NOVEMBER... is just about the eatingest month on the calendar, thanks to the gravy-boat'd, stuffing-filled, pie-tastic occasion that has a predictable way of landing on the fourth Thursday, each and every year. But November is also notable in the category of noshable happenings, for that's when the colder-weather food events have a way of revving up, from splashy charity dinners to multi-night gourmet gatherings centered on a single restaurant or chef. And one of California's coolest cuisine-oriented affairs just happens to happen right at the start of November, in one of our state's most spectacular spots. It's the...
BIG SUR FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL, and it returns, with a line-up of gourmand-y go-outs and get-togethers, from Thursday, Nov. 1 through to Sunday, Nov. 4. As befits the creative, laid-back, and utterly itself location, this foodie festival has a few more offbeat to-dos, like "Hiking with Stemware" which, yes, involves a gorgeous under-the-sun ramble that "... will meander along cliffs and coastal ridges..." And one good-to-know asterisk about the hike? "Stemware is never empty during this adventure." A Pinot Walkabout at Post Ranch Inn is another work-up-the-appetite outing.
THERE ARE MORE TEMPTING TO-DOS... to pick from, including Wine & Swine at the Henry Miller Library, Bennies & Bubbles at delightful Deetjen's Big Sur Inn, and other funky and fabulous festival stops. Is this the way you'd like to begin the cooler stretch of fantastical foodie meet-ups? In Big Sur? Please. It's a dining dream, enhanced by those Pacific-forever views, other interesting food lovers, and the magic of the coastal stretch itself.
