North Market Apron Gala - May 17th (and More Market Mayhem)

The 12th Annual North Market Apron Gala

Saturday, May 17th

Doors open and aprons on at - 7 PM

North Market

59 Spruce Street

Short North

Who: Me plus anyone one else that likes to eat and/or loves the North Market

What: Three course of appetizers, tastes and samples of entrees, desserts, beer from Columbus Brewing Company, Ohio wines, multiple North Market vendors, a silent auction, fortune tellers, raffles, prizes, and a contest to see who has the coolest apron.

When: See Above

Where: North Market – the mecca of foodie goodness

Why: To support the North Market, proceeds go to support our North Market

How: Through the hard work of North Market vendors, staff, local restaurants, and the Friends of North Market

Tickets - $75 (worth every penny); $65 for registered Friends of the North Market

If you have never been to the North Market or have never been to a North Market event, this is the night to go. If anyone wants to meet up and talk food with me send me an e-mail, I will be there all evening.

If you need more encouragement to go, see my photos from the North Market Cinco D’ Ohio Festival below. The photos are a taste of the culinary wonders you can expect at events like this. I was one of the judges for the salsa contest. Nine people pitted their salsas up against the palettes of four lucky judges.

Then, I was also a judge for an array of tacos from for a fiery and heated competition with local professional chefs. Five Top chefs mixed their skill, creativity, and some North Market ingredients for a United Nations of flavors in the Taco Taste Off. The winner – in a tummy pleasing close call contest was Steve Lawrence from Cajohn’s Caboom Chili Company with his Asian Taco (in a soft, yet crunchy Wonton shell). Alana Shook (Alana’s) and John Dornbeck (Basi) were neck and neck in my book for a heartbreaking second place with my palette.

North Market is fun, fun, fun and the people are great so come support our market the night of May 17th.

Finally….If the Apron Gala does not work out for you or the other events seem too large scale, consider a more intimate experience with some of the best chef’s and cooks in Columbus:

To sign up drop by the North Market office or call to register at 614-463-9664.

Shop with the Chef Series, Saturdays, 10AM-1PM

Limit 20 people, cost $45 per person; $225 series

Saturday, June 7 - John Dornback, Basi Italia

Saturday, June 21 - Paul Yow, Barcelona

Saturday, July 5 - David Tetzloff, G. Michael’s Bistro

Saturday, July 19 - Matt Langstaff, Bexley’s Monk

Saturday, August 2 - Alana Shock, Alana’s Food + Wine

Saturday, August 16 - Robin Davis, The Columbus Dispatch

Summer Evening Chef Series, Wednesdays 6:30-8:30PM

Limit 26 people, cost $60 per person; $300 series

Wednesday, June 4 - John Skaggs, Chef at Large

Wednesday, June 18 - Jason Shelley, Mitchell’s Ocean Club

Wednesday, July 2 - Paul Yow, Barcelona

Wednesday, July 16 - Chef Rocco, Pastaria

Wednesday, August 6 - Matt Prokopchak, Trattoria Roma

Wednesday, August 20 - Matt Langstaff, Bexley’s Monk

Fall Evening Chef Series, Wednesdays 6:30-8:30PM

Limit 26 people, cost $60 per person; $300 series

Wednesday, September 3 - Henry Butcher Sr., Creole Kitchen

Wednesday, September 17 - Kevin Jones, The Columbus Fish Market

Wednesday, October 1 - Paul Yow, Barcelona

Wednesday, October 15 - David Tetzloff, G. Michael’s Bistro

Wednesday, November 5 - Matt Prokopchak, Trattoria Roma

Wednesday, November 19 - Matt Langstaff, Bexley’s Monk

Three great evenings of food, fun, wine and good causes

Three events are coming up that allow you to support good causes while sampling wonderful wine and fine food.

Taste of the Independents
Thursday, May 1
Smith Bros. Hardware Building
580 N. 4th. St.
6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

http://www.dineoriginalscolumbus.com

Features thirty plus local independent restaurants (including Basi, Refectory, CBC…)

In additional to food, the evening includes micro brewed beers, wines from small vineyards and a special Mango Maytini. There will also be a 3 piece band from the Columbus Jazz Arts Group for background music.

