This evening I made my way to the Village Alliance Eat Your Heart Out Food and Wine Festival. Boy oh boy!
1st Stop: 8th St. Wine Cellar--Beef Sliders with Aioli with corkscrew macaroni and cheese
The sliders were amazing. They were perfectly delicate and took about 2-3 bites to finish off(or 1 big bite if you're ready to start the festival off right!) The macaroni and cheese was super cheesy and everything you look for in a great mac & cheese, but perhaps a little too heavy and rich when you're at festival to consume A LOT of bite size dishes.
Di Fiore Marquet Cafe--Goat Cheese Quiche and Quiche Lorraine
These little bite size morsels were delish! This was the second booth we visited and a great snack for an in between visit. The Quiche Lorraine was amazing due to the bacon pieces perfuming the entire quiche with a flaky, salty crust and bacony, egg bite!
Sushi Yawa--1 piece of sushi and Crab Rangoon
This booth could have been skipped.
Centro Vinoteca- Corn and Crab Chowder drizzled with Chili Oil
One if By Land Two if By Sea--Duck Torchon with jam and homemade mustard
Knickerbocker- Caviar Pie
This spread, served on top of a toasted crostini, was fantastic! If you love deviled eggs or hard boiled eggs you will LOVE this. It tasted like a decomposed deviled egg spread with creme frece and black caviar. The saltiness of the caviar mixed with the creamy egg blend was out of this world. The presentation of the entire pie was pretty amazing as well. It looked like a HUGE cheesecake topped with caviar. They took a knife to the pie and spread the deliciousness across the crostini and served. YUM. I went back for seconds after dessert!
Cafe Spice--Chicken Tika Masala
Striphouse-- Strip House Chocolate Cake
La Palapa-- Tostada with Beans,Sour Cream, Guacamole, lettuce, and tomato
Sushi Samba--Yellowfin Tartare Taquitos with Avocado & Spicy Aji Panca Sauce
One of my favorites, if not my favorite dish, of the whole night. It has the yellowtail tartare which made my brain think sushi (which I am obsessed with lately!) but the shell of the taquito, which resembled more of a taco, added an extra depth of flavor and crunch. The crunchiness of the shell mixed with the softness of the yellowtail created a taste explosion that just can't be beat! The spicy sauce and avocado resting on top of the raw yellowtail really added that extra punch that kept you wanting more...and more and more...
On top of all this amazing food were several wineries promoting their finest. The majority of the vendors stood there looking at you until you asked them if they could help you, as if they were hoarding their wine for...the Last Supper? Geez! My favorite one was Pellegrini Vineyards. It was an older, laid back couple pouring out wine as if they were hosting a dinner party at their own home. They poured the wine to the brim of the glass. The other wine stations gave you a small sip of wine at best.
