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| grilled mushroom caps |
On Saturday, April 21, 2012, We went to the Scottsdale Culinary Festival. Within this festival there is live music, drinks and food galore. The event was called the "Great Arizona Picnic".
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| cheesecake and berry kabob w/ chocolate |
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| pulled pork barbecue |
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| balsamic grilled steak |
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| chocolate fondue |
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| Barbecue St. Louis rib |
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| calamari |
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| beef brisket slider |
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| "New York" slider |
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| yellow-fin tuna |
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| filet mignon wrapped asparagus |
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| crab crunch roll and spicy shrimp |
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| Wafu steak |
Have you ever been out to a restaurant and while looking at the menu have a difficult time trying to decide which dish would be most enjoyable? Wouldn't it be wonderful to just be able to get a small taste of what the restaurant offers without having to pay for the whole dish? The only problem is who has time to drive from restaurant to restaurant sampling off the menu? What a brilliant idea it is to combine 50 places to sample from. I was able to order one small bite and if I enjoyed it I could order more, if I don't enjoy it I could just step up to the next tent.
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| Hanabi, tuna poke and asparagus |
This place was a food lover's dream. Whatever you favorite type of food is, there was a place here for you. You can sample something as simple as sno-cone or you can indulge in the complex flavors of the balsamic steak. But don't stop there. The desserts were just as incredible. My favorite was the frozen cheesecake on a stick. It was perfect for the 100 degree weather we had today.
This sampling of flavors gave me some great ideas for future "Fun Frank Friday" adventures. And yet there were others that we decided did not pass the taste test.
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| jalapeno sliders |
Even though it is very difficult to "fail" a FFF taste test, believe it or not, some of them did.
The highlight of the event was the presentation by Andrew Zimmern. For those of you not in the know, Andrew is a TV personality whose show "Bizarre Foods" can be seen on the Travel Channel. His motto is "If it looks good, eat it". He has inspired me to follow my heart and embark on this food adventure with you all. His presentation started with how he first started in the culinary business and where his passion came from. He touched on some of the places he has been all over the world. He described his philosophy of being a "good guest" when in someone else's home and/or country as you should never turn down an offering of food no matter how meager or unappealing to you it may seem. This philosophy rings true not just with me but to many cultures around the world.
Andrew also prepared two dishes for us, one was a Thai spicy shrimp and the other was a goat tartar. The goat tartar was cool and smooth with a bit of a kick to it from the African spices he had added. I was excited to actually be able to try an excellent dish of raw goat meat. After the demonstrations he opened it up to questions from the audience. So I took this opportunity to ask this question: "Andrew, when I tell my friends about some of the things I eat, I often get the reaction of 'eww, I could never eat that'. During your travels around the world, have you experienced other cultures that think or react that same way about the foods we typically eat here?" He replied "yes, in fact, people in Venezuela think that peanut butter is the most disgusting thing they have ever seen." He went on to explain that he had also met an individual in Africa that could not understand how we could take perfectly good milk, let it rot, squish it into a block and eat it on pizza. There are many people who are biased against food in a variety of ways including texture, color, smell or even its origin. He went on to explain that these biases begin in the home with the way the parents react to food in front of their children. So the best way to break this food prejudice and to truly find out if you like it, is to "try it now".
Which brings us to our weekly "Fun Frank Friday" which was held at Nobuo at Teeter House in the historic district of downtown Phoenix. Located approximately 5th Street and Adams in a renovated pioneer home. This place requires reservations, do not arrive early or late, there is no seating for waiting on the inside. So promptly at 5:30 they opened the doors for us to enter and be seated. We noticed that this place was small with limited tables, and we were seated next to the fireplace which was near the front entrance and hostess podium. This restaurant is described as "Izakaya" which loosely translates as a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food. Our server explained that the food would be served "tapas" style and meant to be shared by all at the table. The establishment did have an extensive drink menu. So we were excited that they included Coke as well but it is served in the bottle or can rather than as a fountain drink. But the water was free flowing and it was difficult to get our glasses below half full.
We started off with "Teeter Tots" which are panko fried tofu in a spicy miso sauce. These were yummy! The outside was a golden crisp, almost tempura like, while the inside tofu was smooth and creamy. The miso sauce gave the sweet tofu just the right kick to keep you craving more.
