The Lunch that Changed my Life

The title of this post might have been misleading, because you're probably expecting me to tell you about some phenomenal food I ate, but that's actually not the case (although I definitely will be telling you about some phenomenal food, that's just not the reason this lunch changed my life).

I feel incredibly lucky that my job allows me the opportunity to do a lot of traveling around the country and to connect with so many amazing people.  For those of you who don’t know, I manage the social media and blogger relationships for two Whirlpool appliance brands, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Through my job, I have been traveling to amazing places, as I mentioned, and recently had the chance to visit Miami for the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, Los Angeles for the Design Bloggers Conference and Costa Mesa, CA for a custom blogger event all in one long trip.

As a member of the food blogging community myself, connecting with other bloggers is one of my favorite parts of my job. What could be better than meeting other passionate foodies and getting to call it “work?” I do feel very lucky that it’s part of my job description.

About a year ago, I went to the International Association of Culinary Professionals conference in Austin, TX. While I was there, I attended a session hosted by the White on Rice Couple, Todd Porter and Diane Cu, a married photography and blogging couple from California. I instantly fell in love with their style, their work ethic and their adoration of food, travel, photography, life and, above all, each other.

When I started my job last July, I noticed their names on the list of bloggers that my predecessor left for me to work with. From the first time I spoke to Diane on the phone, I was smitten. She was sweet, lively and full of wonderful ideas for how we could work together. I was thrilled when she told me that she and Todd were coming to NYC for meetings and they wanted to get together for coffee.

Our coffee date ended up lasting almost 3 hours, during which the three of us talked about our mutual love of dogs, taking pictures of food and, of course, KitchenAid. Diane was excited to share an idea she had for me about a custom blogger event that they could host at their studio in California. As luck would have it, I was going to be traveling to LA for the Design Bloggers Conference in February, so the idea for the KitchenAid lunch was hatched.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. After months of intense planning that included many phone calls, emails and texts, the KitchenAid lunch was finally taking shape. I wish I could take credit for this fabulous event, but it was really Diane & Todd’s hard work and dedication that made this whole thing come together. I like to say that all I had to do was show up!

They invited some friends of theirs to demonstrate KitchenAid appliances including Joy the Baker, Cristina Ferrare and Cristina’s daughter, Alex Thomopoulos who blogs at Against the Grain. They also invited about 45 bloggers to attend the event. The night before, Diane came and picked me up in Los Angeles and drove me to her home in Costa Mesa. Yes, Diane and Todd were kind enough to invite me to stay in their lovely home. I was greeted at the door by their amazing dog Sierra who I instantly fell in love with and dropped down to the ground to cuddle with (I mean it, I LOVE dogs).

(Sierra the Wonder Dog)

Diane spent most of the night cutting out name tags and finishing planning for what we had dubbed the KitchenAid Lunch.

We woke up the next morning to arrive early to the studio for last-minute preparations. I was thrilled to meet Cristina who was warm, welcoming and absolutely stunning.

(Cristina & me)

Her daughter Alex had me laughing from the moment I met her. A beautiful girl with bright eyes and a huge smile, Alex looked just like her mother and had all her best qualities.

(Cristina & Alex)

Finally, I couldn't wait to meet Joy the Baker. She's one cool chick who I knew to be a total badass in the kitchen from reading her blog. In person, she’s down-to-earth, sweet as pie (no pun intended)  and a total blast to hang out with.

(Me & Joy - photo credit: Anson Cu)

As the bloggers began to arrive, I almost had nervous butterflies. I hoped that the event would be a success, that everyone would have a good time and that it would show just how darn much I adore meeting and working with bloggers. As I mentioned in a post last year, I was absolutely blown away by the food blogging community and they way it reacted to the passing of Jennifer Perillo (of In Jennie’s Kitchen)’s husband, Mikey. The community came together, offered support and love, baked Peanut Butter Pies per Jennie’s wish and showed true compassion. A lot of money was raised to help Jennie rebuild her life after her husband’s untimely passing, and the story absolutely touched my heart. It was Diane and Todd’s video tribute that really got me (I mist up just thinking about it), and if you have a tissue nearby, you should definitely watch it. It was one of the most moving experiences I have ever been a part of, and was exactly why I couldn’t wait to meet these incredible bloggers.

