{Food Events} Foodbuzz Festival Day 1: Foodie Swap and Street Food Fare

Last night we attending the first day of the Foodbuzz Festival (the reason why we're in San Fran!)  Like last year, there was plenty of food and opportunity to meet with our foodie friends in person.  Between the Food Network camera crew filming Mission Minis cupcakes for an upcoming episode of Cupcake Wars and trying to keep up with the tweets on this event (follow hashtag #fbzfest), we did manage to stuff ourselves silly.

Our favorite foods of the night included both food trucks (French cuisine from Spencer on the Go and spicy Indian food from Curry Up Now), fresh fruit from Frog Hollow Farm, strong beers from Magnolia Pub and Brewery and The Social Kitchen and Brewery, the porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti, and sweet treats from Mission Minis and Straus Creamery. 

Though the pear tarts were good, we loved the fresh ones (and the figs and grapes) better from Frog Hollow Farm.

The porchetta sandwich with its crispy pork skin was well worth the wait! The organic Brown Sugar Banana ice cream was dangerously addictive.

Faves included Curry Up Now's kati roll (spicy!) and Spencer on the Go's New England lobster cappuccino, braised lamb sandwich, and escargot puff lollipop.

The beers from Magnolia Pub and Brewery and The Social Kitchen and Brewery were strong and amazing!  If I couldn't find my husband in the crowd, I knew he would end up there!

Oh, and what did we get during the foodie swap?  Delicious homemade goodies from Ken of HungryRabbitNYC.com (one of the NY bloggers we had to travel to SF to meet!) and Korean treats plus a menu signed by Chef Ludo Lefebvre (one of the Top Chef Masters contestants) from Rosa of TheCattyCritic.com.  Suffice it to say, we're having a good time in San Fran!

Le Fooding 2010: NY vs SF

Let the SF vs NYC food battle begin! We've eagerly anticipated the event, Le Grand Fooding 2010 New York vs San Francisco, for a while and it finally happened this weekend.  Held to benefit Action Against Hunger, this event featured celebrity chefs from both coasts offering tastes of their cuisine.

After attending last year, we were ready for the long lines.  Unlike last year, we bought VIP tickets this year that, in addition to unlimited Veuve Clicquot champagne, got us entry an hour before general admission.  Buying the upgrade was definitely worth the price as we were able to try everything (some more than once!) without too much of a wait.

We were amongst the first in line at 5:30pm for the 6pm entry.  Talking to others in line, we thought we had everything planned out.  We would head straight to the burger and pizza tables, get a couple glasses of champagne, then check out more tables. 

The best laid plans often go awry, right? We got in at 6pm, and found many tables (including the pizza and burger tables) unready for service.  So instead, we headed to any tables ready with food.

Our first stop, and one of our favorites of the night, was Blue Hill's Dan Barber's Beet and Pork sausage with condiments.  It was rustic, creative, slightly sweet, and nicely grilled.  The beet sausage went especially well with the grain mustard.  And being personally served by Dan Barber himself was the best treat of all.

Another favorite was Melissa Perello's, of Frances in SF, Suckling pig with summer fruit mostarda.  The pork was juicy and we loved the sweetness of the seasonal peaches.  My husband said he'd be happy eating this moist pork dish all the time if he could.  This was another dish we returned to have again and by the end of the night, the line was so long it snaked around like a snail's shell. 

Up on a platform, Coi's Daniel Patterson was making a variety of inventive vegetable snacks.  Since my hubby missed out on my dinner at Coi, he was eager to try out these bites.  Chef Patterson was painstakingly assembling so many snacks, that once a full platter was available for service, everyone clamored for a taste making it difficult to enjoy and savor.  It was a beautiful display nonetheless. 

Despite other samples available, people were waiting for the Black olive, Fresh cheese from Andante Dairy, Tomato jam, and Cilantro.  My husband and I also really enjoyed the Potato chicharrones (tasted just like pork!).  Also available was Popcorn with Escabeche powder (a lemony/spicy Peruvian powder) and Vegetable Leathers of beet/Niabell grape and burnt onion/fig with Almond crisps (adult Fruit roll-ups).

