What better way to celebrate the first weekend in spring than with some good sips and tastings! Here is a quick round-up of a few events that are sure to get the spring season started off on the right foot:
Revolution Wines—Friday Night Specials! Believe it or not, each week, Revolution Wines puts together a delicious wine/entrée pairing for only $15! Stop in from 5-10 p.m. every Friday to see what they’re serving up! On tonight’s menu: Cioppino with a glass of 2011 Zinfandel.
Philanthropic Beer Tasting—Whole Foods Market in Roseville will be hosting a beer tasting event ($15 per person) and all proceeds will be going to the store’s non-profit, Whole Planet Foundation. The tasting will have three different start times (5, 6, and 7 p.m.) for you to participate. Sounds like a win-win to us!
Spring Tasting Menu at The Grange—Debuting this Saturday, The Grange’s seasonal menu includes a fabulous gourmet three-course meal with a glass of wine for $40. Click here to see the menu.
Champagne Brunch Cruise—The Empress Hornblower will be featuring a relaxing Sunday itinerary: Floating down the gorgeous Sacramento River with a glass of bubbly and gourmet brunch buffet, with live entertainment on the boat. The cruise leaves the Old Sacramento dock at 11 a.m. and lasts about 2 hours. Click here for tickets.
Planning to attend one of these? Let us know how it goes!
2013 Sacramento Food Film Festival
Today and tomorrow, Slow Food Sacramento will be hosting the second annual Sacramento Food Film Festival! As we’ve mentioned before, Sacramento was recently designated America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital, so the festival taking place here in town couldn’t be more appropriate!Starting tonight, you’ll have the chance to watch several captivating films that present us with an honest look at where our food comes from—from sustainable production, to the not-so-pretty realities of food production in America. Not only do you have the chance to view seven different films, but for the first time, attendees can taste the experience too, with certain events providing tastings of the foods covered in the films! Here’s a rundown of the films and the food:
Friday, March 15 (5:30-10 p.m.)
• 5:30: Quest for Local Honey
This locally shot film explores how humans are working “hand in wing” with bees to create locally systems of economics and sustainable food production while keeping the health of the hive alive. This film will be followed by a honey tasting and discussion with the filmmakers at 6:30.
• 7:00: Ticket holders then move next door to the Forty Acres Gallery for a sushi tasting and discussion of seafood sustainability with Taro from Mikuni and Billy Ngo from Kru.
*Tickets for the sushi tasting needed to be purchased by March 13.
• 8:30: Jiro Dreams of Sushi
This film tells the story of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. His restaurant, located in a Tokyo subway station, it is now a pilgrimage location for sushi lovers who call months in advance and shell out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar.
Saturday, March 16 (11-9 p.m.)
• 11:00: The day kicks off with an exciting food-themed scavenger hunt for all ages followed by films and panel discussions throughout the day.
• 11:30: What’s On Your Plate?
A camera follows two 11-year-old kids as they explore food systems in New York City, talking with all contributors to the local food chain—from food activists to storekeepers.
• 1:00: A Community of Gardeners
This film takes a look at the roles of seven separate Washington, DC community gardens. This film is followed by a discussion at 2 p.m. about area community gardens within Sacramento.
• 3:00: Meat Hooked!
Meat Hooked! explores the rise and fall and rise again of local butchers. The film goes back in time to the early 19th century and moves quickly to the present, following several butchers.
• 4:15: American Harvest
In a series of candid interviews with farmers and farmworkers from Florida to Maine, the viewer objectively learns the facts, and dispels the myths, connected with migrant farmworkers that are rarely seen by most people. This film is followed by a moderated discussion of farm workers and their role in U.S. agriculture.
• 6:30: Symphony of the Soil
The film examines our human relationship with soil, the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development, and the latest scientific research on soil’s key role in dealing with the most challenging environmental issues of our time.
Proceeds from the festival this weekend will benefit California Food Literacy Center as well as Slow Food Sacramento.
Tickets:
• Friday Opening Night tickets, which include two films and two tastings: $40/person
• Saturday all-day tickets: $25 or $7/for an individual film
• Weekend festival tickets, good for both days: $55
For more details and to purchase tickets, visit: www.SlowFoodSacramento.com
Photo credit: www.sacfoodfilmfest.com
SacFoodies Have the Golden Ticket: Wonka™ Ice Cream Tasting
When the SacFoodies team was offered the opportunity to try all seven flavors of Wonka™ Ice Cream, we had to hold back from shouting a collective, “Daddy, I want it nooooow!” à la Veruca Salt.
As the weather hit the mid-80s on a Friday, we were delighted to receive a cold, frozen box filled with pint after pint of seven deliciously innovative flavors (although, sadly, nothing snozberry-inspired).
We gathered round and tested each one. Here’s what we thought and who liked what best:
• Kerfuffle Truffle (creamtastic chocolate ice cream with rich chocolate truffles and swirls of fudge) – Talk about a chocolate overload! We loved the richness and decadence of this one.
