10 Days of Bourbon Christmas - Day 5

Ok, we're back with Day 5 of the 10 Days of Bourbon Christmas and today we're goin' back to the juice.  That's right, another bourbon whiskey for you to enjoy.  This one is gonna be a hard find though...

John J. Bowman Single Barrel Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey

One question people often ask me is if all bourbon is made in Kentucky.  Today's recommendation is clear evidence that, no, bourbon is not only made in Kentucky.  The A. Smith Bowman Distillery is located in Fredericksburg, VA.  I had the pleasure of popping into the distillery on a business trip through Virginia.  I had sampled a few of the Bowman products prior to my visit and the John J. Bowman bourbon had quickly become a favorite.  Trouble was in finding it.  They don't distribute in South Florida so I had to enlist a friend to get me a bottle.  Driving through Virginia with spare time meant I had to check out the distillery and pick up a bottle or two.

I really enjoyed meeting with Master Distiller, Truman Cox, on my visit along with a few other employees at the friendly distillery.  Truman had a ton of passion for distilling and aging some great whiskey and that really shows in the Bowman Brothers, John J Bowman, and Abraham Bowman products.  The John J. is my current favorite and my frontrunner for new bourbon of the year at The BTS.  John J. Bowman is triple distilled.  The first 2 distillations take place at Buffalo Trace while the last distillation takes place at the A. Smith Bowman facility.  This bourbon is then aged 12-14 years (based on my experiences w/ the regular product and some private bottlings) standing straight up at the Bowman facility and bottled at 100 proof.  This is a phenomenal bourbon whiskey.  Fragrant nose, tasting hints of toffee, chocolate, fig, and hints of vanilla.  Delicious!

The A. Smith Bowman Distillery aging warehouse

This is a rare find here in South Florida but do some digging and you may be able to source some for yourself of your best bourbon buddy.  That or take a quick flight to DC and make the drive about an hour or so South to the A. Smith Bowman Distillery and pick up a bottle for yourself!!

Until tomorrow!

Experiment #28: Cobaya Hinckley @ The Hoxton

Sometimes Cobaya happens just by being at the right place at the right time.  Such was the case when I ran into Chef Matt Hinckley at the launch party for Miami's Queen of Desserts, Hedy Goldsmith's, Baking Out Loud cookbook.  I knew Matt from his days working as sous chef at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink.  He told me about a couple of new spots he would be in charge of culinary for.  The first to be opening was The Hoxton, a restaurant in the burgeoning Brickell area with a New England style menu.  That would be followed by BoxPark, a restaurant that would echo Chef Matt's approach to local, sustainable, cuisine with various Florida proteins like alligator, boar, and turtle showcased.  Now we're talkin' Cobaya!

We gathered last Monday in the elevated dining room area at The Hoxton for Cobaya #28.  Here's how it all went down...

The menu tasted as good as it reads

A welcome cocktail, the Bacon Old Fashioned, was a nice start.  The smoke from the bacon was there without being overly hammy and I was glad the maple syrup was tame and allowed the Bulliet rye to shine.  From there, passed apps made their way around the room.  The duck egg quiche was fantastic, fried alligator was crisp and tender, and the rabbit liver toast was a phenomenal bite.  It was go time!

If there's one thing I'm a sucker for, it's fresh baked bread and silky smooth butter.  It's a catch-22 at a coursed dinner because bread is filling but I threw caution to the wind and went at it.  I was glad I did.  The butter was absolutely insane!!  Here we had butter mixed with duck fat, brined green peppercorns, aleppo chili, and chives and I was applying a thick layer to every piece of bread I could get my hands on.  The cornbread was my favorite.  I need to have Chef Matt make me some of that butter for the homestead.  Jerk boiled peanuts hit the table next.  A great snack, spicy and delicious.  Gotta eat the shells people!

