Badin vs. Fredericktown
Miamisburg graduation 2012
Valley View vs. Greenville
Home > Blogs > Taste: Dayton food and restaurants > Archives > 2009 > June > 29
Monday, June 29, 2009
Restaurants plan culinary fireworks for July 4 weekend
July 4 falls on a Saturday this year, and restaurants are taking different tacks to celebrate Independence Day.
I’ve heard from two Dayton-area fine-dining establishments that are planning special, and more relaxed, menus and events: Savona in Centerville will be open starting at noon on July 4 and will be serving Margaritas, Sangria and Beer, Keith Taylor, Savona’s chef-owner, said in an email. . “Outside I will be grilling out Steak and Mahi Tacos, and Italian Sausage. We will be serving pepperoni and cheese Pizza inside.”
L’Auberge in Kettering also will be open on the holiday, and is, in fact, promising “fireworks on the grill,” according to the restaurant’s general manager, Brian DeMarke. Chef Romy Jung will step out of the restaurant’s kitchen and man the grills. Entree choices include the L’Auberge Prime Burger, Salmon Burgers, shrimp or chicken kabobs, and Grilled Flat Iron Steak.
And for those of you in the southern climes, or willing to drive a bit, all of the Montgomery Inn restaurants are offering an all-the-ribs-you-can-eat-for-$19.95 special on July 3, 4 and 5 at all of its restaurants, according to Rick Knapp, general manager of the “original” Montgomery Inn location. Last year, customers polished off a staggering 10 tons of ribs during the full weekend promotion. Knapp said the restaurants are “even going to be open for lunch on Saturday to allow more people the opportunity to take advantage” of the deal, which is for in-house dining only and … no sharing.
One restaurant that I know is taking the holiday off: Rue Dumaine.
If you know of a restaurant (or if you’re a restaurant owner/manager) that is having July 4 specials, please share the news with our readers by posting a comment on this entry.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Restaurant specials
TweetChef from The Caroline wins first-ever MVRA Chef Quest Challenge
They had no idea what ingredients they’d be working with, they had only five minutes to organize those mystery ingredients, a scant 45 minutes to cook everything and arrange the main dish and sides on a plate, and oh yeah, they were working in a strange kitchen with brand new appliances they’d never before encountered.
Yet all three of the finalists in the Miami Valley Restaurant Association’s “Chef Quest Challenge” — held Saturday, June 27 at the Home Builders Association of Dayton’s Questival event at the Soraya Farms community — came up with creative, attractive and delicious dishes under the intense “Iron Chef”-like conditions.
After several minutes of closed-door deliberations by five judges (I was one of them), the winner was announced: Damian Bumgarner, chef for The Caroline in Troy, captured the first-ever Chef Quest championship for his Sauteed Tilapia Almondine: Oat-Encrusted Tilapia over Lentils with Plantain and Kale Salad.”
If you haven’t seen that dish on any restaurant menus lately, hey, we said the ingredients list was a challenge. And the chefs had to use some of each ingredient listed, which for the finals included tilapia, eggs, lentils, raisins, kale, plantains, Vidalia onions, rolled oats, almonds, orange juice, red peppers and lemons.
Second place honors went to l’Auberge’s executive chef Romy Jung, and Jay’s Restaurant executive chef Justin White captured third. The three finalists were the top three finishers in an “elimination round” held the previous week at the Questival.
Both weeks, members of the judging panel tasted the final dishes “blind” — we didn’t know the dish’s preparer. I was joined on the tasting panel by Graham Bailey and Barb Acker of Vectren, Lance Oakes from Design Homes and Development and Marty Coates, president of the Home Builders Association of Dayton. We thought about declaring a three-way tie so we could be served another free feast again a week later, but eventually came to consensus on the winner, in part because we liked his preparation of the fish best.
Bumgarner was humble in victory — no excessive celebration dance in the end zone or anything — and said he tries to focus his cooking on dishes that he would enjoy eating.
Can’t beat that approach — at least, not this year. But next year, the challengers will be sharpening their knives.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Local restaurant news
Tweet
