Green on Green on Green: First Friday at Black Cat, May 1st

May's menu started with a question I ask every month: what's actually here right now?

The answer, if you've been paying attention to the hillsides around Fort Bragg, is green. Deep, insistent, early-season green. Nettles are still coming up along the creek beds. Green garlic is sweet and young before the heat sets in — milder and more delicate than anything you'll find later in the season. Everything wants to be a sauce.

So that's what we made. Nettle Potato Leek Soup — silky, vegetal, the kind of bowl that tastes like the landscape it came from. Green Garlic Rolls, soft and pillowy with that sweetness you only get from garlic before it fully matures. And the Green Sauce, bright and herb-forward, made to go on everything.

This menu is a direct expression of something I've been building toward for a long time. I fell in love with produce early — working farms in California taught me to think about food from the ground up, about what's actually ready, what the land is offering right now rather than what a recipe calls for. Working closely with local farmers, foragers, and producers here in Mendocino County, I create meals that tell a story — each plate a reflection of the region's bounty. This soup is that story in a bowl.

This month there's something extra special: pianist Jack Leung will be playing live through the evening, turning the Black Cat gallery into something closer to a supper club. Food proceeds from the night go directly to Jack's medical costs — so when you show up and eat, you're contributing to something real.

Black Cat Ceramics is a creative collective at 334 North Franklin Street in the heart of Fort Bragg. Handmade soup bowls are in the shop at 25% off — eat your meal out of one. Food from 5–7PM, event runs til 8. Free to attend.

Come hungry. Bring someone.

Friday, May 1st | 334 N Franklin, Fort Bragg | Food 5–7PM