More Coi samples!  Smoke Roasted Roots including Kohlrabi (with romaine, garum - a salty fish sauce, and parsley crumbs), Carrots (with hay and wild garlic), and Beets (with pistachio and wood sorrel).  Vegetable and Seaweed Salad (lime, seaweed powder, mushroom dashi, and seaweed from Monterey, CA).  Plum Consomme (wild mint and sassafras, not pictured)

db Bistro Moderne offered its Camem Burger (grilled sirloin, Camembert cheese, caramelized red onion, toasted black pepper bun).  My husband loved the burger - especially how rare it was!  (It was a little too raw for me)

Though people were lukewarm about Nate Appleman's (Pulino) Beef cooked in beef fat, anchovy crostone, parsley and fried garlic, it was one of the most efficient tables.  My husband liked Pulino's toast (beef over crostini) more than I did, finding it tasty, simple, and enjoying the anchovy and basil.

Brian Leth, from Vinegar Hill House in Brooklyn, made Octopus with charred lemon, yogurt, and tagglasca olives. 

Grilled Octopus

Mourad Lahlou (Aziza, SF) offered Squab with a farro salad.  It was an interesting dish with tons of root vegetables and fresh sorrel.  The squab was properly cooked and my husband thought it would pair well with wine.

Even at 6:45 pm, the event was getting crowded.

We finally headed to the pizza stand and waited patiently in the longest line of the night.  It was strangely ticketed (the only food station that allowed only 1 tasting) and paired with French Cotes du Rhone wines.

Despite the long wait, the staff including Charlie Hallowell, Pizzaiolo's chef, were very friendly and interactive.  We did enjoy watching the pizzas being made and cooked in Pizza Moto's portable oven.

Roasted peppers were passed down the line to satiate the hungry crowd.  Day turned into night when we finally got our tiny slice of pepper pizza.  Though pretty and colorful, it was good but not worth such a wait.  Instead of pairing it with French Cotes du Rhone wines, my husband would have liked would have liked a NY vs. SF craft beer sponsor, since both have such good breweries.  (Of course, he had just gone to the Get Real NY craft beer/food event earlier that afternoon, so I'm not sure how much more beer he needed to taste!)

The SF vs NY battle even extended into cocktails.  We watched Erick Castro from Rickhouse in SF make a Bella Fragolla (raspberry, basil, and vodka).  Very fresh and fruity!

My husband enjoyed meeting Jim Meehan from PDT and preferred his Parkside Fizz (less sweet, crisp, and refreshing).  I also tried a vodka cocktail with vanilla that was pretty tasty and not syrupy at all.

The area ended up getting even more crowded (we went on Sat and heard that Friday's session was even worst).  Again, we were so glad we sprung for the VIP tickets because we left very full and had the time/opportunity to chat with many chefs.  Can't wait for next year!

Reminder: Our Black + Blum Giveaway ends 9/30/10! Click here to enter to win one of their cool products!

Also, our 50% off sale in our HLFD store also ends 9/30/10.  Use coupon code FIFTYHILO at checkout to get your discount on everything in your cart!

Batali and Co's EATALY: Part 2 - The Restaurants

After grocery shopping at Eataly, we definitely worked up an appetite seeing all of the food.  There are numerous places to eat...and everywhere required a wait.  In addition to sandwich counters and a couple of restaurants, every section of the grocery store seems to have a corresponding dining area.  We decided to immediately put our names down for a spot at the pizza/pasta place (spots for 2 at the counter took 45 minutes, though we overheard a table of 4 state that they waited roughly 90 minutes), then wander around/wait in other lines (like the panini line which was roughly 20 minutes).

The coffee bar opens an hour earlier than the rest of Eataly (currently 9 AM) so you can enjoy an espresso, like co-owner Mario Batali, or try any number of desserts ($3.80-$5.80)

Even the chocolates are flown in from Italy...