From the moment the KitchenAid lunch started, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I introduced myself to everyone and every person there was beyond nice.

(#kitchenaidlunch)

Fresh-squeezed orange juice made from the KitchenAid Stand Mixer Juicer attachment was mixed with sparkling wine to make fabulous mimosas for everyone.

(Thank you Jen!)

After we got to chat for awhile, we all took our seats for Diane & Todd’s presentation about telling stories through photography, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house (including mine, obviously) as they shared stories about their work, their love, their dog Dante who they lost recently and their amazing “Life Recipe” video.

(Everyone watching the presentation - photo credit: Anson Cu)

The message that resonated the most from their presentation was that when you do what you love and embrace the natural imperfections that happen in life, great things result. For Diane & Todd, their greatness shows in their incredible photos and videos that they share with their friends and fans. Their greatness also shows in their overwhelming kindness. Can you tell I absolutely adore these two, or what?

Over the course of the afternoon stories were shared, friends were made and we got to witness some fabulous recipe demonstrations. Cristina whipped up some Potato Cakes in the 13-Cup Food Processor that she then baked and covered with smoked salmon and crème fraiche. This dish was absolutely amazing.

(Cristina - photo credit: Anson Cu)

(Cristina's Potato Cakes)

After Cristina, Alex stepped up and sliced up Cucumbers and Zucchini to make a fresh carpaccio out of the vegetables.

(Alex - photo credit: Anson Cu)

(Zucchini & Cucumber Carpaccio)

She had everyone laughing with her sharp humor and drooling over her delicious food. This girl is someone I’d love to be friends with, and I'm so excited for her to come visit New York. Diane, Todd and I watched some of Alex’s stand-up comedy later that night and I was laughing so hard, juice almost came out of my nose. More on that later.

We were all then treated to an outstanding lunch prepared by Diane and Todd. Vietnamese Chicken Salad (phenomenal), Red Rice with Beans (delicious) and Veggie Chili (so yummy) were served alongside luscious cheeses, hearty charcuterie, delicious crackers and homemade pickled vegetables. I barely had room on my plate for all that goodness, and I was blown away by how fresh everything was. Diane and Todd are truly masters in the kitchen.

(My plate)

After lunch, Joy was up, whipping up Marshmellow Meringue frosting in the KitchenAid 7-qt Stand Mixer.

(Joy - photo credit: Anson Cu)

Diane then announced that we would all be decorating the 300 cupcakes they had baked the day before, and the room buzzed with excitement. The frosting was a huge hit, even with me, an official dessert hater. I snuck in a bite of a mini chocolate cupcake with Joy’s awesome chocolate buttercream frosting. Don’t tell the dessert police!

For the rest of the afternoon, we decorated cupcakes, chatted, laughed and took lots of photos. The event felt like a gathering of old friends even though many of us in the room had never met each other. It felt easy, natural and was just so much fun! As the afternoon began to wind down, we decided it would be a great time to give away the KitchenAid appliances that were generously donated. Everyone was SO excited about the possibility of winning a Stand Mixer, Food Processor or Convection Countertop Oven. Those that did win were beyond thrilled, and it was so great to be able to bring such huge smiles to their faces.

These are my favorite photos from the event, Todd, Joy, Cristina, Diane, me and Alex laughing because we felt famous with all the camera flashing at us:

(Photo credit: Anson Cu)

I also want to take a minute to thank all of the phenomenal bloggers who attended the event. You were all so great to meet and I'm looking forward to future opportunities for us to work together and enjoy more great events. We couldn't have done this without all of you!

(Bloggers during lunch)

(Bloggers during Cristina's demo - photo credit: Anson Cu)

(Bloggers trying Cristina's Potato Cakes - photo credit: Anson Cu)

After everyone had left and the studio had been cleaned, Diane, Todd and I set out on another adventure: walking on the beach and dinner! Our first stop after we went home to pick up Sierra was Newport beach where we walked, talked, took some pictures of the beautiful California sunset and played Frisbee with Sierra.

