Must-Attend May Events in S.D.

Something's in the air in San Diego--there are so many local events going on this month alone that sound terrific that I want to share just a few.

This is short notice, but the annual Gator by the Bay Zydeco, Blues & Crawfish Festival is coming this weekend (May 10-12) at Spanish Landing Park (across from the airport). It's a chance to take in some Louisiana culture and eat some terrific Cajun and Creole specialties, like boudin sausage, catfish, crawfish etouffé, po' boy sandwiches, seafood gumbo, jambalaya, fresh oysters (from Carlsbad Aquafarms), beignets, boiled peanuts, sweet potato pie, and homemade ice cream. And, of course, boiled crawfish with potatoes and corn from Mitch Olivier of Crawfish Corner in Opelousas, Louisiana.

There will also be cooking demos, live bands, and dancing. And crawfish. You can buy tickets here.

Next up is Restaurant 404k, the May 21 pop-up restaurant event Burlap chef Anthony Sinsay is holding to raise funds for Southwest High School, his alma mater (class of 2001). In honor of his late home-ec and nutrition teacher Sharon Kleinschmidt, who taught for almost 48 years, Sinsay has created The Sharon Kleinschmidt Culinary Scholarship. He's taken a total of nine students as interns to stage in his kitchen over three weeks. At the end of the three weeks, he'll work with them to prepare a four-course menu for the pop-up at Southwest High School.

Tickets are $40 per person and the proceeds will go directly to providing scholarships to students at the Regional Occupational Program in Culinary Arts at Southwest High School under the auspices of his new scholarship fund.

You can reserve and buy tickets by calling the school at 619-628-3023 or send an email to soh404k@gmail.com.

Finally, here's an event that is a crowd pleaser every year that benefits The San Diego Council on Literacy.

Eat. Drink. Read. will be held this year on May 22 at the NTC Promenade McMillin Center in Pt. Loma from 5:30 to 8 p.m. As always, there's a terrific lineup of restaurants with book-inspired gourmet dishes. The list includes Amaya at the Grand Del Mar and La Jolla, Casa Guadalajara, Chaplos Restaurant & Bar, Craft & Commerce, Jsix, Leroy's Kitchen & Lounge, Rancho La Puerta, Sycuan Casino, The Lion's Share, The Red Door, Urban Solace, and Whisknladle--plus a number of fab vendors, like Eclipse Chocolate, Sadie Rose Baking Company, Stone Brewing, Banks Rum, Callaway Vineyard & Winery, Ryan Bros. Coffee, Solar Rain, and Honest Tea.

Tickets are $65 and can be purchased at www.eatdrinkread.com.

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What Are You Doing This Month? Three Places to Be.

Like you, I go through phases when I'm almost never home and it looks like I'm about to hit one again--there's just so much going on for food lovers in May in San Diego. I'm just going to mention three I think you should pay attention to. I've linked to the sites at the top to send you to more information or ticket sales.

GMO Labeling forum and fundraiser at Warwicks, May 4 at 7 p.m. There is a battle going on over genetically modified (or engineered) organisms. This is a plant or meat product that has had its DNA artificially altered in a lab. You might be aware that corn, for instance, is now commonly engineered to produce pesticides in its own tissue. There have been no long-term studies of GMO safety to humans and there's no labeling required in the U.S. to alert consumers that food they buy has been genetically modified (unlike many other countries, which do require it). There is an effort to put a proposition on the November ballot in California that would require food sold in retail outlets in California to be labeled if it includes genetically modified ingredients. It's called The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. You can learn more about the ballot measure, GMOs, and labeling at this upcoming forum hosted by the La Jolla Village Merchants Sustainability Committee. It will feature:

• Nancy Casady: Member, California Agriculture Board & GM, People's Food Co-op in OB

• Mike Copass: Genetic engineer & microbiologist

• Fernando Aguerre: Reef co-founder & president, International Surfing Association

• Isabel Cruz: Restaurateur (Coffee Cup, Isabel’s Cantina & Barrio Star) and farmer (Stargazer Farm)

• Moderator: Michelle Ciccarelli Lerach, attorney & owner of Cups/Cups Culinary, La Jolla 

Eat. Drink. Read. A Culinary Event for Literacy at the NTC Promenade McMillin Event Center in Liberty Station, May 16 at 5:30 p.m. Reading and food are a natural pairing. This year's lineup of chefs is as inspired as the books they chose to base their dishes on, including Whisknladle's Ryan Johnston (Playing for Pizza), Urban Solace's Matt Gordon (A Moveable Feast), The Red Door's Miguel Valdez (The Odyssey), George's Modern's Trey Foshee (A Sheltering Sky), Gabardine's Chad White (Ugly Fish), Eclipse Chocolat's Will Gustwiller (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Craft & Commerce's Craig Jimenez (Beyond the Reef), and more. Plus, there will be drinks courtesy of Stone Brewing Co., 12 Signs Wine, Honest Tea, Solar Rain, SOL Market, Craft & Commerce mixologists, and DiningOutSD. Tickets are a steal at $60 and the proceeds help support the vast array of local literacy projects supported by the San Diego Council on Literacy.

Le Dîner à San Diego at an undisclosed location on May 25 at 6 p.m. They've taken place in France, Germany, and last year in Chicago, New York, Altanta, and San Francisco. Now it's San Diego's turn. Here's your opportunity to participate in a giant flash mob pop-up picnic dinner. For $25 a person, you show up (the where is still a mystery and part of the fun) dressed in white with a picnic meal, drinks, dishes, utensils, linens, chairs, etc. The organizers provide a table, entertainment, and who knows what else. Don't want to make your own meal? No prob. Le Dîner à San Diego has partnered with catering firm Campine and Snake Oil Cocktail Co. Now you can buy tickets and a five-course meal with champagne for $50 a person. We're talking house-made pâté, local charcuterie, a spring quinoa salad, roasted whole jidori chicken, and more. It'll be an intimate dinner of up to 4,000 and proceeds will benefit Slow Food Urban San Diego, which will organize school field trips through the group's farm-to-school program.



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