Please allow us to fill your calendar for the next month, should you need any help: This Friday, September 16, Scala’s Bistro is celebrating sixteen years on Union Square, at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. Current executive chef Jen Biesty and pastry chef Tim Nugent will be joined in the kitchen by former chefs Donna Scala and Staffan Terje, to prepare a special dinner in honor of the occasion. $55 gets you a meal and a complimentary cocktail from bartender Jacques Bezuidenhout or a glass of champagne. There are still some tables available, and you can reserve at 415.395.8500 or at OpenTable.
Then, next Thursday, September 22, Foreign Cinema rings in twelve years in the Mission with a big rock-and-roll-themed party featuring a live auction of autographed guitars from Green Day, Lady Antebellum, and Primus guitarist-turned-winemaker Les Claypool; performances by Little Kids Rock and The Casts; the film premiere of 12 Minutes; as well as food and drink. $85 gets you in, along with an RSVP at 415.648.7600. More details here. Proceeds will benefit Little Kids Rock, which brings musical instruments and music education to disadvantaged public schools.
And last but not least, on the same night, September 22, we have an American in Paris-themed dinner at Café Bastille on Belden Place, featuring author readings from the likes of Diane Johnson (Le Divorce), and Ellen Sussman (French Lessons). Tickets are $90, which includes a choice of very-French entrée, salad, dessert, and wine. Get your seats here. Proceeds will benefit Litquake, the annual San Francisco literary festival that runs from October 7 to 15 this year, and will feature readings by Chelsea Handler, James Ellroy, Jeffrey Eugenides, Thomas McGuane, Deepak Chopra, Jane Smiley, and 800 other writers.
