Oy! Whatever will we do without Bruni? In case you missed it, the big food news of the week is regarding New York Times and Diner’s Journal writer Frank Bruni. According to the Times announcement, after five years at his regular post, Bruni is leaving to focus on personal writing projects, like his upcoming memoir, and settling into more of a writer-at-large role for the Times’s Sunday magazine. Needless to say, food blogs across the interweb are all a-twitter, not only with the announcement but as to who will be replacing the revered reviewer. It’s a Bruniocalypse, according to Eater New York!
Mega-company PepsiCo announced the launching of a new website to assist restaurateurs in growing their business during these difficult economic times. According to Restaurant News Resource, GrowMyRestaurant.com was developed ‘to assist foodservice operators…by providing information and tools via a one-stop shop that address an operator’s most pressing needs — such as driving traffic, growing average check, managing employees and understanding their customers and competition.’
What could be better than reading Bon Appetit? Having them buy you dinner! The Bon Appetit Now website is currently running a sweepstakes where one lucky winner will win a $250 dinner-for-two gift certificate at the restaurant of your choice! I suppose it could be a dinner for one, or even four, depending on how much you (or your companions) can scarf down! Good luck!
What a weekend indeed! So many wonderful people, so much wonderful food, so many wonderful cocktails! It’ll be hard to top in 2010, but I’m willing to check it out.
1) I had a great time at Friday’s Culinary Workshop: A Passion for Pasta with Executive Chef Carlos Buscaglia of FiAMMA in the MGM Grand. Chef Buscaglia demonstrated a whole host of fabulous pastas, including gnocchi with a black truffle crema, short rib raviolini, and a yummy panna cotta. The pasta buffet and matching wines were outstanding. My only complaint? That I had to leave most of my food uneaten in order to run to the next event!
Chef Joel Robuchon
2) I couldn’t wait for the Celebrity Chef Blackjack Tournament at the Wynn/Encore, and it definitely did not disappoint. Though most of the celeb chefs were eliminated in the first round, it was quite the sight to see such big names, including Colicchio, Flay, Bartolotta, and Joho, trying their hands at a little 21. Master chef Joël Robuchon took his post at the tables very seriously. Recent James Beard Award winner, Paul Bartolotta, won the whole shebang, for the second year in a row!
3) Finally, you know it’s a party when the Travelocity gnome makes an appearance at every event. Who knew that he actually traveled as much as he does! What a job!
As an organic advocate, I was very interested in attending the recent ‘Farm to Table’ panel at the Vegas Uncork’d festival. Top chefs, including Bellagio Executive Chef Edmund Wong and sustainability advocate Rick Moonen, discussed the importance of supporting local and sustainable farms by designing menus that feature those food items. However, during the panel discussion, Bon Appetit’s Restaurant Editor, Andrew Knowlton, posed a great question: If you had the choice to purchase organic asparagus from another country or locally grown asparagus, which would you choose? Hands down, all four participating chefs opted for the local option, with BA’s Editor in Chief, Barbara Fairchild, noting that we needed to ‘get people to buy fresh and local’.
The New York Times had an interesting article about companies who are starting to use the appeal of local food production to sell more products. The article highlights the Frito-Lay company and their utilization of local potato producers for their potato products. With the interest in local markets, Frito-Lay announced the launch of a new marketing program specifically noting their use of local food producers.
“Local for us has two appeals,” said Aurora Gonzalez, director of public relations for Frito-Lay North America, which is owned by PepsiCo. “We are interested in quality and quickness because we want consumers to get the freshest product possible, but we have a fairly significant sustainability program, and local is part of that. We want to do business more efficiently, but do it in a more environmentally conscious way.”
‘Locavore’ advocates, however, have difficulty adopting this new drive for ‘local’ promotion. While companies are promoting the use of local farms, the producers are generally local to wherever the food product is manufactured, and not necessarily local to the consumer, leading to what some consider misleading advertising.
“The ingenuity of the food manufacturers and marketers never ceases to amaze me,” said Michael Pollan, the author of “In Defense of Food” and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine. “They can turn any critique into a new way to sell food. You’ve got to hand it to them.”
While I’m certainly encouraged by the growing use of local food producers, I’m concerned as well about possible ‘greenwashing’, or ‘localwashing’ – the practice by some companies of utilizing key terms, like ‘local’, ‘green’, ‘organic’, ’sustainable’, or ‘natural’ to merely sell more food products.
