Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Austin360 Food and Wine Bloggers Bash


Well first off I wanted to once again thank Addie Broyles of Relish Austin for putting this whole event together and inviting us along for the ride!

Last night, Han and I were lucky enough to be invited to the Austin360 Food and Wine Bloggers Bash. It was an amazing time with great food and wine and we really enjoyed meeting our fellow food bloggers in the area.

The event was hosted in the culinary center of the Whole Foods flagship store, and the gorgeous weather made it difficult to decide between patio lounging and going inside where the actual event was taking place. Gourmet tastings were featured throughout the space, with the favorite dish being the carne asada skewers with chimichurri sauce, and the most divisive dish being the mushroom with goat cheese. From what I could tell people either fell in love with it or wanted nothing to do with it (I was part of the former group).

The event also featured the "Texas Two-Sip Tasting" which faced local Texas wines off against counterparts from Europe, California, and South America. I'm not a wine expert, but I definitely felt that the Texas wines held their own, with my favorite being the Llano Signature Melange ($9.99!).

And of course the main event of the night were demonstrations by Jesse Griffiths of the Dai Due Supper Club and Tyson Cole of Uchi. Chef Cole was kind enough to talk with us (see picture at right) before his demonstration. I was told I swooned a little bit.

Chef Griffiths prepared an herb-stuffed flounder that, to be honest, was a little bit much in terms of flavor. Chef Cole on the other hand prepared a fish-stuffed rice ball that I easily would have had seconds, thirds, or fourths had it not been the first time I'd be meeting many of my favorite Austin food bloggers.

All in all it was a fantastic time, and I can't wait until the next event!

1 comment:

Catherine said...

Hi Justin and Hanstar,

I recently came across your blog and love the name!! We represent several restaurants in Austin and would love to include you on our Austin Food list.

Check out our website www.paulabiehler.com and please let me know if you are interested in being included in this.

Thank you,
Cat Caroom
cat(at)paulabiehler.com