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Thirty restaurants, more than 100 wines, two sun-soaked afternoons and I'm toast.
I'm talking about the West of Western Culinary Festival that took place this past weekend at the Phoenix Art Museum.
Other food writers are going to give you more details about the specifics -- which chef did what dish -- in greater detail than I will. (Coming soon, entertaining wrap-ups from Howard Seftel from The Arizona Republic, Carey Sweet in the Scottsdale Republic, and Jess Harter's already posted his East Valley Tribune summary).
But I do have a couple of observations that I'd like to add.
First, if you are a restaurant junkie, this festival needs to be on your schedule for next year. West of Western attracts some (I'm wondering why not all) of the top tables in town.
It also showcases the talent behind some of the top hotel and resort restaurants: the Four Seasons, the Phoenician, Wild Horse Pass (restaurant Kai, the only Mobil 5-star restaurant in Arizona), The Wyndham (we have a Wyndham?) and the Sheraton downtown, the Fairmont Scottsdale, two Marriotts (Camelback Inn and JW Marriott at Desert Ridge, the new Montelucia Resort, the Pointe Hilton at Tapatio Cliffs, and even La Posada in Winslow.
Noticeably missing were Binkley's (and Cafe Bink), Los Sombreros, Barrio Cafe, Tonto Bar & Grill and Cartwright's, Lon's at the Hermosa Inn, the new Mission, Christopher's, Vincent's, Sea Saw, Cowboy Ciao, Digestif (although Chef Curry did a demo), and many more.
Some chefs put more into this festival than others. And the festival goers noticed. (A blob of burrata from Prado? Bland garlic panna cotta that blended into the white plate from the new, hip Posh?)
Some chefs went for shock and awe: Kai handed out four samples, including my favorite, pulled lamb on fry bread with fig and curry "mud", Quiessence dazzled with at least 10 (I lost count). Roka Akor grilled Moroccan spiced lamb chops that perfumed all of central Phoenix and presented elegant butterfish tataki.
Tapino did a different kind of shock: foie gras ice cream float with local Sonora Brewing Co. root beer. There wasn't much of a foie gras taste, but he did get a lot of attention, at least until he ran out before 2 p.m., with still 2 more hours of the festival to go.
But here's the thing, most of the restaurants missed the opportunity to connect with their target market. Sure, they handed out generous samples, but very few took advantage of their captive audience by marketing their restaurants. They could have been handing out critical information.
If I were a restaurant giving away that much free food, I'd also create a small flyer with what the dish was (so the customer could remember it later, because frankly, after eating thirty samples, who can remember what? Who did that delicious seared scallop atop mushroom cream, or the cocoa nib dusted scallop, or the scallop on top of the farro salad and wasn't there one more scallop dish --all on Saturday?)
The flyer needs a few other things, too, perhaps a few key menu items on it, maybe tout a fabulous happy hour or at the very least, promote the restaurant's website. SOMETHING.
Huge kudos to the organizers and volunteers are in order as the festival ran as smooth as the Ecuadorian chocolate pudding from Kai. The boy scout volunteers kept the trash empty and the festival staff kept the water tubs full. Cooking demonstrations, culinary lectures and short food-focused films gave eaters a chance to take a break, clear out some tummy room before heading back through the gastro gaunlet.
All in all, the festival was fabulous -- again. I know that as I took each sample, I made sure I asked what it was, and then I thanked the chef for being there, making the festival worth the ticket price. Even though I'm pointing out some shortcomings of some chefs, I so appreciate them coming and feeding us, giving us a glimpse into their fascinating world of creativity.
Because, at the end of the day, I am a restaurant junkie, just like all the other festival goers.
When I read on Chow Bella this week that the adorable, quirky Palatte restaurant was closing, my heart sank a bit -- I loved that restaurant.
Chow Bella reports that the 4th Avenue and Filmore Street breakfast/lunch spot "got an offer they couldn't refuse." That's the good news. The bad news is we lost gem.