Housemade charcuterie was equally delicious.  Duck ham, tasso, and the lardo were my favorites but I really loved them all.  I could go for this plate any day all day.  The duck ham had a nice cured fattiness to it, the tasso was smokey and the lardo just melted on the tongue.  A deliciously spicy homebrew mustard complimented these meats well, as did the equally awesome spread of pickled veggies that included a new favorite of mine discovered on a previous visit to The Hoxton with Frodnesor to discuss Cobaya details - wing beans.  Hinckley pickles these with a fiery spice that I loved. 

A local bitter green salad was next and one of my favorite dishes of the night.  I love a nice, crisp, fresh salad and this one really did it for me.  The bitterness of the endive and dandelion greens played really well with the subtle spice of the pickled chilis.  Perfectly crisp and savory chunks of pork belly added a little sin to this dish but didn't overpower with gluttony.  It was a well-rounded composition.  After the salad, some cider-braised turnips hit the table.  I have to be honest, I don't remember much about this dish besides the crispy bits of pork jowl and that the cider braise gave the turnips a nice texture.  Could be that I was getting full which was troublesome because...

Three Little (?!?!) Pigs

The irony in this dish was that it was dubbed Three "Little" Pigs on the menu.  This was far from a little dish!  Jeezus!  The pork chop was a monster!  Knowing that was going to fill me past the point of full, I went for the crispy pig head first, a delicious pate of pork with unctuous fatty bits, breaded and fried to crispy perfection.  The andouille was another winner.  The pork chop was, as I had suspected, too much for me to take down.  It became the first thing to hit my plate and escape.

Dessert came in the form of ice cream and cookies.  In this case, ice cream made from Oskar Blues' Ten Fidy Imperial Stout and crumbled bits of cookies...made with pig fat.  Yes, pig fat cookies.  Throughout the dish were bitter tangerine segments, budda hand candy, and some citrus zest.  This is where my usual disclaimer of not being a big dessert person would come in but not today as the one exception is ice cream. I didn't get much of the stout flavor of the beer in the ice cream but that could be because I was enjoying the bitterness of the tangerine and all the citrus flavors going on.  It was a refreshing end to the meal.

Being in the right place at the right time to plan Cobaya magic like this had certainly paid positive dividends.  I thought this was a fantastic meal and really got the sense that Chef Hinckley showcased his passion with all of the various homemade meats and accompaniments served in the meal.  Be on the lookout for BoxPark coming soon where a lot of this type of food will definitely be served along with plenty of other surprises I'm sure.  Here's a Cobaya insider's tip for ya too - The Hoxton serves a badass portion of Chef Hinckley's delicious fried chicken along with a couple sides for a mere $10 during happy hour.  Strong buy!

A huge thank you to Chef Matt Hinckley, all the kitchen staff, management, and servers at The Hoxton, my dining tablemates who generously shared some tasty wines, and all of the guinea pigs who keep this Cobaya fire roaring here in Miami. 

2012-13 Dinner in Paradise Schedule Announced

photo: Paradise Farms

The "Dinner in Paradise" series put on by Paradise Farms down in Homestead is something I think everyone living in the Greater Miami area should experience at some point.  Aside from assembling the area's top chefs to create a healthy and sustainable meal, it's an opportunity to get away from the bright lights of the big city and dine alfresco under a starlit sky.  It's also a chance for you to support local community charities Urban Greenworks and Slow Food Miami.  Each Dinner in Paradise begins with some wine and passed hors d'oeuvres which is then followed by a tour of the farm by owner/operator Gabrielle Marewski.  I've been fortunate to attend a few of these dinners and have thoroughly enjoyed each one, especially this one that I attended with my Mum.  This year's lineup was just announced so I thought I'd share it with you and encourage you to "get out into the country" down South for a great meal and unique experience.

