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Taste of Columbus Hospitality Group

May 6, 2013 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 1 comment

Starting the week by feeling behind is not ideal, but here’s to hoping for lots of energy to somehow catch up on life. Work is busy; it’s seven days a week with calls at any time of day, including 9:00 p.m. on Saturdays. It’s hard to find time to take a mental breather! A silent meditation retreat is sounding pretty good right about now. . .

Blog events have been a nice way to reconnect with friends and network with new people while enjoying great food, and the Taste of Columbus Hospitality Group a couple of weeks ago was definitely one of these evenings. A week out from the marathon bombings, things still felt somber, and a gray, drizzly night added to that mood. Luckily, the Columbus Hospitality Group pulled together some great dishes to warm our hearts and stomachs! The group consists of the following restaurants and hotels.

Mistral
Teatro
Sorellina
Mooo…
L’Andana
XV Beacon Hotel
The Inn @ St Botolph

Upon early arrival at Mistral, I enjoyed cocktails with Lin and Megan before heading into a private back room to stuff ourselves silly with deliciousness.

As we entered the room, I grabbed a slice of Mistral’s beef tenderloin, mashed potato, and truffle oil pizza.

I absolutely adore Mistral. The food is delectable, and it’s a great, sophisticated yet still comfortable place for drinks. It’s also a great place for a girl’s night out in Boston. This beef tenderloin and mashed potato pizza, with it’s intoxicating truffle aroma is one of the most amazing comfort foods ever.

Mistral tuna tartare is pretty legendary. I had it for the first time many moons ago for a date, even before I met my husband, We’ve been together for almost 10 years; this tuna tartare has a long-running fan in me and I think the rest of the City of Boston as well.

Tortilleria La Niña, the first tortilla bakery in New England to authentically produce white corn tortillas and chips. They’re local, and they use non-GMO corn I addition to being delicious. Tortilla chips are one of my major food groups, and I was happy to discover these tasty chips. Just add a big bowl of guacamole and a margarita!

Other food highlights included sliders from Mooo. . . I hadn’t eaten at Mooo. . . . at that point, but actually had lunch there a week later when conducting a site tour of the beautiful XV Beacon. Part of my job is placing press and trade groups visiting Massachusetts in hotels, so it’s always fun to get to visit and see the hotels firsthand. XV Beacon is absolutely gorgeous, so stylish and city chic!

One of my other favorites of the evening was Teatro’s fig and prosciutto sausage in a spicy tomato brodo with a charred pepper. The tomato brodo was so warm and comforting. Even as it gets warmer I have been all about the soup lately; this little bite was both tasty and soul-warming.

Wine is another of my major food groups, and since we were just back from California and yearning to go back already, I went with a glass of Trefethen Chardonnay. The event also offered a selection of cocktails; everything looked great.

I loved the opportunity to try bites from restaurants I haven’t been to; it definitely inspired me to want to check them out. Once of the great things about this tasting event was that it was small. Sometimes “taste of” type events can be overwhelming, but at this one we were able to grab a table and go back and forth to get food and take photos. All in all, a great event.

Technorati Tags: Boston, cocktails, Columbus Hospitality Group, events, Food, mistral, tasting events, wine

Tags: Boston, cocktails, Columbus Hospitality Group, events, Food, mistral, tasting events, wine

Taste of the Nation Favorites

April 26, 2013 in events, Food by traveleatlove | No comments

Amidst all of the sadness and uncertainty of the past week-and-a-half, there were some bright moments that really made things feel a little normal again. Taste of the Nation is one of my favorite events of the year, I actually thought about not going this year, but I was happy I celebrated this amazing cause instead of spending another night glued to the news.

Taste of the Nation has a very important goal, No Kid Hungry, and they are doing incredibly important work across the country to reach that goal.

Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation® is the premier culinary benefit dedicated to making sure no kid grows up hungry. Each spring and summer, the nation’s hottest chefs and mixologists donate their time, talent and passion at nearly 40 Taste of the Nation events across the United States and Canada, with one goal in mind: to raise the critical funds needed to end childhood hunger in America by 2015.