I penned a review for AZ Central.com a few months after they opened in 2007, in which I opened with:
"I'm quite certain that no matter what I write in this review, the newly opened Palatte in the historic Cavness house...will be crazy busy for a long time to come."
That, of course, was well before the economic meltdown last fall. And truth be told, after I wrote the review, I probably only visited Palatte as a regular customer a handful of times, even though it was a favorite.
I'm going to cop out and blame proximity...the restaurant is more than 30 miles from my house. It's got me thinking, though, about some other favorite restaurants of mine, and perhaps I should be a little more diligent in returning to them.
As a foodie, it's easy to get caught up in chasing the next new restaurant. It's kind of like wanting a puppy because it's cute. But eventually the puppy grows up and isn't so cute anymore, but it's still a living, breathing creature and needs love and attention.
As a food writer, lots of things come across my desk -- new products, new books, new this, new that. Occasionally, I'm impressed enough to share with you. Like today, when I received some info about a new book by Irena Chalmers.
I thought I recognized her name, and a quick glance at my library revealed why...another book by Ms. Chalmers, The Great FOOD Almanac, which won an IACP/Julia Child award and was nominated for a James Beard award, is on my shelf.
Ms. Chalmers has come up with a new culinary job for herself -- a food job coach, so to speak. And, to launch her new career, she's written a book for anyone interested in landing a job in the culinary field.
Whether you're looking for a job in a restaurant, the media, culinary education or even farming, this book has details that you need to know about. Like how to go about landing that job, and what exactly that job is all about.
And if you don't know what you want, this book will help you think about the usual suspects -- chef, restaurant manager, food writer -- an some unusual ones: chewing gum taster or fortune cookie writer. My guess is the last two are, um, not as lucrative as the first three, but hey, somebody's gotta do it.
If I hadn't already blown my birthday money on the West of Western festival, I'd definitely blow it on this upcoming wine dinner at Binkley's Restaurant in Cave Creek, featuring Frank Family Vineyards from Napa, and sponsored by AZ Wines of Carefree (my favorite boutique wine shop.)
The six course dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23rd ($120++) begins with passed hors d'oeuvres and bubbles, followed by an asparagus course with baby beets, chevre mousse, and Meyer lemon zabaglione. Then there is vanilla gnocchi with snow peas, brown butter crusted grouper, 5-spice seared duck breast with a huckleberry pancake, root beer braised short ribs, and finally, a chocolate raisin parfait, served with a Frank Family port, of course.
Wow! I didn't list all the accouterments under each course, or mention the individual wines that will be paired with each course, but I can promise you that the dinner will be spectacular and worth every cent. So if you've not splurged on something in a while, you might want to consider this dinner.
And if you're feeling super generous, pick me up at 6:15.
Happy Birthday to me!
I just bought tickets to next weekend's West of Western culinary festival. Sort of my own birthday present to myself. I mean, what could be a better present for a foodie than a ticket to a food and wine festival?
We're really blessed with a variety of food festivals. There's the grand dame (Scottsdale Culinary Festival coming in April -- it's 31st year), the baby (Eats3, the second event is scheduled for October 22-24), and this 5th annual West of Western. All of them add up to a foodie fantasy bar none.
Next weekend, the West of Western returns to the Phoenix Art Museum for the second year, a much better venue than the grounds at the Arizona Center where the festival began.
In addition to top toque talent setting up booths and handing out generous samples of their fare, the festival has some chef demos and classes lined up that will give you a chance to digest your food a bit before tent hopping again.
I want to mention a handful of these demos and seminars -- all of them celebrate the diversity of our desert foods.
Pamela Hamilton, publisher of Edible Phoenix will dish on ancient chocolate elixirs, Andy Broder will make magic with mole, Candy Lesher will present packets of pleasure - green corn tamales, and Barbara Fenzl will handle hot and not, chiles. Click here to see more about these and other classes during the two day festival.
Last year, I attended both days, following Chef Jack Strong from Kai around on Sunday for an Edible Phoenix article. This year, I'm looking forward to just being a guest. Hope to see you there.