Here's this season's lineup:

December 9th "Singles Welcome"

* Ocean Reef Club: Phillipe Reynaud & Jason Stocks
* Loew’s Hotel Miami Beach: Frederic Delaire & Jason Prevatt

January 8th

*Live Vegan Gourmet with Tom Frazier and friends

February 9th "Slow Love"

*Chef Kira Volz, with Broadwings Catering and friends

March 10th

* Essensia at The Palms Hotel & Spa: Julie Frans
* Azul at Mandarin Oriental: Jacob Anaya

* Georgia's Union: Nathan Martin

March 24th "Palm Sunday"
* The Forge: Dewey LoSasso
* Area 31 at Epic: Michael Reidt
* Tuyo at Miami Culinary Institute: Norman Van Aken & Travis Starwalt

April 14th
* Meat Market: Sean Brasel
* 1500 Degrees: Paula DeSilva
* Lido Restaurant at The Standard: Mark Zeitouni 

April 28th
* Intercontinental: Alex Feher
* Oak Tavern: David Bracha
* Cecconi’s: Sergio Sigala 



 

Experiment #25 - Cobaya Edge

Wow, our 25th Cobaya "experiment".  It's been nearly three years since the inaugural Cobaya dinner and boy has it been a lot of fun.  The fun and great food continued to rock n' roll with Chef Aaron Brooks of Edge Steak & Bar taking the reigns for another impressive meal.

I met Chef Brooks via Twitter.  He called me out to come in and try his take on a lobster roll.  After seeing some fried razor clams on his menu one day for lunch and learning he'd spent time in my home city of Boston, I decided it was time to head in and see what I could see.  I enjoyed an incredibly flavorful dinner on my first visit and I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant space a lot.  Great staff too.  There wasn't any lobster roll to be had on the dinner menu but a lunch visit at a later date proved that although it was somewhat an un-traditional lobster roll (lettuce, tomato jam, sliced avocado) it was still tasty.  I have made lots of visits since and have tried a good portion of the menu.  I've also attended a few of the specialty dinners held at Edge, namely the Bourbon & Beer dinner and a visit to the darkside at a scotch dinner.  I think the thing that impresses me most about Chef Brooks' cooking style is his ability to provide distinct, true flavor while also combining various textures to round out a dish and keep it interesting. 

As fun as Cobaya can be for the diners, we also encourage the chefs to have fun and cook what they love cooking.  Chef Brooks really embraced this concept.  Manning the helm of a restaurant within the Four Seasons has him restricted to certain concepts.  In this case it's steakhouse with an occasional Latin twist with instructions that Asian dishes are not within the concept.  Chef Brooks is originally from Australia and has a passion for Southeast Asian cuisine.  He treated this meal like he was cooking for a group of friends at home and went to town with it.

Fried Clams

Our meal was held in a private corridor surrounded by large glass windows with views of the massive hotel waterfall on one side and overlooking Biscayne Bay on the other.  A late lightning storm over the bay made for some nice fireworks during the meal.  The fireworks had already begun with this first dish, a not-so-Southeast-Asian but beautifully presented plate of fried clams.  This dish touched on the chef's time spent in Boston.  The fry on these bad boys was spot on perfect with what I grew up eating.  They sat in their shells atop a tartar-like crema that had nice flavor.  I could've eaten a whole box of these.  Actually, I plan to request that Chef Brooks do that sometime because I think it would be a hit (and if not I'll happily eat any and all leftovers).

George's Bank Scallops, soft tofu, fried egg, pickled shallot, baby cucumber (photo: Melissa Thrasher)

The next dish, fresh George's Bank scallops, showcased the chef's aforementioned skill with texture.  Soft, sweet scallops worked with a soft tofu and were counterbalanced by the crisp of some fried scrambled egg and crunch of baby cucumber.  A little heat in this dish as well from what I believe were pepper flakes worked well too.  Fantastic dish.

Chilled mussel salad, young lotus root, fire roasted peanuts, mint, cured pig's face, chili jam

Another beautiful presentation brought forth a chilled mussel salad that I thought would be my favorite dish of the night.  It had it all - briny flavor from the mussels, crunchy peanuts, fragrant nasturtium, a little heat from the chili jam counterbalanced with the cooling of mint leaves.  Chef's cured pig's face was phenomenal.  The tender little rolls with a fantastic flavor tucked into the dish and were treated like treasure as I made my way thru each bite.  This was another dish I'd love to see again and again.

