Most awesome @Chef_Morimoto photo & Saturday demos at @AustinFoodWine Festival 2012

The first day time event of the Austin Food and Wine Festival started with possibly the most awesome photo ever.  I mean ever.  I must admit that I am little bit biased since I was photographed it.  Gifted with a media pass, I was able to get into the grand tasting earlier to spot Morimoto.  I started watching the Japanese Iron Chef somewhere in 1999 or 2000, and needless to say, I was a little in awe (kinda sorta, ya know). 

Morimoto is one of those magical legends of celebrity chefs, and he was doing a book signing.  As I waited for him to do his signing, the personality started to come through.  He gave me the Hook'em!  And then a double Hook'em!  See below.

If you want to know, I'll give you my six cents on how to prepare for the festival.

1. Wear comfortable shoes.  You'll be walking from where you parked to the festival, and all over the festival.  The terrain is quite sandy and dirty, so best be prepared by wearing shoes with traction.
2. Sunblock.  Sunblock.  Sunblock.  And sunblock.
3. Unless you have a VIP pass, it might be wise to wait until the last hour of the grand tasting.  During the VIP period, it was pretty tame.  However, during general admission, it could get a little squishy.  If you wait until after most of the crowd had eaten their fill, the tents started to clear out.
4. Neti-pot (with distilled or boiled water) when you get home.  It was quite dusty, and your sinus will thank you.
5. If you must wear a dress or a skirt, make sure it has some structure and substance so it doesn't get blow around.  The wind was causing some free peep shows.  
6. Arrive very early to the cooking demos.  The lines can start as far as an hour in advance. 

Here's some photos from the grand tasting.  It seems like pie is big this year, so do make sure you hit up all the pie vendors. We got to check in with our friends from Columbus Salame (San Fran, CA) pictured below along with many other Austin Favorites. 








 HEB had a really neat center piece of bamboo stalks. 


I was happy to see that Alaska Brewing was represented well.


Kitchen Aid put on a display that would make any baker wet his/her pants!

After eating a great deal of super tasty treats and drinks, I headed down to check out the Tyson Cole hands on demo.  I didn't get to participate, but I did get to take some photos. 

Chefs Tyson Cole and Paul Qui stop for a second to give us a smile. 

The hands on demo area.

Busy chefs preparing for the demonstration.

This guy made a hilarious face, and yes, he was having a great time. 

The final product from some of the attendees. 

More happy sushi students.

This woman did a great job with her display, and she seems quite pleased with herself. 

GABF 2010 #7 - Food sessions with @HomebrewChef, @dogfishbeer, @alaskabrewing, @averybrewing, @mauibrewingco

Here's some snapshots of the food sessions I attended.   First up are photos from the Exotic Wood Aged Beers and the Foods that Love them session.  Presenters for this session were Sam Calagione (@dogfishbeer) and Sean Paxton (@homebrewchef).  I have to say, Sam and Sean certainly had chemistry and rhythm on that stage.  Sam was whipping out the naughty language ("I had wood when I saw you"), and Sean was whipping out with the tasty food.  Needless to say, this was a very entertaining session.  The theme of the session was cooking with wood-aged beers.  Sean went over some cooking with beer basics such as making a brine, grilling, and selecting the beer.  Smoked duck breast with a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron sauce over roasted yam puree and Dogfish Head Burton Baton Brined chicken breasts cooked on a wood plank were served to the hungry attendees. Both dishes were extremely flavorful and tender.   Sean on the left, Wood in the Center, and Sam on the right.  Here's the absolutely delicious duck breast.  Photo by John Knox. A photo with Sean (@homebrewchef). Photo with Sam. Here's a photo of Hosea Rosenberg the Season 5 Top Top Chef winner and Adam Avery of Avery Brewing.  Hosea's latest venture is a food truck called StrEAT. And here's a photo of Alaskan Brewing's Curtis Holms and Maui Brewing's Garrett Marrero at their Fire and Ice Session.  Though both of these breweries are on the far opposite corners (Juneau, Alaska and Maui) , they both faced the same issues.  Shared issues for both breweries are lack of easy transport and physical distance to other breweries.  I'm disappointed that I didn't get to try either breweries' special beers: Alaskan Brewing barrel aged smoked porter and Maui Brewing coconut porter.  I'm told that the coconut porter tasted like an Mound Almond Joy.  I'll be sure to jump into their lines earlier next year.

