Giada Book-Signing

I am a big Giada de Laurentiis fan because her recipes are actually within my culinary reach. I was at Books, Inc. at Stanford Shopping Center this weekend and noticed that she will be there this Friday at 2pm, signing copies of her new book, Everyday Pasta.

For more info, including the rules for the book-signing, click here.

Upcoming Event: Connoisseurs' Marketplace

While driving to Draeger's in Menlo Park last night, I noticed a road closure sign along Santa Cruz Avenue. This weekend, part of the street will be shut down to cars for the 20th Connoisseurs' Marketplace. Here's a description, from the event's web site:

Summer festival season is in full swing. At the top of every festival lovers “must-do” list is Connoisseurs’ Marketplace, Menlo Park’s annual celebration of the Bay Area’s best in visual, performing and culinary arts. Every year on the third weekend in July, charming Santa Cruz Avenue is transformed into a moveable feast with big crowds and a colorful sea of tents. Presented by the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce, this year’s 20th annual festival will be held on July 15-16 with thousands of visitors pouring onto the downtown streets for a vibrant celebration of art, music, food, and all-around family fun.

Connoisseurs' Marketplace
July 15-16, 10am-6pm
Santa Cruz Avenue, between El Camino Real and Johnson Street

After-hours concert featuring Double Funk Crunch, 5:30-8pm on July 15 in Fremont Park

SCAP Fundraising

If you love Vietnamese food and love a good cause, have I got just the thing for you. The Southeast Asia Children's Project (SACP) is holding a fundraiser on June 24.

Jim Keim, the director of SACP, wrote to let me know about the organization's efforts: "SACP is dedicated to the prevention of human trafficking and to the treatment of its victims. Our volunteers, mainly from the Bay Area, travel on a regular basis to Southeast Asia to work on various projects including the creation of a documentary on trafficking (the plight of Vietnamese women trafficked into Cambodia), in the training of social workers, and in the provision of educational scholarships to girls at risk for being sold into prostitution. We are currently active in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand."

More details on the fundraiser can be found here, but below is the general info:

June 24, 7-9pm
Devi Yoga Studio
1011 El Camino Real, Menlo Park
Ticket - $25

P.S. Even if you can't make it to the event, you can contribute in other ways. To support the important work that SACP does, I'm putting a donation in the mail this week.

Peninsula Farmers' Markets

Now that it's finally looking like spring around here, I thought I'd list some of the local farmers markets. Some are year-round, others are just starting up right about now:

Belmont Farmers' Market
Opens for the season on May 7
Caltrain Station @ El Camino Real/O'Neill Street
Every Sunday, 9am-1pm, May-November
(800) 949-3276

Burlingame Fresh Market
Opens for the season on May 7
Park Road/Burlingame Avenue
Every Sunday, 9am-1pm, May-November
(650) 344-1735

Daly City Farmers Market
Serramonte Shopping Center
Every Thursday, 9am-1pm, Year-Round
Every Saturday, 10am-2pm - Starting June 17
(800) 806-3276

Half Moon Bay Coastside Market at Cetrella
Opens for the season on May 6
Cetrella Bistro Parking Lot (845 Main Street)
Every Saturday, 9am-1pm, May-November (except Pumpkin Festival weekend)
(650) 726-4802

Los Altos Farmers' Market
Opens for the season on May 4
State Street/between First and Third Streets
Every Thursday, 4-8pm, May-September
(510) 745-7100

Menlo Park Farmers' Market
Crane/Chestnut Streets
Every Sunday, 9am-1pm, Year-round
(831) 688-8316

Millbrae Farmers Market
Broadway/between LaCruz and Victoria Avenues
Every Saturday, 8am-1pm, Year-round
(650) 697-7324

Palo Alto Farmers' Market
Opens for the season on May 13
Hamilton/Gilman Streets
Every Saturday, 8am-noon, May-December
(650) 328-2827

Redwood City Kiwanis Farmers' Market
Winslow Street/Middlefield Road
Every Saturday, 8am-noon, April-November
(650) 592-4103

San Carlos Farmers' Market
Opens for the season on May 4
Laurel/Olive Streets
Every Thursday, 4-8pm, May-September
(800) 949-3276

San Mateo Farmers' Market
College of San Mateo
Every Wednesday and Saturday, 9am-1pm, Year-round
(800) 949-3276

South San Francisco Farmers' Market
Opens for the season on May 6
Orange Memorial Park
Every Saturday, 9am-1pm, May-November
(800) 949-3276

Friday's Not So Alive

So it looks like developers will be able to move forward with their plan to tear down the old Bay Meadows racetrack and replace it with homes, offices and retail space.

This means the end of Friday's Alive. The end of $1 admission, $1 hot dogs, $1 beers, $1 sodas, $1 racing programs ... PLUS free live music. (The racetrack offers plenty of other dining options, too, but they'll set you back more than a buck.)

The good news is that Bay Meadows will still be open in 2006, so there's at least one more season of Friday's Alive. The event returns on February 3, with Super Diamond rocking it.