featuring pancakes, cereals, fruit and other usual suspects. While a slam dunk for those who prize hearty and classic over healthy and organic, they do their best to accommodate dietary restrictions and the ride itself is so rewarding that breakfast is really just fuel for the way back. 

Opened in 2016, the ranch's 6,000-square-foot spa has been designed to feel like a zen-style barn, with exposed beams and cozy Pendleton blankets in the central lounge, in addition to a fitness center and treatment rooms. Go-to services for the saddle weary include the Trail Blazer, a scrub/massage combo, and a deep muscle massage that gets right down to business post-afternoon activities—there's tennis, hiking, swimming and one-on-one yoga and Pilates classes. The nearly endless options help ameliorate the urge to open your Instagram app. If non-hotel yoga is what you're after, nearby Bloom yoga offers creative and challenging flow classes (and cell service!) - a real delight during my visit.

Alisal's bar and dining rooms are classic California ranch-style: stonework and fireplaces and horse bridles and repurposed barn gear. The nightly live music and bottomless chips and guac make it easy to forget about inboxes and Netflix queues. New chef Anthony Endy is refreshing the food and beverage program with more plant-based fare. Vegan and vegetarian options will be offered nightly in late 2017, with a full refresh appearing in spring of 2018. Until then, the staff are happy to prepare something delicious off-menu to accommodate dietary preferences.

After a traditional ranch-style dinner featuring beautiful seasonal produce from the Santa Ynez valley—a memorable heirloom tomato salad was inhaled in about three seconds, and hearty dishes included fried samosas and luscious risotto. There are no late-night dessert bars or DJs or anything to disrupt the perfect quiet here—just open space and the best excuse to stay in: cozy cottages (35 of the 73 have been recently redone) with cowboy-cool furnishings, Pendleton coverlets, wood-burning fireplaces and gorgeous views from every one. // Studios start at $550/night; The Alisal, 1054 Alisal Rd (Solvang), alisal.com