There’s nothing like literally having tequila for breakfast, Bloody Marys for lunch, and a legend from Bordeaux for an afternoon aperitif.

Eat Drink SF had it all. Over 100 booths from some of the top gastronomy brands from restaurants, to alcohol brands, wines, dessert makers and more. Unlike some gastronomy fairs, I did NOT have one bad experience. Not one.

I mean how could you? San Francisco is the home for acres of Michelin star restaurants, mere minutes away from one of the best wine regions in the world, and the city attracts some of the top talent in the world to its confines.

When was the last time you had a Matcha French mille crepe cake? Exactly! Me neither!  Simply divine! Anton SV Patisserie blew me away the flavour and the execution so much so that I wanted to wrap up the whole booth and take them home with me to Barcelona.

How about bespoke, natural, and freshly made Bloody Mary mixers? Jalapeño or Original? Meeting Diane Mina and listening to her inspirational story about her passion for quality ingredients, forgotten herbs – lovage? never heard of it until now – and the art of the Bloody Mary. Diane, you are a unicorn and rockstar, and your drinks are tasty AF!

Other highlights? You said tequila for breakfast?

Yes I did! Don Julio Tequila, one of the top luxury brands had a great selection of their products and mixes! Paloma? Check. Apple, Tequila and other ingredients? Check! They’ve also put together some pretty impressive recipes on their website that I made their fine young man recite to me. I couldn’t resist. I blame the tequila.

Woodford reserve put on an impressive bourbon tasting with a variety of luxury cheeses, fruits, nuts and more. It was quite the session, and the bourbon? I may be a wine girl, but hey, their bourbon is something very very special.

After tasting, and tasting and tasting, I was stopped in my tracks by Lillet’s set design. wow. Flowers. Arrangements. Art. It was simply spectacular. If you don’t believe me, scroll thru the photos below and you’ll see me standing in front of flowering awesomeness. Their range of aperitifs from the Bordeaux region are legendary, and their set design certainly matched their legendary status. I had the joy of trying out one of their Lilllet Spritz recipes with rosé, recently featured in Goop. Divine. Fresh. Fruity. Yummy!

Eat Drink SF had a top list of personalities from the industry, including Adam Roush from Serpentine, Mat Schuster from Canela, Anthony Tam (my hero) from Anton SV Patisserie, Alain Zang, and more. It was a who’s who of the dining scene!

Put Eat Drink SF 2019 on your list of to do’s. You will not be disappointed at all. I’m looking forward to going back!