N.O. Wine & Food Experience (NOWFE)

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Posted by: chef_eats Original: 5/30/2007 11:43 PM Comments: 17 eProps: 34 Read Comments Post a Comment Back to Your Xanga Site

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2 eProps from: CestLaVy QumQuat604 chunkielove sahel578 lilys cathyandjones Think_Mirth sugarbear JoyA41076 baobabie tricia_says BeautifulShit goowokmui Howard_Roark1 MsYuMMieJ Asianhomestyle renegurl

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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Warning: This is the mother of all food entries. Prepare to be infused with food. lol Enjoy!

New Orleans, LA

Have you ever visited a city and wondered, "What's good to eat in this city?" (In this case, New Orleans) Well I've got the solution for you.. The New Orleans Wine and Food Experience!

What is NOWFE? The New Orleans Wine and Food Experience! 160 Wineries and 60 Restaurants pack into 2 ballrooms at the Riverside Hilton in New Orleans. This was the Saturday Grand Tasting which cost $85 a head and entitles you to unlimited wine tasting and unlimited food tasting for 3 hours. Was it worth it? Keep reading..

7 on Fulton "Crab w/ Lemon Curd and Curry Foam" & Andreas' "Pasta Fagioli"

Bacco "Lobster Ravioli" & Besh's Steakhouse "BBQ Shrimp"

Bombay Club "Veal Stilton Pansotti" & Brennan's "Bananas Foster"

Broussard's "Shrimp n Sweet Potato Bisque" & Cafe Adelaide "Jubilee of Blue Crab"

Delgado Culinary "Sweets" & Flaming Torch "Assorted Pates"

Galatoire's "Escargot w/ Garlic Herbsaint" & J'anita's "BBQ Pulled Pork"

La Cote Brasserie "Tuna Poke w/ Grilled Pineapple" & Martin's "Crawfish Roasted Corn Crepe"

Morton's "Filet Mignon and Mustard Mayo" & Muriel's "Crawfish Crepes w/ Goat Cheese Filling"

Peristyle "Pinot noir Poached Pear and Rabbit" & Ralph's on the Park "Shrimp Remoulade"

Red Maple Crab Cake? & Bourbon House "Prime Rib"

Riche's Desserts Blue Berry w/ White Chocolate and Something else (both really good!)

Sapor "Strawberry Tart w/ Balsamic" & Stella "Veal Kabayaki Wonton"

Tony Morgan's "Grilled Tenderloin" & Windsor Court "Jerk Lamb Chop"

Zoe "Virginia Ham w/ Cornbread Stuffing" & Drago's "Crawfish Pasta"

Wolfe's in the Warehouse "Lamb dish" & Broussard's "Champagne Oyster Shooter"

Court of Two Sisters "Crawfish Louise" & Calas Bistro "Pesto Shrimp Bisque"

For the most part I'll tell you that not everything was great, but at the same time, A LOT of it was fantastic! And I apologize for the lack of wine talk in this entry. I'm not going to pretend to be a wine guru. I enjoy it very much, but you're better off talking to a sommelier or someone like that.. I'm a chef and I'm almost always there for the food and if I happen to drink very nice wines along the way, so be it! =)

Chef Eat's NOWFE Food Awards:

Best Plate Up: Stella's "Veal Kabayaki Wonton"
Notes: Chef Boswell's crew does it again, and it does taste as good as it looks!

Worst Tasting: Besh's Steakhouse "BBQ Shrimp"
Notes: Oversalted.. otherwise, would have been decent

The Ugly (worst presentation): Court of Two Sisters "Crawfish Louise"
Notes: Didn't taste bad, just didn't look too appetizing

Best Dessert: Riche's "Blue Berry w/ White Chocolate"
Notes: These sweet little treats left us disappointed when we came back for more and none were left..

Best in Surf: 7 on Fulton "Crab w/ Lemon Curd and Curry Foam"
Notes: Beautifully done!! I loved the combination of Crab, Lemon curd, and Curry foam!

Best in Turf: J'anita's "BBQ Pulled Pork w/ Potato Salad"
Notes: Great change up to all of those fancy steaks and prime ribs. Great sauce too!

