I have much to be thankful for.
I, of course, am thankful for my family, my health, and the positive changes that have occurred in my life in the past year.
Most especially, I am thankful that through this blog, in addition to providing information for my students (and anyone else who is interested), that I have made some great friends with common interests.
When Food Collage asked me if I was going to Bakery's Cookin', after she heard about it from Suburghia Foodie and had decided to attend, I was enthralled. I had read about the event just a day earlier via someone's Twitter post, and I thought, "Nah, nobody would want to go to that," forgetting that now I had friends who wanted to do those kinds of things. Duh.
Of course, I talked James into going, too.
Tickets for the event were only $10 if purchased ahead of time through ShowClix, an online ticketing service, which I had used before for Savor Pittsburgh. It is so convenient to purchase the tickets ahead of time - however, I will warn you that there is a $3 "service fee", so really I only saved $1 on two tickets.
Whatever. $10 was a STEAL.
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| Bakery Square |
We arrived at Bakery Square and met up with Food Collage in front of the venue - an empty storefront, which, until it has a permanent tenant, will be used for special events. In fact, "I Made It! Market for the Holidays", another event that I've been itching to attend, will be held there on December 2nd and 3rd.
It was exactly 5:00 PM, and the organizers still seemed to be scrambling to get things set up, something that irks me - if you plan an event, you need to be ready ON TIME. Either way, we walked in and were the first to check in, get stamped, and receive our books with all of the recipes for the food we would be sampling that evening.
We wandered around a bit and took advantage of the fruit and cheese trays that were scattered about while the other tables finished getting everything set up.
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| One of the many fruit and cheese trays - quality cheeses, too! |
We made it over to the sampling table for the restaurants that were showing off their famous recipes that evening. There were samples from Sugar Cafe (in Dormont, where I stopped on my food tour and LOVED the cosmopolitan cupcake), Dozen (about which I wrote when I went to Lawrenceville with my mom), Braddock's American Brasserie, E2, Bella Christie, and Sola Gratia (a private chef service, not a restaurant).
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| Gingersnap Bread Pudding, Sugar Cafe |
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| Fingerling Potato Salad, Sola Gratia |
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| S'more-Tini, Bella Christie |
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| I believe these were from Bella Christie, but I don't have the info - they were rich and delicious, though! |
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| Foreground: Maple Turkey Wrap & Sweet Potato Mousse Parfait, Braddock's American Brasserie |
Out of everything that I tried (WAY more than $10 worth!), my favorite was the Greens, Butternut Squash, and Faro Salad from E2 (sorry, no picture, I ate it too quickly!), with the Maple Turkey and Stuffing Wraps from Braddock's and the Gingersnap Bread Pudding from Sugar Cafe coming in a very close second and third. The only thing that did not impress me, unfortunately, were the Chocolate Pear Tarts from Dozen - I think I'll stick with their cupcakes.
Each chef did a demonstration of their dish, using appliances from Perla's Appliances PLUS, where I happened to buy my cooktop a few years ago and use constantly to make my own delicious creations - not to sound like a cheesy ad, but my experience there was great, and I have had no issues with my cooktop since I purchased it!
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| Kelly James from Sugar Cafe demonstrates |
To make the night even more enjoyable, the entertainment was the Gene Stovall Music Group. I have no idea who he is, specifically (Gene Stovall, perhaps?), but I swear he is the most talented singer in Pittsburgh. He can sing any song, in any style, and make it sound like a musical masterpiece - I could have listened to him sing all night, and I hope that I see him at future events!
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| Most Talented Man in Pittsburgh (IMHO) |
It was a fun foodie night with friends, new and old (not super old, but older). Thanks to James and especially Food Collage for wanting to attend and putting it out there that she was attending. In addition, it was good to see Rachel from Yelp again, and it was so nice meeting my Twitter friends Suburghia Foodie, her husband, Patrick, and Eventsgeek in person for the first time.
Here's to hoping to see everyone (and more) at future events, foodie-themed or not.
Bakery's Cookin' benefitted the Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh.
I wanted to go, but sadly, couldn't. Those smore tini things look really good!
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