The longest lines were for the panini which are pre-made and are either cold ($4.80) or pressed hot to order (up to $8.80).  The panini are surprisingly small - and seemed more like a snack than a full meal (several people in our line remarked on the size and opted to buy 2...which can add up to a fairly expensive lunch).

We tried all three hot paninis and surprisingly found the Mushroom and Taleggio ($6.80) to be the tastiest.  The cheese was melted and the mushrooms were so warm and earthy.  We were more disappointed with the Spicy Sopressata and Provolone panini.  It was not worth the $8.80 we paid for it as we could have just bought a whole package of sopressata and made the sandwich ourselves.

My husband liked the Bresaola with arugula pesto ($8.80 each) because it was soft and quite tasty despite the hefty price tag (he loves bresaola!).  I thought the sandwich needed more pesto and that we could have just bought bresaola from the deli area.

Lots of dining spaces including charcuterie standing tables/counters, the wine bar, the pizza/pasta restaurant, and the fish area. 

Those who didn't want to wait for pizza went to the bakery instead and got a slice of flatbread.

After our 45 minute wait for a table, we sat past the two wood-burning ovens and were seated at the counter in front of the pasta station.  After mulling over the various options, wines and beers, the server encouraged us to try and share one pizza and pasta, but we opted for the pizzas.

The Margherita pizza was the second cheapest option at $13 (and seemed to be the most popular pie eaten in the restaurant during our visit).  Like a lot of the Neapolitan pizza being offered in the NY area, it had a soft and slightly charred crust.  It's small enough that one person could eat the whole thing.  The fresh basil was fragrant, but the star of the pie was the creamy cheese on it.  Overall, we thought this pizza pie may not be the best in NYC, but it is definitely worth a try.

We splurged on the $20 Frutti di Mare (seafood) pie with fresh mussels, clams, shrimp, and calamari. No cheese on this pie, but we liked the tasty sauce with the briny shellfish and shrimp.  The pie isn't too greasy and is probably one of the better seafood pizzas we've enjoyed.  Beautiful to look at and even better to eat, we were glad we ordered this pizza pie.

Penne with tomato, mozzarella, and basil ($14), Tagliatelle with bright green Pesto Genovese ($14, a popular choice), Fusilli with a meat and tomato sauce ($17, the pictured server's favorite pasta), and my neighbor's Spaghetti with cheese and black pepper ($13).

Though we didn't order any pasta dishes, sitting at the pasta counter gave us great spot to "pasta-watch".  At first a lot of the orders were for pasta but that died down quickly while the pizzas kept being churned out from the wood-fired pizzas. 

Vegetarian Lasagna with eggplant, mozzarella, and tomatoes ($16), Traditional Lasagna with a meat ragu ($16), Ravioli filled with meat ($16), and Paccheri with the Daily  Chef's Selection ($18).

The pasta options looked good, especially the fresh pastas, but are priced high for the small portion size.  Though many of the ingredients are imported from Italy, the prices still seemed high considering Eataly's a combined market restaurant concept. 

Overall, if you have the time, put your names down for the pizza area and then wander around.  We probably would not wait in the panini line again (but if it was short, we'd go for the mushroom panini), and would opt to make our own sandwiches by buying some sliced meats with bread from the bakery.  The fish/raw bar area also looked very tempting, so we'll probably check that out the next time we visit.

Eataly is located at 200 5th Ave (btwn 23rd and 24th Sts) in NYC.

Pizza Party Wooden Toys

Kids and pizza parties go together like peanut butter and jelly!  Kids can use the Melissa and Doug Pizza Party wooden toys for creating their own party at home.  With so many "toppings" like pepperoni, mushrooms, and peppers, kids can individualize their slices.  Because of all of the smaller pieces, this toy is strongly recommended for children ages 3+.  (And kids-at-heart, like our thirty-something friends, seem to like this toy too!)  

BUY NOW:

Pizza Party