Member Restaurants are listed below:
http://www.dineoriginalscolumbus.com/database/restaurants.php

Proceeds go to the Buckeye Ranch

The Grape Event
Friday, May 2nd
COSI
Benefits the ALS Association of Central and Southern Ohio

www.alsohio.org

An evening of fine wines with hors d’oeuvres. The Grape Event also hosts a live and silent auction featuring wines, sports memorabilia, electronics, and other gift packages. Each year local artist Robert Patricy creates a special wine themed painting as the logo for the event. The original canvas oil painting is auctioned off. Prints from prior years are also for sale. Bob is my friend and I have two prints in my house. (This is my disclaimer.)

North Market Apron Gala
Saturday, May 17
7 to 10 PM

http://www.northmarket.com/featured_event.php

The 12th Annual North Market Apron Gala!! Run amuck in the North Market eating, drinking and making merry with your apron on and your mouth open for the goodies galore in store for you. Items come from the North Market merchants. There is also beer from CBC and music from the Eileen Howard Trio. A silent auction for great gift packages is featured as well.

And - another North Market event worth going to…while on the subject.

Cinco D’Ohio
Saturday May 3rd
Not to miss - the salsa, taco, and hot sauce taste offs. Yum.

North Market - good to me and great for Columbus

North Market

59 Spruce Street
Short North
614.463.9664

This is what 12 samples of chili look like….

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I survived the Fiery Foods Festival at the North Market on February 16th. I had the opportunity to be a judge for the Chili Competition. I sampled 12 chilis in the professional category (with offerings from Alana’s, L’Antibes, Basi Italia and others.) One of the offerings had Mako shark in it…..yep, shark. There was a brief moment of terror on my part. As I was taking my first spoonful, the ingredients were being listed off. Shark was not the the first item mentioned. I am allergic to fish - but maybe not shark as it turns out. After a short pause, it was back to work for the amateur competition and another 12 chilis. Other judges included G.A. Benton from Columbus Alive, Miriam Bowers Abbott from the Other Paper, Lisa - the Restaurant Widow and other local notables. I was in great company. Special thanks to Mary Martineau (marketing director) and David Wible (executive director) for having me there and listening to me ramble on about food. Their continued hard work keeps the market vibrant and appealing to Columbus natives and visitors. Sopressata - did a superb summary of the festival and she (Heather) was able to cover the wing eating contest which I missed out on.

The next day I was at the North American Pizza and Ice Cream Show across the street at the Columbus Convention Center. Many of the people in line to pick up passes were asking me about what to do in our fair city. I had a lot to tell them with North Market on top of my list. Several attendees waiting in line overhead my comments and mentioned their own visits to the market the day before and how impressed they were with what we have here in Columbus.

North Market is a treat for those of us that live here - offering a home to Jeni’s Ice Cream, Curds and Whey, and so many other great independent vendors. The market also supports incredible food events - the Ohio Wine Festival, the Saturday Farmers Market, and the Fall Harvest Festival. All of these North Market endevours put Columbus on the culinary map and keeps it there.

At the Fiery Foods Festival, I spoke with some of the volunteers that do so much to support the market by helping with events….I may have to get my ass in gear and pitch in as well.

Anyway, if you have never been to the North Market, now is the time to support this community asset. I usually go early in the morning on a Saturday to scoop up some farmers market specials, then I pop inside to stock up on cheese, free samples and usually a Jeni’s Ice Cream sandwich for later. On Sundays, I like parking for free near Goodale Park, then walking over for lunch which I take upstairs so I can watch the market in action below.

Hills Market Holiday Wine and Cheese Tasting

The Hills Market
7860 Olentangy River Road
Worthington Hills
(S.R. 315, just North of I-270)
614.846.3220

The Hills Market continues to host great food events. I stumbled into the Holiday Wine and Cheese Tasting on November 29th. Hills does a Thursday wine tasting which is 4 pours for $2 from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM. I thought I had shown up for that but it turned out that I landed into something much better. As luck would have it, there was a cancellation and I was able to slide in.

For $30, this is what I sipped and supped on. The pours were generous and the samples were sized to please.

