SPRING LUNCH

In the craziness of May, we sat down for a lovely spring lunch with friends. It felt like a mini vacation. Below are some tips to stop the spinning and take a minute to ENJOY spring.

I grew up in a TINY town in Alabama. It was too small for a restaurant or even fast food. An under-appreciated aspect of this as I was growing up was that everyone hosted in their homes. When most people think of small town Alabama, chic entertaining probably doesn’t pop into their mind, but the women (and men) in my town knew how to do it better than most. From ladies’ brunches to a Friday night “fish fry”, they were beautifully done without a paper plate in sight, but also without being “over done”. Don’t even get me started on tailgate spreads, but that is for a fall issue. This probably explains why living in a city with some of the best restaurants in the country, I prefer a lunch or dinner at home with a crowded table full of people I love. Brooke and I recently had a lovely lunch with friends. In a way that is hard to explain, San Francisco feels like my small town sometimes in the way that people gather and show hospitality. It was a small group so we divided the work and it felt like everyone was hosting: place cards were water-colored, fresh spring dishes filled the table, wine was poured, and much laughter followed. Our lovely artist pal recommends these watercolors. I plan to purchase and sit on our porch this summer painting (a girl can dream). To prepare in the days before, we stopped in at Fisher’s on Sacramento Street. Josie is the owner and has the most discerning eye for detail. It is definitely worth a visit if you are in San Francisco. Be careful, you will want everything!

I love the mix of the freshness of the delicate new placemats, napkins, and glasses with my wedding china and silver. These tiny salt servers belonged to Will’s grandmother, “Mudder”, and they remind me that details are what really make an event. The flowers were done the by the lovely Flowers Claire Marie and were sent ahead of time as a “thank you for hosting”. I thought that was brilliant and actually so helpful. We had the most delicious soup full of all things spring. It was from the talented Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking.

We also had incredible marinated artichokes and a tonnato dip for nibbles to start from Pasta Supply Company on Clement street. Brooke found Massican wine while spending much of Covid in the Napa Valley. It is light and crisp and pairs perfectly with spring flavors. I basically love everything Colu Henry makes and this “Vacationing in Italy” salad is no exception. It literally takes less than five minutes to throw together and will be on repeat this summer. She uses basil, but I had mint on hand and it was delish.

If you have been following along, you know our love for all things Astier . It is so light that is is easy to pass unlike so many large serving dishes. Sue Fisher King is our local go to for Astier. Our lunch music was Noah Kahan and he is playing at The Greek in June. Get your tickets! Now that May is (almost) behind us, slow down a bit and sit with your friends at a pretty table. The “to do” list isn’t going anywhere!

HANG IN THERE! The finish line is near!