I didn’t know that school breakfast is free to all Boston Public School students, but I was glad to hear it. It does make you realize though, that kids don’t go to school every day or year-round. So many are wondering where those meals are going to come from when they are not in school, and that just breaks my heart. Once again, Boston’s supportive culinary community came together to do good, and it’s never felt as healing and helping as it did this year.

This year’s Taste of the Nation Boston was held at a new location, the Cruiseport Boston at Black Falcon Pier. Beautiful sea views, plenty of light, and a grand space made for the best Taste of the Nation yet. Here are just a few of the favorite tastes of this event.

{Garlic Soup from Trade – hot and comforting, just the cure for a dreary, cold day}

{One Hope California Brut Sparkling Wine – with both citrus and brioche notes and plenty of bubbles, this bubbly is outstanding, and even better, $3.00 a bottle goes to Share our Strength.}

{Cheese Gougeres, AKA Bistro – I have the recipe for these and keep meaning to make them, perhaps when life evens out a bit.}

{Crispy Tuna Tostada – Highland Kitchen}

{Polenta, greens, chickpeas and all sorts of good stuff – Tavolo – I have always been a fan of Chef Chris Douglass and the work he’s done in Dorchester. Chef Douglass’ restaurants are both in the Ashmont area of Dorchester, home to Martin Richard, the youngest Boston Marathon bombing victim. When I saw Chef that night, I just wanted to give him a hug; despite being in a place of so much hurting, he was there to help. I <3 my neighborhood. }

{Raspberry Rhubarb Shortcake – Flour Bakery – Chef Joanne Chang’s baking is delicious, and her warm smile is infectious. It’s always wonderful to see her, whether at Flour or at Myers + Chang.}

In addition to the above, I also loved the oysters served up in the VIP area of the event. If you’re an oyster and sparkling wine lover, it’s definitely worth it to go the VIP route. It also makes it easy to grab a table or a couch to do your chowing down.

Taste of the Nation offers such a tasty variety of bites from the best chefs around, and the driving force behind it is crucial to our nation’s future. There’s a reason it’s one of my favorite events of the year, and I can’t wait to support it again next year. Share our Strength has many opportunities to help throughout the year, and I hope that this is the year I become more involved with this lifesaving organization.

I was provided a complimentary ticket to Taste of the Nation but was not required to write about it. All opinions are my own.

Technorati Tags: Boston, events, No Kid Hungry, Share our Strength, sparkling wine, Taste of the Nation, wine

Tags: Boston, events, No Kid Hungry, Share our Strength, sparkling wine, Taste of the Nation, wine

Wine Riot Revisited

April 7, 2013 in events, wine by traveleatlove | 4 comments

Remember that time I went to Wine Riot three years ago? It was Boston Marathon weekend and my first ever Wine Riot experience. It was not a great one. The Boston Marathon, well that was another story altogether. (Can I even tell you how hard it is, after running Boston four times, to be anywhere near anything marathon related when I’m NOT running? I feel like I’m about to burst into tears every time I see anything marathon-related. Thankfully, we’ll be in Sonoma soon, and then it will all be over for the year. Is it too early to start thinking about next year?)

This year, I received an email from the kind folks at Bordeaux Wines, asking if I would like to attend Wine Riot, and I decided to give it another shot. I mean, I’ve certainly changed over the last three years, perhaps the event had too?

I have to say, for the most part, I was seriously impressed. Held in the Park Plaza Castle this time around, the Wine Riot was spaced out really well with a nice flow, engaged and knowledgeable vendors, and much less crowded than I remember.

My date for the evening was my friend Jill, and we had just a short wait in the cold before the doors opened a few minutes after 7:00 p.m. Entry to the event was orderly and quick, and there were no lines for the coat check, a small detail but an area that always seems to be bottlenecked. We picked up our plastic tasting cups (Another touch I appreciated – while I love nice glasses, balancing glass, a camera, a plate, and my work bag is always a challenge.) and made our way through a real variety of wineries represented at the various tables.