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J. Laurens Cremant de Limoux (French sparkling wine) - may pre date champagne…

paired with - Brie Le Chatelain (French)

Wolfberger Cremant d’ Alsace Rose (French bubbly)

paired with Wenleydale with Cranberries (British - well liked by Wallace and Gromit)

Elizabeth Spencer Sauvignon Blanc 2006, (California)

paired with Mountain Gorgonzala (Spain)

Clean Slate Riesling 2006, (Germany)

paired with Chevre (goat’s milk cheese) (USA)

Juan Gil Monastrell 2006 (Spain)

paired with Spanish Romano

Galil Mountain Shiraz/Cabernet 2003, (Israel) - Kosher Red Wine…really

paired with Boursin with Cracked Peppercorn (France) - Kosher as well

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As if this was not enough, the staff mixed in some tapa like appetizers. The best of the bunch was a halved fresh fig (received that day) stuffed with gorgonzola and wrapped in prosciutto. This was so good, I groveled for a leftover sample. These two figs were worth at least $5 to me.The event started at 6:30 PM and intended to wrap up at 8:30 PM. We were all having so much fun and good conversation that we lingered past 9 PM. As a bonus we each received a 10% coupon for the market.

The event was created by wine coordinator Constance Begue and cheesemonger Kent Rand. Each offered plenty of commentary on the wine and cheese sampled as well as everything their departments had to offer. Hills plans to host events like this once a month. I’ll be back.

I mentioned Stinking Bishop cheese to Kent. This is a cheese other local cheese shops have told me they could not obtain. Kent called me Saturday (two days later) to let me know he would have some for me by Tuesday. As a bonus he gave me a print out with extra information about the stinky cheese I wanted.

I also stumbled on a good source for cheese and other gourmet information while looking for a Stinking Bishop link. The Reluctant Gourmet has all types of good gastronaut information.

The Hills is worth a visit any time as an alternative retail chains. Sign up on their site with your e-mail to receive updates on special events and an occasional excellent coupon.

North Market - Harvest Festival on Oct 6th - be there!!

As if hanging out at the North Market is not fun enough…..

The North Market Harvest Festival is this Saturday. Fall is my favorite season and the North Market will be featuring some of the best tastes of fall - pumpkins, squash and such along with all types of special events.

This is also a great opportunity to show your cooking skills and win a gift certificate from the market in the process.

The baking contest will have three categories -

Pumpkin bread (loaf or muffin)

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

The Gourmand will be one of the judges for this event! I expect to be sleeping off a food coma in Goodale Park shortly after the tasting ceases.

“The first place winner of each competition will receive $50 in North Market gift certificates. All home-baked entries will be available for purchase with proceeds benefiting the nonprofit North Market Development Authority. To register or for more information, please call the North Market at (614) 463-9664. Participation is limited to 12 entries per contest.”

A Trip North - a cheesebarn, Westside Market, “Big Fun” in Coventry and more

I recently headed to the Greater Cleveland area for a social call. The weather was perfect and I had some spare time so some sumptuous culinary detours were incorporated into my journey.

For decades, the sign for Grandpas Cheesebarn on I 71 has taunted me. I never had time to stop to check the place out and I became convinced it was a tourist trap. Or so I told myself. It is at exit 186, near Ashtabula. The cheesebarn is a short 500 feet from the interstate so I figured I could drop in for a peek.

I loved it. Grandpa’s has all types of free samples of cheese as well as fudge, pickles, and other treats. They also serve sandwiches and such. They sell a vast array of trinkets and knicknacks. You should block out at least 30 minutes to look around and you might even want to grab lunch here. Grandpa’s has a wide variety of high quality cheese and other foodstuffs to purchase, so if you need a goumet gift on the fly - this is a good place to go.

Grandpas Cheesebarn

The next stop was Westside Market in downtown Cleveland.

Westside Market

The Westside Market is an old school market with about 100 vendors selling cheese, produce, pierogies, fresh meats, baked goods, ethnic specialities from around the world, and all types of artisan foods. This a must visit for people that are even mildly interested in food.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up having a great Cambodian meal next door (instead of feasting on the goodies inside the market) at:

Phnom Penh

1929 West 25th St

216.357.2951

Wandering across the street, I discovered -

The Bier Market

1948 West 25th St.

216.344.9944

 

This bar serves a huge variety of Belgian and other hard to find beers. In October, a restaurant will open in this building with a chef returning from Michael Symon‘s venture into NYC - expect great food and great beer from here in the near future!

My next stop was in Coventry for a very rushed reunion tour of the culinary, toy, book, and antique treasures located on the main drag in this little burg. The two highlights were Big Fun for cool retro toys and Tommy’s for cool veggie friendly food. Tommy’s has the bonus of having a small book store connecting to it.

