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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2007 > May > 20 > Entry
Rating the sun-baked Fleurs de Fete
So, what did you think, overall?
Did you find any wines that you liked?
What was your favorite food (see below)?
You first.
For a roundup of the food that was served at the Fleurs, click on “Continue reading” …
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
The food was once again a high point at the Fleurs de Fete. Obviously, many restaurant owners view the festival, rightfully so, as a chance to impress prospective patrons. And they came from as far away as Sidney to do it. And remember: these restaurants donate all of the food and the labor to make this happen. For some, Sundays are their only days off. Not Fleurs Sunday. They worked. They deserve our gratitude.
My top research associate — with whom I share a bed and a last name — visited a strong majority of the food booths at the Fleurs de Fete as part of the exhaustive work of being married to, well, me. Here’s which restaurants were there, and what they were serving (and if I left anybody out or got anything wrong, please post a comment to correct me!):
TomKatz: These folks put out quite a spread — a small meal unto itself, while it lasted. Baby octupus salad, a chorizo sausage wrapped in wonton, lobster empenada with lime aioli, gazpacho, a smoked mussel — all new dishes just for the Fleurs.
Toone P. Wiggins: Mini crabcakes with mustard aioli
Carver’s: Sliced beef tenderloin with a creamy sauce flavored with goat cheese and bacon
Peerless Mill: Portobello-stuffed ravioli with crab alfredo sauce
Jerardi’s Little Store: Homemade Italian Sausage with orzo
Pacchia: Smoked salmon cream puff, chocolate hazelnut torte
Sips Cafe and Bar: pulled pork with barbecue sauce, and dessert samples that included german chocolate, carrot cake and brownies.
Mamma DiSalvo’s: Baked Ziti
Wellington Grille: Tropical Seafood Ceviche, Almond honey chocolate fondue
Sharkey’s: Chicken Cilantro Wrap
Oasis Cafe: Chicken salad, broccoli salad, potato salad
Villa di Giovanni: Bowtie pasta with sausage and mushrooms; penne pasta with ham, peas and mushrooms
Bahn Mai Thai: Panang curry shrimp, mango salad
Thai 9: Shitake mushroom tempura and calamari tempura
Oakwood Club: Grilled salmon, mussels
Dublin Pub: Beef Stew
Benham’s: Bruschetta Bar including Mushroom Tapenade, Tomato Caper Bruschetta, Hot Artichoke Dip, Chicken, Spinach, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, and Toasted Baguette Slices
Dewey’s Pizza: Greek-style pizza with black olives and Feta
Nothing but Noodles: Greek Salad
Encore Bistro and Bar: Chicken and andouille sausage
Caffe Anticoli: Creamy Garlic House Salad
Dorothy Lane Market: Killer Brownies and crusty bread
Looking for a little help for the following:
5th Street Deli
Central Perc
Chef’s Touch Catering
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Comments
By John
May 22, 2007 8:23 AM | Link to this
Part of the problem at the event is that folks seem to automatically turn to the right when then enter and then get trapped in lines as folks step from one tasting table to the next. I turned left and went to the tables that didn’t seem busy. Some tweaking with the tasting tables might resolve the problems.
By overthetop
May 21, 2007 2:34 PM | Link to this
1)FOOD better , very good 2)WINE better esp 2005 germans “easy when have good vintages” and the “New Age” was a hit esp with newbie wine drinkers 3)SPACE - victim of success defnitely need to rethink the space. 4)OVERALL - excellent charity event with great food and wine , and people
By Louise
May 21, 2007 12:05 PM | Link to this
Benham’s served a Bruschetta Bar including Mushroom Tapenade, Tomato Caper Bruschetta, Hot Artichoke Dip, Chicken, Spinach, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, and Toasted Baguette Slices
By Greg
May 21, 2007 10:51 AM | Link to this
Great day, great event. I thought the food was outstanding, the wines were good for this type of affair. Some were really good. I liked the ‘05 German whites. The crowd was large, the tent a little stuffy at times. But think of all the good the money does for the Wellness Connection. (or whomever gets it - Mark, do you get a cut of this? Just kidding). All and all I will continue to go and enjoy this outing. (which this year just happened to fall on my 29th wedding anniversary - made it extra special)
By Bruce
May 21, 2007 10:00 AM | Link to this
The food and wine were great, but the large crowd was horrible, especially for the first hour. It was a claustrophobic atmosphere, and I was uncomfortable being bumped into pushed around. There was very little fresh air in the midst of the huge tent. It was stuffy and even oppressive in certain areas. After recovering from the initial swarm of people, I was frustrated by the difficulty in locating the food and wines that I wanted to try. Finding a particular wine or winery was like looking for a needle in a haystack. I finally took the shotgun approach and occasionally found a table where they were pouring what I wanted to try. It would have been helpful to have better signs or to have a map of the layout showing the locations of the wines and food vendors. Fortunately, the weather was pleasant. Relaxing outside the tent with friends at one of the tables was nice. As the crowd inside the tent thinned out at around 3:00 or so, I was able to move about freely. Much good food and wine remained to enjoy, although most of the high end wines were long gone. The Fleurs de Fete is a wonderful event, but it has become so large that it is not as enjoyable as the days when the event was smaller and held at Lincoln Park. Perhaps the organizers might want to consider a second tent and an improved system of letting people into the tent to avoid the stampede like atmosphere during the first hour or so of the event. If it had rained yesterday, everyone would have been confined to the tent, and the experience would have been extremely unpleasant.
By Jim T.
May 21, 2007 6:05 AM | Link to this
I’ve missed only 3 of the Fleurs since they started and I thought the food choices were the best I’d seen. Favorites were the Oakwood Club salmon and almost the entire list from Tom Katz. My five favorite red wines in no particular order were the Clos Du Val cab, Burgess cab, Foppianono petite sirah, Justin syrah and the Kinkead Ridge cabernet (a pleasant surprise). Favorite whites were the Stags Leap Wine Cellars Karia chardonnay, Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Riesling, Schloss Vollrads Kabinett, Mumm Cuvee M, Gloria Ferrer blanc de Noir. Worst thing I tasted - Dog Tail Fire Hydrant Red, a well named wine.
By Kim
May 20, 2007 8:42 PM | Link to this
Mark, this is my 6th Fleur De Fete. We got there about 1:30 and turned left when entering and there was a traffic jam starting at Wellington Grille that did not move for 15 minutes. We got a couple of bites from the places around there and I said the heck with this, we are going to the other end. At we started to walk towards the other end we found food stands where there were no lines. As we said people thought it was one continuous line. I also thought the food was the best last year. I wasn’t too impressed with the food or wine this year.
By Nancy Bentley
May 20, 2007 7:07 PM | Link to this
This is the first time we poured at the Fleur. I thought the venue, food and music (and weather) were wonderful. The wine selection was impressive, whether you’re into the sweetest Riesling or heavy reds. In particular I congratulate the committee and Lynda Weide on their organization. They seemed cool as cucumbers and I thought everything went off flawlessly. Clearly the guests were having a happy experience. Great value for the admission price.
By Lisa R.
May 20, 2007 5:23 PM | Link to this
Mark This was my first time at the Fleur. I really enjoyed it. I had read that you said there might be long lines, although I didn’t think they were bad at all. I think that the Fleur is an awesome chance to try some great wines and help a local charity.The food was spectacular and worth at the admission price alone. I definitely would attend this event again.