Hot & Sour Soup, squid noodles, fragrant herbs, Thai sausage, shrimp, shrimp cake

Surprising as I felt to say it, this Hot & Sour soup was the dish that, for me, was the standout of the night.  Everything about this dish worked incredibly well and it all started with a perfect broth that I wasn't afraid to drink at our fancy dining table.  The Thai sausage had a wonderful texture to it and I really liked the creativity of using thin ribbons of squid as noodles.  They were beautifully tender.  Kaffir lime leaves and cilantro provided some great aromatics as well.  Absolutely knock-down-drag-out phenomenal dish.

Short rib cooked in coconut, sweet potato, snake bean, basil (photo: Melissa Thrasher)

I gotta be honest...  I think my love for the previous dish caused a blackout because I don't remember much of this dish at all outside of the shortrib being very tender and the fresh basil sticking with the fragrant theme that had come with many of the night's dishes.  It could've also had to do with the fact that it was sandwiched between my favorite dish of the night and another favorite that came next...

Grilled duck, foie gras curry, heirloom potatoes, lychee, radish

When it comes to eating duck, to me temperature is everything.  As soon as I saw the pinkish flesh of this dish, I knew temperature was on point, so much so that I dove in before remembering to snap a photo.  The duck had a perfectly cooked texture to it.  After another bite or two, I noticed a richness to this dish coming from the sauce.  I looked at my Cobaya co-conspirator, The Chowfather, and said, "I think there is some foie in here."  He nodded and pointed out that I'd missed the menu description. Holy shit was this sauce good!!  I'm talkin' lick-your-plate good!  There was a little spice to it and that worked well with the spiciness from the radish and cool, sweet lychees that we love down here in South Florida.  I've never been a big fan of curry but I was a huge fan of this foie gras curry.

Orange Almond Cake, mango fluid gel, coconut sorbet, black sesame (photo: Melissa Thrasher)

A light, refreshing dessert of orange almond cake with tangy mango and pleasant coconut sorbet rounded out the night.

Having been a fan of Chef Brooks since my first dining experience at his restaurant, I had looked forward to seeing what he could do in the Cobaya kitchen.  He brought forth a fantastic meal that was creative, fresh, and delicious.  A huge thanks goes out to Chef Brooks, GM Peter Triolo, and all of the staff at the Four Seasons Brickell and Edge Steak & Bar who made for a memorable 25th Cobaya dinner.  If you haven't been to Edge yet, I strongly recommend checking them out, especially their specialty dinners towards the end of the month.

Next up, Cobaya brunch on 6/24!  Stay tuned...

Bits and Bites

Man....it's been a real busy start to the year.  I've been on the road a ton and been occupying my weekend time shooting clays at the range and shooting pars (or attempting to anyways) on the golf course.  As usual, I have managed to have some good bites over the past few months.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich from Maurice BBQ, Columbia, SC

About twice a year I make my swing through the Carolinas, working my way from Charlotte, NC on down to Charleston, SC and then swinging through Columbia, SC on my way to Greenville, SC.  Lemme tell ya, it's a lot of windshield time.  Or, as my sales rep likes to call it, "chasin' white dash-ed lines".  The best part about this run is getting to eat at some of my favorite spots in the country.  One of these spots happens to be Maurice BBQ which has a chain of BBQ joints all over South Carolina.  We usually hit the one in Columbia for lunch and this little number - a sandwich made up of tender pulled pork basted with my favorite SC mustard based BBQ sauce - really hits the spot.  I picked up a bottle of sauce this time and hope to get after using that soon.

