Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 95

Farm to Fork: one of the year's don't-miss events

You drive out into the country, to the Breeze Family Farm in Hurdle Mills.  You see signs only just before you have to turn off NC 86.  You go about a mile and a half, and suddenly you're in the middle of one of the tastiest food events of North Carolina's year, Farm to Fork.

This year marked the third time I've attended this delicious festival, and it was the first time that my company, Principled Technologies, was one of the event's sponsors.  The giant picnic takes place in a big field, with white-topped tents ringing a large central area.  Inside the tents are 30 food selections that pair a local restaurant with a farm in the area; 10 beverage providers; and, in a special, extra large tent, 14 local food artisans.  You buy a ticket in advance, and then you spend the three hours (or however long you choose to stay) wandering around and eating whatever you'd like, as much as you'd like.

Each year, I try to sample everything, and each year I fail.  I certainly tasted a good three-quarters of the offerings, but I ran out of steam way before I could eat them all.  My favorites were probably, in no particular order, the pulled pork barbecue and green onion slaw from Pig Whistle and the Green Button Farm; the local mushroom, Providence cheese, and arugula tart from Mandolin and the Goat Lady Dairy; and what may have been the strongest dish, for my taste, of the group, the homemade egg pasta with fresh herb pesto from Crook's Corner and the Bracken Brae Farm.  The Lady Edison extra fancy country ham from The Pig, which cured it and aged it for 1.5 years in Johnston county, was also an amazing treat all on its own, as were the four artisanal cheeses from Box Carr Farms.

At a hundred bucks a pop, this picnic isn't cheap, but in addition to buying you an exceptional afternoon of eating, the money also and more importantly helps fund new farmer training programs at the W.C. Breeze Family Farm and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEPHS) farm in Goldsboro.  So, you can eat well and do good, all at the same time--a most delightful combination.

If you can afford it, I highly recommend Farm to Fork NC.

Gocciolina lives up to its hype

A group of us recently had the chance to eat at Durham's Gocciolina for the first time.  We'd heard a lot of hype about the Italian eatery, most notably its selection by N&O food reviewer Greg Cox as the best restaurant of 2014.  Having now sampled quite a few selections from its menu, I am happy to report that its food is indeed excellent.  (I still would not have picked it for best restaurant, but at least Cox chose a strong contender.)

Gocciolina does an excellent job of using mostly local ingredients to create Italian dishes.  We sampled nearly half of the small antipasti choices on offer the night we were there, and every single one was at least tasty, and most were delicious.  To my surprise, my favorite was the fava bean crostini, a rich and flavorful paste on a perfect house-made crostini.  (The restaurant makes almost everything it serves; the night we were there, the exception was a local Robiola cheese they were wisely featuring unadorned, just a small slice on a plate.)

The pork chops some of us ordered were excellent, but I stuck with the pasta, and it was simply superb.  The spaghetti carbonara, a benchmark dish for me, was rich and tasty and perfectly executed.  I also sampled the agnolotti, which that evening were stuffed with truffled pecorino and were delicious.

The chocolate torte was decadently rich and topped with a soft, bruleed meringue.

As best I can tell, everyone in our group was as enthusiastic about the food as I was.

I am happy to welcome Gocciolina to my list of the top tier of Triangle restaurants.  I look forward to going back, most especially to enjoying some pasta on a cold fall or winter evening.  I strongly recommend you check it out.

On the road again: Portland, day 5

I'm home, and I'm quite happy to be here.

The day started at 2:30 a.m. after about two and a half hours in bed.  Unsurprisingly, the drive to the airport at that time of the morning proved to be extremely short and free of traffic.

I did not score any upgrades, so today's flights resembled nothing so much as being packed into sardine cans and thrown through the air; no fun for anyone.  I dozed a bit but mostly worked.

Lunch was a delightful Red Mango parfait in DFW.  I've praised them before, but these creations provide quite a lot of volume, fruit, and granola, along with some tasty frozen yogurt, for a mere 300 calories.

Dinner was a Farm to Fork 2015 event at Duke Gardens.  I was attending because PT this year became a sponsor of Farm to Fork, a cause I've supported now for several years.  I enjoyed the food, the talk of special guest Paul Greenberg, and the chance to hear the chefs speak about their dishes.  If you're not familiar with Farm to Fork, definitely check it out.

And now, to crash.