Big Fun

1827 Coventry Rd

216.371.4386

For more info on things to do in Coventry, check out -

Coventry via Wiki

And for Cleveland fun, it really does ROCK….still…

Cleveland Resource for Fun - Scene Magazine

Hills Market Beer Tasting - a hoppy good time

Hills Market (Beer tasting and more..)

I have missed every Hills Market special event this summer - wine tastings, crab boils, you name it, so I was determined not to miss the beer tasting last Wednesday.

The Hop Head Beer Tasting was on August 29 from 5.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Beer expert Kristine Eley tended beer bar on the Hills Market Veranda pouring a selection of seven new and mostly hard to find hoppy beers. The price of $10 was well worth it.

These were the beers sampled:

American IPA

• Summit Extra Pale Ale
• Boulder Mojo India Pale Ale
• New Holland Mad Hatter
• Bell’s Two-Hearted

American Pale Ales

• Otter Creek Pale Ale (my favorite for the night)

American Double IPA

• Stone Ruination
• Stoudts Double IPA

Kristine had a lot of interesting information on each brewery and beer. She has traveled extensively around the US learning about beer and the brewing process. All of the fine sampling selections she collected for the tasting can be purchased at the market. The next tasting will be near the end of September.

I also learned that there are some serious, hardcore beer lovers in Columbus. There are some cool beer events in town and many friendly people that will happily share their drinking discoveries. You can get more information from the Beer Advocate website.

A few of my favorite food things……

Blogs, Podcasts, and Websites – Paying Homage to my some of my muses, heroes, and blog peers

I am dying to go to Hawaii. The NPR program The Splendid Table had an entire episode on Hawaiian food (not SPAM). This was one of the finest hours of food radio ever. Here is where you go.

Splendid Table

Look for the February 17 episode: Honolulu and Oahu, Hawaii

Included are: an interview with Alan Wong (well known chef) discussion with farmer Dean Okimoto, a visit the Honolulu Fish Auction, a tour of Chinatown with Joan Namkoong, author of Food Lover’s Guide to Honolulu.

And, the show makes a too brief mention about one of my culinary quests - to have a shaved ice with ice cream and beans at Matsumoto’s Shave Ice on the North Shore (here is the link about this island institution).

And now…. more!

I am passionate about food and I love history - here are my two favorite sources on the history of food.

What’s Cooking America

Linda Stradley compiles the history and legends of many favorite foods here - this is a companion to her book, I’ll Have What They’re Having - Legendary Local Cuisine.

Food Timeline

Lynn Olver, librarian extraordinaire, provides an incredible resource on when various foods appeared in the world.

Local Food Blogs - because I can’t eat everything

These local food blogs are worth your investment of time - read them often and support your local food bloggers.

Columbus Foodie

A Second Breakfast

Restaurant Widow

The Hills Market

Outsourced Interview - not so much ado about chili

Here is an interview of a local Chili Contest Winner - Mr. John Novak. The interviewer is Mr. M.A. Conaway. Both are two stand up guys I had the honor of sharing in some high school and college experiences.

MAC interviews John

And as a side note - a shout out to the Hills Market - local source for Dayton’s Killer Brownies, Findlay’s Dietsch Brothers Chocolates and recently some really impressive cooking classes.

Hills Market

And now the Hills Market has it’s own blog.

Hills Blog

Also - I have traditionally had my own Chili Festival - offering my famous goat chili as one of 6-10 entries. I skipped 2006 - but plan for a report in Fall 2007.

Random Roadtrip Idea - Jungle Jim’s

Jungle Jim’s International Market is the best food store I have ever been to. It is located in Hamilton, OH, just outside of Cincinnati.

It has entire aisles devoted to specific countries, a small movie theater that continuously shows the Jungle Jim’s story, free samples, the best cheese department anywhere, etc. If a food item exists - Jungle Jim’s probably has it. The Asian section has multiple rows. There are exotic fruits and vegetables you have only read about. So if you have a foodie to buy for or just need to mix it up - then is is a good road trip. Do an add on of a visit to the Montgomery Inn, a Cinncinnati Chili parlor, or some other Cincinnati attraction and you have a great day trip. Very much worth the trip from CMH!

Jungle Jim’s Market