Exquisitely Infused, Miro-Dosed Meals
Written by Dean Sofer | Photography by @ChronVivant & @TheHerbSomm
San Francisco is one of the greatest cities to explore food. If you’re a foodie like me, you may have heard of the Naked Kitchen by the Opulent Chef. It’s an amazingly refined dining experience, hosted at the home of creator Michael Magallanes.
This Michelin-starred chef regularly showcases his artful, tasty creations at delightful pop-up experiences for a lucky group of invitees. If you didn’t have a reason to check out The Naked Kitchen yet, you might want to now that Chef Magallanes has teamed up with Jamie Evans of The Herb Somm. Together, they’ve created “Thursday Infused,” a series of THC-infused meal experiences that are classy, tasteful, and exquisitely delicious. The best part is that at only 5 mg total THC by the end of the meal, you won’t find yourself glued to the chair when it’s time to go home. Of course, more resilient diners can request a higher dosage. Not you? No biggie. This THC-infused, gourmet dining experience isn’t just for potheads; it’s for anyone who loves food inventiveness and experimentation.
The Naked Kitchen is located in the heart of the Mission on Valencia Street in a beautiful Queen Anne Victorian private residence. The minute I crossed the doorway, I was greeted with a glass of Champagne, a raffle ticket, and a goodie bag of samples from some of the vendor partners of the month. As I admired the photographic decor of The Beatles, Bob Marley, Freddie Mercury and other iconic rock musicians, I realized you can buy these pieces right off the walls through the partnership between Naked Kitchen’s and the San Francisco Art Exchange. I made my way into the kitchen, where I was wowed by modern stainless steel appliances and dozens of plates spread out on a massive, sprawling countertop. There were nearly one hundred plates of gorgeous food, all being meticulously prepared by the Chef’s staff. Rarely do you get an opportunity to drink wine, nosh on delicious appetizers and schmooze with your fellow guests, all while watching brilliant, renowned chefs plate dinners right before your eyes.
A cornucopia of fruits, cheeses and cured meats sat on the dining table and patio. TSO Sonoma provided several strains of cannabis flower, which were paired with different wines from Ellipses Wine Company — a small batch, artisanal winemaker.
After all the guests were seated, the evening’s first plate was served; a rice cracker to end all rice crackers. We’re talking infused avocado mousse, pickled Fresno chile, and cilantro with coconut powder — and those were just the toppings. I have to say, for a rice cracker, this was my favorite dish of the evening.
The second plate delivered an unusual, who-woulda-thunk-it treat: coffee-roasted carrots with a chocolate spread, shaved fennel, candied sunflower seeds, carrot verjus purée, and fennel fronds. Although there were more sunflower seeds than I could handle, the balance of taste between coffee and the other flavors hit a spot I didn’t know I had.
For the third course, we luxuriated in a berbere spice-roasted parsley root comprised of toasted oats, pickled huckleberries, parsnip chips, vanilla creme, brown butter gastrique, and red frill mustard greens. Just writing those words together makes my mouth water again for the dish.
Dessert — oh dessert: a sweet and flaky baklava drizzled with Felicity Chen’s CBD Honey by HoneyPot Supply, an extra jar of which could be found in each of the goodie bags for us to try at home. For an evening described as just “small plates,” I ended up going home extremely satiated, full of decadent deliciousness, along with 5 mg of THC to elevate my mood well beyond the end of the meal.
As the meal drew to a friendly, collectively-satisfied end, Jamie Evans — our hostess and guide for the evening — shared with us her mission to evangelize creative ways to experience cannabis products safely through cooking, food pairings, and wellness. Even better, brand partners gave us more insight into their company’s missions and products, most of which we were lucky enough to experience in the days following the event thanks to samples in our goodie bags.
The unifying theme for everyone was a passion around breaking the stigma of cannabis consumption as a tool solely for recreational purposes. In fact, Mighty Health talked about their line of focus pills containing 1 mg THC / 1 mg CBD, which can be used to fine-tune your own microdosing and achieve the ideal state of mind for calm and focused productivity. I will even admit, those samples helped me complete this article without the cloudy head you sometimes get from stronger dosing.
If you’re all about staying on top of the trendiest canna-activities then you’re not going to want to miss this dinner. If you’re looking for something romantic, delicious and unique in the San Francisco Bay Area, then do yourself a favor and sign up for the next Thursday Infused!
For more information, visit ThursdayInfused.com
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