Report: 2002 Food and Wine Festival
Page 3 of 8

Andalucia, Spain - Food

On a side note here, most of the sherries offered here were also at another booth across the way specifically for selling and tasting the sherry, so we will not visit the drink offerings there.

Seared Scallop with Pepper Relish - $4.50
The scallop was very tasty and was cooked to perfection.

Veal on Rosemary Skewer with Tomato Salad - $3.75
The meat was quite chewy and seemed a bit overdone, but maybe it’s just that my palate prefers things on the more rare side. The meat was quite moist though and had a nice flavor. The tomato salad was a good side dish to this and it was rather on the mild side, which let the veal speak out in flavor.

Creamy Rice Pudding in Sugar Cup - $2.50
Okay, you will have to forgive me here as I have never had rice pudding before (or at least as far as I can remember) and this was a totally new experience for me. I don’t know what exactly really didn’t pull me to this dessert other than it was literally pudding with cold rice in it that seemed slightly uncooked or even considered al dente. Maybe I’m just used to my rice being on the warmer side, but the cold rice aspect of it really turned me off to this dessert once tasted. Now, this isn’t a bad dessert just because I didn’t enjoy the texture of it for that was definitely a personal preference. I did really enjoy the sugar cup though… go figure.

Octopus and Purple Potato Salad - $3.00
Lord Niekon was a bit leery in the beginning but was very game in trying this dish out because he had never had octopus. In other words the adrenalin in trying this dish won out over the fear of the unknown. So he dug in tentacles and all. (I got a bite of it, but this was really his dish to taste and review.) He found it surprising good and enjoyed the chewy texture. People shy away from this dish because they have no interest in eating octopus and it doesn’t seem to be terribly appealing to eat (same thing seems to go with escargot). However, if you can get past your fear of the unknown or “gross�? factor, you will probably find that octopus is rather good. Of course that is only for those of you who are game enough to take that step in trying it.

Gazpacho Andaluz - $2.50
This soup had a nice spice to it. For those uninitiated in this offering, this is basically a spicy cold tomato soup…of sorts anyhow. There are many components that go into a gazpacho and this one was a great find. I loved the tomato taste combined with the kicks of garlic and onion to play with your taste buds. I admit that almost every time I went past this booth, I stopped to buy it.

Andalucia, Spain - Sherry

Zambra Sangria - $1.75
This was sweet with a slight bite in the after taste as if it were trying to see if you were paying attention to the taste.

Osborne Manzanilla Fino - $2.50
It was dry, yet not without its flavor. Lord Niekon liked this sherry, though I didn’t take to it. He said that while it is dry, if it was paired correctly to a dessert, such as a very rich chocolate mousse or the like, it would even out the somewhat overpowering taste of the sherry for to make it more mild for the uninitiated.

Spanish Olives - $1.00
Okay, so this isn’t sherry but we found that when drinking, the Spanish eat a bit as well, whether it is olives, almonds or tapas. So in their grand tradition, I ate olives with my sangria. These olives were quite tasty in their own right and went beautifully with the alcohol.

Other Offerings:
Gran Barquero Amontillado - $3.00
Osborne Golden Cream - $2.50
Alhambra - $4.00
Spanish Almonds - $1.00

Germany

Smoked Ribs with Braised Cabbage and Chestnuts - $3.50
As Lord Niekon remarked, “This dish is delish.�? The meat fell right off the bone and was full of flavor. The braised cabbage and chestnuts were a nice contrast to the meat in taste. The chestnuts were well done and weren’t mushy.

Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce - $2.00
Lord Niekon wanted to try some but balked when he saw the raisins and passed it on to me to try. This was fine by me because I found this dessert to be very good and would highly recommend it to anyone who asked, unless they don’t like raisins. J

Valckenberg Rhein Dry Riesling - $2.75
This was typical to the norm of a Riesling but obviously on the drier side. It would go well with a moist fish or fowl.

Other Offerings:
Rudi Weist Mosel Selection - $2.25
Valckenberg Pinot Noir Rose - $3.00

Italy

Baked Rigatoni with Sausage in a Mushroom and Tomato Sauce - $3.00
This was definitely one of the hearty and filling food portions at the Food and Wine Festival. It was a beautiful rich and filling pasta dish that would be fit for a king. If you are used to Chef Boyardee, you will be in for a big, though should be pleasant, shock to the taste buds. You are now experiencing what true Italian cuisine is like.

Pizza with Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese and Pepperoni - $2.50
Lord Niekon remarked that this was the best pizza he’s ever had and would love to have a whole plate of it to munch on. I think it was the fresh mozzarella cheese that really makes this pizza truly stand out.

Cannoli Siciliani - $1.75
The cannoli had a very nice texture and wasn’t overly sweet as it could be just based upon its look.

Raggio X Barbera - $3.00
It was a good, dry wine. I had a bit with the rigatoni, and though I don’t really enjoy red wines, but this went well with the rigatoni to the point that I would consider getting a red wine next time around.

Other Offerings:
Placido Pinot Grigio - $2.50
Tormaresca Chardonnay - $3.00
Moretti - $4.00