Mom is being wined and dined by lots of folks, and I’ve been deliciously tagging along.
Yesterday, we had a fun lunch with Will Chen and Ashely Jacobs from Wise Bread at Mike Shannons. An appetizer of sweet potato fries with carmelized jalapenos with a smoked ketchup dip. Then a jerk chicken burger with Banana Date Jam, Kingston Slaw on a challah bun. And something called Bong Sauce. Still don’t know what it is, but I didn’t get munchies afterwards so I doubt it’s what it sounds like.
Then finished up with the deep dish upside down apple pie: cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, brown sugar & walnut crust served warm. Num!
We had dinner later at the same place. It was a much larger affair, hosted by Ally Bank, and set in something called the Hall of Fame room. The spread was pretty amazing. The chicken was very good — not listed on the website, so I couldn’t tell you what was in it. The people who ordered the filet kept making whimpering noises, making me a little jealous that I don’t eat red meat. There was a “potato puree” — mashed potatoes — that included olive oil and sea salt.
I got to chat with Liz Weston at both meals, which made the meals even more fun.
Thursday, we met a lady from Sallie Mae for dinner. She went to Yelp and found an amazing local place called The Bridge Taphouse. The general atmosphere was wonderful. There were so many things that we just split several. There was the pumpkin hummus, the popcorn with paprika and sea salt, a cheese board, and the day’s flatbread — a parsley pesto mixed with ricotta, tomatoes, vegan sausage, and fresh basil.
The restaurant also had several fascinating pickled items. Mom suggested to the waitress that they add pickled rhubarb. The chef came out to talk to us about that, which led to a 10-minute conversation about food. She brought out some pickled watermelon rind for us, which tasted like dessert. A very sharp dessert but delicious.
But I still got dessert because there was something called Tipsy Granny: slices of granny smith soaked in pomegranate vodka with caramel dipping sauce and walnuts. I thought it’d be a light pomegranate flavor infusion. It was more like a much higher-end jungle juice. The lady from Sallie Mae took a bite of one and said she felt like she’d taken a shot. I’m glad I tried it, but I could only manage about four of them. And that’s because I was splicing those with bites from her fudge brownie (with cinnamon ice cream).
I may come back a couple of pounds heavier — especially since Mom and I have stocked with the room with snacks. The nearby market sells two-packs of Entemann’s donuts. The only reason I can avoid eating those normally is the knowledge that I’d end up eating the whole box far too quickly. So the two-pack may spell disaster for my waistline.
So, yeah, no dinners in bank vaults this year; but a wonderful trip for my taste buds.
Oh, and I’ve been to some FinCon sessions too.
moneystepper says
Wow – that is quite a week of dining!! I've had a similar week of eating in Shanghai and I'm badly craving a salad!! 🙂
Abigail says
There are salads aplenty here. Enjoy the cuisine there while you can! Luckily, here there are plenty of field greens salad.
Catseye says
Oh, wow! Better you than me, Abby! ;o)
Agatha Silverdragon says
Oh, boy . . . I think I gained three pounds just reading this post. So glad you and your mom had fun. Been following both your blogs almost since their inception, I think. 🙂
Abigail says
Yeah, I gotta watch it because I need to fit into my jeans for the plane! And thanks for being such a long-time fan. I’m constantly thankful that so many of my readers are faithful about checking out posts and leaving a comment. You guys rock.
Nikki says
It was a joy to dine with you and your mom. For me, it was a delightful start to #FinCon13.
Abigail says
For us, too!
Kat says
That dessert sounds like a summer "treat" I've encountered at more than a few picnics. They take a round wedge out of a watermelon and keep pouring vodka into the hollow for several days. Then they slice the watermelon and serve. Fruit can soak up way more alcohol than most people realize, so it's a "tread carefully" deal whenever you see liquor infused fruit- and for those of us who can't get near alcohol, well let's just say one incident was enough to make me start asking about the fruit plate at parties now (hepatic porphyria + alcohol= hospital visit). The other time you'll generally see it is in chocolate dipped strawberries- a few mLs of kirschwasser (clear cherry liquor, suitable for lighter fluid in a pinch) tends to bring out the red fruit note, and make strawberries taste sweeter.
Ashley says
So glad we got to have lunch together Abby! And that the bong sauce wasn't what it sounded like it should be. 🙂
Abigail says
Indeed. Though my mom says that perhaps it WAS and I just don’t remember.