One of the most crowded of the tables was the one that featured Bordeaux Wines, my host for the evening. We could barely get near the table to taste, much less to take a photo, but we did manage to taste our only red of the evening here, a Chateau Bonfils.

Clearly, the setup and wines at the Bordeaux table were a hit. Thanks again to Bordeaux Wines for inviting me!

Other than at the Bordeaux table, we were all about whites and rosés. I’ve had enough of all things that remind me of winter; give me light, fresh, citrus, and minerals. We stopped by the Chateau d’Eslcans table to check out what they had available. I love their Whispering Angel; it’s one of my favorite wines, and at Wine Riot I got to taste another new favorite, Sacha Lichine. Chateau d’Esclans makes gorgeous wines, plain and simple.

We were taken in to the Loire Valley display by their fun wallhangings; Jill wanted to bring this pairing picture home for the kitchen! I love things that make wine and food pairing simple, and thought this was a great idea. We tasted several wines we loved, especially the Domaine de la Pepiere Muscadet (Think briny oysters!) and the Philippe Portier Sauvignon Blanc from Quincy (Not Massachusetts!), which exhibited some peppery goodness that I love in a wine.

Throughout the event, we gave wines our stamp of approval, noting what we would pair with them or whether or not they were “boat wines”. Jill and her husband are some of our favorite friends to spend boat days with, so there were a lot of boat wines selected, like Line 39 Sauvignon Blanc from Lake County, California. I loved that this wine had nice, crisp citrus notes but also a nice body and mouth feel. I could see this wine being perfect with some salty meats and cheeses on a perfect blue sky day.

TJ from the Urban Grape was pouring several different rosés, a sure sign of the summertime. The lineup included my beloved Pares Balta, which, despite all of the others on the table being great, was still my favorite. The Urban Grape always has a gorgeous, well-stocked display of rosé; definitely be sure to check them out for your summer wines.

I’ve been on a major Chardonnay kick lately, and while I like notes of oak and butterscotch, I know not everyone does. The below sign is for all of those Chardonnay naysayers. You DO like Chardonnay; you just haven’t found a good, unoaked Chard! If you generally think you don’t like Chardonnay, I encourage you to try an unoaked Chardonnay from Travessia or Passaggio. The Four Vines Naked Chardonnay being poured by Bin Ends is also a nice choice.

Wine Riot’s Bubbly Bar was the hottest place in the venue, but the crowds were still manageable due to the tables being off in a far corner and large enough to accommodate about 15 people across, with several people working the table. It was also helpful to know someone who was pouring said bubbly. Smile We may have stayed a little longer than planned, just to chat, of course.

Our final wine taste of the night was another Chardonnay, this one from Richer Pour. They caught our eye because their wine was coming out of a tap; they only supply it in kegs, so it’s served at restaurants only. The Carneros Chardonnay was definitely aged in oak, and it had some great flavors of vanilla and butterscotch, the perfect wine to round out our evening if tasting.

One of my favorite wines of the evening was one I didn’t even get a photo of. I had already ordered a few bottles of Travessia Urban Winery’s recently released Riesling, because I pretty much knew I would like it, but it definitely goes above and beyond my expectations. We agreed that it was easily a favorite of the evening. It’s going to sell out fast; I just added a few more bottles to my order and can’t wait to have this at my summer table.

Travessia Riesling

Source

There’s nothing more important at a big wine tasting like Wine Riot than the availability of food. I found the food choices at this year’s Wine Riot to be as fantastic as the wines. Roxy’s Grilled Cheese and KO Catering each had tables set up, serving up grilled cheese and pies, respectively. Roxy’s had a “Green Muenster” which contained bacon and guacamole in addition to the classic grilled cheese. Jill and I had to share a Green Muenster, then later in the evening a pulled pork pie from KO. Both were incredible and perfect choices for a quick dinner break in the middle of wine tasting.

I’ve avoided Wine Riot since my visit in 2010, and I am so glad I have it another try. Overall, it was a really well-organized event with great wines and a really fun, party vibe, the perfect way to spend a Friday night. It never felt crowded or overwhelming, and we left really happy, noting that we would definitely attend again.