• Chipperberry Swirl (luscious black raspberry and vanilla ice cream with liquid chocolate chips) – If you love fruit mixed with chocolate, this is right up your alley. Noticing that this one resembled the flavors of a raspberry truffle, one SacFoodie exclaimed, “It’s berry-tastic!” (This one was favored by the majority – Jon, Brooke, Vanessa and Dan)
• Chocolate Mintropolis (a most mintrific combination of chocolate mint ice cream with peppermint patties and chocolate mint cookies) – Reminiscent of a Girl Scout cookie, this one boasted some surprise as we experienced bites with varying textures—chewy peppermint patties and puffy mint cookies. (Jenna’s favorite)
• Caramel Nut Kadoozle (rich, caramel ice cream with mixed nut brittle and wondrous walnut caramel swirl) – You’d be nuts not to like this one! Each bite overwhelmed our mouths with nutty flavors, and we absolutely loved the crunch this one had. (Kris was this one’s biggest fan)
• Chocolate Chipper Chip (silky smooth vanilla ice cream with chocolate and potato chip bark pieces) – Wait, potato chips in ice cream?! It’s a junk food lover’s dream! We were really digging the innovation of this one and especially enjoyed the sweetness of the ice cream followed by the salty crunch of the potato chips. (This one got votes from Jake, Shelly and Tracy)
• Chocolate Snowflakes (not-so-plain vanilla ice cream with melt-in-your-mouth chocolate flakes) – If you’re not into some of the other wilder flavors, this one was an all-around classic rendition of yummy, rich vanilla ice cream with perfectly sized chocolate chunks.
• Kernelpuff Caramelstuff (mouthwatering caramel corn ice cream with crispy kernels, pecan pralines and salted caramel swirls) – Picture the unique smells and tastes you experience when you’re eating treats at the fair, and this one wraps those up in a pint-sized parcel. It features crunchy, pop-in-your-mouth popcorn amid creamy, caramel deliciousness. (Kim was all about this one)
We savored every last bite, making it nearly impossible to heed the advice of Augustus Gloop’s mother and “save some room for later!”
Wonka™ Ice Cream is available now in select grocery stores throughout Northern California and Reno, Nev., including Safeway, Raley’s, SaveMart, Lucky, Walmart, Target, CVS, Nugget Market, 7-Eleven, Chevron, Lunardi’s, Gene’s Fine Foods, Draeger’s and Key Marketsand. It retails for $4.99 a pint. For more details, visit www.wonkaicecream.com.
The Wonka™ Ice Cream was provided to the SacFoodies, and the opinions expressed are our own.
The Bazaar by Jose Andres, Los Angeles
If given the chance (and budget) to dine well in Los Angeles, The Bazaar by Jose Andres should rise to the top of your list. For our client Mirassou Winery, I recently had the opportunity to do just that – enjoy a special food and wine pairing dinner, and the experience was a beautiful feast of senses. Our dinner took place in SAAM, which is the Chef’s tasting room, and though our menu was derived from their regular menu, the Chef put a unique spin on each and every course.
Appetizers
American Caviar Cones
Watermelon Tomato Skewers
Jicama-wrapped Guacamole
First Course
Not Your Everyday Caprese Salad
Second Course
Brussels Sprouts
Third Course
Sautéed Garlic Shrimp
Fourth Course
Foie Gras Floating Island Soup
Fifth Course
Seared Chicken and Dates
Sixth Course
Wild Mushroom Rice
Seventh Course
Lamb Tenderloin
It’s no surprise that everything was delicious, and when paired with the right wine varietal, it was more like delicious on steroids. The standouts for me were the Jicama-wrapped guacamole (thinly sliced jicama with a heart of guacamole and tortilla chips), the Brussels sprouts and (drum roll, please!) the Foie Gras Floating Island Soup.
The Bazaar has reinvented the Brussels Sprout. I have to admit that, on paper, this was the course I was least looking forward to. However, these looked and tasted nothing like my memory of the poor, underrated Brussels Sprout. Later the Chef de Cuisine educated us as to why we enjoyed this one so much: The leaves of the Brussels sprout are peeled and boiled just until they green; then, they are submerged into an ice bath to halt the cooking process. They are sautéed with lemon puree, apricots, white grapes, and finished with a lemon air. I have no idea what lemon air actually is, but I did capture it on film just for you. This came in as one of the favorite courses of the foodies around the table.
My absolute favorite, though, was the Foie Gras soup. There. Are. No. Words. Seriously! When paired with the Mirassou Riesling, I couldn’t speak. I could only shovel and sip. This dish is really special, and though it’s a classic pairing, the finish – a chilled sweet baby corn mouse, crumbled corn nuts, chives, sea salt and olive oil – gives It that unique twist on the classic.
My post would not be complete without mentioning the surroundings and the service. The staff are kind and thoughtful. A red carpet leads you to a dimly lit large space that is actually many distinct areas – Bar Centro (the term “bar” does not do it justice), Rojo y Blanca (tapas restaurant), SAAM (Chef’s intimate tasting room), the Patisserie (dessert), and Regalo (shopping). Like the food, the people and the space reflect the care taken to ensure your experience is indelibly etched in memory. The Bazaar is a beautiful thing.
The Bazaar by Jose Andres
465 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, 90048