In no way do I endorse the the views expressed in this film.  I just think it’s funny!

[from: Leave It To Beaver]

This is the oddest food trend in a while. Celebrities endorsing food is nothing new, but there is a recent rash of celebrity-branded jerky.

I first stumbled into this last winter while chatting with Ethan Wayne, son of the late, great John Wayne about how Wayne Enterprises had been licensing his father’s name for a long time, but they had never marketed their own products, so they founded the John Wayne Stock and Supply Company, launching with a line of beef jerky, which reminded them of car trips with dad from their childhood.

It’s no surprise that Jeff Foxworthy sells three types of beef and one ham jerky, and Chubby Checker has been hawking his jerky for a while, but the latest jerky star caught me off guard.

Liz Hurley just released her own “guilt-free” (vegans may disagree) beef jerky.  It’s not often you’re met by nude and bikini-clad pictures of a beef jerky company owner on the website.  Let’s all be thankful the Waynes didn’t try this approach.

Amanda, a dear friend from back home, moved to San Francisco this week and wanted to know where she should go. I started giving her “tourist advice” before I realized that she deserves to be treated like a local, so I am sharing my insight with whomever wants to read it.

This list is of restaurants that are hidden gems, known only by locals, or have fallen out of fashion despite their continuing excellence. It’s a fairly diverse list, both in cuisine and location.

New Eritrea (Eritrean/Ethiopian, Inner Sunset) [review]
Tu Lan (Vietnamese, Civic Center) [review]
New Ganges (Indian/vegetarian, Inner Sunset) [review]
Cassis (French/Italian, Pacific Heights) [review]
White Horse Tavern (pub/steakhouse, Nob Hill) [review]
Mandalay (Burmese, Inner Richmond) [review]
Panta Rei (Italian, North Beach) [review]
Hama Ko (Japanese, Cole Valley) [review]
Memphis Minnie’s (barbecue, Lower Haight) [review]
San Tung (Chinese, Inner Sunset) [review]
Bang San (Thai/Halal, Tenderloin) [review]
Weird Fish (seafood, Mission) [review]

On the hipper (and moderately more expensive) side, I’d recommend eating  at

Nopa (New American, Western Addition) [review]
Gitane (Basque, Nob Hill) [not yet reviewed]
Bar Bambino (Italian Wine Bar, Mission) [review]
Canteen (new American/brunch, Tenderloin) [review]
SPQR (Italian, Pac Heights) [review]
Lime (brunch, Castro) [review]
Zazie (French/brunch, Cole Valley) [review]
Cha-Ya (Japanese/vegan, Mission) [review]

A good friend mentioned that FoodBuzz.com is having their first annual convention for food bloggers here in San Francisco, so I jumped on the boat last minute.

Last minute, as in a flying leap off pier 39, hurtling over sea lions and sidestepping tourists OJ-style before hurling myself over the open water as the ferry leaves the shore.  It was a ninja-move of registration attempts.

Alright, it may have been last minute, but it was surprisingly simple to register a profile, start posting and networking and to get Featured Publisher status, which you might have noticed in the left column of the site lately.  I’m really looking forward to the “festival” which starts with a cocktail hour sponsored by Skyy Spirits (Hi, Caitlin!) at Hotel Vitale (Hi, Krysta!).  I’ve stayed in that gorgeous 8th floor suite before and the views are killer at happy hour.  After that we’re having dinner at the Ferry Building CUESA Kitchen.

Saturday is packed with seminars, tastings, meals and an award ceremony.  Sunday is a farewell brunch.  I’m most psyched about the networking opportunities.  There are thousands of great food bloggers out there, but it’s pretty rare to get hundreds of them together in one room.  I’ll let you know how it goes.