To ensure that you’re not being ‘localwashed’, become an educated consumer. Ask where your food stuffs are produced. Inquire as to whether the production is sustainable, organic, and/or natural. Best of all, don’t believe everything you read. Sometimes, it’s just for the sale!
One of the things that I’ve loved most about the Vegas Uncork’d event is the personal interactivity. From blackjack to cocktails to the Ultimate All-Star Interactive Luncheon, it’s really been a great opportunity to rub elbows with culinary stars while learning a few tricks of trade.
Saturday’s Ultimate All-Star Interactive Luncheon was the ultimate in audience participation. Hosted by super business woman Elaine Wynn and Bon Appetit’s Barbara Fairchild, the event included five courses, each demonstrated and hosted by top chefs, with cooking stations and assisting chefs at every table.
The five top chefs chosen for the demonstration were Alex’s Alessandro Stratta, Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare’s Paul Bartolotta, Switch’s Marc Poidevin, Daniel Boulud Brasserie’s Daniel Boulud, and Wynn/Encore’s Frederic Robert. The fabulous menu included Chilled Lobster, Sauteed Sea Scallops with Porcini Mushrooms, Spring Gnocchi with Peas and Proscuitto, Marinated Squab Breast with Caramelized Japanese Eggplant, and Strawberry Vacherin! Mmmmm, mmmm! Guests were delighted to receive autographed aprons from the super chefs as well.
For a quick clip of the luncheon, tune in to Wednesday’s broadcast of Late Night with Carson Daly. Carson slid in to the seat next to me just long enough to shoot a few promos for the show and down a bit of the first course!
Paul Bartolotta, Marc Poidevin, Daniel Boulud, Frederic Robert, Alessandro Stratta
Boulud and Bartolotta talk seafood before the event!
Yesterday’s presentation of the ‘Farm to Table’ panel, as part of the Vegas Uncork’d festivities, was outstanding! Four top Las Vegas chefs – Edmund Wong, Bradley Ogden, Rick Moonen, and recent James Beard Award winner Paul Bartolotta – sat side by side to discuss the importance of sustainability and the support of local food production, with Barbara Fairchild, Editor-in-Chief of Bon Appetit, Andrew Knowlton, BA’s BA Foodist, and Vegas’s top restaurant reviewer, John Curtas.
The panel discussed everything from fishing to farm production, even out here in the dry region of Vegas. Surprisingly, there are a number of farms within the local area who are utilized to provide menu ingredients. All of the chefs encouraged their consumers, and restaurant guests, to continue their education on organics and local food availability, noting how important it is as chefs to develop sustainable menus themselves.
“As a definite, you shouldn’t ever have [the outrageously over-fished] Chilean Sea Bass on your menu,” noted chef Rick Moonen.
All four chefs thanked their ‘foragers’, or staff members who are dedicated to finding local produce, and building relationships with farmers and producers. Wong, the Executive Chef of the Bellagio, with over twenty members in his food purchasing team, mentioned having a staff member who’s sole responsibility is to check ripeness of his produce inventory.
Moonen, with a long history of sustainable interest and support, noted that his restaurants even require questionnaires for their wine producers to ensure proper, sustainable production of their wines.
“I never thought I’d see this tipping point [of restaurants/consumers going green and sustainable],” Moonen commented.
On the importance of consumer education of food production:
“Let’s get people to buy fresh first, and then we’ll try to get them to buy organic…consumers have a bigger pull with what’s going on in their grocery stores [than they realize].” – Barbara Fairchild, Bon Appetit
On understanding the cost of local/organic vs. traditionally harvested food items:
“As a consumer, you must realize that the cost to produce unique food is not cheap.” – Paul Bartolotta
Paul Bartolotta, John Curtas, Andrew Knowlton, Barbara Fairchild, Bradley Ogden, Edmund Wong, Rick Moonen
Woo! We finally made it in to Las Vegas late last night to start the Vegas Uncork’d show! Arriving to the late-night benefit at PURE for Three Square, the intimate gathering atop the Caesar’s nightclub was a great way to start the party. Fellow foodie guests included Bon Appetit’s Barbara Fairchild, Andrew Knowlton, spirits consultant Steven Olson; celeb chefs Bobby Flay, Cat Cora, and Kerry Simon; and Las Vegas restaurant reviewer, John Curtas. The drinks were fab, the seats were comfy, and the view of the Strip was well worth the short hike in tall boots!
