By Andrew Freeman–
Hello! I’m Andrew Freeman and I was born with a fork in my mouth. I am delighted and honored to be filling in for David Landis, The Gay Gourmet, while he recuperates from his shoulder surgery.
For my initial article, I am celebrating the art of the dinner party. But first, here’s a little bit about me. I have been blessed to work in the Bay Area market for the last 30 years. My specialty is marketing and promotion of all things culinary: chefs, restaurants, wine, and delicious foodie products. I have two agencies, af&co. and Carbonate, which both specialize in hospitality marketing and branding. In addition to food and drink, we also represent hotels and wonderful destinations. Af&co. will celebrate 20 years in November, so to say I am beyond proud is an understatement.
I’m a Jewish gay boy from New Jersey (attention, single fellas!) and I live my life in restaurants and on trips. When I’m not working, you can find me at Barry’s Bootcamp (obsessed a bit), working with one of my amazing charities (Foodwise, REAF, Dress for Success, and Meals on Wheels), at the theater, or tooling around town with my pup Dolly (named after the legendary Miss Parton).
Okay, let’s get on with the show! As a young chubby boy growing up in Passaic, New Jersey, I was different. While quite a few people didn’t get me—my obsession with divas, my outfits, and the fine details of lower middle-class suburban living—one amazing person did, my mom, Gerry! Mom, like me, also didn’t fit into our community; she was a lively spirit who met my Dad at 19 in the Catskills (think Dirty Dancing) and made the decision to marry him and move to NJ. However, my Grandma Birdie insisted that Mom didn’t lose the foundation of her polished upbringing. So, despite the fact that we lived in a two-family row house, our apartment was always the most stylish one on the street. Mom never left the house without being in full hair and makeup, and man oh man did she rub off on me. I loved her. One of the main lessons Mom taught me was attention to detail; when she opened up our home to host a dinner party, nothing was overlooked. She and I would sit at the Formica kitchen table and plan every detail: the menu, the décor (theme if needed), and the most important consideration was the guest list.
Mom understood, and instilled in me, that the key was curating the right mix of guests; finding the perfect balance to create an atmosphere where chemistry could thrive was essential to her. There were always the repeat guests: Aunt Millie (everyone loved her), Aunt Selma (a spirited conversationalist), and Uncle Jerry (the dapper bachelor of the family whom I sometimes believe I got my “special gifts” from—read between the lines).
On the night before each dinner party, to my Dad’s chagrin, I was busy in Mom’s closet figuring out the right outfit for her. I mostly went for stunning evening gowns, and Mom had to convince me that something a bit simpler like a tweed pantsuit or a floral moomoo was more appropriate. I was ultimately fine because she looked gorgeous in whatever she wore.
The dinner parties would start, and though I wasn’t invited, I would linger in the kitchen listening to the chatter and assessing if we had a success on our hands. Somewhere between entrées and desserts, I was summoned to join the party in my PJs prior to bedtime to entertain the crowd for a few minutes—a joke, a song, or a funny story. In exchange, I got to eat dessert with the party. My brother Ricky was invited too, but he was usually stoned, so he showed up for a minute to say, “Hey,” and make a quick exit to his basement lair. The next day, during my school lunchbreak, Mom and I would discuss the highlights of the party and make notes for the next one.
This brings me to today. I love, love dinner parties. Mind you, they are not at home; I don’t cook, but I love going to parties at which I am always the “Uncle Jerry.” When I host dinners, I love inviting groups to restaurants to enjoy amazing nights out with me. When I got the opportunity to pen this story, I thought, “Let’s celebrate the art of the dinner party.”
For my first dinner party for this assignment, I chose the legendary One Market Restaurant. Its location at the foot of Market Street, the amazing team, and its enduring staying power have made this spot part of the fabric of our city. This was a very special night. Chef Mark Dommen had invited Chef Nelson German, who owns two restaurants in Oakland (Ala Mar and Sobre Mesa) and is now the Chef/Partner at the recently opened high-profile Meski in lower Nob Hill.
These two chefs came together to create a dinner celebrating Black History Month to benefit, in part, the Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD). One Market’s amazing Wine Director, Tonya Pitts, brought in the esteemed Black winemaker Mac McDonald of Vision Cellars to work his skills in pairings for the meal.
Once everyone arrived, we got settled and I knew I had a success on my hands. The energy in the room was full of love and excitement. The amazing dishes and wines were flowing. Everyone was hugging, and plans were being made for future get-togethers.
I invited four of my favorite Bay Area personalities, and in addition to the amazing conversations that came naturally, I asked them three questions. The following is a summary of our dinner. I invite you to enjoy the magic that occurred that evening. You will have quite a list of spots to visit too.
