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March 2008
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At 7 p.m. sharp last night, it was showtime. The Savor Dallas International Grand Tasting orgy of food and drink didn't disappoint. Picture the Plaza of the Americas ice rink covered with flooring and lined with purveyor tables that snaked up around the perimeter of the rink onto the next level as well. From there, you could elevate or hike up the stairs to the third floor of the Westin City Center Hotel, where an adjunct room held a spill-over, but no less impressive group. (Bolla, Charlie Palmer and Craft among others were in this room.) But wait. There was more. Down the hall was another set of smaller rooms, which included the Spanish pavilion, complete with Café Madrid and dancers. And even though hundreds of people were milling about, serious lines rarely developed so it was possible to comfortably nosh the night away. (No loud music: hooray.) And if climbing up and down stairs got to be too much, there were plenty of small tables and seating areas where you could rest your tootsies. Steak is always a big item, but this year there was plenty of lobster, too. Since I was working (yeah, I know, tough job...), I tried only a few of the wines and spirits, but many beauties were poured. Loved tasting Paula's Texas Spirits, which are like the Italian 'cellos, but zestier and less sweet. I can hardly begin to cover all the glorious victuals, but read on for some instant impressions (best bites, longest line, best take-away freebie). And if you attended, tell us what I missed and what you liked, too. BEST BITE: Opio chef Billy Webb's duo of pork: pork confit on jalapeno-cheese grits with crispy pork belly and rosemary-infused Steen's Cane Syrup, a classy Southern pairing of pork and cheese grits. The bronzed pork belly was the tour de force. LONGEST LINE: For Tim Love's American lamb chop with yuzu aioli and a potato chip. What a sight: all those people dressed up and gnawing down on a piece of meat with its own built-in handle. The line endured for hours, even through the Lonesome Dove Bistro chef-owner was slapping chops onto the grill from a double-wide cooler as fast as he could. BEST ANTI-STEAKHOUSE BITE: BLT Steak's mouthful of warm chicken liver pate with port shallots on a round of thyme-grilled country bread. Good with or without the accompanying pickled veggies. BEST TEXAS WINERY NEWS: Kiepersol Estates Winery near Tyler just opened a sister winery, KE Cellars, in town. The tasting room and processing facility is at 4574 Broadway and sells a large selection of Texas wines. Check out the details at www.kecellars.com. WORST TEXAS WINERY NEWS: Lubbock winemaker Kim McPherson still hasn't finished renovating the Coca-Cola building for his McPherson Cellars, which was supposed to be ready for the fall 2007 crush. PLEASANT SURPRISE BITE: The Crescent Club's melt-in-mouth coconut-crab tamale on a banana leaf. "We call them empanadas in Puerto Rico," said chef Juan A. Rosado. BEST USE OF LOBSTER: A tie (not counting Charlie Palmer). The Rosewood Mansion Restaurant's succulent butter-poached lobster with spring chanterelles and vegetables and Pappas Bros. Steakhouse's signature lobster bisque generously endowed with lobster chunks. BEST WORD-OF-MOUTH: Kenichi's Thai-grilled shrimp with coconut, pineapple and curry sauce topped with micro-cilantro. BRAVE NEW BROCCOLI: Who would have the audacity to serve broccoli at this walk-around? Sweet Tomatoes, which offered three dishes, one of which was Joan's Broccoli Madness, a broccoli salad with bacon, onions, cashews and raisins. BEST USE OF GRASS-FED BEEF: Kitchen 1924's beef carpaccio with boursin-herb cheese and sloppy Joe sliders. BEST VEGGIE: Another tie. Between 2900's grilled artichoke with lemon-beurre blanc sauce and Craft's endive salad with goat-cheese vinaigrette, spiced honey, candied pistachios and dried cherries plumped in verjus (juice from unripe fruit). BEST TAKE-AWAY FREEBIE: The Trummer Pils glass, a cool 9.5-by-2-inch, heavy-bottomed cylinder from the German-style pilsner made in Berkeley, Calif. MOST CREATIVE USE OF A SKEWER: Parigi's gazpacho brochette, a one-bite wonder of pickle, garlic, roasted yellow pear tomato and basil leaf slicked with olive oil and Parmesan. BEST DESSERT: Dunia Borga (Alo Cena Duria and La Duni) does it again with hazelnut Josefina, hazelnut-sugar phyllo pastry with vanilla cream, raspberry and raspberry coulis. 'Nuff.
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Comments
Posted by Margie @ 4:59 PM Sun, Mar 09, 2008
I knew I should have gone!!
Posted by Erik @ 11:34 AM Mon, Mar 10, 2008
Tim Love's lamb chops were definitely worth the wait! It was great doing a shot of Tuaca with him (see Iron Chef competition).
Posted by Lee @ 11:46 AM Mon, Mar 10, 2008
Is there a list somewhere of what each chef presented? I want to remember everything!
Posted by Lesley @ 5:51 PM Mon, Mar 10, 2008
Wow, what a list! Everything sounds yummy. Makes me think I have a few more restaurants to go to. Sloppy Joe sliders sound especially good right now.