Maxence, Milan and I have recently returned from a positively idyllic, two-week stay in San Francisco, for which we swapped apartments with our friends Heidi and Wayne.

We had a blissfully relaxing, inspiring, and delicious vacation. It was crazy good to be back, catch up with friends and family, and meet some of you lovely readers at my Omnivore Books signing. And now that I am starting to crawl out from under the pile of work that awaited me on my return (not that I’m complaining), I would like to revisit some of our favorite eats and share my best San Francisco recommendations with you if you’re game.

~ Thriving on a diet of (almost) one ice cream a day — mostly from Bi-Rite Creamery on Divisadero (outstanding walnut maple banana ice cream sandwiches); but also from Smitten in Haighs Valley, where the ice cream is freshly mixed and churned in liquid nitrogen before your very eyes (pictured above: TCHO chocolate, and maple brown sugar squash); and, on a slightly less refined, but no less enjoyable level, from Easy Breezy in Noe Valley, where the organic frozen yogurt and toppings are self-serve (dangerous!) and you pay by the weight.

~ Eating kale of all kinds practically every day, and especially loving the red kale salad I made a couple of times with avocado, cilantro, and pomegranate seeds (pictured above).

~ Sampling the best carnitas burrito ever from La Taqueria, thanks to a recommendation from my friend Emily (who is also, unrelatedly, my lovely Pilates instructor in Paris).

~ Starting the day with the buttery, cinnamon-y morning bun from Tartine.

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To celebrate the 10th anniversary of C&Z, I am hosting 10 giveaways throughout the month of October.

Our tenth and final giveaway prize is an Edible Montmartre Food Tour led by yours truly.

For a little while now I have been leading private food tours for small groups of food enthusiasts visiting Paris for the first or twentieth time, often creating itineraries tailored to their interests. I enjoy it tremendously.

One of my most popular tours is called Edible Montmartre: it’s a tour of my neighborhood through the lens of food, and includes visits to the best pastry shops, chocolate shops, bakeries, charcuteries, and cheese shops of the area. It’s a fun visit through one of Paris’ most typical village-like and food-rich areas. I provide stories, cultural notes, food tips from a local’s point of view — and of course, lots of delicious things to taste along the way.

For this giveaway, it will be my pleasure to invite the winner and up to three of his/her friends on this 2-hour private tour. The prize doesn’t include transportation to Paris (sadly), and it is valid through the end of 2014. If you win, we will work together to find a mutually agreeable date and time.

To participate, leave a comment below (in English or in French) telling me about the one thing you most want to see, taste, or experience in Paris, food or otherwise.

You have until Thursday, November 7, midnight Paris time to enter; I will then draw one entry randomly and announce it here. You are welcome to play regardless of your current location, as long as you intend to be in Paris sometime before the end of 2014. Please make sure you enter your email address correctly so I can contact you if you win.

Good luck!

WE GOT A WINNER!

I have drawn an entry at random using random.org (see screen capture below), and I am pleased to announce the winner is Karona, who wrote, “Since I have not been back to Paris since becoming a parent, I’d like to re-discover the city with my 2.5 year old daughter! Also for the experience of negotiating a huge city with a small child. She’d be most interested in the croissants, I imagine…”

Congratulations Karona, and thank you all for entering!

A few of my favorite finds and reads for October:

~ Paris’ very first food coop needs your help.

~ Tempted by these coconut and potimarron squares.

~ Luisa featured my tomato mustard tart on The Wednesday Chef.

~ A behind-the-scenes look at Bones, one of my current favorite dining spots in Paris (see my post about it).

~ Medieval Paris, a before and after.

~ I was a guest on Adam Robert’s Clean Plate Club podcast.

~ Do you fantasize about writing your own French novel? Here’s a cover to get you started.

~ Using whey to extend the life of homemade condiments.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of C&Z, I am hosting 10 giveaways throughout the month of October. Keep checking back for chances to win wonderful products I’ve discovered and loved over the past decade!

Our ninth giveaway prize is the game-changing brownie pan from Baker’s Edge.

It is a high-quality nonstick pan with a maze-like pattern, designed to optimize the crust-to-center ratio so you will never again have to choose between a center brownie and an edge brownie.

The sidewalls also make for better heat distribution, which ensures a more even baking. This innovative pan was invented by Matthew Griffin, a passionate entrepreneur who first had this idea in the late 1990’s, and launched it in 2006 to high acclaim. (Read more about Matt’s story.)

I’ve been a happy user of the Edge Brownie Pan for years now*, and longtime readers of C&Z may remember I first featured it when I shared my recipe for pistachio pound cake back in 2006. Matt has since added more cool products to the Baker’s Edge range, including a Better Muffin Pan I’m excited to test-drive very soon.

For this giveaway, Matt is offering the combo pack that includes:
– a 9″ x 12″ x 2″ Edge Brownie Pan, entirely manufactured, packaged, and warehoused in the USA,
– a nylon spatula (wooden utensils may also be used),
– a snug cover for the brownie pan (see above),
– and a clever “Edge Wedge” that turns the pan into an 8″ x 8″ baking pan (see below).

To participate, leave a comment below (in English or in French) telling me about the best brownies you ever had, and what made them special — mine would have to be the Luxury Brownies and their intense chocolate flavor. And please consider following Baker’s Edge on Facebook and on Twitter!

You have until Monday, November 4, midnight Paris time to enter; I will then draw one entry randomly and announce it here. Matt has generously agreed to ship internationally, so you’re welcome to play regardless of your location; please make sure you enter your email address correctly so I can contact you if you win.

Good luck, and check back on Thursday for our very last giveaway!

WE GOT A WINNER!

I have drawn an entry at random using random.org (see screen capture below), and I am pleased to announce the winner is Margaret H., who wrote, “The best brownie in my memory will always be the first one I tried, from an old fashioned burger place called Fuddruckers, on a trip from Scotland (where I grew up) to America. I was only about 6 years old, and still remember it vividly. I’m sure it was enormous, dark, chocolatey, fudgy, squidgy in the middle and quite unlike anything I had ever tasted before.”

Congratulations Margaret, and thank you all for entering! It’s been gratifying and fascinating to hear about all of your favorites.

* Disclosure: Matthew Griffin sent me samples of his bakeware to try, with no obligation to write about them. All opinions expressed are my own.