by MacKenzie Geidt, Sunset assistant travel editor

I've been hearing about this weekend's big Slow Food Nation events for weeks now, but I just haven't been swayed by all the PR hype....until yesterday afternoon when I got to experience a bit of "slow" for myself in San Francisco.  I guess I have jury duty to thank for getting me out to the Victory Garden outside City Hall.  After getting dismissed from the jury (I'm rarely impartial), I stumbled on this incredible garden right across the street from the courthouse (that's me and my trusty red bag loving the lettuce beds).

I'm not the biggest garden enthusiast (I doubt the garden editors would approve of the fake plants in my apartment, tasteful as they are) but I was flat-out astounded by this project.  Such a huge array of edibles, with such cool geometrical design.  And right in the middle of San Francisco's Civic Center, where I normally encounter pan-handlers, not parsley.  I guess I had to see it for myself to get excited about it.  Just check out this corn taking over City Hall!

Talk about bounty!  Cucumber, leeks, lettuce, basil, tomatoes, oregano, Hopi blue corn, parsley, thyme, kale, bok choi, strawberries, lavender, Mexican sunflowers ...

And I got to brush up on my Spanish vocabulary with each plant label. (The Chinese is beyond my ability but it's still cool-looking.)

The garden went up on July 12th with the help of volunteers, many from Sunset, one of the event's partners (the plants obviously weren't started from seed or we'd all be scared of a mutant takeover).  My absolute favorite part of this project is that each Thursday's harvest has been donated entirely to the San Francisco Food Bank, making it a genuine Victory Garden, not just for show.  This food is being eaten by people who need it! 

So now I know that it's not just hype and I'm finally excited!  Seeing is believing!  Definitely want to hit one of the events: Taste Workshops, demos at the Green Kitchen, Food for Thought lectures (on cool stuff like how climate change affects our food system), Slow Dinners, Slow Journeys guided trips (to wine country and local farms), and obviously the truly impressive Victory Garden!  Check out the event schedule to find out what's going on.  And check out the Slow Food Nation website for tickets!