Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/724773
4 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t JESSIE BIRSCHBACH is the Wine Editor for The Clever Root's sister publications, The Somm Journal and The Tast- ing Panel. Jessie is a Certified Sommelier raised on the floors of fine-dining restaurants in Beverly Hills. Wine, comedy, home brewing, Jeeps and An- gels Baseball fills most of her heart, but writing is the reason it beats. That and her really cute family. JOHN CURLEY is a writer and photogra- pher with a broad port- folio of clients, including The Clever Root, The Tasting Panel and other national publications. In a former life, he was a deputy managing editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, in charge of the news sec- tions of the paper, including Page One. Since leaving the management side of journalism, he has returned to the roots of his craft. He's also done a bit of teach- ing, including stints at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and San Francisco State University. He also men- tors aspiring writers and photographers. "I'm passionate about my work," he says, "and I'm constantly trying to improve my craft." Joann Arruda, Cal Bingham, John Curley, Christie Dufault, Christine Havens, Diane Henschel, Cacinda Maloney, Lisa Monahan, Roger Morris, Margaret Soss, Kayci & Joe Weaver Daring to be Clever THE CLEVER ROOT IS NOT JUST ANOTHER FOOD MAGAZINE: we're a food adventure maga- zine. In this issue, we travel the world to excite your palate with everything from prosciutto de Parma to cheese from the Jura; we forage for botanicals in Scotland and follow a Southern California chef through Calabria in Southern Italy. The Clever Root keeps growing its own roots, and we can be found at grocery stores and newsstands across the U.S. along with our increase of hospitality and cannabis industry subscribers. We're proud of reaching food and wine lovers – consumer or pro – who get what we're about. And isn't it marvelous how easy it is to flip through these pages to encounter the history of the farmed tomato (page 44), to discover the wild world of foraged mushrooms (page 5) and to have an educated discussion about cannabis politics (page 26)? Only in The Clever Root. . . Karen Moneymaker and I have enjoyed putting this issue together, with help from our tal- ented crew of editors, freelance writers and photographers. We get a kick out of introducing chefs from all over our country, to dive into their methods and come face-to-face with their favorite and signature dishes. For our Fall Issue, we meet San Francisco chefs Mark Dommen from One Market and Banks White from The Keystone who offer some twists on ingredients (page 80); our cover star, Katie Button of Asheville, North Carolina, is enamored with the Albariño variety, an indigenous grape from Spain's Rías Baixas wine growing region (page 56). Life is an adventure—and great food, wine and spirits make our experiences all the more exquisite. Selected Contributors Michelle & Jeremy Ball, Jessie Birschbach, Jeff Cox, Jonathan Cristaldi, David Ransom, Alexander Rubin, Merrill Shindler, David A. F. Sweet, Becky Tsadik, Doug Young, Deborah Parker Wong Contributing Editors Contributors Publisher/Editorial Director Meridith May with Managing Editor Karen Moneymaker, and Meridith's Border Collie, Pokey. CLEVER LETTER PHOTO: DAVID GADD Meridith May Publisher/Editorial Director Karen Moneymaker Managing Editor