A few more ideas to make the season bright(er), John Wohlfert drops by, a fun reason to dress up, and read about my not #humblebrag about a writing award.
For what may be my shortest email EVER, here's a summary:
I've got two more holiday events to consider
I won an award (woot!)
My Sparkling Wine gift guide is live
My latest podcast with John Wohlfert is up
+ panettone, cioppino, + some crazy AI at AURA
It's busy around here...
What's Hot: Ladurée Est Arrivée, Art Deco Dinner and Dance + More
Not all together and not all at the same time. These are just a few of the food and food-adjacent events that have caught my attention in early-mid December.
Ladurée holiday cart at The St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco
Ladurée Afternoon Tea at The St. Regis (thru Dec 31)
The legendary Parisian maison de pâtisserie, Ladurée, celebrated (mostly) for it macarons (gluten-free!), is part of a holiday edition Afternoon at San Francisco's St. Regis Hotel. (This is Ladurée’s first-ever appearance in San Francisco.)
Step into the Tea Salon to savor tea from tealeaves alongside bites of:
Smoked Salmon Éclair with cream cheese, dill, and caviar
Fig Toast with fig jam and goat cheese
Phyllo Spiral with sundried tomato pesto
Quiche with caramelized onion, speck, and Swiss cheese.
Gingerbread Cookie with gingerbread ganache
Chocolate Peppermint Entrement with dark chocolate ganache
Crostata with cranberry and orange
Eggnog Choux Puff with eggnog mousse
Fruitcake Scone with Christmas jam and Devonshire cream
Dinner and Art Deco Dance at Nob Hill Club (Dec 20)
Have you ever been to the Peacock Court or the Nob Hill Club at The Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel? The Gilded Age vibes are matched only by the epic views over downtown San Francisco that sweep over the bay to Marin and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Before dancing to Alex Mendham & his Orchestra at the Peacock Court as part of the hotel's Art Deco Dance Series a special three-course prix-fixe dinner bolsters the dancers' energy.
MENU (to power-up before dancing):
To start:
Pumpkin & Coconut Milk Soup with Tom Yum Pepitas
Or
Salad of Roasted Gold Beets, with Radicchio, Toasted Walnuts, & Point Reyes Blue
Entrée:
Herb-Crusted Rack Of Lamb, Pomegranate, Delicata Squash, & Tokyo Turnips
Or
Seared Local Halibut, Celeriac “Soubise” with Sea Beans and Mosaic Sauce
Or
Potato Gnocchi with Cauliflower, Pistachio-Mint Pesto & Pecorino
Dessert:
Classic Crème Brûlée
5 – 8 p.m.
$75 per person Includes a glass of Champagne, as well as coffee or tea.
You probably know that curating gift guides doesn't happen in a blink. I start researching items to include in Janaury and fill in any gaps by late October. For the past five years, I've created four guides – Cookbooks, Food, Booze (and booze-adjacent) and Sparklers. As 2025 turns to 2026 (ack!), I'll also share my Best Bites of 2025. (Here's last year's Best Bites.)
This year, I've created groups: Californian, Old and New French Sparkling Wine, Charmant & Italian Method, and a few Non-Traditional selections. Skip stuffy and lean into fun sparkling wine. Anytime is the right time.
Fresh, West Coast amaro, artist-driven bottles from California wineries, a non-alcoholic spritz that's actually delicious, and a fabu Portuguese vermouth top my list of boozy gifts and non-alcoholic drink gifts this year.
As a food lover and food writer, I am asked what my favorite foods and restaurants are all the time. For my gift guide for food lovers, I looked for items from small businesses based in the American West, with a notable exception (it’s Swiss!). My list includes incredible shellfish and seafood from Washington, the cutest honey pots you've ever seen, a dinger of a caviar box, and some hella delicious Swiss-style cheeses. Plus chocolates and olive oil, of course.
My list includes cookbooks published in 2025 from the doyenne of Top Chef, Padma Lakshmi, and digs deeper into regional and blended cooking styles around the world. Alongside a cookbook that considers Korean temple cooking are two books that look at the threads that bring together the cooking from Eastern Europe to China, a Christmas cookbook highlighting the Gilded Age, two cookbooks geared towards gluten-free baking and cooking, and one from the gal who opened a cooking school in Julia Child's Provençal home.
You already know I started a podcast. My third episode is up. It's me chatting with Washington-based distiller, John Wohlfert. At his eponymously-named craft distillery, Wohlfert makes an insanely delicious coffee liqueur and I swear to you that the decaf – yes, decaf! – is as delicious as the full throttle version. I included it in 18 Boozy and Non-alcoholic Gift Ideas for 2025 because you should try it, too.
Will you please take a listen and send me thoughts about what you like (or not)? As ever, be kind in your comments. Constructive criticism is what I am after here, not a takedown.
Where to Read My Work
While I plug away at launching a new website and newsletter (aiming for a New Year drop), I've got a few tidbits for you to chew on:
As Scoma's (in Sausalito and San Francisco) celebrates its 60th year (!!!), I chatted with Chef Gordon Drysdale about what he changed in Mama Scoma's cioppino recipe in "Scoma's 60 Year Special" for Edible Marin and Wine Country magazine.
And, also for Edible, I chatted up Gary Riulli and learned all about his multi-step process for making his famous panettone in The Panettone Master.
I Won A Writing Award!
It is humbling to win an award of any kind and I am honored to have my name in lights for my series on sustainable packaging. Thank you, Marin Magazine for letting me share lots of pages of thoughts on what's new and exciting in sustainable packaging, including takeout containers, straws of all kinds, and wine and spirits bottles.
Here's the words on the goods: New Wine and Spirits Packaging Is Here. Will Consumers Buy It?
I'm more than a little behind on sharing my restaurant adventures in November. I'll get those recommendations into one of the next few newsletters. I'm also curating a few more podcasts...I'll share those in the coming weeks, too.
I'm actively looking for all things delicious to kick-off 2026. Got something I should know about? Please share.
About That Image
With another mom and son, Niki and I went to see KAWS at SFMoMa (which we all described as "mid") and then went to Grace Cathedral to see AURA. (Tickets)
While I found the story hard to connect to the lights and lasers moving around the nave and the chancel, the lights and lasers were pretty damn cool. The projection of rain and clouds on the cathedral ceiling was particularly magical.
While we waited for the experience to start, Niki and I played around with the AI tool embedded in the event app. After taking a picture of his orange jacket, the AI generated the above image. I am not sure who the picture is but, because I loaded images of myself to the app just before it generated this, I'm going with the idea that it's me. Ha!
Thanks for reading and be in touch.
Christina
Christina Mueller
Lifestyle journalist and marketing consultant. Creative storytelling at the top of the funnel for lifestyle and hospitality brands and businesses. How can I help your business tell its story? cmw@christinamueller.com
