When my friend mentioned that we were going to Verbena for dinner during our food tour of San Francisco, I hadn't heard of the new restaurant by Chef Sean Baker, but I had heard of his other restaurant, Gather, in Oakland. Considering Gather's reputation for local, sustainable fresh ingredients, I was rather excited. Located on Polk Ave in the hip Russian Hill, Verbena is a quintessential Northern California restaurant from the menu to the sustainable, natural decor. The menu is produce-focused but has a fair amount of omnivore options. And all of the products used come from small artisan farmers and ranchers in the area with which they have direct relationship. Verbena (1) We started with cocktails which feature seasonal ingredients and spirits from small producers.
If you don't have time to take a trip to the state of Washington, you don't have to go far to get a taste of Washington. Head to your nearest Omni Hotels & Resorts throughout the month of May and partake in their "Taste Washington" program that spotlights the wines of the region.....that's what we did when we went to Noe at the Omni in downtown LA. “Taste Washington” is part of Omni Hotels & Resorts popular culinary series “Flavors of the World”. The wines and foods of Italy, Argentina, Spain and France have been featured in the past. This year they are focusing on domestic wines. And with Washington State producing high quality wines at great value, as well being the No. 2 premium wine grape grower in the U.S., it is the perfect fit.
I travel to San Francisco regularly. Sometimes its a day trip, usually its an overnight trip and occasionally there are a few extra days to plan and explore. Explore what? Restaurants of course. There are so many to try in San Francisco and one that has constantly evaded me is State Bird SF.  State Bird is one of those restaurants that you have to plan far in advance to try to get one of the limited reservations. Or, you can line up each night before they open, which is what we did. State Bird SF (1) We didn't know what to expect or how early to get there. With the doors opening at 5:30pm, we lined up at 4:30 and we were not the first ones there. But, when the door opened up, the line quickly moved and we were told to return at 7:30pm for dinner. Perfect!
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