Jeff Trenam is owner, GM, and Sommelier of Blue Plate restaurant in San Francisco.
What was the food highlight of your year?
Tough call. For a surprise find, David Barzelay's underground LAZYBEAR was super fun. We went there when he was still working out of Chicken John's spot on Cesar Chavez and I really loved the enthusiasm and heart his team used to deliver their vision.
It was also a great year for the grill and eating at the beach. The beautiful day in September we opened and closed Hogg Island out at Tomales Bay and ate about 100 oysters between two of us was pretty memorable. Champagne and oysters and rose and barbecued oysters and a nice pink sunset and more oysters....
What was the music highlight of your year?
The musical highlight, as plain as it may be, was a moment that happened on the trails above Lake Tahoe. I had my earphones in, jogging along, and ran right up to a good-sized black bear. The bear just stood there by the side of the trail, probably pretending I couldn't see him. And I just inched past the bear. Then Tommy Guerrero's Archaic Days came on and we both went on our separate ways.
Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?
My son is 16 now, technically not old enough to drink, but realistically I know he does. So I try to instill in him an appreciation for good wine in the hopes that he wont drink as much (or as crappy stuff) as I did when I was his age. We recently had a simple roast chicken with a cucumber salad and a bottle of Blackbird Rose. We sat in my little apartment and listened to Flume and other electronic music the kids are into these days. I love those kind of times with him.