24 Hours in SF: Sam
Saturday morning of Christmas Eve is a crazy/busy time to try to meet someone at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, as everyone and their sisters were making last minute holiday purchases. She spotted us first, walking down the long Ferry Plaza interior. One hand waved to catch our attention, the other pulling her red trolley, already weighed down with purchases for the evening meal. Her smile was shy yet warm as she greeted us.
"Hi, I'm Sam."
Junko and I were in San Francisco for a day, seeing as much as possible in the hours leading to Christmas Eve. We begged assistance of a relative stranger but fellow food blogger, Sam from Becks and Posh for dinner recommendations. Emails flew back and forth. After peppering her with questions for weeks, we ended with a short list of restaurant choices and a date to meet Sam for coffee at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market.
Why am I telling this story? People meet for coffee all the time, and our conversation hit usual topics: film, restaurants, Hawaii, San Francisco, immigration law and food. Lots of food. Listening to Sam talk about food was akin to surfing, the waves so powerful and fast that sometimes all I can do is try to keep my head above water. She knew the ins and outs of every vendor at the market, but also an obscene amount about restaurants, food and cooking in general. Then somewhere in the middle of our chat, it hit me... I don't know squat about food. Yes, I write on the subject a couple times a week and my experience is slowly expanding, but it's still small compared to so many other food bloggers out there. And it wasn't just Sam either, but that she provided a looking glass into the larger world of our peers, and the fantastical, amazing things they've been doing.
In Hawaii, I'm a small fish in a small pond, but when everything is shrunk down to that same scale I feel like I can have a voice. Meeting up with Sam was a reminder that, in the larger world, I'm still plankton. Rather than being depressing, this realization was inspirational, a call to improve, to cook more, to dine more, to learn and taste and savor and celebrate. Maybe that's what sets the best food bloggers apart: they know how to savor and celebrate, then share that experience with the world.
And so it turns out that the most valuable part of our meeting with Sam wasn't the fleeting recommendations for dining hotspots, but the chance to share a few moments of a busy day and be inspired by the possibilities.
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thank you - so sweet of you ALan, and some great food for thought. I am blushing - I really dont feel I know that much about food, though do confess to a mild obsession with it and an ability to talk too much about it, as you obviously noticed.
I really wanted to make the dish I featured on Fiji Friday today, and still plan to one day, but right now I just dont have enough free time. So sorry I couldnt take part in your contest.
sam
We share the same obsession, making it a pleasant experience. No worries about the contest. Life is crazy with other responsibilities, and the "rules" were challenging.