(Newport Beach)

We did our best to work up an appetite for dinner, Diane and Todd knew how badly I wanted to have an In-N-Out Cheeseburger while I was in California, so off we went. I was so excited for my burger that when our number was called, I squealed. How embarrassing! All 3 of us had a Cheeseburger and we shared 1 order of Animal Style Fries. For those of you who don’t know what Animal Style is, it’s not listed on the regular In-N-Out menu, but those in the know love the melted cheese, sautéed onions and Thousand Island-style dressing that make the famous Animal Style topping. I’m on the fence about it, I do love the cheese and the onions but I’ve never been that into sauce or dressing so I could take it or leave it. On fries though, I have to say, it’s pretty dang delicious.

(3 Cheeseburgers at In-N-Out)

(Animal Style Fries at In-N-Out)

(Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......)

We hopped in the car and drove back to Todd & Diane’s where I was served two of the most incredible cocktails I have ever had. A margarita made with fresh lime juice (the limes had been picked from their back yard) was the best margarita I’ve ever had. I usually don’t like them because they can be sugary and heavy, but this was fresh, light and went down a little too easy.

Lately, anytime Patrick orders a whiskey cocktail and I take a sip, I find that I don’t hate it. Actually, I have kind of been enjoying it. Todd made me an Old Fashioned with fresh tangierine juice (again, he picked them from their back yard) and Tangierine bitters that he made himself. Seriously, is there anything these two CAN’T DO?! I loved the drink and finished every last drop. While I was drinking it was when we watched Alex's comedy and juice almost came out of my nose. Yes, almost. Then Diane and Todd said that they were going to take me for the best pizza ever. Pizza? After In-N-Out? Surely they were absolutely insane. And let me tell you, that’s my kind of crazy!

We climbed into the car again to head to Pizzeria Mozza where we got 3 seats at the pizza bar. This gave us the prefect view of the pizza oven as we watched our second dinner being made. We ordered (of course) three individual pizzas so that I could try a bunch of different kinds. Todd ordered the Potato, Bacon and Egg pizza, Diane ordered the Fennel Sausage pizza and I requested the Funghi pizza with Fontina cheese. The restaurant was warm and smelled like heaven, and when the pizzas were placed in front of us, I almost drooled. First, the Fennel Sausage Pizza.

(Fennel Sausage Pizza at Mozza)

I LOVE sausage, and this was delicious, but what really blew me away was the crust. It managed to be light and airy but also chewy and substantial at the same time. It was like no crust I had ever tasted before, and I instantly understood why they insisted upon taking me to Mozza. I wasn’t crazy about the red onion or scallions on the pizza, but the crust and sausage were amazing.

Next up, the mushroom pizza. Wow. This was so good. So so good. The mushrooms were the tastiest I’d ever had and paired with that amazing crust, THIS was a pizza! My mouth is watering thinking about it now…

(Funghi Pizza at Mozza)

I did also try Todd’s Potato pizza and yes, it was very good, but just not my preference. It tasted like a yummy breakfast dish, not a pizza.

(Potato, Bacon & Egg Pizza at Mozza before the yolk is broken)

(Potato, Bacon & Egg Pizza at Mozza after the yolk is broken)

I thought about that  mushroom pizza the whole ride home and the second we got home, I climbed into bed and was asleep instantly. It was the most decadent but incredible dinner I’d had in a long time.

The next morning, even though I was still full from our meal the night before, Diane and Todd drove me to Little Saigon for a Vietnamese Banh Mi breakfast. I feel like I’m gaining weight just by re-writing this! We made a few stops once we got there from a fruit market to try Jack Fruit (a huge, sweet fruit with an enormous seed) and other colorful delights.

(Diane in the Fruit Market)

Then to Van’s Bakery for Chicken Pate Chaud (flaky, buttery, tastes like a chicken pot pie) and fried mochi.