Best in Taste: Bombay Club "Veal Stilton Pansotti w/ Mushroom & Walnut Cream"
Notes: Very succulent but not to the point where it was too rich.. Smooth and Rich! =)

Basically you stand in line, you wait to get in.. Once in, you'll recieve a tray with a spot for the different dishes and a holder for the wine glass. And then you're off to the races, eat and drink anything you want.. as many times as you want. I am very happy with my first visit to NOWFE! I do recommend it to anyone who wants a taste of the city's best restaurants all in one place. As you can see, this "Grand Tasting" lived up it's name.. we had 32+ dishes and countless wines under our belt, I slept really well that night. lol

Overall Rating:

(out of 7

)

www.nowfe.com

Future Entries:
Mcdonald's Cheese Burger vs. Dorito's X-13D
A Kitchen Post-Hurricane Katrina

My new Blogring:
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Feel free to join! =)

Posted 5/30/2007 11:43 PM - 17 comments

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17 Comments

You KNOW that if I was still in NOLA, I would be at this event with ya too! Sounds great and amazing. I went to a smaller similiar event in Houston. It was really fun!

Posted 5/31/2007 12:52 AM by CestLaVy - reply

First off, i cannot believe that you took pics of everything. If that were me, i would have been inhaling those little morsels up like a hoover rather than taking pics. hehehhe.

Second, i don't think i'll ever understand the world's fascination with foam.

Third, i went to a food convention over the weekend too but yours was far superior cause you got to eat some swank stuff! To be fair though, mine was super fun and cheap at $14 admission. Maybe spring/summer is the time when people want to go and stuff themselves with food?

Posted 5/31/2007 12:55 AM by QumQuat604 - reply

Oh. My. God. Hell yes it's worth it for $85. I'd fly there just to do it. *Drool* Thank god I'm stuffed from dinner.

Thank you for sharing

I agree with QumQuat604 about foam - it looks like spit bubbles. Yuck.

Posted 5/31/2007 1:49 AM by chunkielove

- reply

omg! what an INCREDIBLE deal!

and yah for Stella!

Posted 5/31/2007 6:25 AM by sahel578

- reply

your entries always leave me wanting more!

Posted 5/31/2007 8:08 AM by lilys - reply

nice! what restaurant do you cook at?

Posted 5/31/2007 8:25 AM by cathyandjones - reply

those are so beautiful... well most of them haha...
i wonder if there's an event like this in philly o_O

Posted 5/31/2007 10:19 AM by Think_Mirth - reply

my eyes glazed over staring at your pictures. thanks for your review. delicious.

Posted 5/31/2007 12:02 PM by sugarbear - reply

I just came awfully close to grabbing my computer monitor and licking the screen. My husband and I are talking about planning a trip to NO soon. I put the idea in his head after reading your site! I can't wait to try the food you've been posting!

Posted 5/31/2007 2:23 PM by JoyA41076

- reply

WAHHH omg i am so envious!!! 3 hours of straight eating and wine sigh* heheh i especially would love to try that crab with the foam--i can picture it! and the ribs omg...sigh nothing beats tender fall off the bone rich ribs slathered with good bbq sauce for comfort food*

and ryc: Indeed, i am making a great sacrifice to offer my services to be a food anthropologist. Not many would do such a difficult and strenuous job and thus I must step forward! hhehhe

Posted 5/31/2007 2:51 PM by baobabie - reply

oooh you make me wanna visit the NO so badly... love your site!

Posted 5/31/2007 2:53 PM by tricia_says

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aw man! i wanted to go sooo badly...and your post makes me regret it more! booooo..hehehe

Posted 5/31/2007 6:11 PM by BeautifulShit - reply

Oooh! The desserts look really good. Actually, everything looks good. :) I'm going to go to my first ever food and wine tasting event next weekend here in CA. I'm excited! But I absolutely know nothing about wine... I haven't even developed a taste for it yet. So I'll just be enjoying the great food and atmosphere!

Posted 5/31/2007 9:30 PM by goowokmui - reply

Oh! Mama mia! I just about fainted.

Lemon curd with curry foam? Dang..sounds so interesting. Also that blueberry with white chocolate looks like miniature cheeses. And lastly... veal eh? I've never tried veal yet.

so yummy.

Posted 6/1/2007 7:34 AM by Howard_Roark1 - reply