Ideal Bite

There is one other thing we have to fear: a beer and wine tasting event where most vendors are pouring you full glasses of wine and beer while also being pretty lax about taking your drink tickets. Yikes.

I hit up the fourth annual California Certified Organic Farmers Organic Beer and Wine Tasting Event in SF on Friday evening, and though the details of the event are a bit hazy, I do recall a few things that might help guide your picks next time you're in the market for some booze.

• Uncommon Brewers' Siamese Twin Ale – a Belgian-style Double that's rich and malty with a little citric kick - was essentially my obsession of this past summer. But since that's the only one they

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On Friday Erica and I went to West Coast Green, a big, yearly design conference here in SF. Companies showcased tons of sweet, new products and technology. Some favorites:

• Lemnis LED light bulbs - next generation LED bulbs are brighter, last 25 years, and even work with dimmers. (That's E and I with very dapper Lemnis founder Warner Philips, great grandson of the Philips electronics dude.) You heard it here first - LEDs are the new CFLs.
• Mateveza IPA - just-released version of the mate/beer blend doesn't have the bite of your average IPA, making it a great choice for

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Last night I got my grub on - something I love to do - at the Farm to Table event at the Broad Street Ballroom in NYC. I love going down to the Wall Street area…it feels like you’re in a totally different city. Anyway, my friend and I got to taste tons of great dishes that were organic and/or sourced from within 100 miles of the city. Our tops picks were:Basil Strawberry Lemonade with LiV Vodka from Long Island

• Country Duck Sausage from the Hudson Valley
  
• Watermelon

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A new restaurant is opening up in the IB SF office 'hood on Monday, and due to its close proximity to our South Beach HQ alone, it's deserving of a mention. Welcome, Ironside, the new outfit from the folks that brought you (us...) wine to be imbibed whilst sitting in a U-shape at District.

Dear Ironside, 

We can't wait to add you to our exhausted (but once great) roster of rotating lunch haunts. Butler and the Chef, South Park Cafe, Mexico Au Park, Brickhouse - smell ya later.

Love, 
IB

Ironside set up shop in the Chronicle Books building, in s space formerly home to the Moore Shipbuilding Co. This new iteration is made of reclaimed materials: barn wood,

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Big news in the "eco-water bottle" industry this week: the devastating announcement from green bottle darling, SIGG,  that all of its aluminum bottles produced and distributed prior to August 2008 are lined with BPA-containing plastics. Ouch. 

Riding in like an opportunistic, stainless-steel-shrouded knight in shining armor, to perform a PR stunt that could potentially benefit you: Petaluma, CA-based, Mexico-made CamelBak. CamelBak is offering 500 of you the opportunity to get an insulated CamelBak Better Bottle Stainless Steel water bottle for free when you send in a pic of your naughty Bisphenol A bottle. 

For a list of the bad, qualifying bottles, Read the full post... 

Last week I ventured to Studio City to check out the new sports bar/pub, Henry’s Hat (from the people who brought us Luna Park in LA and SF). Martha Madison, former Days of Our Lives soap star, is the leading lady of HH's seasonally-driven cocktail program. I enjoyed her sour Strawberry Basil Gimlet so much that I just had to score the recipe for you. Grab some basil from your windowsill herb garden or local farmers market, mix with a handful of strawberries, lots of lime, a bit of vodka, and then muddle away.

Strawberry Basil Gimlet
Serves 1

Ingredients:
(local and organic whenever possible)
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B.A. Winner

Is there a Dr. in the house? M.A.ybe so - help your kid, friend, or sibling hit the books with a degree of eco-style, by sending them off with supplies like recycled bulletin boards and reusable laundry gear - or bundle smaller stuff into a PVC-free backpack or storage bin as a care package. No PhD required.

(For pre-college kiddos, check out A Biter's Guide to Hitting the Books next month.)

1. Sheet smarts.

All-nighter pulled. Paper slipped under the Prof's door five minutes before it was due. Time to crash…on soft, 100% organic-cotton sheets - no pesticides involved. PBteen's Read the full post... 

Love icy lemonade? Ditto. We’re headed for 90-degree days here in Chicago where I live, so this recipe’ll taste sweet - only a little less so for the agave syrup, which has a lower glycemic index than regular refined sugar. Drink up.

-Mama Bite Editor Alison
From Mama


Back to Nature Lemonade
Adapted with permission from the Kitchen Commando
Makes 8 cups

Ingredients (local and organic whenever possible):

8 lemons for juice, plus 1 sliced for garnish
3/4 cup agave syrup
2 Read the full post... 

It’s been killer hot in NYC the past couple of days - like in the 90s (ok, low to mid 80s but still). And although I turned on the AC for the first time this summer, I’m still sweating come morning (and not for reasons I’d hope…wink, wink). Luckily, Rockin’ Raw gave us another way to find pleasure in this scorcher - their Watermelon Cooler. I added the vodka which is totally optional…but, come on.

Rockin' Raw's Watermelon Cooler
Makes a 16oz. glass

Ingredients:
(local and organic whenever possible)

• 1 cup of fresh watermelon
• 1/2 inch slice of fresh ginger
• 1 inch slice of fresh cucumber
• 1/2 cup of ice
• Pinch of sea salt
• One or two

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I once saw a clock where all of the numbers were five, so there you have it. Being a Midwest girl at heart, the whole cocktail hour thing is very much ingrained into my being, and I've been especially digging the concept during these long summer SoCal days.

I recently went to Culver City to check out Akasha's Happy Hour (2:30-7 pm, Monday-Friday; 50% off all wines by the glass, specialty drinks, and beers on tap.) I tried a few cocktails, and although vodka's typically my poison, the Emerald City kinda took the cake: organic juniper gin, house-made basil exlir, and fresh lime. Plus the color of it is this insanely pretty shade of green.

And if you want some nosh, you can order off the bar menu till 5:30 pm (think pizzas, onion rings, sweet potato fries, hummus and flatbread - all made with Read the full post...