(Chicken Pate Chaud from Van's Bakery)

(Mochi from Van's Bakery)

Finally, we went to Banh Mi & Che Cali for Banh Mi Sandwiches, the breakfast of champions! Diane got a Lemongrass Beef sandwich and a traditional Pork sandwich. What really surprised me was the price of the sandwiches. They were each under $3! I don’t think we’re in New York City anymore, Toto. As I was taking a huge bite of the sandwich and had sauce dripping down my face, I received the best compliment Todd ever could have given me, “Rachel, you’re a really good eater!” he said. I have arrived.

(Lemongrass Beef Banh Mi from Banh Me & Che Cali)

(Pork Banh Mi from Banh Mi & Che Cali)

The Lemongrass Beef was SO awesome. I’d never had it before and I loved it even more than the traditional Pork Banh Mi. I hope I can find this version of the sandwich in New York because I loved it! Don’t get me wrong, the pork was great too, but the beef! Wow the beef.

After “breakfast,” I was so sad to have to say good-bye to Diane, Todd and Sierra. They drove me to the airport and we hugged and said our good-byes. While I definitely was sad to leave, I was so happy to have formed this amazing friendship with these incredible people.

(Todd & Diane, Breakfast)

Diane and Todd, words can’t express how much our visit meant to me. You two hosted an event like I’ve never been to before. You are beautiful people, full of love and it’s clear how much you mean to the food blogging community. Thank you thank you thank you for welcoming me into your home, for the incredible cappuccinos Todd made me each morning, the amazing local food you shared and thank you mostly for the memories of this incredible trip.

(New friends)

Let's Eat!
-The Fabulous Foodie

Dim Sum at Jing Fong

As you’ll remember from my post last May, I never realized that a true “dim sum” meal was only served between the hours of 11am and 4pm on weekends. I literally thought it was a style of dining that could happen on any day at any hour, and Patrick and I learned the hard way that this wasn’t so. Over the long President’s Day Weekend two weeks ago, 7 friends, Patrick and I ventured down to China Town at an appropriate hour (1pm) to enjoy some Dim Sum at Jing Fong on an appropriate day (Sunday.) Boy were we in for an adventure.

Thanks to a good friend from home, I had been out until about 5am the night before this dim sum adventure, so needless to say, I was running a few minutes late for our 1pm meeting time. Since I have such punctual friends, some of them were right on time and were able to put our name in for a table. When Patrick and I rounded the corner onto Elizabeth Street, we saw a small mob assembled on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. I panicked for a moment because I was getting what my friends and I like to call “hangry,” a combination of hungry and angry, the later being mainly caused by the former. Once we met up with our friends, we were told the wait wouldn’t be too long, and it really wasn’t.

I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly large parties were being called into the restaurant, and then I became skeptical. I mean, how could they possibly seat THAT many people THAT quickly? I would soon learn the answer to my question. When our table was called, I did a little yelp of joy and followed my friends inside.

What I wasn’t expecting was a very long escalator that we had to ride underneath a beautiful crystal chandelier.

An escalator in a restaurant? Hm, okay. There’s a first time for everything.

Nothing could prepare me for the room we were about to walk into. The only thing that makes me happier than a real football field is a restaurant the size of a football field, which Jing Fong is. Hundreds of people sat in the room as tables of varying sizes pulling food off of carts as they rolled by How glorious this dim sum idea was! I couldn’t believe the eating adventure I was about to embark upon.

The 9 of us sat at our table and almost immediately, about 12 plates of food were placed in front of us. They just kept pulling dishes off the cart and we just kept shaking our heads yes. More food, please! I squealed with excitement, pulled apart my chopsticks, poured myself a huge glass of water and a cup of tea and off I went.

I can’t really explain in detail every single thing I ate, but there were shumai (my favorite), dumplings, spring rolls, vegetables, chicken feet (Patrick’s fave):

and lots of other things filled with various kinds of meat (shrimp, pork, chicken, beef).  I absolutely loved the shrimp shumai:

and the Taro Cake:

A Taro Cake is a slightly spongy dish that my friend Kat encouraged me to try. It was a flavor unlike anything I’d ever had before, earthy and full of flavor. I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself out for dim sum.

