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Of course all was great, but for me the highlight was an endless stream of Uni handrolls, made by Nobu. Last year we went through this ritual where he wouldn't serve any Uni until Wolf had had his fill. This year I asked for Uni and Nobu said "Not until he says so" and pointed to his right, where Puck suddenly appeared. Puck said "go" and the procession began. Heaven.
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Veggietales
Sep 19, 2006 02:29 AM
I'm ashamed to admit that I only ate at 5 out of 40 booths. The lines were ridiculous and I kept running into old colleagues who would stop me in my tracks, it was a bit annoying.
spicy crab hand roll (made by Nobu himself), salumi, shrimp w/ corn, lamb loin, mini crab roll, fried clams, and a white chocolate ravioli, fresh mozz from mozza booth.
Oh, folks I was not completely wine buzzed to forget to ask Nancy when the place opens and she said Oct. 16th.
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re: kotter
Morton the Mousse
Sep 24, 2006 06:07 PM
Batali didn't serve hot food in '05 or '04. His stand was limited to salami, lardo and bread both years.
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re: kevin
CynD
Sep 19, 2006 12:48 AM
Prudhomme was there, and his jambalaya and gumbo were good. He also served some kind of orzo dish that was not. Batali was there; the line to taste his salumi was so long that I didn't wait. There was too much other good stuff to be had. IMHO, Valentino's was not impressive. Michael Mina (Maine lobster on sweet corn stuffed crepe), Mark Miller (quail in a blackberry sauce), Alan Wong (incredibly tasty short ribs & pineapple), and Sam Choy (steak w/a creamy porcini-tasting small pasta side dish) were the chefs whose offerings stand out in my memory. Too numerous to remember and write about. A truly stellar event.
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wow what a fun event this year, my favorite of the whole event was definitely valentino, the food was amazing and they gave away so much, many dishes as opposed to others that offered one or two...especially great at valentino was the pizza, the rissoto, the beef roll with couscous, i also loved mozza which had a little oat biscuit with cheese pecans and tomatoes as well as a great fried vegetable filled with ricotta and mmm the fresh chees with pesto and sea salt. i also especially loved campanili's shrimp with corn and green goddess dressing. everything i tasted was superb, they had great wines, food, and ambiance, i will be back again next year!
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Veggietales
Sep 17, 2006 01:50 AM
Since i'm waiting for my ride to come get me to go to the Festival, I thought I would share that I did not eat all day, just water, and I'm about to keel over. I'm so excited to stuff chow-hole.
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re: young_chower
Morton the Mousse
Sep 16, 2006 05:06 PM
Not sure about this year, but last year ticks were between $175 and $200. For unlimited food and drink it's not a bad price. They may have raised price b/c they were actually losing money for a while.
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Morton the Mousse
Sep 16, 2006 04:35 PM
This is going to sound terrible, but the technique I always use is take two bites and then toss it. Only eat all of something if it is really, really excellent. Avoid fillers like starch - eat the sashimi off the top of the rice, the salami off the top of your crostini and the kobe inside of your sandwich. There's just way too much food to eat an entire portion of everything. No reason to fill up on anything but the best. After you've surveyed the offerings, you can always return to your favorite table again and again, they wont mind. And hit the really popular spots - Nobu, Mario, Wolfgang, Lydia (her portions are HUGE, it's a full on dinner) early in the evening cuz those lines are going to get LONG (especially Lydia's). Don't rush yourself - there's plenty of food, you have all evening and your body will function better if you pace things (I always bring a couple of Js to help the digestion). It's easy to get overeager and rush the first hour but that's a sure way to make yourself sick.
Don't forget to return to the tables at dessert time when the menu changes (I have particularly fond memories of K Paul's prailines). There's a special dessert section that only opens at the end of the evening - it's tucked away and easy to miss so keep your eyes open. Inside that space, Camparis chocolates usually has a tiny stand with some of the best desserts of the event. And remember to drink lots and lots of water. Look for the Panna/Pelegrino stands.
I wont be able to make it out there this year so I hope y'all have a fantastic time.›2 Replies-
re: Morton the Mousse
Veggietales
Sep 16, 2006 07:35 PM
Great advice, good plan of attack.
The tickets this year were $275 pre and $300 at the door, which didn't matter this year.
If you wanted to buy a table, it started at $3000, don't know how many people minimum it sat at that price, but I know that's the starting price.
My company has a table, there will be about 30 of us, but we don't really "sit."
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A group of the SCARFer's are going and we plan to use the ConAgra area as a "staging area," to the extent that we aren't in line 100% of the time. Impossible to confirm with the event organizers where the ConAgra place will be or whether they'll even have one at all. Nobu's spicy tuna rolls are quite good, but unadvertised are the uni hand rolls. Ask for them (but only after I'm full). Last year Nobu said that there might be some uni rolls but only after he had served "this guy" - pointing at Wolf. It pays to be persistent. Get the map at the entrance and plot out your journey, hit the most popular places ASAP otherwise you'll spend forever in line for Puck's places, Valentino, Batali and the other heavy hitters. Hope to see you there.
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scurvy
Sep 16, 2006 03:08 AM
I go every year - actually work for the event in exchange for admission.
The thing is fantastic and is bordering on debauchery. You will get full, so don't eat all of anything unless it is fantastic. I really recommend getting there right at 6 since it gets crowded.
Wolfgang Puck always pulls out some great stuff for his restaurant stations. His Kobe cheesesteak sandwich was my favorite last year.
Batali's Salumi is also amazing. Nobu's sushi station is a great way to break up all of the heavy dishes.
I have found the Mesa Grill and Hitching Post food to be comparatively weak.
There are quite a few new chefs participating this year and I am excited to try their fare - especially Prudhomme, Charles Phan and Michael Mina
Lots of the best wines run out by the end of the evening, so scope out the stuff you want to try early.
Hope that helps.
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Veggietales
Sep 16, 2006 01:18 AM
Yes. I'm scared I won't be able to eat and drink everything, but i'm sure i'll manage. Gluttony is all that i keep thinking.
Just curious, what "thoughts" were you seeking?
I think it's a great event for a great cause.
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re: kotter
Veggietales
Sep 16, 2006 05:07 AM
I'm a hounder who never writes anything off until I taste it myself even someone posts "this or that" is poison, so I don't give advice to avoid something; do it all.
I'm taking a cab too! But I live on Cahuenga, the fare will be like $4, which means more wine for me!
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