Comestiblog

Celebrate May Day at Queens Taste 2012

Mark your calendar and whet your appetite!  Queens Taste 2012, the borough's premiere food-and-networking event, will take place Tuesday, 1 May, from 6:00 P.M. till 9:00 P.M. at Citi Field's Caesars Club in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Enjoy a broad spectrum of flavors and textures—from sweet to savory, Asian to Italian, and crunchy to creamy—served by the two-dozen participating establishments.  Sample, for instance, the vegetable samosas and chicken biryani of Baluchi's Indian Restaurant in Forest Hills, the duck confit  of Sunnyside's Dog & Duck, and the pistachio-crusted monkfish in lemon butter sauce of Uncle Peter's of Jackson Heights.

For dessert, try the Moroccan cookies, specialty ice pops, brownie lollipops, gourmet cupcakes, nut bars, designer marshmallows (!), and other artisanal treats of some 25 Entrepreneur Space clients.  (E-Space is the food-and-business incubator of the Queens Economic Development Center in Long Island City).

Hydrate (or dehydrate) yourself with a vast selection of beverages.  Taste local wines from the Queens County Farm Museum, and from the Castello di Borghese Vineyard on Long Island.  Throw back a few suds from Brooklyn Brewery and Manhattan Beer Distributors, but don't forget to sip the refreshing fermented teas from Astoria's Beyond Kombucha, and the Turkish coffee from the Turkish Cultural Center.

This year's restaurants include Austin's Steak & Ale House, Baluchi's Indian Restaurant, Bourbon Street, Dazies, Euro Grill & Salad Bar, F. Ottomanelli Burger & Belgian Fries, Giardino, La Bella Cucina, Leo's Latticini (Mama's of Corona), Magna Ristorante, Marbella, McClure's Pickles LLC, O Lavrador Restaurant & Bar, Papazzio, Pop Diner, Riverview Restaurant & Lounge, Russo's on the Bay, The Dog & Duck, Uncle Peter's, Vetro, and White Castle.

Five taste masters will select the Best Appetizer, the Best Entrée, and the Best Dessert.

Tickets to Queens Taste 2012 are priced $100 apiece, or $185 for two.  Proceeds support the Queens Economic Development Corporation's ongoing efforts to attract and maintain jobs in the borough through business services, neighborhood development, the Entrepreneur Space, and marketing attractions through the Queens Tourism Council, and the Discover Queens brand.  As QEDC is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, proceeds are tax deductable to the extent permitted by law.

To purchase tickets online, please visit www.queenstaste.eventbrite.com.  For more information, please visit www.discoverqueens.info, call (718) 263-0546, or send email to [email protected].

Queens Taste 2012

Caesars Club, Citi Field
123-01 Roosevelt Avenue (126^th St)
Flushing, N.Y.  11368   (map)

Tuesday, 1 May 2012, 6:00 P.M. till 9:00 P.M.

http://www.queenstaste.eventbrite.com
http://www.facebook.com/events/
http://www.discoverqueens.info
http://www.queensny.org/qedc/
http://www.facebook.com/discoverqueensny
http://twitter.com/qedc

By train:  or LIRR to Mets-Willets Pt
By bus:  Q48

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To view last year's event, please click on the link:  A Taste of the World in Queens 2011.

IACP Culinary Expo and Book & Blog Festival

My month began with a fabulous foodist event in SoHo.  On Sunday, 1 April, over 100 exhibitors strutted their stuff at the Culinary Expo and Book & Blog Festival, part of a five-day conference celebrating "The Fashion of Food" by the International Association of Culinary Professionals.  The 2012 installment marked the 34^th anniversary of the IACP conference.

So much food and only four hours!  Not wishing to resurrect ancient Roman rituals, I refrained from sampling everything (though I was tempted).  Below are some of the highlights.

Roelli Cheese Haus's shelf-cured Red Rock

The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board offered several fine cheese samples as well as a Grilled Cheese Academy demo.

Carr Valley's Caso Bolo Mellage

Sartori's Pastorale Blend

Back in my SoHo days, it was called The French Culinary Institute.  Since that time, the school has expanded and broadened its scope to become The International Culinary Center.  Sampling their innovative Gazpacho evoked memories of dining at FCI's L'Ecole restaurant.  This unusual preparation comprised Greek yogurt, grapes, cucumbers, almonds, white bread, pickled shrimp, smoked paprika, olive oil, and sherry vinegar.

The International Culinary Center's Gazpacho

A few of the big names were on hand to demonstrate their wares.

Cuisinart's new Griddler turned out some tasty Reubens.

And, a little jolt to cure one's illys …

What more is there to say about this familiar name in the coffee world?

Or is Runa's guayusa more your cup of tea?  Made from a native Amazonian tree leaf, brewed guayusa packs more caffeine and twice the antioxidants of any other tea.

Left to Right: Spice, Ginger Citrus, Peppermint, Traditional

Kikkoman, another well-known brand, earned its fame with soy sauce.  Over the years, the company's product line has widened considerably.  I particularly enjoyed the fiery Thai Style Chili Sauce.

Left to Right: Thai Style Chili, Wasabi, and Sriracha

Strategically situated at the adjacent booth, Alaska Seafood served savory salmon sliders with Asian slaw that I spiced up with Kikkoman's Wasabi Sauce.  This was one of the highlights of the festival.

Alaska Seafood's Mini Salmon Sliders with Asian Slaw

From Berkeley, California, Diane Lee's 7th Taste infused olive oils contain no extracts or artificial flavorings.  Smooth and tasty!

