Since it opened in November 2008, Omnivore Books on Food in Noe Valley has endeared itself to the local San Francisco food scene.
With a focus on antiquarian cookery books as well as new food and drink titles, Omnivore Books satisfies the food community’s appetite for references on lost foodways and new culinary trends alike.
Omnivore’s owner, Celia Sack, also organizes a great mix of author events each month – with the occasional pie or punch contest thrown in – and March is no exception. There are quite a few readings scheduled that are sure to appeal to anyone interested in good food, real food, or a sustainable food system.
You can find the full March lineup here, but below are a few of the not-to-be-missed events.
from Omnivore Books:
Thursday, March 8
6 – 7 p.m.
Tanya Denckla Cobb – Reclaiming Our Food: How the Grassroots Food Movement is Changing the Way We Eat
Reclaiming Our Food tells the stories of people across America who are finding new ways to grow, process, and distribute food for their own communities. Their successes offer both inspiration and practical advice. The projects described in this book are cropping up everywhere, from urban lots to rural communities and everywhere in between.
Wednesday, March 21
6 – 7 p.m.
Barb Stuckey – Taste What You’re Missing: The Passionate Eater’s Guide to Why Good Food Tastes Good
A seasoned food developer, Barb Stuckey reveals that much of what we think we know about how taste works is wrong. And the truth is much more fascinating—for instance, your tongue is not divided into quadrants for sweet, sour, salt, and bitter and only a fraction of what you taste happens in your mouth. As Stuckey explains how our five senses work together to form “flavor perceptions,” she tells intriguing stories about people who have lost the sense of smell or taste and the unexpected ways their experience of food changes as a result.
Thursday, March 22
6 – 7 p.m.
Tracie McMillan – The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s Farm Fields and the Dinner Table
What if you can’t afford nine-dollar tomatoes? That was the question award-winning journalist Tracie McMillan couldn’t escape as she watched the debate about America’s meals unfold, one that urges us to pay food’s true cost—which is to say, pay more. So in 2009 McMillan embarked on a groundbreaking undercover journey to see what it takes to eat well in America. For nearly a year, she worked, ate, and lived alongside the working poor to examine how Americans eat when price matters.
Wednesday, March 28
6 – 7 p.m.
Willi Galloway – Eat Grow Cook: A Food Lover’s Guide to Vegetable Gardening, including 50 Recipes
Grow Cook Eat will inspire people who already buy fresh, seasonal, local, organic food to grow the food they love to eat. For those who already have experience getting their hands dirty in the garden, this handbook will help them refine their gardening skills and cultivate gourmet quality food. The recipes at the end of each guide help readers explore the foods they grow and demonstrate how to use unusual foods, like radish greens, garlic scapes, and green coriander seeds.
Each of the events listed above will be held at the bookstore and are free of charge to attend.
Omnivore Books on Food (map)
3885a Cesar Chavez St., at Church St.
San Francisco, CA 94131
415-282-4712
Hours: Mon through Sat 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sun 12 – 5 p.m.