On the road again: Portland, day 4

Right now, what's most important about my day is that it's nearly eleven p.m. here in Portland, I'm still working, I'm not yet packed, and I have to get up at 2:30 a.m. to shower and head to the airport.  So, there's that.  Yeah.

The only part of my day I can discuss was a short but delicious dinner at Murata, a nearby and, to the best of my ability to tell, very authentic sushi place.  I definitely recommend it.

Now, back to that work and packing.

On the road again: Portland, day 3

Today ran insanely long, from very, very early until very late, and almost all of it was work.

The fun high point of the day was dinner at Le Pigeon, one of my all-time favorite restaurants.  We ordered the seven-course tasting menu with non-alcoholic beverage pairings, and every course was absolutely delicious.  I believe this was the best meal I've had at Le Pigeon, and that's saying something.

I would write more about the meal--and may do so later--but I am so exhausted that I simply must crash.

On the road again: Portland, day 2

Almost all of today went to work, so I can't discuss most of the day.

I can share something lovely I experienced for the first time today:  Hood strawberries.  David brought us some, and they were possibly the most delicious strawberries I have ever tasted.

Click an image to see a larger version.
David said they have a very short season, so I was lucky to get to taste them.  I cannot recall a more succulent, rich, flavorful strawberry.

Dinner took us to Gabe Rucker's second restaurant, Little Bird.  Everything we tasted was excellent, but the dish that surprised me the most was the soup.  A blend of pureed zucchini, leeks, and potatoes, with a swirl of lemon creme fraiche and, believe it or not, a mild olive tapenade, this little bowl was outstanding.


As I've said many times, Little Bird is on my short list of the restaurants you should not miss if you're in Portland.

On the road again: Portland, day 1

Today started for me at 5:50 a.m., which was only a very few hours after yesterday ended, so I did not begin as a happy camper.  The flights, though, went as well as they reasonably could, with an exit-row seat on the first leg and a first-class upgrade on the second.  I was able to work enough that I ran my laptop out of power--but was then able to plug in on the plane.  Technology is grand when it works.

Almost all of today went to work, but I had a few food highlights.  One was a small sipping hot chocolate from Cacao, a lovely little shop in the front right corner of the hotel.  That definitely helped pick me up.

Dinner took us to Bamboo Sushi for a tasty meal of fish and salad.  The folks there were definitely on their game today:  everything was delicious.

For dessert, we walked next door to Salt & Straw, where we enjoyed fresh and wonderful local ice cream.  This place really is one of the best in the country.

And now,  more work, and then sleep.  I am quite looking forward to sleeping.

San Andreas

is an hour and fifty-four minutes of headlong insanity.  Its science makes no sense, and no one in the cast tries very hard to portray a well-rounded character, but none of that matters, because it's The Rock vs. Earthquakes, and we know who's going to win that match.  Oh, yeah:  always bet on the The Rock.

Dwayne Johnson is fun to watch from start to finish.  Even when he has to emote, he's become just good enough that you don't need to groan.  He works in a helicopter, a truck, a plane, and a boat, using all of humanity's transportation modes to regain his wife, save his daughter, and kick ass--all while saving people from time to time.

The film contains plenty of short character-based scenes, but it never stays long on them before it returns to a long action sequence.  The SFX and action scenes are spectacular indeed, with astonishing amounts of sheer destruction.

Do not go to this movie if you want great acting or good science or, really, anything that makes sense in the real world.  On the other hand, if you want to see The Rock repeatedly save the day, don't miss it.

I had a grand time.

Dinner at The Inn At Little Washington

For quite a few years now, I've stopped on the way home from Balticon at one of my favorite inns anywhere, The Inn At Little Washington.  Chef/proprietor Patrick O'Connell's country creation is a wonderful place to get away from it all, enjoy great food, and relax.  As I wrote in
The Inn now offers only tasting menus.  The night we were there, it had three.  One featured classic dishes from its past.

Click an image to see a larger version.
We opted for that one, but with the addition of the foie gras dish from the seasonal menu.


The meal begins with a snack that's occupied this starting position for as long as I've been going there: truffled popcorn.


The truffles were early finds from Australia.  An accompanying tradition was the small set of parmesan crackers, which were exactly as they should be:  flavorful, salty, and fun.


A bit of pork belly on a spoon, a potato chip--a dream of a potato chip--stuffed with ham and cheese, and a radish fresh from their garden served as the amuse bouche.


At that point, the menu officially began!  I have tasted the chilled asparagus soup and delicate cheese puff before, but I was excited to get to try them again.  Both were as absolutely delicious as I remembered.