Foie gras mousse, maple whisky jelly, rabbit rillette, granny smith apple, pine nut praline, truffle aioli from Edge Steak & Bar, Miami, FL

Soon after I returned from my run through the Carolinas, I found out that Edge Steak & Bar at the Four Seasons in Brickell was hosting a Macallan dinner.  I knew from past visits that Chef Aaron Brooks would be sure to put out a badass meal so I had to check this out.  This dish, composed of a rabbit rilliette round flanked by a pine nut praline and slivers of granny smith apple, resting upon a foie gras mousse with whisky jelly and studs of truffle aioli was phenomenal.  Edge has got some great steaks (I recommend the Butcher Cut Filet) but my favorites on the menu include a lot of the seafood items - littleneck clams, tiradito sampler, and the turbot.  Their bartenders also make a great Sazerac.  The outdoor patio is now open and offers great views.  Definitely make it a point to visit this hidden gem.

Gimme some head!  Half goat's head w/ fried brains, braised tongue & cheek from Cobaya Sustain

I returned from my next lengthy road trip to a gluttonous week of eating.  First up was our latest Cobaya Experiment (#23!) at Sustain in Midtown Miami.  Chef Alejandro Pinero had let us know he would be putting together a Southern Italian-inspired meal and the consensus was that he killed it.  This dish, a goat's head split down the middle, was definitely the most aggressive dish we've had at a Cobaya dinner and really hit the mark in terms of flavor and playing-with-your-food fun.  The dish was served with inside facing up with the brains fried and laying in a pool of francaise or caper butter sauce.  Once those were finished diners were instructed to flip the head over and play surgeon, using fork and a sharp knife to dig out the tongue and cheek meat that lay within.  Great dish.

"The Instagram" from Chef Jeremiah's Harding Series Popup Dinner

Beet composition from Chef Jeremiah's Harding Series Popup Dinner

Duck pastrami from Chef Jeremiah's Harding Series Popup Dinner

"Arepa" from Chef Jeremiah's Harding Series Popup Dinner

A few nights after Cobaya Sustain a new dinner series "popped up".  Chef Jeremiah Bullfrog, one of my favorite chefs, put together a dinner at the Harding Ave location formerly known as Chow Down Grill (and soon to become Josh's Deli by day).  To me, this was Chef Jeremiah's best stuff.  The guy is just insanely creative without getting overly clever and losing focus on flavor.  So, I've included four pics from that dinner.  The "Instagram" showcased Bullfrog's creativity by which diners were instructed to combine a little gram baggie of Miami's finest...baking powder...with a concoction of gin and citrus and begin whipping up their own Gin Fizz.  From there we moved on to a composition of beets that had an awesome earthy flavor.  After that it was duck pastrami, my favorite dish of the night.  This was just some awesome stuff.  We had 5 people at our table and 11 slices of duck pastrami.  I was glad that the other four diners took the diplomatic, "somebody finish off that last piece", approach.  I was ready to stab one of them for it.  Another one of my favorite ingredients - corn - was prominently featured in my second favorite dish of the night, a modern take on an arepa.  I was surprised at how much the corn shoots here were loaded with flavor.  I just love corn.  Phenomenal dinner.

This little piggy went to market...got some tattoos and then off with his head!

My gluttonous week of eating ended with a great event at the Four Seasons in Brickell.  Cochon 555 is a culinary competition that pairs 5 winemakers, 5 chefs, and 5 heritage pig breeds in order to raise awareness for high quality, humanely raised pork products raised by small and medium sized independent farmers.  It's also an awesome opportunity to taste what makes pork that damn good!  The Miami stop on the tour featured Chef Michael Schwartz of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink paired with Ossabaw pork, Chef Aaron Brooks of Edge Steak & Bar with Berkshire pork, Chef Michelle Bernstein of Michy's paired with Hereford pork, Chef James Petrakis of the Ravenous Pig (Orlando) paired with Swabian Hall pork, and Chef James Strine of Cafe Boulud (Palm Beach) with Large Black pork.  Each chef receives a whole pig and from there they break it down and make use of the whole hog when creating dishes.  It was a pig out event, that's for sure!  Added bonus was a bourbon bar serving up cocktails (giddyup!) and then the mother of all bacon products - Allan Benton's Bacon - overflowing from jars used as centerpieces on tables for dining.  If you've never tried Benton's bacon or ham products before, I strongly encourage you to do so.  This is the best stuff I've ever had and nothing else even comes close.  It's so awesome that I ate 4 pieces that night and when I spotted one lonely piece in a jar at the end of the night I folded it into a napkin and stuffed it in my pocket for a take home treat.  Later that night at my place I was sipping some bourbon and heard that bacon calling me.  At first the plan was to save it for the morning and eat it before my 6:00am flight to Atlanta but I thought it would be ok to take one bite.  Ok, two bites.  Ok, I ate almost the whole damn thing.  But I did save this little nugget as a welcome home present for when I returned.  It's that damn good.

