Cybernet Expo - My Show & Culinary Report

[mmemmer]

Ok Hell Puppy, I see how it is where was my invite during all of this. Sound like some great times and Good Eats.

As to the show I am working still to rate it a success, thanks to a bit of time with Dirty D and Kevin we have some potential in the works and as to other opportunities well we can only wait to see how things develop.

For any of you who were contemplating a server, hit me up directly and I can still give you the show special!

[miz_wright]

Originally Posted by mmemmer

Ok Hell Puppy, I see how it is where was my invite during all of this. Sound like some great times and Good Eats.

As to the show I am working still to rate it a success, thanks to a bit of time with Dirty D and Kevin we have some potential in the works and as to other opportunities well we can only wait to see how things develop.

For any of you who were contemplating a server, hit me up directly and I can still give you the show special!

Mark, it's worth noting that HP wasn't there - Toby was his direct emissary in all matters food-related. I am lucky enough to know a few other food-geeks, and we joined forces to seek out deliciousness.

My other dining experiences included
Essencia on Thursday (when we originally tried to go to Bar Jules, but they were SLAP FULL, so we walked down the street and checked out this little haven of yummy).

We started with the Sea Bass ceviche (and ordered a second one, because it was so lovely), but the rest of the menu that is currently posted is not helping me determine what all else we had. I CAN tell you that thefive of us sat in there for a GOOD two and a half hours, savouring every single thing that we ate. I do know that I had the pork loin, and while it was a little tough, it was incredibly well-flavoured and presented. The accompaniments were well chosen and made nice compliments to the main dish itself.

A16 on Friday, where my companions and I dined upon --
Starters:
-- Mozzarella burrata with olive oil, sea salt and crostini (I know not a one of us is shocked that I had to have this, right?)
-- Arugula salad with pluots, fennel and house-made ricotta salata
-- Roasted Monterey sardines with fried breadcrumbs, currants, pickled chiles and herbs (turns out, I am still not a fan of sardines, no matter how well presented)
-- Roasted local calamari with garlic and leek scapes, meyer lemon, chiles, basil and pine nuts (I am not typically a fan of calamari at all, but this was tender, not breaded, and completely delicious)

Salumi:
-- La Quercia tasting: Americano, Berkshire and speck prosciutto (all of my companions at dinner that night are lovers of good charcuterie, so we were excited to sample theirs. Sadly, the varieties provided were not particularly exciting)

Pizza:
The organiser of the dinner is a HUGE pizza fan, so of course we had to give these a try:
-- Margherita – tomato, mozzarella, grana padano, basil, olive oil
-- Funghi – roasted mushrooms, smoked mozzarella, grana padano, garlic, oregano, wild arugula
(Both were lovely and well presented, with tender, flavourful crusts)

FINALLY, we got to the main courses:
-- Local rock cod, Penn Cove mussels and bay scallops in acqua pazza with chiles and basil
-- Watson Farms lamb sausage with fennel, carrots, radishes and herbs
-- Roasted half-chicken with roasted cipolline, wheatberries and fino verde basil
-- Scaloppine of Berkshire pork shoulder with anchocress and lemon
Everyone seemed pleased with their selections.

They also had a lovely coffee presentation, though as part of the local/ slow food movement, there was no Diet Coke to be had (GAH! WHAT ABOUT MY NEEDS!), instead having some sort of concoction called GUS -- which would've been fine, except it was 99% CAFFEINE FREE. We mustn't have such silliness. (We actually encountered this a few places, due to the high-fructose corn syrup content of Diet Coke, no one carried it. (Clearly, A16 made more of an impression on me, but I was also more familiar with their menu going in, as I knew we'd be dining there one night)

Delicious!

One last note about Bar Jules - the grilled squash blossoms that accompanied the quercia prosciutto (which was an incredible iteration of prosciutto) with fresh mozzarella (we all know how I feel about same-day mozz - I would live on it, were it possible)? Actually were my favourite part of that dish. Seriously.

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by mmemmer

Ok Hell Puppy, I see how it is where was my invite during all of this. Sound like some great times and Good Eats.

I'm just messing around cuz I wasn't there. But I do have a reputation as a food hound to uphold, thus I appointed Toby and Liz as my dedicated eaters. There isn't as much of Toby as there used to be, but he shares very similar tastes in food to me including a love for left coast salmon.

And then there's Liz. She knows her food and has probably eaten in at least as many fine restaurants as I have. And the cool thing about Liz is, like me, she does not suffer from "pretentious palette syndrome" as a result. By that I mean I know her to enjoy a good burger from a dive just as much as a sophisticated meal at a 5 star restaurant.

But as for me, I sometimes end up being the pied piper of food. Not sure when it started, but whether in industry or just with friends, my nose has a reputation. You can drop me out in any random city, and I'll put my nose in the air and within minutes will be on the scent of some of the best food that city has to offer.

As a result I've been fortunate enough to eat in some of the best restaurants all over the U.S.....especially steakhouses.

[miz_wright]

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

this gives me an idea for a niche site...

You and my fella both! He's always threatening to film me eating and sell the footage *cracking up* It's nice he thinks anyone would pay money to see me do much of anything, if a little misguided!

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

I'm just messing around cuz I wasn't there. But I do have a reputation as a food hound to uphold, thus I appointed Toby and Liz as my dedicated eaters. There isn't as much of Toby as there used to be, but he shares very similar tastes in food to me including a love for left coast salmon.

And then there's Liz. She knows her food and has probably eaten in at least as many fine restaurants as I have. And the cool thing about Liz is, like me, she does not suffer from "pretentious palette syndrome" as a result. By that I mean I know her to enjoy a good burger from a dive just as much as a sophisticated meal at a 5 star restaurant.

But as for me, I sometimes end up being the pied piper of food. Not sure when it started, but whether in industry or just with friends, my nose has a reputation. You can drop me out in any random city, and I'll put my nose in the air and within minutes will be on the scent of some of the best food that city has to offer.

As a result I've been fortunate enough to eat in some of the best restaurants all over the U.S.....especially steakhouses.

*curtsies* That's an awfully nice thing for you to say! It's only been in the past few years I've upped the ante on the nicer restuarants (my waistline can tell!) - but I did work in some higer-end joints through high school and college, and my is an outstanding cook. The adventurousness bit I lay squarely on the shoulders of Anthony Boudain - his descriptions made my mouth water, and I started seeking out things beyond my comfort zone 'cos he made a lot of sense about what's the worst that can happen if you order something that you're not wild about?

If you haven't read Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour, I highly reccomend them. He's gotten a bit unsufferable as a personality in the last few years, but those two books can't be beat for their descriptions of life-altering food experiences and the food behind them.