Left to Right: Mushroom, Ancho Chili, Lavender, Truffle, Curry

"The chef's in the jar" with these hand-harvested, artisanal salts from Chef Salt.

Chef Salt Seasoning Blends

Nueske's applewood-smoked meats were a pleasant discovery.

With the recent addition of wild cherrywood-smoked bacon to their lineup, what's not to love?

Tanya L. Nueske, Executive Vice President

Don't forget the California veggies.  Let there be no confusion with regard to the proper pronunciation of endive.

"No, it's absolutely pronounced on-deev."

I am not now, nor do I plan to ever be, a vegan.  Nevertheless, these samples from Ella Nemcova's The Regal Vegan were quite alluring.  Best of all, at 50 calories, a one-ounce serving of the delectable Faux Gras walnut-lentil pâté contains only three grams of fat.  A guiltless pleasure!

Faux Gras: A Toasted Walnut-Lentil Pâté.

Basilicotta: A Basil-Cashew Cheese Spread

Pâté certainly pairs well with wine.  While there was no Sauternes in sight, there were a few sippable vinos from Brooklyn Oenology.

From fermented grapes to carbonated ginger.  Fresh Ginger, Ginger Ale by Bruce Cost is a refreshing alternative to mainstream sodas.  Unfiltered, and made with fresh ginger, this sparkling soft drink is as aptly named as it is delicious.  Other flavors include Jasmine Green Tea, Pomegranate (with Hibiscus), and Passion Fruit (with Turmeric).

Fresh Ginger Effervescence by Bruce Cost

A few more cheeses …

Kerrygold's Aged Cheddar with Irish Whiskey (left) and Dubliner (right)

Lucy's Whey offered several artisanal curds, including Capriole's Sofia (an ash-ripened chèvre), Consider Bardwell Farm's Pawlet, (a Vermont version of Toma), Vermont Creamery's Cremont (a cheese of blended goat's and cow's milk), and Jasper Hill Farm's Winnimere.

Lucy's Whey: American Artisanal Cheeses

I tried to save the sweets for last, but, sadly, I had reached my capacity before I could sample them.  They certainly looked good!

It was delightful to see a couple of familiar names and faces from the QEDC Entrepreneur Space.

Uliana and Maria of Santé Bakery

Josephine's Feast

Comestiblog wishes to extend special thanks to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

IACP Culinary Expo and Book & Blog Festival

82 Mercer Street, SoHo, Manhattan  (map)

https://www.iacp.com/

Free Breakfast Mondays at IKEA

The price is hard to beat.  Every Monday morning, IKEA (pronounced EE·KAY·uh by those wishing to sound Nordic) serves a free hot breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes from 9:30 till 11:00.  (The same 385-calorie breakfast plate costs only 99 cents the rest of the week.)

The fabulous views are included in the price!

Check your local IKEA store for details.  Some restrictions may apply.  Participation varies.

IKEA Brooklyn

1 Beard Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn  (map)

(718) 246-4532

http://www.ikea.com/

By bus: B61

Top American City BBQ Breakdown

While every American city is sure to have a barbecue pit or two preferred by the locals, only a few have gone on to define their own nationally renowned style.  Contenders are plentiful, but four cities come to mind when the subject is how to heat and treat meat on the street.  The following is a brief rundown of the flavors one can find there.

Austin, TX

The hub of Texas state government is also where one finds representatives of every form of Lone Star BBQ that exists.  More than 60 individually owned restaurants of that sort litter the metro area, and serve up virtually every form of meat you can imagine.  The signature sweet-tangy taste of Texas-style sauce is almost as varied, with Franklin BBQ generally considered Austin's best.

Saint Louis, MO

Many BBQ enthusiasts snub the Gateway to the West on their top spots lists because a) the majority of barbecue joints there grill instead of coal heat and smoke, and b) the local preference is to drown the meat in sauce.  Be that as it may, Pappy's Smokehouse gets so backed up with locals and out-of-towners alike that customers can be sure to have a emergency food supply in case they run out of ribs.

Kansas City, MO

Kansas City is perhaps most celebrated for its BBQ, with Gates Bar-B-Q and Oklahoma Joe's becoming household names among enthusiasts.  The city's style makes for great long-term food in the fridge, as "thick" is the defining word for Kansas City barbecue.  The cuts are thick, the sauce is thick, and the wad of napkins you'll go through will also be thick.

Memphis, TN

While KC has an established BBQ history, it ultimately traces its roots back to Memphis, which has lately seen a resurgence in national attention paid to its favorite barbecue pit stops.  This is in part due to the current preference for a less-is-more approach to the sauce in combination with fall-off-the-bone tenderness, which many Memphis establishments that serve barbecue are noted for following.  Out of some 80 restaurants, Central BBQ and Corky's are the two head honchos, but expect to pay a little extra for the top-rated grub.

Not all American barbecue is created equal.  As the aforementioned list demonstrates, each city has its own style and preferences.  This list is by no means complete; it's merely a breakdown of the top four major cities noted for their particular brand of barbecue.  Hopefully, it encourages you to journey to these places for the experience, or remember to pop in to a preferred establishment if you ever find yourself visiting, but above all to pay close attention to what makes the BBQ of each region of this country its own distinct creation.

An April Fool's Day Comesticonundrum:  Was the foregoing penned by Comestiblog or by a "green" guest blogger?

My name is Amanda Green and I'm a guest writer.  I contacted this site after visiting.  I'm a big time foodie and love Comestiblog's humorous, insightful, and passionate approach to food.  Keep this blog in mind for informative and timely tips on all of your personal journey to foodie enlightenment.