'You say you want a revolution...'

Last week I participated in a Bay Area/West coast/East coast phenomenon. Chefs from culinary paradiso's, Chez Panisse, and Eccolo among others have banded together between gigs to being organic sustainable foods to their followers on 'off' days. Not really having a formal plan, the general idea is to inform patrons through email when presentations of restaurant style food offerings would be available for consumer take home. It's dinner without the overhead. A good idea. Sausages, chicken, cakes, pasta, organic pork, pizzas, jams, bread and honey were some of the items listed on the pre-order. Enthusiasm was quickly deflated by high prices. Ok. I admit I'm a bit of a food snob. If I eat out, I want to dine on an entree that I might not have the time to make, or that I can't replicate in my own kitchen, or if I happen to get lucky, hook an invite from my pal, Dave, a former chef. Even though, I've eaten at some of the finest restaurants in San Francisco, and in the East Bay I also have a soft spot for diners with wraparound counters because they can usually bring it. However, there's something going on with the slow food, organic movement which just doesn't feel quite right and needs tweaking. Irony abounded at last week's food pick-up. A converted structure which houses catering on weekdays stood on the corner of a marginal, depressed neighborhood. Uh,I get what's happening here. And I applaud the purveyors of organics and I applaud their supporters. But, until the Whole Foods and the sustainables figure out how to educate (you can write all the books you want but...) and reach out to the population in this country who have neither the monetary resources or who can't differentiate broccoli from a spring onion then there will continue to be perpetuation of those who have and those who don't. So, props to Alice Waters (who has garnered some crappy pub lately) for the school program; and Michelle Obama, who dug in and planted the White House vegetable garden. Also a tip of the jockey cap to hard working, enterprises like Donna's Tamales, and the Berkeley Cheese Board and Collective who have been providing affordable cheeses and breads to patrons for over 20 years, and a slamma jamma to Amy's Foods who took on gluten free. And finally to the Berkeley Bowl, and Monterey Market, the people's produce haven, a double knuckle tap for affordable quantity and quality. Power to the people.