For Christmas, in addition to a neat-o Casio keyboard from Fred (to make up for the long lost years my parents stopped paying for piano lessons), Jeremy Townsend of the underground smash hit, Ghetto Gourmet (www.ghetto-gourmet.com), gave me my very own copy of San Francisco: The Unknown City, where GG proudly has a place on page 101. It was rumored he was above Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, so I got to check it out and see if it were true...
Last night, at Ghetto Gourmet's permanent home on Alcatraz and College (is it Berkeley or Oakland?), Jeremy and Chef Cynthia Washburn fed a crowd of 47 to hip Indian cuisine, including Samosas with Persimmon Chutney, Masala Salmon with Basmati Pilaf and Coconut Cashew Saag, and Cardamom Roasted Bananas with Toasted Almonds & Chai Ice Cream. No Ghetto Gourmet dinner is complete without talent. Kamau Bell, who has opened for Dave Chappelle a number of times in the Bay Area and in Southern California, opened the night and dinner guests were later tickled by comedic and unpolitically correct songster, Mark Silverman. During intermission, Jeremy made his usual announcements, advising newbies to "hold on to their forks", and acknowledged the "originals" in the house. How sweet!
It has almost been two years, come February 2006, since Jeremy and his brother, Joe, established Ghetto Gourmet. Although I was initiated to GG in March 2004 (picture to right from Pickled Circus June 2004), I consider myself one of the "originals".
Jaye had heard about GG in the singles section of Craigslist.org and invited me to check out the "pirate" restaurant, situated in the basement of a townhouse across the street from the Claremont DMV. The food was fantastic and the folks were excellent company. I soon came almost Monday night, as much as I could afford it (back then, the dinners were $20 with two buck chuck and massive cheese plate included). Over the past two years, GG has expanded to host dinners at venues like Eli's Mile High Club, the Old Sawmill, and feature acts ranging from fire eating, belly dancing, and ukele music. It's no surprise that Jeremy and Joe Townsend's Ghetto Gourmet has attracted the attention of local media (the Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle) and now, local guide books.
This past fall, the North Bay Bohemian covered Jeremy and Chef Kenny Lowe's latest project, Curious Fork, which I 
was happy to help support (by way of public relations). Curious Fork is similar to Ghetto Gourmet in that a fine gourmet dinner is served, but Curious Fork's aims are higher -- to give back to the community, not only by raising funds for select charities, but also to support local farms and vineyards.Be sure to visit Curious Fork.com for upcoming events and view pictures of past events (www.curiousfork.com/gallery). If you are involved with community organizations interested in raising funds creatively, be sure to let me know!
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/10.05.05/dining-0540.html
Woo-hoo! I'm happy to kick off my blog with exciting news -- after a year and 3 months with the San Francisco Opera, I've been offered and have accepted a promotion as the Annual Fund Officer of Direct Marketing (in Development). The position has been open since May and I just applied for it three weeks ago, after my department had already finalized the selection of external top candidates. There are many people to thank, such as my GGU professors, friends (Jaye and Sarah!), but the catalysts were certainly Fred and Jenni O.! If it weren't for Fred's diligence in breaking down my insecurities over applying for the promotion and Jenni's "stamp of approval" (she had been part of the Marketing Department team that had interviewed me for a Marketing position that I didn't get early last year, an experience that had discouraged me careerwise), I probably wouldn't have applied and would be kicking myself in the arse right now! When the Director of Development asked me what my biggest failure was, I replied, "Not applying for this job sooner!" and I hope to make my tenure in this new position my biggest success.
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