GABF 2010 #4: Session 1 - Food, Beer, and Condoms

Day One of the Great American Beer Festival Sessions was bustling with excitement.  With many familiar faces and many new ones, the energy in the hall was high with excitement.  I'm a bit of a planner so I knew which breweries I wanted to hit up before the flood of thirsty attendees came rampaging through the isle.  I grabbed @windaddict and @beachbumchris, and we jumped into the fast growing New Glarus line.  By the time 5:20pm rolled around, the line was already 50 people deep, and we were happily at the front. 

The reason for my quick jump into the New Glarus line was for the delicious raspberry tart.  I had tried some last year, and I couldn't wait to try it again.  Apparently neither could anyone else as they ran out halfway into the session.  This raspberry tart is incredibly sweet and fruit as you'd expect, almost like a raspberry soda.  While this type isn't as common in the beer world, it surely is a coveted one.  The Enigma is a wonderfully delicious sour brown ale.  Smooth, sweet cherry, barley, and vanilla notes in an oh-so-complex marriage, it is absolutely delicious.  Congrats again, New Glarus, for impressing my palate once again.


This photo by John M. P. Knox.

Prior to the session, I was lucky enough to interview Alaskan Brewing outside of the flurry of activity.  I was interested in what the brewery representatives thought about their Fire and Ice: Beer and Seafood Throwdown session on Saturday night, but I got some pretty interesting inside scoop about the brewery.  Nestled in a town of 30,000, Alaskan Brewing's reach extends far and wide.  The line to sample their beers at the first session was fairly steady with smoked porter being a popular request (photo below).  The smoke porter had an amazing dark, rich color and a smoky aroma that is sure to make any Texan barbeque connoisseur green with envy. 

At the rare beer tasting, Alaskan Brewing will be sampling their smoked porter aged in Jack Daniel's barrels.  I'm pretty stoked about that one.  Other fun things that the brewery does is allow their employees to come up with new recipes in a small batch.  Recipes that are well-liked are moved up into bigger batches and potentially brewed for distribution in bottles.  Some of the interesting brews that may or may not have made it to distribution are the mango wheat, gluten free, white ale, stone brew, and double black IPA.  The stone brew is pretty interesting as they tried to brew it with stones, literally.  The stones weren't for the flavor, but rather for the heat.  I'm told that the stone recipe wasn't tried again. 

If you are catching their Saturday night session, look for salmon poached in Alaskan Amber with red pepper garnish and lemon drizzle and Dungeness crab salad.





Photo of Charlie Brown from Alaskan pouring a sample by John M. P. Knox.

As part of my media package, I was also given a ticket to attend the Farm to Table Pavilion where beer and food are paired.  The food was prepared by the Culinary School for the Rockies, and the beers were donated by the breweries.  Let the food and beer porn begin!

House made pork sausage with smoked fingerling potato and mixed cabbage and pear slaw served with Victory Brewery V12.

Spice cake with roasted pear compote and honey goat cheese cream served with Stone Brewing Co. Sawyer's Triple

Mini Rosemary Buffalo burger with Windsor Dairy Bleu Cheese and Caramelized Onion on a Brioche Bun served with Stone Brewing Co. Saison du Buff

Hazel Dell Wild Mushrooms and Thyme with Creamy Polenta served with Odell Brewing Co. Woodcut #3

Tripple M Bar Ranch Lamb Polpette, mint pesto, goat cheese, curry pinenuts, micro basil, balsamic reduction served with Ninkasi Summer Radiant Ale

I really loved this New Holland Brewing Company bottle.  The pig is flying.

Sebbie from Rogue Ale gifted me with this hilarious "family planning device."  I love that is says "Rise Up!"  I'll report that it is slightly larger than the one I got at SXSW Music.