Now is the time when you put your food bias to the side. Open up your mind and your mouth for a new exploration with fried food. If you had tried this next item without anyone telling you what it was, I guarantee you would love it! We had to try the Tako Age. It comes with a yuzu aioli sauce. What is Tako Age you ask? It is fried octopus. Yes, octopus. Take my challenge and tell me I'm wrong that you don't love this! It was crispy and warm on the outside but when you bit into it, the inside was soft and melted in your mouth with just a hint of firmness from the octopus. The aioli sauce reminded me of a sweet citrus that would compliment many seafood dishes.
We next ordered the "Big Eye Tuna Tataki". This is tuna seared and served with a roast beet puree. When we normally eat seared tuna, we prefer it to be about 80% raw. This tuna seemed to be on the grill just a tad bit too long. But don't get me wrong it was still incredibly good, just more cooked than we usually have. I really don't care for red beets but when it has been roasted and pureed with the mix of the tang from the greens, the textures of this dish is what really brought out the flavors. Individually, I would not have sampled just the tuna, or just the beets or just the greens but when combined it was excellent.
Following the tataki, came a dish we weren't sure how to pronounce and knew nothing about it. The Karei Karaage is described as fried black back sole, served with a blood orange vinaigrette and bone chips. We actually had to ask our server to describe what "bone chips" are. He explained that these were the fish bones that are deep fried and salted. It comes out similar to a cracker and is best eaten in alternating bites with the fish meat. Even I had reservations about eating fried fish bones. But I hadn't tried it before so I buckled on my motto and decided to "try it now". Patti and I agreed that this was one of the best culinary delights of the evening. The fish was lightly fried so as you bit into it, the creamy white flakes melted in your mouth. This was quickly followed with a sampling of the bone chip. The bone chip gave an incredible contrast of a firm crisp and salty flavor. By alternating between the two, you will devour this dish before you can blink and eye.
Now for a contrast of color from the fish, we went with the Coconut Curry Lamb. It is served with mango fennel salad. How can you go wrong with Coconut and mango? The lamb was magnificently grilled. It was juicy in the middle and as tender as any filet mignon. I discovered that by taking a bite of the mango, it cleansed my palate and then the next bite of lamb was like tasting it for the first time with the explosion of flavors all over again.
We thought we were done but our server asked if we wanted to order anything else. Since I was having so much fun and everything was so delicious, I decided to explore a little further. So we decided to end the evening with the Warm Duck Salad. A soy and zinfandel duck served with grilled greens and a yuzu vinaigrette. The first thing that ran through my head was a nice cool salad topped with warm grilled duck. But to my surprise, the romaine hearts of the salad were grilled and served warm. This was a new experience for me. I took a piece of duck with the greens, slid on a bit of marinated grilled onion and started doing the "happy mouth dance". I don't know if I will ever go back to a cold salad. This not only brought out new textures but also flavors from the grill. The duck was moist and not gamey. The most surprising part of the dish was that the lettuce was still crisp and did not go limp when cooked.
This weekend renewed my resolve to try new places and eat new things. Through the inspiration of my hero, Andrew Zimmern, I would love to rid the world of food bias starting here with my blog. So don't stop exploring, try new things, and if you haven't tried bone chips try it now.
Andrew also prepared two dishes for us, one was a Thai spicy shrimp and the other was a goat tartar. The goat tartar was cool and smooth with a bit of a kick to it from the African spices he had added. I was excited to actually be able to try an excellent dish of raw goat meat. After the demonstrations he opened it up to questions from the audience. So I took this opportunity to ask this question: "Andrew, when I tell my friends about some of the things I eat, I often get the reaction of 'eww, I could never eat that'. During your travels around the world, have you experienced other cultures that think or react that same way about the foods we typically eat here?" He replied "yes, in fact, people in Venezuela think that peanut butter is the most disgusting thing they have ever seen." He went on to explain that he had also met an individual in Africa that could not understand how we could take perfectly good milk, let it rot, squish it into a block and eat it on pizza. There are many people who are biased against food in a variety of ways including texture, color, smell or even its origin. He went on to explain that these biases begin in the home with the way the parents react to food in front of their children. So the best way to break this food prejudice and to truly find out if you like it, is to "try it now".