Bacon of the gods

Luv dem bones!

No trip that I take to Atlanta goes without a visit to one of my favorite restaurants in the country, Holeman & Finch Public House.  From their locally-sourced ingredients to their house-cured meats to their "parts" menu to their acclaimed burger to their bourbon menu, this place has everything I could want in a restaurant.  I always tell myself I'm going to write about it yet I never do.  I guess that's a good thing because I'm wordy enough as it is and that post would be a small novel.  Anyhow, Holeman & Finch has the best marrow bones I've ever had.  These bones are colossal and loaded with savory marrow that gets spread on some housemade sourdough and then you chomp it all down.  Delicious!

It's been nice to have been home in Miami for the past two weeks.  This week marks the return of NAOE, opening up at its new location on Brickell Key.  I can't wait to dive into a bento box and get some of Chef Kevin Cory's sushi.  Then it's off to San Jose, San Fran, and Seattle for more work and great eats.  Until next time...

A Lost Recap - A "Bizarre" Cobaya Dinner at Azul

Editor's Note: I thought I submitted this post a couple weeks ago but apparently something went haywire because it never posted and I lost some info.  I think I hit the submit button right before takeoff on my last business trip of the season so maybe that had something to do with it. 

A little over a week (Editor's Note: Uhhh...now it's about 3 weeks) ago we had another one of our Cobaya dinners, this time with Chef Joel Huff of Azul, located at the Mandarin Oriental on Brickell Key.  The Chowfather was really fired up for this one after dining there recently, so I knew that high hopes had a good probability of being met or exceeded.  I can report that they were.

Locally, I'm late to the party with my report as other recaps were posted about a week ago but that's just how I roll.  I actually tried writing this but couldn't get through it in one sitting.  Then, I thought about skipping it but didn't want to leave the legions of Blind Tastes fans hangin'.  I hope you can taste the sarcasm there.  I recommend checking out Frodnesor's writeup because it has many more pictures than mine and because he writes in ridiculous detail, using words other than "awesome" and "rad" to describe his meals.

Another twist for this dinner was a last minute email from the producers of Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.  They heard about Cobaya and were to be in Miami to film for the show.  It just so happened that because of my travel schedule having a conflict, Chowfather spoke with the chef and pushed our dinner back a week to fit me in.  Well, that ended up being perfect timing for the Bizarre folks to hop in on our dinner and film for their show.  Bright lights, cameras, and plenty of action made for a different, albeit bizarre, dining experience compared to our normal Cobaya routine but it worked out fine I'd say.

We started off with some cocktails - first a champange with Japanese peach and then a cranberry mojito with nitro-frozen mint merengue.  They were OK to me but I'm not really into fruity cocktails.  After drinks, it was time for the real show to begin.  Here's the menu...

Our 21st experimental dinner went a lil somethin' like this...

The "Beetzanella" and the "Forest Floor" Risotto were my top two favorites.  The beet dish was one of the best dishes I've had this year.  So many different flavors and textures going on and it was a homerun visually.  A few people I spoke with thought the risotto was somewhat bland.  I thought it was an extremely earthy dish with all it's components, right on down to the basil-fed snails.  I think that was the intent.  I thought the scent of the bowl below (literally items from the forest floor mingled with hot rocks that got doused with a dirty water which then steamed their fragrance up to your nose to you as you ate) accented that flavor even more.  I loved that.  It sorta reminded me of going to NAOE where the flavors in the bento box are more simple and refined rather than than big and bold.

