Why I <3 Food Bloggers (Grand Finale…Promise!)

So…even with a mind-blowingly fabulous event like this Foodbuzz Festival, I have to say it’s a good thing everything comes to a end at some point, or I would have swung from modest food celebration to hedonistic debauchery and gluttony.

And I’d say it ended just as fabulously. In fact, it was perfect: I left a little sad, a little reluctant, but full and satisfied for the time being, and with a real, fluttering sense of excitement for the next event. And I didn’t leave empty-handed, either. I had a suitcase and carry-on bag stuffed with free swag, and a heart warmed by all the camaraderie I shared with my fellow food bloggers.

I have to say, I was still feeling rather stuffed when I walked into the Greenleaf Produce Warehouse for our final dinner event. But the sight of this guy slapping slabs of meat onto the grill, and the lovely aroma that was wafting from the searing meat warmed my stomach up to the idea of food again:
Look at his utter delight. He was smiling and chuckling as all us food bloggers formed a circle around him to take pictures. His moment of fame. It was endearing.

The only gripe about this place is that it was freezing. I mean, it’s basically a house-size refrigerator for produce, and San Francisco is always chilly at night. I felt like a human ice-cube! Thankfully, the place was also packed with food bloggers, and the body heat warmed the place right up.
Our host for that event was the crew from Outstanding in the Field, a unique event planner which brings the hard work of local farmers and food artisans, chefs and winemakers onto our plates.

I’m guessing these were the local produce they used:
Our first course being prepped up:
I love that there isn’t even a screen to divide us from our cooks!
Rows and rows of long tables were set up with wine glasses and individualized dishes:
After about half an hour of mingling and cocktails, we were introduced to the people who made this dinner happened, and then we were seated and served:
Everything was served family-style, so each section of the table got a huge plate to share:
This was our starter: a mix of pickled items like kimchi, pickled greens, pickled broccoli, leeks, and yellow beans. They were a great way to start of the night. I did not have much of an appetite, but the sweet and sour vegetables coaxed some saliva into my mouth, and I started to really anticipate the next dish.

Especially when it turned out to be soup:
 Mushroom dashi, Maitake, Shimeji, enoki mushrooms…Or so it says on the menu, but there was more depth to it! There were some kind of pickled radish in there, that added a shot of acidity into the otherwise umami-broth. Unfortunately, it was luke-warm. It was freezing. And my soup was cold. I was disgruntled.

Next, a noodle salad:
 Udon, grilled Monterey Calamari in a browned butter ponzu reduction, cucumber, kaiware, frisee, & yellow pear tomato with gochujang and sesame vinaigrette.
I am not a fan of squid. In fact, I detest them. But this was actually cooked really, really well. It wasn’t tough at all, but was the right balance of doneness and chewability, with a perfect amount of char. The udon was totally unnecessary, though.

The next dish took about half an hour to arrive, so I had the pleasure of striking up conversations with my tablemates. I sat next to Maggie and Coco and Sabrina, and across from Sherman, Jared, Julie, and Zoe.

I loved it! I loved how intimate this dinner was. Before then I was all over the place, running here and there chasing after the food. Now that the food was served to me, I could focus more on just enjoying the company. Since I was sitting in the middle, I took turns joining in both sides of the conversations, and never once got bored.
I’ve already heaped praises on Maggie and Coco, but Sabrina is yet another beautiful person I feel so lucky to meet. I’ll bet you guys know her already, but here’s my opinion of her firsthand: she is gorgeous, not just outside but inside, with loud, enthusiastic exclamations and ultra-friendly and personable. She makes you feel like you are best buddies the moment you meet.

Sherman, Jared, and Julie and all restaurant bloggers in Vancouver, Seattle, and Cincinnati respectively. I was thrilled to talk to someone who doesn’t have a healthy living blog! Don’t get me wrong, but I do read blogs other than food journals, and it was fascinating to learn the perspective of restaurant reviewers who actually get recognized by chefs. Sherman may start a recipe blog soon, though. I’m trying to get him to swing over to wordpress.

Zoe is the co-author of the cookbook Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. When she introduced herself I turned to Sabrina excitedly and squealed, “She’s a celebrity!”

Yes, I am a total dork. But I was thrilled nonetheless to sit only a few seats away from a successful cookbook author and blogger! By the way, she’s also really sweet and nice.

