A Blast from 2016 Broad Appetit

Yes, Broad Appetit 2016 has come and gone, but I came across this photo of a Deviled Ham Slider from Pasture today and couldn't resist posting it.

Looking Back: Broad Appetit 2012

Yes, fabulous as always. And the weather cooperated. Not so freakin hot as in the past. I continue to applaud all of the independent restaurateurs in the area who wow us with imaginative and delicious creations. I love that the festival takes place in the heart of the arts district and the city allows Broad Street to be blocked off. Having the vendors placed in the median and tables and chairs set up on the sidewalk allows for easier pedestrian flow despite the overwhelming crowds. It looked like there were enough wine stations, but the ID checks and beer lines were a bottle neck. Of course, some vendors run out of food. This happens every year. I think most vendors have learned to adjust. Vendors running out by 1:30 PM just isn't right. To a few other vendors that were late setting up - Plan Better. You are there to showcase your stuff. Poor planning/execution does not impress.

Let me share numerous photos and some of the food that delighted hubby and me.

Balliceaux Booth

The Magpie

Shyndigz

Sticky Rice

Cake Pops

Nothing left but the liquid

Love the Pink Bus!

Bahn Mini from Popkin Tavern

Duck Fat Fries from On the Rox

Pork Belly Bun from Sticky Rice - So Good!

Goat Curry from The Magpie - These guys took a risk that turned out to be fabulous. I appreciated that the goat was boneless, too!

We had cider instead of wine. Foggy Ridge rocked it with dry hard cider. Good stuff.

Cochon au Lait with Gouda Grits and Pork Cracklings from Chez Foushee. Our favorite dish from the festival.

Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese from C'est Le Vin. Divine.

Seared Scallop with Corn and Bacon from Spoon. Delicious and the winner of the Best Dish.

If you have never attended Broad Appetit, shame on you. Hands down the best food festival in the area. The shear variety is worth checking out. I always go early (not as hot and not as crowded).  I encourage the rest of you to go later so I can enjoy my food with less people :)

Jewish Food Festival

Last Sunday as the snowflakes began their furious descent, we visited the Jewish Food Festival at Keneseth Beth Israel on Patterson Ave.

First of all, the place was CROWDED! and a bit chaotic. Everyone had turned out for this celebration of food and tradition. A band was warming up, but the overwhelming presence of humanity distracted me from the music.

One purchased tickets and exchanged them for food. Tickets were $1 each and any unused tickets would be refunded. I liked the offer of a refund. We acquired a menu and tried to keep out of the way as we decided what to eat.

We shared 5 items:

Salt and Pepper Kugel - Noodle Casserole

Chicken Schnitzel - Tender with a good crust

Cholent - A delicious stew with beans, barley, potatoes, and meat

Matzah Ball Soup - A first for me! Very flavorful!

Potato Latkes - My favorite dish!

We would have considered trying more, but the crowded conditions proved to be too stressful for us. We definitely want to return next year. The food was fabulous. We might have to consider take-out, however.

Broad Appetit 2011

Several posts on this already and here's my take. Best food festival in Richmond. This is the place where local chefs and establishments do an excellent job of showcasing all of the fabulous foodieness available in RVA. Well done all!

I celebrate the fact that it's on Broad Street. Broad Street is wide enough to accommodate the vendors and patrons with room enough to line the sidewalks with tables and chairs. Brilliant design. While lots of folks attended, I did not feel so squished.

A couple of peeves. Why have this in June when it's hot? I go early, eat hearty, and leave. I'm not for roasting (unless it's say, a chicken). Second peeve - some vendors were not ready with food at 11 AM. We overheard that they were waiting on a health certificate. I don't know if the inspector was late or he/she had been early and found no one around. If the festival starts at 11 AM, be ready. By the time I get back to you, I may be full of other goodies or the line at your place is too long and the temperature is too hot for me to practice patience.

Some brief food highlights:

Great to see Lehja participate from the Far West End and their shrimp and bean salad was divine.

