I went today for my first Food & Wine Festival. Below is the country and items I sampled today with a short personal description and opinion. I am not big alcoholic beverage drinker nor a great food critic, but since the menu is the topic, thought I'd share a few of my thoughts.
--San Juan, Puerto Rico-- Arroz con Pollo (Chicken with Rice)
Just as the name sounds. It was mainly Spanish rice with bits of Chicken in it. It was good, but nothing impressive. I could easily get this at a Mexican food restaurant or make it at home.
--Santiago, Chile-- Rock Shrimp Ceviche
This dish contained shrimp in a tomato, onion, pepper mix similar to a salsa and topped with popcorn of all things. The spice was there, but not overbearing. The popcorn was unique, but somehow worked. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't top on my list.
--Montreal, Canada-- Maple Glazed Salmon with Lentil Salad; Spicy Chicken Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta; Chateau des Charmes Riesling
The maple glazed salmon was just that sitting on lentil beans. It was good and had a unique blend of the sweet maple with the fishy seafood. Salmon isn't my favorite fish, but it was still pretty good.
The Spicy Chicken Sausage was what looked like a breakfast sausage on yellow mashed potatoes. The sausage was indeed spicy. Not exactly great, but not horrible. The sweet corn polenta was my favorite part.
The Riesling was dry. I think I initially got this confused with Sangria, so I was disappointed.
--Wellington, New Zealand-- Lamb Slider with Tomato Chutney
Imagine a mix between a slider hamburger and meatloaf and that is what you get. I enjoyed it. Again, it reminded me of meatloaf on a little bun. The lamb flavor was there, but hardly recognizable in my opinion.
--Cork, Ireland-- Bunratty Meade Honey Wine
This wine is not like many other wines. It was pretty good and had a nice sweet honey flavor to it. I learned that the term "honeymoon" comes from this wine because a bottle was supposed to last through the full moon or something of that extent.
--Paris, France-- Chocolate Milk Creme Brulee
Creme Brulee is creme brulee. It is kind of like a pudding of sorts. This one was good, nothing amazing. It was possibly my first or second creme brulee. I did enjoy it.
--Marrakesh, Morocco-- Baklava; Sangria
Baklava is kind of like a turnover, but has more sugar, pecans, and stuff. It was my first time ever having it and it was one of my favorites of the day! SO GOOD! While the Sangria didn't exactly pair up with the really sweet dessert, it was also really good.
--Tokyo, Japan-- Tuna Sensation
Most of the Tokyo booth was selling sushi, so we decided to get the one that wasn't since most of the sushi was American-ized. The Tuna Sensation was a mix of raw tuna and avocado in soy sauce. I wasn't sure what to think of it at first. I am not an avocado fan, and of course the tuna was raw, but the second bite was better. I think I liked it overall. The avocado in the soy sauce was good. I wish there was more tuna in it though.
--New Orleans, USA-- Spicy Cajun Crawfish and Vegetable Stew
This was served as a cajun chowder that contained crawfish, vegetables, rice, and cheese. This was my first time tasting crawfish. I'm not sure what to think because it entire dish was great, but I couldn't taste the crawfish too much other than a fishy flavor to the chowder.
--Munich, Germany-- Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce
Apple Strudel is basically an apple turnover, except this was served in a light vanilla cream sauce. It was technically my first strudel and I enjoyed it a lot, but couldn't beat my previous Baklava.
--Melbourne, Austrailia--Grilled Lamb Chop with Red Wine Sauce and Murray River Sea Salt
This dish doesn't require much description. I waited the longest and heard the most about this dish, but felt it was overrated. The lamb chop was delicious, but I didn't think the red wine sauce fitted it well. I also totally missed the sea salt.
--Bangkok, Thailand-- Chicken and Coconut Soup with Mushrooms, Lemongrass, & Ginger
This soup is best described as an Asian chicken noodle soup and was the best surprise of the day. The coconut & ginger weren't overpowering at all, and I couldn't really taste the mushrooms. It honestly reminded me of chicken noodle soup, but with a more unique flavorful taste. This was another one of my favorites.
--Cape Town, South Africa-- Seared Beef Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Puree and Mango BBQ Sauce
This dish consisted of a BBQ beef tenderloin covered in sauce served with very mushy mashed sweet potato. It was another one of my favorites. The BBQ sauce was really sweet and unique. I actually found I liked mixing the sweet potato and the sauce more the tenderloin and the sauce. The sweet potato puree was also great.
--New Delhi, India-- Chilled Mango Lassi
This drink is best described as drinking the color yellow. It is made with yogurt and therefore has a hint of that taste. This is probably my favorite drink of the day. It was resfreshing, sweet, and reminded me of a creamier version of a mango smoothie.
--Shanghai, China-- Tsing Tao Beer
It's beer from China. I think I heard a lot about this drink when my college band went to China so I decided to give it a try. While it was bitter, I think that it could have been worse as I have felt like I have had worse beers than that. Needless to say, I didn't finish it only having a couple sips, but at least I tried it.
--Krakow, Poland-- Braised Pork Shank with Cabbage and Fresh Herbs
This dish was mess of pork, cabbage, herbs, and what I thought were potatoes, but wasn't sure. It was basically a very bland meat and potatoes type of dish. Nothing bad, but nothing amazing. Very plain.
--Barcelona, Spain-- Taste of Spain featuring Serrano Ham, Chorizo, Manchego, Olives, and Tomato Bread
This was a sample of a variety of meat, cheese, fruit, and bread. I really enjoyed it. The Serrano ham was cured ham that was a mix between bacon, pepperoni, and beef jerky. Chorizo was a type of sausage served cold like lunch meat. Manchego is sheep's milk cheese. The olives were very big and green with no pimento, and the tomato bread was a very hard bread slice with a tomato sauce dip. The ham was my favorite. I had no clue the cheese was made from sheep's milk until I just looked it up tonight. The sausage was nothing special but good. The olives were very olive-y, and the bread was hard.
--Mexico City, Mexico-- Mexican Sunrise
A Mexican Sunrise is a non-alcoholic fruit punch that contains orange juice, lemonade, limeade, grenadine, and ginger ale. You can add tequila to make it a cocktail which we didn't. It was very good and very refreshing.
--Buenos Aires, Argentina-- Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri and Boniato Puree
This was a beef skewer with special seasoning served with a boniato mashed potato puree. It was good, but nothing amazing. I liked the boniato puree more than the beef skewer.
--(Desserts & Champagne)-- Strawberry Shortcake
To end our day, I choose a classic strawberry shortcake. Yummy!
