Yeah, so we had a long weekend to celebrate the end of summer. Frankly, I THOUGHT I was ready for summer to end, but clearly I wasn’t, because I was STILL too busy having a great time to remember I was supposed to post a blog. I could say that I was going to a kick ass fundraiser for my Food Bank – Three Square – and I wanted to be sure to be able to write about it, but that would just be incidental. I did go to a fab event last night, but it was still Tuesday and I still should have written.

This will be MOSTLY a photo blog about the food I ate during Restaurant Week, and the fun I had over Labor Day weekend, in reverse order. But first about the fundraiser:

Three of our local food writers have a fun book out called “Eating Las Vegas – the 50 Essential Restaurants”. They have picked on Chefs and restos here in town, in their book, in their columns and sometimes in person. This time it was the Chefs opportunity to fire back at them. It was all in good fun and the Chefs, not always known for being good public speakers, did a great job. Our panel of roastees were all good sports. Thanks to Al Mancini, John Curtas and Max Jacobson for being willing to sit thru the commentary. And thanks to Dave and Mahoney of X 107.5 for being our fantastic Roast Masters. All proceeds from the event went to Three Square as a kick off to Hunger Action Month. I hope they make it a regular event!

Then Monday there was the All White Party at STK. Yes that is very cool performance art of black electrical tape on nude women. For more pics go to Spy-On Vegas

Sunday I stayed home
Saturday was National Bacon Day and Brian Howard did us all proud. This menu was fabulous!

And Restaurant Week

This week will be MORE more sedate…just about boring in fact.

This past week I worked a corporate food show and was amazed at the differences between consumer food shows and corporate shows. First of all, at a consumer show, anyone who can afford a ticket can go and it is usually restaurants and local and/or celeb chefs doing the cooking. The attendees just go around and try samples of food that the chefs are featuring at their restaurants, or food that they are showing off. Sometimes it is even chefs showing off for one another. At a corporate show, the attendees are buyers for corporate chains and the chefs from product lines and different companies are showing folks at the corporate level the different ways their products can be used. Of course there is a measure of showmanship involved, but it is more about the application of the featured products or product line that is key to the event. Here is one of the dishes Chef James O’Donnell with Texas Pete made (I assisted him).
Left to right: Chocolate Chipotle Truffle with Spicy Raspberry Sauce, Tempura Bacon with Hot Sauce Spiked Whipped Honey, Fruit “Sushi” with Spicy Coconut Raspberry Sauce – of course all the items were made with sauces from the Texas Pete line.

Also at a corporate event there are seminars of all kinds showcasing new techniques, and of course food trends. Apparently Southern Cooking is on the rise, according to one of the experts at the event. So here is what I want to know:
Who decides what the upcoming trends are?
How do they make that determination?
Do they have a panel of foodies that get a questionnaire?
Is it like the fashion industry, where a bunch of designers decide Burnt Umber is THE color and that’s that?
Do they follow what Chefs are doing and extrapolate from there?
Inquiring minds want to know!

Well, one of the food trends that has taken hold nationwide and is peaking, is a return to farm to table cooking and utilizing ONLY what is in season. Restaurants change their menus frequently, sometimes daily, based on what they can get their hands on, but a “seasonal” menu has become the norm. This is the way people used to eat. No strawberries in December, fresh tomatoes in the summer and squashes in the winter months. A simpler task in California and the mid-west to be sure, but even Chefs here in Vegas strive to work with THE most seasonal produce available and do it very successfully. That being said, I had one of the single best meals in LA recently. John and I went to a place called animal. Yes, it’s all lower case, and don’t bother looking for a sign, there isn’t one. It’s on Fairfax, up the street from Canter’s Deli (Moment of Truth – Canter’s was some of the worst corned beef hash I have ever had…I don’t care if they are a landmark institution!). Chef Frank Anderson from their sister property, Son of a Gun, made the reservation for us (Thank YOU Chef Jesse Moreno for the recommendation and intro!) at 9 pm and when we arrived the line was STILL out the door.

Let’s just say we had 7 different dishes – all small plates – and they each had a completely different flavor profile. No one in the kitchen was playing favorites in the spice cabinet. There wasn’t a dog in the bunch and the nectarine and goat cheese salad was so delicious those nectarines had to have been picked that day! The Chefs at animal could teach a few things about farm to table to lots of people here in Vegas. It was truly one of the best meals I have ever had, and incredibly reasonably priced!

Chicken Liver Toast with Blackberry Jam

Nectarine and Goat Cheese Salad with Purslane

Buffalo Style Crispy Pig Tails

We also went to a cocktail event at Son of a Gun for a Low Country Boil sponsored by Imbibe Magazine – another fantastic meal!

So if you go to LA and you need recommendations on where to eat – definitely go to animal and Son of a Gun. Remember – don’t bother looking for signs…there aren’t any…

So here’s the thing…everyone approaches their food differently. When it is served to you and looks glorious on the plate how do you approach it? Everyone has their own method; no way is WRONG, but is there a RIGHT way to do it?

So HOW do you eat? If there is a plate of food in front of you how do you approach and attack?
 Do you mix everything together?
 Do you mix a couple of things together (like corn into your mashed potatoes)?
 Do you separate each thing so they don’t touch and eat one thing at a time?
 Do you take one bite of this and then one bite of that?
 Do you eat the “healthy” items first and hope you are full by the time you get to the heavier things (like French fries)?
 Do you put condiments on everything before you even try it?

I will admit that I am in the 3rd category. I eat each part of the plate one at a time. And I have a system. The thing I like best gets saved for last (Moment of Truth – if I like everything equally, I eat in a clockwise fashion around the plate). I am little skeeved out when people mix their foods together – unless they belong together like gravy and potatoes, meat or stuffing, although there are exceptions like poutine, nachos, wraps, sandwishes, etc. I like to eat each thing separately and enjoy it that way. And while that is all fine and good when you are at a neighborhood BBQ or potluck, when you go out to eat and the Chef has created a beautiful plate, that’s not really how you should eat. You are supposed to make sure you get a bit of each thing on the plate in each bite. But I can’t help myself. I have to try each component separately and THEN eat it as a whole.

But…is it right to do that? Probably not, as friend Al Mancini pointed out to me. Recently we went to eat at Fleur by Hubert Keller and I think Al was mildly shocked by my trying each thing on my plate before eating it the way the Chef intended. I am not sure if he was shocked that I personally did it, or that anyone would do that in a top tier restaurant. I explained that I like to try them separately and THEN put them together the way the Chef served it. He brought up a great point: What if I don’t like one of the components by itself? Would it color the way I view the whole dish? So what’s a girl to do? And what about “deconstructed” dishes? Am I supposed to “construct” them or eat them as served?

I find that dining is a singular experience, and it should be, even when enjoyed with friends and family. Only YOU know how you like your food best. I will admit that I salt nearly everything if there is a salt shaker handy. I find most places under season everything and I need that little extra. Of course, in top tier joints there is usually no salt on the table, and in most cases I need not worry, it will be properly salted (although I did have to ask for salt ONCE and the server sniffed and looked slightly affronted when I asked for the salt).

Enjoy these pics of dishes I “deconstructed” and then ate “properly”.

But how do you address a surf & turf plate? Do you try to get some of the seafood AND part of the meat in one bite? That just seems gluttonous to me.