The tin of sin featured American Osetra caviar sitting atop some Peekytoe crab.  Spread a little on the perfect brioche slices, and you have a heavenly combination.


Our addition appeared next.  The hot foie was perfectly seared and melded beautifully with the gastrique.  The cold foie was differently wonderful, and the cherries blended well with it.



The baby lamb carpaccio proved to be perfectly seared and flavorful, though I think we would have done better with a single small scoop of the Caesar salad ice cream.  (Yes, regardless of how it sounds, it tasted great.)


The Inn had just that day received its first shipment of soft-shell crabs, and Executive Chef Evan Pope, who was running the kitchen that night, surprised us with a special dish featuring them.  The peanuts on top were a surprising addition I quite enjoyed.


I'm not a fan of sea bass.  I have nothing against it, but I've felt for some time that too many restaurants were overusing it.  This perfectly prepared dish changed my mind.  The fish could not have been better, and the shrimp and pork dumpling was a delight.


The squab breast with hackleberries took no prisoners with a very strong flavor and a nice combination of meat and fruit.  If you like squab, as I do, you will love this dish.  (If you don't care for squab, though, this is definitely not the plate for you.)


The final savory course, the prosciutto-wrapped veal with country ham and fontina ravioli, was another set of strong flavors that worked very well for me.


When faced with a cheese cart as strong as The Inn's,


you have only one choice:  add a cheese course.  So I did.  I failed to photograph it before I was partway through it, but this picture should serve to indicate the delicious variety of cheeses I sampled.


Dessert was up next, but at The Inn, nothing succeeds like excess, so first you get a pre-dessert, in this case a wonderful little creamsicle.


I'm not a creamsicle fan in general, but I would eat one of these every day if I had the chance.  (I am very thankful I do not.)

For dessert, I chose the only option I could not resist:  the Seven Deadly Sins, a selection of miniature versions of many of their desserts.


I'll leave to your imagination (or your Goggle research) exactly what each of these is, but every single one was delicious.

I have strongly recommended a meal at The Inn At Little Washington since the first time I ate there, and I do so again now.  The food is wonderful, the setting beautiful, and the only drawbacks are cost--nothing this good is cheap--and your need to exercise afterward.

Dinner at Aggio

In
The restaurant is an attractive blend of modern hipster and old-school Italian looks.  I know it sounds odd, but it works.  So far, so good.

Given Voltaggio's good and growing reputation, we decided, as I frequently do, to opt for the tasting menu, which featured five courses.  Again, so far, so good.

The first item to appear at our table did not bode well: boring and rather dry bread sticks.

Click a photo to see a larger version.
Two cheese spreads proved tasty and definitely helped the bread.


The first real course placed parts of a soft-shell crab on a bed of greens and delicious red sauce.


The next course knocked our socks off.


A tortelletti stuffed with gorgonzola dolce and covered with pine nuts and subtle baby beet slices, this pasta was so good I would have happily made the rest of my meal a big bowl of it.

At this point, we were excited about the next course, having a good time, and ready for more.

We then waited.  And waited.  And waited.  At one point, I snapped a picture of the candle holder, which I do confess to liking.


After an apology from our server and more waiting, we finally received the third course, another pasta dish.


This small helping of spaghetti carbonara with house bacon and cured egg yolk tasted completely different from the previous dish but was equally delicious.  A giant bowl of this stuff would make you right on a cold night.

The final savory dish mixed a small piece of strip steak, a similar amount of beef cheek, and a carrot and fava bean ragu.


The beef cheek tasted rich and flavorful, though it wasn't a patch on the one Gabe Rucker serves at Le Pigeon.  The vegetables were adequate but no more.  The strip steak, despite being the ostensible star of the dish, was mediocre at best:  chewy, weak-flavored, and not even properly salted.  Had I tasted only this dish, I would have been tempted to write off the restaurant.

The final course, dessert, proved to be a big step up from the meat course, but it was nowhere near as good as the pastas.


The chocolate custard and the pistachio sorbet were tasty, as was the other bit of cake.  They were not, however, particularly memorable.

All in all, the recommendation I gave in that earlier entry stands:  go to Aggio for the pastas, because the two that I sampled were spectacular.  I'd be wary of the other dishes, though, and I would not plan on great service.

I do hope to eat there again, because those pastas were so strong that they made the trip worthwhile and because the other issues were easily fixable.  Perhaps at next year's Balticon.