I also sat a few feet away from Kath and Co:
It was fun to see them in action!
Finally, our fish course arrived:
 Sea trout (salmon) baked with dashikombu, fried garlic, and Japanese curry powder
Do you see that piece of fried seaweed! I ate that too! Yay, iodine!

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the salmon was raw in the middle:
Loved it! Especially that fried garlic…It was amazing! Full of flavor, extremely fresh, and no sliminess!

Alongside came this risotto dish, which I have been waiting for the whole night:
 Mushroom risotto with koshihikari rice, and crispy maitake mushrooms
Unfortunately, this was the most disappointing dish of the night. It was basically flavorless, and the texture was gloppy. Good risotto is supposed to glide into your mouth like silk, but this was like congealed rice pudding.

I nursed my disappointment with some seltzer water:
Oh em gi. I want one! This was freaking refreshing! I need to get a soda-maker. It will cure my diet-soda addiction for sure! I loved that I had all the fizzy carbonation without the sweetness!

The next dish, was the best.freaking.dish ever of the whole entire festival, and I’m not exaggerating in the least:
 Roasted brussel sprouts, ponzu fried garlic, guanciale (Italian bacon), bonito flakes
I had three huge servings. I just had to. It was out of the world. It had all that texture and fascinating, intense flavors, and all the bacon fat that is so, so, so, SO good. I might have dropped a few f-bombs and used the Lord’s name in vain as I munched on these crunchy, chewy, greasy petite cabbage.

Even Sherman, who dislikes brussel sprouts, said they were f—king good. Uh, maybe not in those exact terms, but I didn’t quite catch the exact wording since I was in Brussels & Pork Cheek Ecstasy.

Final savory dish was Soy braised beef cheeks and oxtails, braised baby carrots and fingerling potatoes, OB Beer and denjang demi:
My bursting belly cried out to me to stop. My brain coaxed it to accept one more bite. After the first bite, both my belly and brain asked for 2 more servings. It was that good. Seriously. The beef cheeks? Incredibly melt-in-the-mouth tender. And I hate beer, but apparently I love it in my food! Wow!

Finally it was time for dessert, but we were asked to move out to congratulate the winners of the 2009 Foodbuzz Blog Awards! Unfortunately we had to leave a bit early because Maggie’s fiancé, Bobby (who is really good-looking by the way), was waiting. But I did get a bite of dessert:
 Koshihikari rice pudding, cookie crumbles, and Warren pear.
It was okay. The pear was from Frog Hollow Farm and thus orgasmic, but the rice pudding was bland. I just ate the pear and cookie part, then took off with an aching belly into Maggie’s car.

And there you have it. The beginning of an end to the glorious Foodbuzz Festival. I say it’s the beginning, because:

1. I hope the experiences and friendships I’ve gained from this event will last for a very, very long time.
   
2. This event once again proved to me how much I have changed. Gina mentioned in a sweet comment whether last year I would even have been able set a foot in the doors of this amazing event.

   No, I would not have. The limitedless, carby, greasy, and unpredictable food would have left me running away screaming. But this time, I didn’t even have an ounce of anxiety or fear in me. In fact, it didn’t even occur to be that I would have freaked out until Gina mentioned it to me. Instead of running away, I ran towards the food. Just ask the Chicharrones servers.
   

3. And this brings me to the story of the missed flight on Sunday afternoon that I so desperately want to tell you. But until next time…

A special shout-out to Brandi, Two Boos Who Eat, Shannon, Janetha, Linda, Sippity Sup, Elizabeth, Jasmine, Cupcakes Take the Cake, Teenage Glutster, and the Foodbuzz people!! So nice to meet you!

And dear Lauren, Duo Dishes, Ashley, Meghan, and Karena: So sad we couldn’t meet…Fingers, toes, arms, and legs crossed that I can meet you next time!

Last shout-out to Maggie and Coco:
LOVE you guys! Loved gossiping, running, blogging, and midnight snacking with you!
Say…
…KIMCHI~!! (The Korean way of “say cheese!”)

P.S. There is a blur at the upper left corner of all my pictures because there was a smudge on my camera lens which I was not aware of until it was too late! Grrr….

P.P.S. Yeah, yeah, I finally revealed myself. I figured since my picture is up on other bloggers’ blog anyway so why not? I’m not too scary-looking.