It's really quite simple, you know, making yogurt cheese. I don't know why I never attempted it before.
Every once in a while I need a cup of plain yogurt for a recipe, and I never can find a small container. It's always at least a pound or two. Why is that? Do yogurt manufacturers think that we can't possibly only need a cup?
Instead of throwing away the rest of my 2 pound container, I decided I would make yogurt cheese. I'd heard about it, but it seemed really too simple. I mean, I read Gourmet after all. Nothing in Gourmet is simple. I bet they've never printed a yogurt cheese recipe.
I lined a strainer with several layers of cheesecloth and spooned in about 2 cups of plain yogurt, and folded over the cheesecloth on top. I covered the strainer top with plastic wrap and set the strainer in a larger bowl, to catch the liquid (whey). I set the bowl in the refrigerator and waited 24 hours.
When I uncovered the cheese cloth, I had a nice little mound of yogurt cheese, and about a half a cup or maybe a little more of whey in the bottom of the bowl. I discarded the whey, although you could keep it and stir it into sauces or soups for some added flavor. Tasting the yogurt cheese reminded me of creme fraiche -- tangy, creamy and frankly delicious. Now I need to figure out what to do with it.
I think I'll spread it on some toast first. Perhaps Ooh La La, my favorite bread from Simply Bread. Yes, that's a great idea! Ooh La La is a dense, multi-grain bread studded with dried cranberries, raisins and walnuts. Mmmm. Perfect.
Downtown Phoenix was a happening place this past Saturday. I mentioned in a previous post that we were headed to the Downtown Phoenix Public Market for a big announcement. Pamela Hamilton, publisher of Edible Phoenix presented Cindy Gentry, dubbed "Market Mom" by supporters and fans, with the Local Hero non-profit award, saying that the market would be retired to the Local Hero Hall of Fame, after snagging the award for three years in a row. But that wasn't the BIG announcement.
The BIG announcement was a BIG fat check from the Phoenix Industrial Development Authority -- $250,000 to be exact. The money will be used to open the indoor market. The downtown market, celebrating it's fourth anniversary, has been raising money to convert the historic brick building next to the market's parking lot into a year round store, cafe and gathering spot that will operate five days a week, while still holding the outdoor market on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings.
The farmers market wasn't the only place to be last Saturday. Just up the road, at the Margaret T. Hance Park behind the library, the fourth annual WorldFEST was happening, an outdoor festival celebrating Phoenix sister cities. Tents featuring the sister cities, including Ennis, Ireland, Taipei, Taiwan and Hermosillo, Mexico, among others, entertained spectators with educational activities for the children and literature about these cities.We scarfed on outrageously delicious barbecue from Big Belly's BBQ, a local caterer. Best dish? The BBQ sundae: a cup of shredded, smoked pork, spicy pinto beans and topped with creamy coleslaw and a drizzle of sweet, tangy BBQ.
Hopping on the light rail down to Washington Street, we found the Firefighter's Chili Cook-Off. How I managed to down a few chili cups after a bowl full of BBQ, I'll never know. As we exited the Chili Cook-Off, we came face to face with a protest march. The "March to Stop the Hate," rally, sponsored by the National Day Laborers was in progress, with thousands of marchers -- young, old, White, Hispanic, Black, and every color in between -- were Marching down Central with banners, mostly calling for the local Sheriff to go. A few Sheriff supporters -- all White from what we could see -- stood on the sidewalks holding we support Joe (the controversial sheriff).
At that moment, I felt really proud to be an American, where we are free to protest if we choose, free to mosey through street fairs and farmers markets. And then this morning, I read that downtown Phoenix is in the process of re-branding itself. The new brand is "Arizona's urban heart." You can feel the heartbeat, whether you're supporting the local firefighters or the downtown farmers market, connecting with sister cities across the globe to celebrate our diversity, or marching in a peaceful protest. Yes, indeed, downtown Phoenix is alive.
Thirty restaurants, more than 100 wines, two sun-soaked afternoons and I'm toast. 
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