In the early morning hours of August 24th, Northern California, specifically the southern Napa region known as American Canyon, was rocked by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake that jolted many out of bed within a several hundred mile radius.

As I get ready to see Sir Paul McCartney’s last concert in San Francisco at Candlestick Park next week, I am singing classic Beatles songs daily resonating with the lyrics that defined my youth.  I love the simplicity of Lennon & McCartney’s words, reminding us in this techno age to keep it simple.  Simple was the way life in Rikuzentakata City in Japan leading up to March 11th of 2011.  That morning a 9.0 earthquake devastated the region, causing a tsunami that decimated the entire city including the Suisen Shuzo saké brewery that was established there in 1944.  The kura was reduced to rubble and seven employees lost their lives that day along with thousands of residents along the coastline.

It’s no secret that San Francisco boasts one of the most dynamic food and beverage scenes in the world. According to a 2012 report, San Francisco leads the nation in number of restaurants per household – and the competition isn’t even close. By every measure, the City-by-the-Bay’s dining economy is snapping necks and cashing checks at rates that are virtually unheard of elsewhere, but the region’s dominance of the industry, while certainly owed to San Francisco, extends far beyond the city’s limits.