Which brings us to our weekly "Fun Frank Friday" which was held at Nobuo at Teeter House in the historic district of downtown Phoenix. Located approximately 5th Street and Adams in a renovated pioneer home. This place requires reservations, do not arrive early or late, there is no seating for waiting on the inside. So promptly at 5:30 they opened the doors for us to enter and be seated. We noticed that this place was small with limited tables, and we were seated next to the fireplace which was near the front entrance and hostess podium. This restaurant is described as "Izakaya" which loosely translates as a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food. Our server explained that the food would be served "tapas" style and meant to be shared by all at the table. The establishment did have an extensive drink menu. So we were excited that they included Coke as well but it is served in the bottle or can rather than as a fountain drink. But the water was free flowing and it was difficult to get our glasses below half full.
We started off with "Teeter Tots" which are panko fried tofu in a spicy miso sauce. These were yummy! The outside was a golden crisp, almost tempura like, while the inside tofu was smooth and creamy. The miso sauce gave the sweet tofu just the right kick to keep you craving more.
Now is the time when you put your food bias to the side. Open up your mind and your mouth for a new exploration with fried food. If you had tried this next item without anyone telling you what it was, I guarantee you would love it! We had to try the Tako Age. It comes with a yuzu aioli sauce. What is Tako Age you ask? It is fried octopus. Yes, octopus. Take my challenge and tell me I'm wrong that you don't love this! It was crispy and warm on the outside but when you bit into it, the inside was soft and melted in your mouth with just a hint of firmness from the octopus. The aioli sauce reminded me of a sweet citrus that would compliment many seafood dishes. 
We next ordered the "Big Eye Tuna Tataki". This is tuna seared and served with a roast beet puree. When we normally eat seared tuna, we prefer it to be about 80% raw. This tuna seemed to be on the grill just a tad bit too long. But don't get me wrong it was still incredibly good, just more cooked than we usually have. I really don't care for red beets but when it has been roasted and pureed with the mix of the tang from the greens, the textures of this dish is what really brought out the flavors. Individually, I would not have sampled just the tuna, or just the beets or just the greens but when combined it was excellent.
Following the tataki, came a dish we weren't sure how to pronounce and knew nothing about it. The Karei Karaage is described as fried black back sole, served with a blood orange vinaigrette and bone chips. We actually had to ask our server to describe what "bone chips" are. He explained that these were the fish bones that are deep fried and salted. It comes out similar to a cracker and is best eaten in alternating bites with the fish meat. Even I had reservations about eating fried fish bones. But I hadn't tried it before so I buckled on my motto and decided to "try it now". Patti and I agreed that this was one of the best culinary delights of the evening. The fish was lightly fried so as you bit into it, the creamy white flakes melted in your mouth. This was quickly followed with a sampling of the bone chip. The bone chip gave an incredible contrast of a firm crisp and salty flavor. By alternating between the two, you will devour this dish before you can blink and eye.
Now for a contrast of color from the fish, we went with the Coconut Curry Lamb. It is served with mango fennel salad. How can you go wrong with Coconut and mango? The lamb was magnificently grilled. It was juicy in the middle and as tender as any filet mignon. I discovered that by taking a bite of the mango, it cleansed my palate and then the next bite of lamb was like tasting it for the first time with the explosion of flavors all over again.
We thought we were done but our server asked if we wanted to order anything else. Since I was having so much fun and everything was so delicious, I decided to explore a little further. So we decided to end the evening with the Warm Duck Salad. A soy and zinfandel duck served with grilled greens and a yuzu vinaigrette. The first thing that ran through my head was a nice cool salad topped with warm grilled duck. But to my surprise, the romaine hearts of the salad were grilled and served warm. This was a new experience for me. I took a piece of duck with the greens, slid on a bit of marinated grilled onion and started doing the "happy mouth dance". I don't know if I will ever go back to a cold salad. This not only brought out new textures but also flavors from the grill. The duck was moist and not gamey. The most surprising part of the dish was that the lettuce was still crisp and did not go limp when cooked.
Great post! I'd fallen behind on reading your eating adventures of late but enjoyed catching up just now. Sounds like some really delicious food this past month!
ReplyDeleteOn an aside, I often use Google Chrome as my web browser and found that the text doesn't always wrap properly around your fun pictures. Everything is gorgeous in Explorer, though. Just thought I'd pass that tidbit on.
Cheers!
Mags
Thanks Mags, stay tuned for Greek or maybe a taste of Chicago soon.
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