ChocoCaberYoga

By me, in today's SF Chronicle:

Raise a Glass to Yoga Class A sense of relaxation, the loss of calories and increased flexibility are some of the benefits that come with yoga practice, but the just-opened Cocoon Urban Day Spa and Local Kitchen and Wine Merchant have teamed up with some rewards that are a bit more tangible. On Dec. 20, from 7 to 9 p.m., they'll be running their "Yoga, Wine, Chocolate and Cheese" workshop. (So much for that loss of calories.) It begins with a 90-minute yoga flow class lead by the spa's yoga coordinator Danielle Marie Giovanello and attended by Local's sommelier Mark Bright, followed by a session of decadent gluttony, or as they put it, "delve deep into your visual, auditory, kinesthetic, gustatory and olfactory senses." Either way, it's a tasting of two kinds of wine plus organic cheese and chocolate pairings after class. $95. 330 First St. (at Folsom), San Francisco; (415) 777-0100.

Finally, the food and vodka pairing you've all been waiting for

Slow Food Los Angeles presents a food and vodka pairing in Beverly Hills this July, followed by one in New York in September. This would be as ludicrous as food and designer water pairings, except the vodka is the Modern Spirits line that includes celery peppercorn and pear lavender flavors. That makes a bit more sense.

Cheesy Beer

Last night I went to the beer and cheese pairing at the Rogue Ales Public House in North Beach. The event was great, and a bargain for $30. We had 8 beers paired with cheeses (and in one case, chocolate). Most of them were not full pints, but that would have been way too much beer anyway. While some of the pairings were straightforward- pairing a soba ale with soba cheddar, or a beer with a cheese that was washed in that same beer, other combinations had bitter hoppy beers with strong, mild cheeses that worked together to take the edge off of either. Well done. Before each course, a brewer from Rogue and Sheena Davis from Epicurean Connection spoke about the beer and the cheese that we were about to try. Keep your eyes peeled for this event next year and other opportunities for beer and cheese pairings. Here's last night's menu, although there were two substitutions and I can't find my notes that say what those were.

Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale Rogue Creamery Soba Cheddar Bison Belgian Ale Bellwether Fromage Blanc Rogue Monk Madness Laura Chenel Chevre Moylan's Moylander Double IPA Bellwether Farms Carmody Lagunitas Censored Vella Italian Table Cheese Marin Brewing Company San Quentin¹s Breakout Stout Chocolate, Cherries and Almonds Rogue Mocha Porter Rogue Creamery Blue Rogue Chocolate Stout Rogue Creamery Chocolate Stout