Elephant pedicure with breakfast at Oakland Zoo.
I’ve read stories of food lovers who attempt to eat their way through Michael Bauer and the San Francisco Chronicle’s top 100 Bay Area restaurants. A simple way to nibble your way through more than 50 in a single night — plus over a dozen breweries and nearly 20 wineries — is to reserve your spot among the animals and under the stars at Oakland Zoo’s 17th annual “Walk in the Wild,” an epicurean escapade if ever there was one.
The event roars into action at 5 p.m. on Saturday June 27. If you go, you will get to sample fare from favorite East Bay eateries ranging from Danville’s Bridges Restaurant and Pleasanton’s Faz; Oakland’s Ethiopian favorite Cafe Colucci and Slow Food poster child Oliveto’s; Alameda’s New Zealander; Berkeley’s Skates on the Bay; San Leandro’s Horatio’s and many more.
Among the cheese purveyors worth trumpeting about are Fiscalini Cheese Company from Modesto and the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. Yumm.
Adventures with Beer and Wine
Breweries will be there from far and wide. Boonville’s Anderson Valley Brewing Company, for instance; Fort Collins’ New Belgium Brewing Company; Buffalo Bill’s from Hayward and many others. Wines being poured will include varietals from Dashe Cellars and JC Cellars in Oakland, Concannon and Wente in Livermore and Rosenblum Cellars in Alameda.
Enough about what you’ll get to eat and drink because there’s another reason to go (besides the dancing and dessert under the stars).
Signature Fund-raiser
The event is a zoo’s signature fund-raiser. Proceeds benefit the education and animal enrichment programs.
The zoo is in the process of developing a much needed state of the art veterinary facility. To quote from director Joel Parrott: The new full service veterinary hospital ... will be a model animal care center, incorporating green and sustainable construction. It will also provide teaching opportunities for UC Davis veterinary projects.
I’d say don’t stop at contributing to this fund-raiser. If you haven’t been to Oakland Zoo lately, go. Become a member. Marketing director Nancy Filippi invited me recently for a behind-the-scenes visit.
Elephant Pedicures and Giraffe Tongues
Who would have thought that each of the elephants gets a daily pedicure along with breakfast. And if you ever get to feed the giraffes, you might be amazed, as I was, at their enormous blue tongues.
I’d never thought of the zoo as an opportunity for a culinary adventure — but it was. That time the adventure was watching the animals eat. At the upcoming epicurean escapade, we get to eat. Enjoy!
Photos by Wanda Hennig
Comments
I'm all for anything that helps the terrific Oakland Zoo! With its huge elephant and lion habitats, and one of the best children's zoos anywhere, Bay Area folks should appreciate and support this zoo.
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