Every time a cart rolled by, we shook our heads yes for more plates to be placed on our table.

The more we ate, the more water we gulped to offset the intense amount of sodium we were consuming and I was sure this meal was going to cost me a pretty penny based solely on how much food we had. When we couldn’t possibly eat another bite, we requested our check and I prepared myself for what I was sure would be a lot of damage. Not so. It came out to exactly $15 per person INCLUDING tax and tip. In New York City? For that much food? Surely there must have been a mistake.

I left Jing Fong with both a tummy and a wallet that were full and happy. We climbed back onto the escalator to go back out into the street and even though I was the thirstiest I had ever been in my entire life, I considered our meal to be a great success.

Have you ever done a dim sum brunch? What are some of your favorite dishes you’ve had?

Let’s Eat!

-The Fabulous Foodie

A Great Tasting Menu at Mas (Farmhouse)

Oh how I've missed you all! Please accept my deepest apologies for how long it's been since my last post. Life has been a little hectic lately as I recently got a new job. I am now the Manager of Community Management for two major food industry brands at a large advertising agency in New York. This is truly my dream job, and I feel so lucky to have gotten it. I'm working with wonderful people, and I'm working with what I love: food and social media. Thanks to my friends, my family and my amazing boyfriend for all the love and support.

Now, on to the important stuff. I recently decided I wanted to take Patrick out for a special meal to thank him for the aforementioned love and support, especially during these last few months as my professional life got a bit overwhelming. I told him he could pick anywhere in NYC, and while we entertained thoughts of the tasting menu at WD-50, incredible fish at Le Bernardin, he finally decided on the West Village's Mas (Farmhouse).This was a restaurant we used to pass daily as we walked into our old job in Soho, and somewhere we have both always wanted to try. We waited until a holiday weekend in New York, knowing the city would be very quiet (just the way we like it) and ventured down to the Village for our meal.

From the moment we stepped into the restaurant, I knew this was going to be an experience like nothing we'd ever had before. We were shown to a cozy table for two in the busy but not overly crowded restaurant, and settled in for our food adventure. We noticed the menu mentioned a 6-Course Tasting Menu, but we couldn't find the actual menu for that anywhere. We asked our waiter, and he explained how it works.

You tell him your food likes and your dislikes, things you want to try and things you want to avoid, and the chef creates a custom tasting menu based on your preferences and based on whatever is fresh that day. True "farm to table," this was a concept that was just too good for us to pass up. I told the waiter that I liked almost everything, just nothing too spicy and nothing with too much butter. Pat noted that he did like spicy and would pretty much eat anything. And with that instruction, our meal was underway. It's no secret that I like to take pictures of my food, but this place, and this night and this vibe, it just didn't seem right. I decided to put the camera away for the night and just take everything in. Hopefully, I will be able to describe the food to help you envision it, but apologies for the lack of photos.

We had some very yummy cocktails while we waited in anticipation for what was to come. I had a vodka grapefruit concoction while Pat opted for his usual Manhattan. The first dish that came out was fresh shrimp with several fresh vegetables, and it was quite delicious. I know I just said fresh twice, but that doesn't even begin to describe it. It was as if the shrimp had just been plucked from the sea and the vegetables picked from a garden outside. This was a great start to our meal. Also, each dish was brought out by two people who placed the plates on the table, in front of each of us, in perfect unison, and then plucked the empty plates from us as soon as they were empty. A nice touch.

The next course needs not only its own paragraph, but its own blog! It doesn't sound spectacular, but oh boy, was it ever. The two waiters placed small bowls of green liquid in front of us and we truly had no idea what we were in for. Asparagus soup with shaved white truffles, poached scallops, sweet corn and trumpet mushrooms. One bite of this soup and Patrick and I looked up at each other in a moment of pure food bliss. The broth was a little sweet, incredibly fresh, full of intensely amazing flavor and the epitome of absolute perfection in a bowl. There is no way for me to emphasize this enough, it was simply the most divine thing I have ever tasted. The scallops were buttery and tender, the corn was sweet and the truffles and trumpet mushrooms added an earthiness to the soup that knocked it out of the park. I literally picked up my bowl for the last sip and almost licked it clean. Then I remembered my manners and didn't, but I REALLY wanted to!