My Guests
Christine Farren
Executive Director, Foodwise
https://foodwise.org/
@christine.farren
Kimberly Charles
Founder & President, Charles Communications Associates
and Co-Founder, Come Together – A Community for Wine
www.charlescomm.com
@CharlesComm,
@cbrulee
Liam Mayclem
Principal /Personality/Auctioneer
Liam Mayclem Productions, Inc
https://www.bookliam.com/
@liammayclem
Peter Gamez
President & CEO of Visit Oakland
www.visitoakland.com
@visitoakland
@sf_hunter
The Questions
Andrew Freeman: Why do you love the Bay Area dining scene?
Kimberly Charles: I love the fresh ingredients and farmers’ market-driven nature of the Bay Area. We are so lucky to be able to source, year-round, great ingredients from our beautiful state. No matter what the cuisine, we have incredible produce to choose from, and we can be hyper seasonal easily. You notice it when you travel and see farmers’ markets in other cities that still have a lot of conventional produce. We are lucky and very blessed.
Christine Farren: Because I work for Foodwise, which runs the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market, I get to see many of our best chefs shopping at the market. They are incredibly collaborative and are always chatting with their fellow chef friends about what they are doing in their kitchens. What is being celebrated is sharing information, what they are excited about, what just came into the market for the week, and how they can help each other out. It feels so supportive to be this way in a pretty difficult industry. Watching these interactions really fills my cup weekly!
Liam Mayclem: It’s because of our amazing, diverse, resilient, vibrant dining scene that I have a job as the Foodie Chap on KCBS (since 2011). I have immense respect for the people behind the restaurants here in the Bay. The culinary professionals are in it with purpose, unbridled love, and mad passion. Few are in it for the money because financial success is simply not guaranteed in this arena anymore. Sad but true. To be around the amazing “foodie folk” who are in the back and the front of house inspires me always—and for those who are still at it post pandemic, I have nothing but gratitude and respect.
Peter Gamez: The Bay Area has an incredibly diverse dining scene. There are 125 languages spoken in Oakland and that diverse culture is represented in our dining scene. You can get delicious, authentic global cuisine throughout The Town. Our location is another plus with our dining scene. We are so close to other great dining destinations; 10 minutes from San Francisco, and 30 minutes from Napa and Sonoma. We are very lucky!
Andrew Freeman: What are your favorite spots right now?
Kimberly Charles: Mijote in the Mission. It’s in my neighborhood and I love it!
Christine Farren: Shuggie’s Trash Pie + Natural Wine, for so many reasons, but mostly because it is a place designed for serious fun. And now they have jazz shows every Tuesday and Sunday from 6–8 pm. They are free! All guests are asked to do is order food and drinks and tip the performers generously. Now that’s a deal!
Liam Mayclem: Prelude has a fun, flavorful menu with a nod to the South and to the chef’s roots. The tasting menu takes you on a yummy, tasty voyage with lots of surprises. It’s one of the best meals I have had in ages. Next for me is Bon Délire, a vacation to Paris on the San Francisco waterfront. (It has) an amazing ambiance, a DJ playing vinyl, and a lively bar staff serving up inventive cocktails. The menu brims with all my French food favorites. Trust me, this place is a wow!
As for my favorite bar, it’s Casements in the Mission. The food is top of the pops and every dish takes me home to Ireland. The service at Casements is warm, the cocktails are a knockout, and there are plenty of Irish whiskeys to choose from. The cozy little back garden is the coolest spot in town.
Peter Gamez: It is impossible for me to pick a favorite. I love that I can grab the most delicious taco or burger from a local truck, enjoy an unforgettable meal at a locally owned spot, and dine at a 2-star Michelin restaurant, all while staying in Oakland. All our neighborhoods offer a unique mix of cuisine and culture.
Andrew Freeman: Your favorite restaurant or bar memory? Or favorite dish?
Kimberly Charles: I loved a drink made by Mark Guilladeu, Master Sommelier, who used to run the spirits program at Commis. He just competed in the Best Sommelier World Competition and has such talent. He made a cocktail called The Farallons and it was such a Proustian Bay Area moment where sea and land converged in the drink! It could only be relevant to those who live here in terms of the feeling and sensations it evoked.
Christine Farren: Bars with (good) live music hit a sweet spot for me. (It is) even better when the watering holes straddle that line between dive/art/ and classic neighborhood bars; a place that is undeniably unique with such a “there there” that it couldn’t be anywhere else. This, for me, is Specs’ 12 Adler Museum Cafe on Columbus Avenue. One night, I went to hear keyboardist Ray Jacildo play; he hails from Vallejo (and is now Nashville-based). He was in the Bay to visit family. I looked across the room to see Comstock Saloon owner Jonny Raglin deep in conversation with Martin Cate, the creator of Smuggler’s Cove. These two helped put San Francisco on the map for craft cocktails, and they have also been big champions for local musicians. That night was all 1960s jazz and funk. It was just one of those magic moments when it’s clear that the cultural nightlife of San Francisco is an interconnected web of passionate creators who have so many interests and identities. They are writers, musicians, businesspeople, artists, entertainers—and I’m just so grateful for the way they enrich our city.
