Grace Cathedral

I’ll begin with a caveat: Dinner with Grace is not a competition. Nevertheless, I have to say that this week’s lasagna was one of the best I’ve ever tasted! Was it the kick of the Monterey jack cheese? The tangy green peppers? The creamy spinach/cottage cheese filling? Hard to say exactly, but now that the secret ingredients of the Hainer family’s special recipe have been revealed, you too should be able to recreate this savory dish in your own kitchen. Or better yet, sign up to be a lead chef yourself, and share your talents with our energetic volunteers and the totally appreciative residents at the Mentone and the Crosby!

On Tuesday, not only did our lead chefs Anneliese and Mia Hainer delight us with a special main course — they also directed the preparation of an authentic Greek salad (with feta cheese, fresh cherry tomatoes, red peppers, onions, and cucumbers) and tons of irresistible chocolate chip oatmeal cookies! The cooking team industriously chopped, mixed, layered, grated, sauced and scooped until everything came together in a delicious communal meal, also pitching in on clean-up.

On Wednesday, we were happy to welcome back our long-time reheater, Bill Van Loo, who is now available for ongoing oven duty. Susan and Jim arrived in advance for their first tour of duty as drivers, and Jim waited in the car patiently as our “Womanist” crew brought all the food up to the Mentone’s second floor dining room.

The five-member serving crew was right-sized for the resident turnout. The Mentone’s Shari Gardner reports that six clients who had been regular DwG attendees have recently moved to permanent housing in SF’s Park Merced and Lakeview areas, thanks to the Moving On Initiative Program. So, while we’re sorry not to see their smiling faces anymore, we applaud them on making this very positive step! The less hectic pace allowed our volunteers to spend more time at table with the residents. With the Warriors game on, it was a lively time. We left a tray and a half of lasagna, salad and cookies for future enjoyment.

Kudos and gratitude go out to:

Chefs: Anneliese, Mia, Sam, Jessica, Susan, Phoebe,  Christine, Jim, Angel, Nicole

Servers: Karen, Vince, Susan, Jim, and Nicole

Reheater: Bill Van Loo

Drivers:  Susan and Jim