When the waiters surrounded our table to lift the plates away, it was like saying good-bye to an old friend. I knew that I had to have that soup again and that any dish that came after would pale in comparison. At this point our waiter seemed to have realized that he forgot something pretty big and asked us if we'd be interested in a wine pairing with the rest of our courses. We were interested, but a little annoyed that he was only asking us now after we were two dishes in. At this time, new plates were placed in front of us and we prepared ourselves for the next dish. A simple piece of Halibut sat in the center of the plate and we were served two glasses of red wine. I was surprised that the wine was red to pair with fish, but it was actually perfect. Light, slightly chilled and crisp, it paired very well with the dish. Halibut is one of my favorite fishes for its sheer simplicity, so I was pretty excited. And for good reason. The fish was light, flaky, buttery and fresh. It was unspoiled by any heavy sauces or seasonings and was just very simple and delicious. The piece of fish wasn't very large, but was just enough to be a satisfying seafood course. Again our plates were whisked away, and we were ready for the next course.

Roasted chicken with crispy skin was again paired with a delicious red wine. The chicken was moist and full of flavor, the skin was perfectly crispy and salted just to my liking. The wine was smooth and paired beautifully. We thoroughly enjoyed this course but we were both hoping for a heartier meat to finish off the pre-dessert courses. And speaking of dessert, I actually asked the waiter if my final course could be something savory, like a cheese course, and he told me it wouldn't be an issue. The next plates were brought out, and we were both very excited to see that the final dinner course was a crispy pork belly. Patrick and I both love pork belly and this dish certainly didn't disappoint. Properly fatty, tender, savory and yummy, our plates were empty almost immediately. A third glass of red wine, this time a bolder, richer wine, was paired with the pork and was really able to stand up to the flavor of the meat.

As we waited for our dessert course and finished our final glasses of red, we began to look back on the meal and discuss how much we both enjoyed it. We really couldn't get over how incredible the asparagus soup with scallops had been and we discussed how we'd go about describing it to friends before deciding we'd never be able to do it justice. Even now, as you're reading this, you won't be able to fully appreciate this soup unless you go to Mas yourself and try it. It's just that good!

Unfortunately a piece of cake was placed in front of me, and I was disappointed that the waiter had messed up my final course at such a nice restaurant. I didn't want to complain, so I ate some of it (confirming how little I really like cake) and the waiter stopped by the table to check on us. He looked at my plate and realized his oversight. Now don't get me wrong, I'm okay with mistakes as long as they're handled properly. This was not. To make up for accidentally bringing me out a sweet dish when I told him I favored savory to sweet, he poured us a complimentary glass of sweet dessert wine. It was really surprising to me that he thought this was an acceptable make-good, but our meal had been so incredibly good that I let it slide.

I paid the bill and we were back out into the New York City night with our stomachs full of incredible food. For a wonderful tasting menu experience, I highly recommend Mas (Farmhouse) and hopefully they will work out the small service glitches to make it a truly perfect experience.

Do you enjoy tasting menus or do you prefer larger portions of less dishes during a meal? There are a lot of tasting menus I still want to try, but I'm so happy we tried Mas.

Let's Eat!
-The Fabulous Foodie

Eating My Way Through Austin: Days 3 & 4

[Note: The first part of this post was written Friday evening, 6/3. I had to stop writing because I was SO full that writing about food was making me feel ill. Piece was finished on 6/6.]

The ironic thing about this post right now is that I'm literally writing it while in the middle of the most ridiculous food comas I have ever been though in my entire life. I'm literally propped up in bed feeling so full that I can't even imagine ever eating again. But I have to tell you about the eating adventures I've had over the past 2 days in Austin!

