Font ResizePoco Dolce's popcorn toffee scores major awardBy Jackie Burrell
Posted:

07/22/2014 12:00:00 PM PDTUpdated:

07/24/2014 12:39:43 PM PDT
Popcorn toffee? Oscars, Tonys, Emmys, James Beards -- you name it, there's an award for it. In the world of fancy foods -- cheeses, confections and swanky snacks -- it's the Sofis, which are handed out each year at the big Fancy Food Show in New York (as opposed to the big Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, where we taste everything from gluten-free water to uber-bizarre jerky. The results are in from the 2014 Sofis, and the Bay Area scored big, with five gold medals.
Poco Dolce's popcorn toffee scored big at the Fancy Food Show awards in New York City.
Poco Dolce
)Among the huzzahs: San Francisco's Poco Dolce Chocolates and its Popcorn Toffee Squares brought home a gold medal for outstanding chocolate; Sonoma County's Bellwether Farms' whole milk ricotta took first place in the cheese category; Pleasanton's Elegant Brie won top honors in the frozen savory category for its Brie en croute, with mushrooms, garlic and scallions; Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. triumphed among the salsas and dips with its Point Reyes Blue Cheese Dip; and Berkeley's Dang Foods won gold for their Dang Toasted Coconut Chips in the snacks category. Ode to O-townWe're never quite sure about vanity press publications -- house-published restaurant cookbooks, for example, or odes to a city, like the new "This is Oakland: A Guide to the City's Most Interesting Places" by Ruby Press owner, publicist Melissa Davis. We always wonder, will it sell in Des Moines? Probably not, but the 90 restaurants, cafes, breweries and boutiques tucked within these pages -- and beautifully photographed by Kristen Loken -- include a very fun mix of some of our favorite places, quirky hot spots and some spots that are new to us.You'll find all the usual suspects arranged by neighborhood: Preeti Mistry's Juhu Beach Club, for example, Charlie Hallowell's Pizzaiolo, the divine Maison d'Etre boutique and the decidedly quirky, slanty-floored Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon, which dates back to 1883. But there are plenty we've missed -- and you probably have, too. Next time you head for O-town, you might want to pull out this book and check off a few. Oh ho, TahoeFrom this weekend's Gilroy Garlic fest to Oakland's Eat Real (Sept. 19-21) and Redwood City's big salsa shindig (Sept. 27), Northern California boasts food fests out the wazoo. But here's one to mark on your calendar: Bid farewell to summer -- and hello, fall -- at the 29th annual Lake Tahoe Autumn Food Wine Festival Sept. 5-7. The festivities include a Wine and Brew Walk at Northstar, a Pedals and Pinots bike ride in Truckee and a retro cocktail bash at Tahoe's Ritz-Carlton, plus grand tastings and cooking demos -- and a Blazing Pans Mountain Chef Cook Off. Big fun. Find details at under the "events" tab.-- Jackie Burrell, Staff


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