The "72" Beef duo was my next favorite, one hunk of beef being a 72-hour shortrib cooked sous vide and the other being a wagyu filet that got a 72-second hot sear.  An unlikely hero on the dish were the potatoes that were loaded with a creamy onion dip.  Those were awesome. The Octopus dish shown below was equally awesome.  I loved the smokiness.  I think that turned some people off but I enjoyed it.  The cauliflower vadouvan sauce element wasnt overly curry-like in flavor and I was thankful for that.  Next in my favorite ranks was the Pumpkin Swordfish Tataki.  The sear was perfect and the fish was sliced perfectly so that it remained tender.  Some people made a comment that the pumpkin gelee on the plate set too firm and I had the same problem.

I thought the Turbot dish was ok.  Mine was on the cool side and I liked the greens far better than anything else on the plate.  Surprisingly, I liked the interesting Strawberry dessert when I ate it (I'm not a dessert guy) but later on I still felt the sweetness of it.  Too sweet for me though I appreciated the lightness of this dessert dish and it reminded me of a strawberry cheesecake in flavor.  The Uni was my least favorite and that has 100% to do with the fact that I just don't care for uni any other way but on its own, sashimi style with a shiso leaf.

Annnnnnd here's some pics of a few of the dishes themselves...

Beetzanella, Beet Textures, Wisconsin Blue

Smoked Mediterranean Octopus, Cauliflower Vadouvan

Carnaroli Rice Risotto, Chanterelle Wild Mushroom, Forest Floor

Steamed Turbot, Lemon Scented

"Strawberry Cheesecake"

I also really enjoyed the wine pairings for this dinner but I'm not really an expert when it comes to wine so I won't start pretending to be one now.  My knowledge and experience in the category come down to "like" and "dislike".  Each wine featured at this dinner earned a "like" and I thought each complimented it's respective plate well.

Chef Huff, Sous Chef Brad, the sommelier, and all of the staff at Azul really knocked this Cobaya dinner out of the park.  At least two of the dishes (Beetzanella, Forest Floor Risotto) were some of the best dishes I had this year.  I even spotted my SOL Kitchen partna', Chadzilla, helping out in the kitchen.  This dinner had everything - creative dishes that dazzled with flavor and texture, great wine, showmanship from the chef and sous chef who explained each dish, integration of the senses like with the risotto dish, and fun company.  The TV thing made it a little awkward but it was still pretty cool that someone with a show heard about Cobaya and wanted in on the action to film it.  I think they were impressed and pleased with the meal and I know the producer was pretty fired up about the awesome shots he got in the kitchen and in the dining room.  Yup, the bar was set pretty high with this Cobaya dinner.  Here's looking forward to next year, Cobaya 2012

The 3rd Annual Burgie Awards

Burger lover and all-around good guy, Sef Gonzalez, aka The Burger Beast got quite a crew together for the 3rd Annual Burgie Awards this past Saturday at Magic City Casino.  The event was huge!  There were 40 food trucks and 12 restaurants set up in the parking lot, creating an enormous outdoor food court of sorts.  The Beastman reached out to me and asked if I'd help him by being a judge for the best burger category.  I was one of 7 judges on the panel selected to taste 22 different burgers (12 restaurants, 10 food trucks) LIVE in a blind tasting.  The rest of the panel was made up of The Chowfather, 954 Burger Boi, Carlos Acosta aka "Certified Ill", a couple of people from Copperpot's, and Short Order writer and Chowfather arch nemesis, Laine Doss.  A motley crew indeed.

At 5pm the burgers started floating into the VIP tent to the judges table and the carnage began.  Having attended the Burger Bash at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival last year, I knew that I had to pace myself in the beginning stages in order to make it to the end.  With 22 burgers to sample, any overindulgence would be sure to bury me.  I stuck to that plan and survived.  The Chowfather did not have a game plan and, against my warning, went heavy on the first burger.  By burger #9 he wasn't looking too good.  By burger 15 he was banged up bad.  After burger 22 let's just say some Magic City palms got some angus-filled fertilizer.