First of all, sleeping in late on Thursday didn't allow me to have a breakfast even close to as awesome as at Juan in a Million the day before. It was a lot worse, in fact. It was a bagel from Starbucks (blech!) I scooped out the middle and toasted it well, then spread cream cheese all over it, but even that amount of description is too much. It was nothing special at all.

My morning session was with Shauna James Ahern better known as Gluten Free Girl and I have to tell you, it really was fabulous. She has been blogging for years about Gluten-Free living and I found her to be funny, approachable and incredibly sweet. This was one of the sessions I enjoyed most, and I met many other food bloggers during this session that was called "Blog to Book." I was also delighted to see Marge Perry in this session, who was my Food Writing teacher at the Institute of Culinary Education and the one who told me to join IACP in the first place.

When that session was over, I had just about 15 minutes to grab the free lunch before meeting with Lynn Woll, Sr. Director of International Marketing of allrecipes.com. As part of IACP we could choose to meet with a "mentor" for 1/2 hour, and I chose Lynn because she had marketing in her title and allrecipes.com is HUGE. Lynn was incredibly nice and we chatted about my career path, her career path and a few other things for the 1/2 hour. I chowed down on my lunch, some hummus and some chicken breast, but again, nothing special. These were really just rushed meals eaten quickly so I could speed off to the IACP events, including a demo with Jacques Pepin and Amanda Hesser of food52.com, both of whom I admire and was excited to see.Jacques was adorable, Amanda was a great moderator/interviewer and we got to taste some of Jacques' food! Delish.The real treat came for dinner that night. The IACP had planned one fancy night with a reception planned at the famed Driskill Hotel followed by an awards ceremony at the Paramont Theatre. I had been planning to go to both, but Rev (Burger Conquest) asked around and some people told him that the reception was great but recommended to skip the awards ceremony. Since Rev's friends Julie and Ethan live in Austin, we made plans to meet them for dinner after the reception.

The Driskill Hotel was beautiful, everything I had been hoping it would be. The event was elegant and all the cocktails were made with vodka so I was a happy girl. We didn't want to eat too much at this event, so we only had tiny tastes of the offerings: duck (my favorite!), squab and venison. Yum! All three pieces of meat were very good, but the venison was definitely the best of the three.After a few cocktails and some lively chatter with fellow IACP members, Rev and I took a walk to a restaurant called Haddington's in downtown Austin.

(photo courtesy of Haddington's)

Julie and Ethan were there when we arrived, so we sat at a table for 4 in one of the small side rooms in the restaurant. Since Ethan is a chef (Second Bar + Kitchen), we let him order us some appetizers. He got us the Duck & Foie Gras Meatballs, the Sweetbreads and the Tomato & Burrata Salad. Unfortunately, he found a tiny piece of metal in the salad so we had to send it back, but the Meatballs and Sweetbreads were both addictively good.

As if Foie Gras in my meatballs wasn't enough, the waitress then brought out four small shot glasses filled with a mysterious yellowish substance.She explained it was Foie Gras Egg Nog, and I was instantly turned off by the thought. But, being me, I took a sip anyway just so I could tell you all about it, and my initial reservations were confirmed. It was truly disgusting. I've never liked any drinks that are creamy or rich before, so adding something as heavy as Foie Gras to the flavor was a major turn-off for me. Rev and Ethan both liked it, Julie and I did not.

We had a great time at the restaurant. This was my first time meeting the two of them, Rev & Julie have been friends for years, and I found them both to be incredibly fun, delightful people who were great dining companions. Throughout the meal I sipped on a crisp, light Sav Blanc and decided that an entree of Sea Scallops would pair with the wine quite well. I was right. The Scallops were huge, light and very flavorful.I tried Rev's steak (he ordered the Steak Frites) and thought the steak was also very good. Cooked just how I like it (which as you know by now, is bloody) I thought the seasoning was perfect and the meat was tender.

Ethan ordered a few desserts, Sticky Toffee Pudding and Cocoa Panne Cotta, neither of which I had any interest in, but those who did eat them said they were good. I got myself my usual Espresso and was truly satisfied by the meal. Julie was incredibly generous and paid for the meal (thanks Julie!) and off we went. I decided not to go out that night since I had a full IACP day on Friday, so I went to bed that night with a full tummy and a happy feeling that often comes after a good meal spent with great people.

