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Welcome Summer!
When it’s time to start planning summer fun, I remind friends that the season is fleeting. You must start planning now, because by the time your brain catches up with the calendar – half the season is already over.
Hosting a Party?
Here’s some quick Food Party! possibilities:
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Melt chocolate in a microwave for best results, dip fruit and transfer to a wax paper-lined tray (for easy removal) until chocolate is set.
Izzy’s Potato Chips
Find all the flat chips in the bag. Top with cucumber, salmon, creme fraiche and caper or pickled peppercorns.
Avocado Canape
Make or buy guacamole and crostini. Top a dollop of guacamole with sun dried tomato. Marinate the tomatoes in red wine overnight for a flavor bomb.
Frozen Grapes
Lay fresh grapes on a flat plate or baking sheet. Freeze overnight and serve alongside your cheese plate. Best to pass grapes directly to guests as they thaw quickly.
Hosting Out of Town Guests?
A perfect Memorial Day stop for drinks and food is The Top of the Mark at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco in Nob Hill, certainly if your guests have served in the military.
Celebrating their 85th anniversary this month, it was 1939 when owner George D. Smith converted the 19th-floor penthouse apartment into a hotel cocktail lounge, with a wraparound vista of the City that doesn’t disappoint. Not convinced people would ride an elevator 19 floors to get there however, he installed a dance floor and brought in bands. The lounge remains the highest place in the City.
History is rich at the Top of the Mark. When San Francisco became a spot for troop transit during World War II, many toasted goodbye from the impressive lookout. Popularity grew after wives and girlfriends watched battle ships set out for the war, from the picturesque northwest windows, a spot that became known as “Weepers Corner.”
Military members began leaving signed “squadron bottles” at the bar for others in their group to enjoy at a later date. If you took the last drink – the next bottle was on you. Thirty-two squadron bottles were in use by the end of the war; a tradition which lives on today. Active or retired military are invited to request a shot or leave a bottle (and your story). Make sure to read the notes when you visit – so personal and touching. What better way to salute Memorial Day but to learn the experience and honor the service of those represented.
photos courtesy of LSIC unless noted