Acacia had stinger sliders. A new taste adventure. While the stingray was a bit too fishy for me, I was glad I tried it. And Acacia had lovely soft shell crabs. I had tried soft shells years ago, more than once, and I hated them. Way too crunchy. Acacia had been talking up how they pick their velvets, but since they were only an entree, I was not going to be adventurous at the restaurant. At Broad Appetit, I had my chance and they convinced me that soft shells can be good. I was impressed!

Of course the macarons from Petites Bouchees were to die for. The hazelnut with the salted butter caramel was my favorite.

My hubby enjoyed the meatballs from Avenue 805 as well as the salmon fritters from Tastebuds American Bistro.

The crabcake and spoonbread combination from M Bistro was also noteworthy. As well as the lobster and shrimp roll with housemade (or tentmade) chips from U of R.

I'll leave you with some photos of the event. It was great to see Richmond support all of the restaurants at Broad Appetit! I had a delicious time.

Festival of India

Last weekend the Greater Richmond Convention Center hosted the Festival of India.

We went and had a fabulous time. The food was great. The dancing competition showcased favorite Bollywood songs. I think we were the only couple who did not recognize them.

The music was energetic. The clothing vendors offered colorful flowing items. The jewelry vendors featured adornments that sparkled with 22k gold.

Did I mention the great food? We began with samosas filled with potato and chickpeas and served with tamarind dipping sauce. We enjoyed a salty lemonade (sherbert) to drink.

The butter chicken was spicy (at least to us!). The plain rice helped cool our mouths.

The best dish was the chicken kati. Kind of like an Indian-style burrito that is traditionally street vendor food. The chicken curry was graced with mint chutney before being rolled up in an egg-based Indian flatbread. Truly outstanding!

The festival was free and I assume it will be free next year, too. All of the food vendors had posted menu items with all of the ingredients clearly listed. This helped us newbies as we decided what to eat. I encourage everyone to attend next year. I'm looking forward to it!

Armenian Food Festival

While we were somewhat disappointed with Oktoberfest last weekend, we experienced Hye Burger love at the Armenian Food Festival at St. James Armenian Church. This festival has run for over 50 years.

Almost all of the menu tempted us, but seeing the Hye Burgers grilling in the back of the tent cemented our choice.

Hye Burgers are a mixture of ground lamb and sirloin with onion, herbs, and spices - hand-formed and grilled. They are topped with sauteed onions and peppers and served with pita bread. We ordered the combo with pilaf and lupia (Armenian-style green beans with tomato sauce).

The burgers were enormous and juicy. The herbs and spices added delicious flavor. And, by jove, I was eating lamb and singing its praises (I am generally not a lamb girl).

The festival also offered Armenian wine and we chose a bottle of Khoran - semi-sweet red wine.

A little sweet, very fruity, and a touch of effervescence. It reminded us of Lambrusco, but paired well with our awesome burgers.

Armenian music added to the festive occasion as well as traditional songs from the Greater Richmond Children's Choir.

Oktoberfest?

St. Benedict hosted Oktoberfest this weekend and we attended for the first time.

The Omm-pah band was in fine form.

Of course, there was the obligatory "Chicken Dance" which is aways fun to watch/ogle...

I liked the beer steins which were a combination of the traditional and the psychadelic.

We thoroughly enjoyed the potato pancakes.

However, the rest of the food/beer was disappointing. The food menu consisted of bratwurst, knockwurst, sauerkraut, German potato salad, potato pancakes, pretzels, and Barvarian sandwiches (corned beef and Swiss with kraut).

That's it! I thought I was at Busch Gardens. We went with the brat, but really would have liked schnitzel or sauerbraten or something native to Germany that we had not tried in the past...

And while the festival did offer numerous microbrews (good from a locavore stance), they only had one German beer and it had sold out on Friday!

I could let the lack of German beer go. I'm not a beer fan, although I have occasionally been able to tolerate a hefeweizen. But the lack of a better offering of German food really depressed us. We will probably not be back. The "Chicken Dance" is not that big of an enticement.

We did drown our sorrows at Secco with a delicious glass of Schleret Pinot Blanc from Alsace. It's not German either, but closer to Germany than the Oktoberfest.