Now on to Friday, the day of the food coma I mentioned earlier. Again without time to grab a decent breakfast, I went to my morning IACP sessions and dreamed of lunchtime when Rev and Julie were planning to take me to Smitty's, a BBQ joint about 30 minutes outside of Austin. As soon as my sessions were over I met the two of them a few blocks away from my hotel and we piled into the car to head out on our BBQ adventure. Rev is somewhat of an authority on both Austin and food, so I was going to trust whatever he told me. And while I had only just met Julie, something told me she also really knew her stuff.

After a 40-minute drive out of Austin, we arrived to a cute, old-fashioned town called Lockhart. It looked like the towns in old western movies and I was instantly charmed. We pulled up to Smitty's and I could hardly contain my excitement. What kind of BBQ heaven awaited me inside? I truly couldn't wait to find out.

I'm a big fan of Texas, don't get me wrong, but dang, it's HOT! It was up around 100 degrees almost every day I was down there, and for me, that's really just too hot. When we walked in the front door of Smitty's, I was expecting a blast of AC, which is what happens anywhere else you walk into in Texas. But not Smitty's. It went from hot outside to an absolute inferno inside. It was so hot in there I almost couldn't breathe! I then realized the cause of the intense heat: the smoker. All the workers stand around the smoker to sell the meat and I'm telling you, I just about passed out. We ordered pork shoulder, brisket, pork ribs and a hot ring (sausage) with about 6 slices of white bread. I was in hog heaven! Pun intended.We took our food into the dining area which was thankfully a chilly 68 degrees and ordered iced tea and pickles (for Julie & me) and beer and cheese (for Rev.) We took our meat over to a big picnic table, took the usual photos of our food and went to town on the huge pile of pig. It was nothing short of incredible. The ribs were absolutely phenomenal. The smoky flavor permeated every inch of the meat and I couldn't get enough. Trust me, the brisket and pork shoulder were great, but these ribs! Out of control good.Once we finished all the meat, I made the ill-advised decision to go back out into the smoker and order two more ribs. The kind people of Smitty's gave me two very generously-sized ribs and as I carried them back into the air conditioning, I knew I was making a poor decision eating more but how often am I in Lockhart, TX at a BBQ joint like this? I carried on.Speaking of ill-advised... now I'm not usually an ice cream person, but at a mere $1 per cone, I couldn't resist. Julie and I, who are both lactose intolerant, each had an ice cream cone, knowing full well what it would do to us. Oops.We finished our ice cream, got back in the car and drove back to Austin for the rest of the IACP panels. I can't deny it, I was FULL. I sat in the back of the room wanting to be upstairs in my bed. I had eaten way too much. And to add to it, I had dinner plans with Patrick's cousin Brian and his fiancé Tanya later that night. As I said before, oops!

A full 4 hours later, as Brian and Tanya were picking me up for dinner, I was still incredibly full from lunch. I had been hoping I'd get hungry again, but no such luck. We drove 20 minutes from the hotel to a place called County Line BBQ.

(photo courtesy of County Line)

While it is a chain restaurant, I'd heard good things and they apparently had the "best bread ever" according to several reputable sources.

I ordered the Lite Plate with BBQ Chicken and a Beef BBQ Rib, Cole Slaw and a Salad.We also ordered a loaf of the famous bread, which was as good as everyone told me it would be. The loaf had to weigh at least a few pounds, and it was warm and delicious.I stuffed myself to the point of no return, which put me into the food coma I was in when I began writing this post. When they dropped my back off after dinner, I tried to meet some people out at a bar and I literally couldn't do anything but moan and clutch my stomach. I had clearly eaten too much, and it was time to go to bed. I went back to the hotel and called it a night. It was a true food coma, but it was absolutely positively worth it.

Have you ever eaten too much of one kind of food? What kind was it? Did you regret it, or was it worth it? Leave me your comments, I'd love to know I'm not the only one.

Let's Eat!
-The Fabulous Foodie