By Laiko Bahrs

Although the specialty food retailing scene in northern California has not yet regained the momentum of the heady 1990s, it is showing signs of resurgence. And, as always, retailing and culinary innovation abounds. Here are some recently opened places—must-visit destinations for the Fancy Food show visitor.

VinoVenue: Fine Wine Meets Horn & Hardart
Wine lovers and neophytes alike will enjoy this spanking new—yet old—retail concept. VinoVenue, a stylish store-cum-bar located a block from Moscone Center, opened its doors last summer to a wine tasting experience like no other.

A chic twist on the Automat, this is a serious wine tasting bar—with high-tech self-dispensing machines that measure and pour wines by the taste. Customers buy a card with a designated dollar amount, which they can use to taste more than 100 vintages of boutique wines from around the world. The machinery is originally from Europe, and dispenses 1-ounce pours of each wine, using a computerized program customized by VinoVenue. Customers can read educational signage, choose the wine they want, insert their card, press the corresponding button, and the wine is poured into the glass.

The venture offers a wine club, classes, special events, wine storage and tasting records for customers. Wines can be purchased to take away, or can be enjoyed at the bar—a fabulous opportunity to taste hard-to-find wines at retail, without the typical tavern mark-up. In addition, a fine selection of champagne, sparkling wines and ports are available to taste at the wood bar, poured by the bartender.

The owners are new to the retail industry, but bring an enthusiasm and love of wine to the venture. VinoVenue also has a selection of interesting wine gifts for sale, and will have nibbles in the near future.

Because of its originality and proximity to the Moscone Center, VinoVenue offers a great new option for anyone at the Fancy Food Show.

VINOVENUE, The Place to Taste
686 Mission St. (at Third)
415.341.1930

Harvest Urban Market: Sydney Meets SoMa
South of Market (SoMa) now has three natural food stores: Whole Foods, opened in January; the venerable Rainbow Grocery cooperative; and, now the new kid on the block, Harvest Urban Market—which opened in August.

The 13,000-square-foot emporium makes the most of its light industrial look—with big street-level windows, great graphics, and clean and stylish design. This big sister to the Castro’s Harvest Market is focused on fresh healthy foods—to eat in or to go. The design is Sydney meets SoMa, and it works like a charm.

There is an extensive salad bar, featuring house-made dishes such as tofu barbeque, salad fixings and make-your-own falafel. The deli has a daily menu, plus sandwiches and soups to take away or eat-in. And there’s a baked goods section featuring healthy snacks and desserts—and delighted will be those looking for sugar-free or gluten-free sweets.

A large and light-filled eating area is hugely popular, with ample seating for daytime workers or the locals from the neighborhood, who love to use the free wireless Internet access.

A vast selection of grocery items is housed on Metro racks, which do not extend above chin level, the better to see across the store to other sections and to keep the flow light and airy. The focus is on fresh, so there is a limited amount of frozen goods. Not everything is health-oriented, however; for instance, the meat buyer has been building a great selection of sausages and pork items for the Irish and British contingency who flock to the store for their favorite bangers. The produce section features farm-crated seasonal fruits and vegetables nicely presented and lit to their best advantage. The wine section devotes 30 percent of inventory to organic producers, with ample choices from Down Under.

One of the nicest touches is the store’s branding—with a logo of a serif font “h” on the front. This logo is duplicated on the signage, bags and even in the primary-colored T-shirts worn by the staff.

A stop here is worth the walk or short cab ride from Moscone so that you can experience how the loft lifestyle has changed SoMa’s day-to-day life.

Harvest Urban Market
191 Eigth St. (at Folsom)
415.621.1000

Caper: A Store for the Home Cook
Fillmore Street recently welcomed a new gourmet food and recipe-ready store—with a beautiful eating area for enjoying freshly made foods. Caper offers a well-selected choice of specialty groceries—including the India Tree baking line, Dufour Pastry, Palette Fine Foods, and Valerie Chocolates. House-made rubs and spices accompany kitchen implements, cookbooks and entertaining accessories. This is a store for the home cook, and it recently became a Viking retailer, presenting a selection of these high-end items.

Caper
2123 Fillmore St. (near Sacramento)
415.292.7800

Ferry Building Marketplace: The Food Hub Expands
Three new retail additions have joined the stable of organic and sustainable food- and wine-focused retailers and restaurants on the Embarcadero at Market Street.

Boulette’s Larder
A new idea for the cook—or busy professional. Restaurant-quality basics like stocks, clarified butter, bouquet garni; all made in-house. Customers can take home Sable or Chocolate Bon-Bon cookie dough, cornbread and gingerbread mix, even duck confit and sausages. There’s also a daily menu of dinner items to warm up at home. The chef has chosen from her favorite “larder” necessities, and sourced organic and sustainable products and packaging. The selection of interesting spices and hard-to-find organic flours make this a must for anyone who loves to cook.
415.399.1155

Far West Fungi
For the mushroom fan, this new shop offers organically grown cultivated exotic mushrooms. Live mushroom logs, fresh chanterelles, morels and portabellas, plus dried porcini powder, are among the selections.
415.989.9090

I Preperiti di Boriana Montepulciano
This small gem is focused on artisan products from small farmers and producers in Italy’s Sienna region. Here you will find pastas, jams, sweets and the like, all selected to represent the best from Montepulciano.
415.402.0421

Laiko Bahrs is the owner of Epicurean Excursions, a San Francisco-based culinary tour, event and promotion company.