Posted by Jennifer Heigl
The Daily Blender staff had such a great time at the 2008 New York Wine & Food Festival that we just couldn’t wait to get ourselves to the 2009 Vegas Uncork’d event!
Kicking off this Thursday with a champagne toast hosted by Bon Appetit’s Editor-in-Chief Barbara Fairchild and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, the Vegas Uncork’d show looks to be a blast!
Follow our live coverage of the weekend’s events here at Dailyblender.com and via our Twitter feed. We’re even introducing a new Las Vegas Daily Blender correspondent! Could it get anymore exciting!?
Some of the events we’re attending include:
Thursday’s after-hours cocktail reception at the Caesar’s Palace PURE nightclub, benefiting Three Square, southern Nevada’s only food bank, featuring chefs Cat Cora, recent James Beard Award winner Paul Barolotta, Rick Moonen, and Kerry Simon.
Cocktails & Cuisine at the Wynn, hosted by Bon Appetit’s Wine & Spirits Consultant, Steven Olson, and celebrity mixologist, Tony Abou-Ganim.
The Grand Tasting at Caesar’s Palace featuring 150 top chefs and spirit mavens!
And, perhaps the big event we’re most looking forward to - the Celebrity Chef Blackjack Tournament, at the Wynn’s Encore! Hosted by actor Kyle MacLachlan, the players list includes a number of our favorite celebrity chefs – Tom Colicchio, Daniel Boulud, Rick Moonen, Bobby Flay, Carla Pelligrino, François Payard, and Joël Robuchon, among many others.
Bon Appetit’s BA Foodist Andrew Knowlton, who’ll also be attending this weekend’s events, chimed in earlier this week with his favorite Uncork’d picks as well.
Get your horses ready! Today’s Kentucky Derby looks to be like a fun one, despite all the recent drug-related controversy. Can’t make it for this year’s Run for the Roses? We’ve wrangled some of our favorite Kentucky Derby recipe links for your at-home entertaining!
Not sure how to decorate the place for a horse race? About.com has a few suggestions for throwing the best Kentucky Derby party!
Our friends at the revered magazine have created a fun little slideshow featuring their favorite food and drink items from each of the fifty states. Each state features ‘What to buy, what to eat, what to drink’ choices from the BA staffers. It’s even in alphabetical order!
A big shout out for the Michigan drink pick, and former college haunt of mine, Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo. Go Broncos!
There’s nothing I have less forgiveness for than watching a restaurant customer berate a server. First of all, it’s always obvious to me when customers haven’t worked within a restaurant environment, because they’re quick to antagonize the hostess, the bus boy, the server. Secondly, the bad customer almost always harasses the server for items that are beyond his or her control, such as a wait for food or wrong substitutions.
But what happens when it really is a server issue? Whether it’s a lack of knowledge of the menu or the inability to provide service with a smile, how do you deal with bad service? This week, Andrew Knowlton over at Bon Appetit’s The BA Foodist offers five tips for handling a waiter who falls short of your expectations, including eating at the bar and telling everyone you know about the bad experience (ha!).
In addition, my two suggestions are this:
1) Folks have forgotten that tips are just that – complimentary cash for great service. I’m still amazed at how often I eat out with friends or family members, the check comes, and the person paying the tab still leaves a tip, even if the service was mediocre, or worse, dismal. My best tip experience was down in Australia, where servers are paid a top wage and tips are rarely provided by customers. If the service doesn’t warrant a tip, don’t leave one.
2) If you really experience bad service, really, truly, don’t be afraid to notify the restaurant manager. During one awful birthday dining event, we had a waiter who was a little too cocky, rudely bantering with my husband when he inquired as to the preparation of a dish. When I asked that my steak be very well done, instead of medium or medium rare, the waiter snidely commented that I should order fish instead, painfully unaware that my fully-cooked meat request was a requirement as a heavily-pregnant woman. When he stepped away from our table, I was quick to flag down the restaurant’s manager, relating our unhappy experience and requesting another server. The manager was more than happy to accommodate.
As an organic advocate, I was very interested in attending the recent 