Liam Mayclem: My birthday celebration this year at Grumpy’s Restaurant & Pub on Vallejo Street. They added a drink to the menu to celebrate my special day: The Feckin’ Liam! My little party ordered over 35 of them on the fun night.
One of my favorite nights ever at a restaurant was the last night of service at La Folie by Chef Roland Passot. The room was filled with the who’s who of SF food & wine folk and Chef Passot worked it like a politician on steroids, but with caviar and champagne in hand. None of us knew that the world would close down just a few days later, and, for every one of us in that room, it was our final pre-pandemic meal and what a meal and what a night it was.
Peter Gamez: As a proud Cuban, I am always searching for the perfectly prepared plantain or a creative use of plantain. If plantains are on the menu, I’m ordering them! Every experience I have makes me so proud of our Oakland culinary community, not just for their incredible creativity and talent, but for their sense of pride, respect for their industry, and the strong unity of our community. Our chefs and restaurateurs really support each other and work together to make Oakland the best and most incredible food destination.
Overheard at the Dinner Table
There are often casual lessons learned throughout such a night, and particularly with great guests. Here are some of the best lines/tips I picked up during our dinner.
“Bless her heart.”
“The last two months have been the longest year of my life.”
“Old friends are the best friends.”
“Nibble this.”
“You are my sunshine.”
“I love the theater of dining.”
“I was a traveling nurse, and when I got to San Francisco, I had to stay.”
“Oh, this is a cold climate wine.”
“Salt and tears are the best medicine.”
“It looks a bit pornographic, but it’s so delicious.”
“I left a French boyfriend back in NYC.”
“Isn’t tonight nice? There is a lot of warmth in the room.”
“Drop it like it’s hot.”
The Summary
The desserts were placed at our table and the chefs joined us for a few moments. We celebrated their success as we licked our spoons for the very last taste of this most delicious meal. It was a Tuesday, so I wanted to make sure my guests got home at a reasonable hour (another tip from my mom). We hugged and kissed goodbye and made plans to do it again soon. I asked each guest to describe the night in one word and here’s what I heard: kinetic, connected, flavorful, blessed, and passionate. Well, I don’t think you could get a better review than that, do you?
I hope you enjoyed this dinner party review! I am happy to consult, and, of course, be the “Uncle Jerry” at any of your upcoming dinner parties. See you next month, when I will visit two more spots with two new groups of great people.
And please, please get a group together and have a party in your favorite restaurant or a new spot. We need to support our Bay Area restaurants more now than ever! We are the capital of the food world, so get your forks out and be damn proud. Bon Appétit.
The Spots
Ala Mar
https://www.alamaroakland.com/
@alamaroakland
Bon Délire
https://www.bondeliresf.com/
@bondeliresf
Casement’s
https://casementsbar.com/
@casementsbar
Commis
https://commisrestaurant.com/
@commisrestaurant
Comstock Saloon
https://www.comstocksaloon.com/
@comstocksaloon
Grumpy’s
https://www.grumpyspubsf.com/
La Folie (now closed but fondly remembered by millions)
Meski
@meski.sf
Mijote
https://www.mijotesf.com/
@mijote_sf
One Market
https://onemarket.com/
@onemarketsf
Prelude
https://www.preludesf.com/
@prelude_sf
Shuggie’s Trash Pie
https://www.shuggiespizza.com/
@shuggiespizza
Smuggler’s Cove
https://www.smugglerscovesf.com/
@smugglerscovesf
Sobre Mesa
https://sobremesaoak.com/
@sobremesaoak
Spec’s
https://www.specsbarsf.com/
@specsbarsf
The Ferry Building
https://tinyurl.com/mryz6y5u
@ferrybuilding
Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD)
https://www.moadsf.org/
@moadsf
The Menu
Appetizer
Cold-Smoked Hamachi Crudo
escabeche beech mushrooms, black radish, espelette
Vision Cellars Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County 2021
Entrées
Charred Octopus
chile miso-glazed ripe plantain, jollof rice powder, green olive chimichurri, winter squash romesco
Vision Cellars Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County 2021
Apple Wood-Smoked Bacon-Wrapped Monkfish
braised red cabbage, black trumpet mushrooms, green peppercorn jus
Vison Cellars Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands 2021
Piri Piri Braised Angus Oxtail
candied “yam” mousseline, mustard greens, plantain furikake, oxtail jus
Vision Cellars Red Wine, Napa County 2018
Dessert
Red Velvet Tres Leches Cake
cinnamon pecan brittle, roasted banana, coconut cream cheese espuma
Andrew Freeman is the Founder of af&co (https://www.afandco.com/) and the Co-Founder of Carbonate (https://www.carbonategroup.com/).
The Gay Gourmet
Published on March 27, 2025
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