Irish Coffee Day

This Saturday, July 28^th, is a holiday worth celebrating. Which holiday you ask? Why it’s Irish Coffee Day and it’s an official holiday in the City and County of San Francisco. But why not November 10^th? Isn’t that Irish coffee’s real birthday? Let’s explore a little history.

 On July 28, 1849, the first clipper ship arrived in San Francisco. The S.S. Memnon had sailed from New York in only 120 days. Blazing speed when you consider it could take six months for traditional sailing ships to make the same run around Cape Horn. The ship’s mission was to resupply the good people of San Francisco with "the necessities of civilization" - coffee and Irish whiskey.

Fast forward around 100 years and let’s talk about the modern Irish coffee. It was the late 1940s, and Stanton Delaplane found himself stranded in Dublin at Shannon Airport. It was a miserable and stormy winter night and all flights were grounded. An unnamed bartender served a group of tired American travelers hot coffee mixed with Irish whiskey and topped with dollop of cream. Stanton was a well-known travel writer and San Francisco resident.

 Back home, Stanton couldn’t get that wonderful coffee drink off his mind. So on November 10, 1952, Stanton and his friend Jack Koeppler (owner of the Buena Vista Café) set out to perfect the drink Delaplane had enjoyed on that stormy Irish night.  Armed with strong black coffee and bottles of good Irish they went to work. They tried again and again and again but it just wasn’t right. They worked all night until they passed out. One problem they faced was that the cream wouldn’t float on the coffee. San Francisco mayor (and dairy owner) George Christopher suggested that they age the cream for 48 hours. Success! The drink became a San Francisco institution.

 Just one year ago, on Irish Coffee Day, Liz and I sat down at a table in the very same Buena Vista Café – maybe even the very table where Koeppler and Delaplane had sat just 59 years earlier. We ordered Irish coffees and with a toast founded the Historic Eating and Drinking Society. From those humble beginnings, the HEAD Society has grown to fifty-three card carrying members and a vast number of associates.

Want to join the HEAD Society? Explore the Bay Area’s food and drink history? It’s easy, just attend any HEAD Trip and your Co-Grand Poo-Bahs will present you with your (highly prized) life-time membership card.

 The next Society adventure will celebrate both HEAD-A-Versary and Irish Coffee Day on Saturday, July 28 at the historic Buena Vista Café (2765 Hyde St.). We’ll order the first round at 7pm.

See you there! 

GARLIC FRIES, BEER & BASEBALL

HEAD Society members have explored the history of numerous NorCal culinary creations. We’ve roamed the streets of Martinez to find the birthplace of the martini, sipped Irish coffee at the Buena Vista, traced the roots of the “Mission” burrito and tasted our way across North Beach on an Italian Cookie Walk. The latest adventure was a quest for the story behind another Bay Area original, Gilroy Garlic Fries, this aromatic indulgence’s connection to beer and the great game of baseball.

Garlic Fries are an inspired marriage of garlic and French fries. It is said the President Thomas Jefferson, a well-known, Francophile, first served fries to guests in the White House. To give his fried potatoes more ju ne sais quoi, he proclaimed them French.

Garlic, native to Central Asia and a member of the lily family arrived in America in the 1700s from Europe. It mainly used for medical purposes; to keep vampires away, protection from the Evil Eye and the like. They didn’t make the jump America’s kitchens until the 1920s. By that time enough Italian immigrants had arrived in the U.S. to take these potent bulbs into the mainstream.

That brings us to Gilroy. This city, 80 miles south of AT&T Park, was founded in 1870 and named for John Gilroy. He was an American sailor who jumped ship in Monterey back in 1814, married well and became the government official responsible for what became Southern Santa Clara County.

Gilroy was the original center of culinary garlic farming in the U.S. Today California grows 87% of America’s garlic with most of the production centered in Kern and Fresno Counties. Gilroy remains the heart of garlic shipping and dehydration.

We’ve covered fries and garlic but how did these two come together? The answer takes us to Germany. In the 1980s, Dan Gordon (the Gordon in Gordon Biersch) was studying brewing at the Technical University of Munich. After a field trip to some garlic fields, the students were treated to a 10-course meal - each one featuring garlic. The seed, or clove, was planted.

Later during final exams, Dan was craving a late night snack. Inspired by the garlic dinner, he combined garlic and French fires to sustain him through his studies. Later Dan returned to California and partnered with his college buddy and homebrewer, Dean Biersch to open their first brewpub. It was 1988 and Gordon Biersch in Palo Alto opened its doors and kegs. It was here on Emerson Street the Gordon’s study snack became an instant success. Gilroy Garlic Fries became a fixture on the pub’s menu.

A few years later, garlic fries made their first appearance at a Giants’ game. It was 1994 and the G-Men were still playing at Candlestick Park. From the beginning they were a hit as fans lined-up 30 deep to get their garlic fries. Soon they were sold at Giants’ games, 49ers too. They even ventured across the bay to Oaktown for A’s games. When the Giants moved to AT&T Park (yes, I know it was called PacBell back then) garlic fried went along.

After hot dogs, garlic fries are the #1 food item sold at AT&T Park. The potatoes are fried in olive oil and hand tossed in a slurry of garlic and olive oil. Then they’re salted and sprinkled with fresh parsley. In a single Giants’ game, they go through 3 tons (that’s right, tons) of potatoes and 1,000 pounds of garlic. According to Dan Gordon, “Garlic fries and a beer are a complete and balanced meal."                                                                                                         

On July 14, the HEAD Quest began at garlic fry ground zero, Gordon Biersch in Palo Alto. Thanks to some internet coupons, we started the day with four orders of fries and a round of beer. After a wonderful lunch and reeking of garlic, it was off to San Francisco for a Giants’ trifecta. It was the annual pre-game Brew Fest at Seals Plaza by the Marina Gate, plus Matt Cain t-shirt give-away night. After all that it was the Giants vs Astros. Our crew of 16 HEAD Cases, happy from the Brew Fest, free t-shirts in our hands, filled row 13, section 312 to watch Timmy, our Timmy, throw eight shut-out innings. After a blown save in the 9^th, the Giants scored in the 12^th in walk-off style.

Good beer, good fries, good friends. Go Giants!