The quality of burgers ranged from awful to awesome.  My qualifications for a great burger start with the patty.  It's gotta be fresh and seasoned.  That Sysco crap doesn't cut it.  Matter of fact, it's pretty disgusting.  After that, the bun has gotta be solid.  If the bottom bun can't handle the juicy burger and becomes soggy, that's a partial fail in my book.  With patty and bun out of the way, it's all about the toppings.  If the toppings provide good flavor enhancement without getting too crazy and/or sloppy, we've got a winner.

Here's a look at the contestants.  First up, the restaurant entries:

Burger & Beer Joint - Judges' Choice for Restaurant Best Burger

Charm City Burgers

Cheeseburger Baby

Georgie's Alibi

Gilbert's 17th Street Grill

JR's

The Local - Judges' Choice Runner Up for Restaurant Best Burger

Tobacco Road

Quickie's

Sakaya Kitchen

Pincho Factory

La Camaronera's Lobster Burger was a waste of time and lobster.  It was a burger competition.

 Here are the food truck entries:

Bite Gastrotruck

 

Dim Ssam a Gogo

Jefe's Original - Runner Up for Judges' Choice Food Truck Best Burger

gastroPod - Judges' Choice for Food Truck Best Burger

Latin Burger was DQ'd for delivering their own burgers.  Don't worry, they didn't go to waste.  I hooked up some homeless folks on my ride home.

Miso Hungry

Latin House Grill

El Rincon del Coqui

Purple People Eatery

The Rolling Stove

My top burgers in the restaurant category went like this:

Burger & Beer Joint - burger patty seasoned beautifully.  Worthy bun.  Bacon, pickle, and just a touch of bbq enhance the flavor.  This is the one to beat.
The Local - tender patty cooked to a nice medium-rare with bacon flavor present.  Nice bun.  Went a little overboard with the mustard but not too bad.  Cheese and onion added nice flavor.  Side of crunchy fries flecked with salt were fantastic but did not factor into the scoring plus I only had two to save room.
Sakaya Kitchen - toppings rule this one with green onion, tots, cheese, and ssamjang (a thick, Korean spicy dressing) combining for an interesting flavor combo.  Just wish the patty wasn't lost in all of that.
Gilbert's 17th St Grill - this one was huge.  Patty had a great char on it but wasn't seasoned enough to survive without the nice slab of bacon on top.  English muffin was an interesting choice for a bun but worked for me.  Egg and cheese rounded out the flavors

My top burgers in the food truck category were:

gastroPod - perfect size, seasoned patty, perfect med-rare.  Runny egg, spicy mayo sauce, and thin sliced homemade pickles had this mouth party rockin'.  Potato bun held it all together.  Kickass burger.
Jefe's Original - All-American burger with decent patty flavor.  A replica In-N-Out burger with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and secret sauce.  Clean fresh flavors here.
The Rolling Stove - nice char makes the bun nice and crisp.  Equal char on the patty provided good flavor and seasoned well too.  Sauce a little strange, slightly sweet but not bad.  Onions were a little strong here but overall a standout burger.
Purple People Eatery - great med-rare temp on this one.  I disagreed with some judges who didn't like the blue cheese.  I liked it and on my burger it wasn't overdone but added nicely to the sprouts and tomato.  Seemed to have a sweetness there which after further inspection may have been onion jam but can't be sure.
Dim Ssam a Gogo - Kinda dumb to have this one again as it's the same as Sakaya Kitchen but regardless where they make the burger it's still a pretty good one.

I will admit it was rough getting bites from all of these burgers down the hatch and after the competition was over it was even harder to stand amongst the food court smelling nothing but burgers.  Luckily, a buddy had brought some Maker's Mark which aided the digestion process.  In the end, I was happy to have participated in my 3rd consecutive Burgie Awards ceremony (2nd straight live).  It was a great event and much congrats due to the Beast himself for putting it all together.  Another victory in his battle to raise more awareness to the American food that he loves best - the burger.