Alto Residents Celebrate with Tomato Party

"If it's good enough for Carmel, then we can certainly replicate it here in Mill Valley!"

For Janis Bosenko and husband Paul Zimerman, that was the thinking 14 years ago in launching their now well-known Tomato Party confab at their Shell Road home. More than 100 friends and neighbors from all aspects of the hosts' busy lives eagerly anticipate the annual fest, which features a large number of tomato varieties grown right in the host's home garden.

The event features a popular "BLT Bar," for which yours truly cooked 12 pounds of bacon. There's often a blind tomato tasting with guests voting for their favorite. 

The party has morphed to more of a pot luck in recent years due to the ever-increasing number of happy guests. One year, a potluck participant brought a cold jello mold comprised of raspberry jello and... stewed tomatoes! Top it with a dab of sour cream, and well, apparently it wasn't bad. One year there was an apple and green tomato pie, another experiment that "wasn't so bad."  

Zimerman opens his wine cellar for the event and happily pours for his satisfied guests. Large tubs of other cold drinks and mountains of food (homemade tamales, a roasted turkey, a ham, innumerable tomato dishes, a dessert table) make this a memorable outing on a hungry weekend day. Even strangers think so: there have been "mystery guests" popping in throughout the years. 

The Tomato Party has become a fond tradition on convivial Shell Road. Many neighbors speak only once a year and this is the venue.  Everybody loves it! There is talk of possibly making next year's party, the 15th annual, the last. Say it isn't so!