Went to the 3rd annual Seafood and Wine Extravaganza at the Grand Hotel last night. Still a hot, noisy, crowded event, but they got the sound system fixed and the vendors were better than ever! Heres my comments. Bear in mind that Im allergic to bivalves so I have little to say for the vendors who served muscles, clams and oysters. I love them, but they DONT love me. ;) The unqualified hit of the show for me was a dead even tie between Gary Kents Lobster Bruschetta and the Lobster Shacks Lobster Fondue. I mean... LOBSTER - whats NOT to like! The Bruschetta was piled high on a toasted roll. Just incredible! The fondue had large chunks of freshly cooked lobster, on a skewer with toast points. Just dip it in the creamy, cheesy fondue dip and its a trip to heaven... again and again! Sebastien Milot was serving a wonderful medley of haddock bits, mango, cilantro and a bunch of other goodies. The warm fish with the cool fruit was a wonderful combination with a built-in palate cleanser. Yummy! Seb also had served a beautiful Blueberry Pavlova for dessert! Kudos to the Red Shed - A generous portion of Lobster Roll with potato chips on the side! Delish! As well as 2 new dark craft beers, Rudders served a very nice Mac n Cheese with Lobster. Got seconds of that one... or was it thirds! I really wish I could have sampled Ye Olde Argylers steamed mussels, Shanty Cafés rice with clam dish, the MacKinnon-Cann Inns treats, and of course Eel Lake Oyster Farms raw oysters. I said yes, but my tummy... and my memory said a definite NO. The cooking demonstrations by Chef Dale Nichols of the Digby Pines, Tony Ross of the Lobster Shack in Barrington Passage and Master JF of Kizuna Sushi were really great! One of the highlights of the evening was the announcement that Kizuna Sushi of Little Brook is moving to Yarmouth and opening in the former Bread and Olives location. All hail ethnic food! The more the merrier! On the beverage side, I had some delightful craft cider produced by Shipbuilders Cider, as well as a tasty dark, but light-flavoured beer from Rudders plus a zingy new dark from Boxing Rock called Sessionista. Wines sampled were a nice Riesling, just a little too sweet for my taste, supplied by Annapolis Highlands Vineyards and a delightful white called Tidal Bay from Petite Rivière Vineyards. Mary Thompson, my inmate at the Yarmouth Farmers Community Market was there, representing Ironworks Distillery. Their Rhubarb Esprit is an absolute killer! You wouldnt normally think of rhubarb being used for spirits but it REALLY works! Try it half and half with their Strawberry Liqueur and youve got a strawberry-ruhbarb pie without the crust. Incredible! Remembering the Mounties, no doubt lingering outside, I finished off with a canned Mocktail supplied by SuperStore - Presidents Choice Bay Breeze, their take on the classic Pina Colada. Way too sweet for my taste, but refreshing none the less. Now I have to figure out a way to incorporate seafood into my pulled pork so I can vend next year! Other than trying desperately to manage a wine glass and plate in one hand, it was a delightful evening. Kudos to the organizers and all the vendors. A great job, one and all. Looking forward to next year!
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 12:27:25 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015