Restaurant Widow

Star Chefs at Spagio, Part 2

The 11th Annual Celebration of Wine, Food & Dining with the Stars to benefit Nationwide Children's Hospital took place on Monday evening.  I was lucky enough to be invited to take pictures of the fabulous treats the chefs prepared.  The event included numerous James Beard award-winning chefs as well as Certified Master Chefs & Pastry Chefs.  A few of you have emailed to find out how they can find out about next years event - it seems to me that the event usually takes place the day after the Oscar's.  You can email Hope from Children's: wellis90atyahoodotcom or Heather at Spagio: hewitt.hATgmailDOTcom.  Maybe next year they can have a website?  Click for part one.

The first thing we had at Star Chefs was this foie gras brulee, from Spagio - Husband took a bite before I could take a picture.  This was really great:

And here are Spagios' Chefs (Robert Knox, Sous Chef, left & Richard Steward, Chef de Parti):

Continuing in the foie theme were these yummy shitake mushroom & foie gras potstickers with braised Asian pears, from Chef Handke:

and here's Mr. Handke himself:

and his Sous Chef, Asa Rodriguez, looking very skeptical of me:

We had warm scallop ceviche with wild mushrooms from Chef John Hogan of Keefer's in Chicago:

We had these amazing crab cakes - little to no filler, just rich and sweet crab with an acidic relish to cut the richness, all topped with skinny little fries.  These came from Tom Fleming, of Central 214 in Dallas. We had to go back for seconds:

We had a puff pastry cup filled with Veal Sweetbread Ragout and topped with butter-poached lobster chunks from Chef Allen Sternweiler, currently working on opening a new restaurant in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Talk about indulgent and beautiful:

We had a variety of treats from Ghyslain, from chef Ghyslain Maurais:

We had a savory cauliflower cake with Teleggio foam from Chef Shawn McClain of Spring, Custom House and Green Zebra:

Saving the best for last: Pistachia Vera's perfect macarons (almond mascarpone) with (black raspberry?) pate de fruit (perfection, once again), a marsala cherry, and a lemon verbena black pepper sauce.  The balance of rich, sweet and a hint of acid and citrus flavors was flawless:

a line of macarons:

And here's Chef Budros:

Of course, I had to jump on the line and take some pictures of the chef - "Oh no!  There's a waitress on the line!"  I said "throw her off!"  the kitchen boys just laughed and said "that's okay."  "Wow, I said, you're way nicer than the kitchen boys at my restaurant."  Don't be offended, kitchen boys, you know it's true.  Except those of you who know who you are:

 
The kitchen at Spagio was huge, clean, and full of artwork and fun things (wacky coloring, all apologies):

The man himself, Hubert Seifert:

My friend Sam pouring wine:

And of course, everything would come to a grinding halt without the most important job in the place:

Things to do in Columbus::Febrauary 27th Edition

Is anyone else getting tired of snow?  Just curious.  I can't remember a year when we had so much snow lingering on the ground for so long, turning to mush.  I feel we Columbusites say this every year, but does it seem as though this year we are being told we're under snow advisories when we're getting a measly inch of snow?  I think our restaurant lost half of our reservations last night because our brilliant local news folks made it sound as though the second coming of the blizzard of '78 was on our doorstep.  Thanks, local news - way to help the economy.  Here is a great letter on this subject, written by the AD of the Public Service Department.

But, as usual, I have digressed.  Let's talk about some things to do this weekend in our fair city, if you can dig your way out through your second story window.

As usual, if you have any events to add, please add them to the comments.

• First up, it's the convention of the year in Columbus: the Arnold Sports Festival.  It's the premier event for snapping up hundreds of dollars in supplements and revolting chocolate-flavored protein drinks and bars.  Or so I've heard.  I've never been.  That shouldn't surprise anyone who's seen me.  It is the time of year when the strangest people show up in the Short North.  In a part of town where 7-feet-in-stilettos drag queens are a typical site on the weekends, it's far more bizarre to see the neighborhood overtaken by meatheads.  No offense to anyone who goes to the Arnold, please.
• Speaking of the Short North, this Saturday is Gallery Hop.  Bundle up, throw on your cute Wellies and brave the elements.  Don't you need some culture?  If it gets too cold, you can always throw culture out the window and hole up by the fireplace at the Burgundy Room.
• The Orchid Forest continues at Franklin Park Conservatory though Sunday, at which time you can purchase or enter a drawing to win your very own orchid from the forest.
• Speaking of getting more culture into your life, this weekend you can see Rossini's Cinderella at Opera Columbus!
• Lots of great things are happening at the Wexner Center - many of them have been mentioned here before.  Click to their calendar to find something cheap and fun for you and your date!
• This week at Whole Foods: Thu 2/28 - Sharpen up your knife skills 6:30pm $35; Sat 3/1 - Seasonal Detox with Clinical Herbalogist Anya Syrkin - it's free!  Click through to their calendar for more information.
• Tonight (Wednesday) is another Columbus Underground Movie Happy Hour at Studio 35.  $5 gets you a ticket to see Juno and drink some cheap beers.

And . . .

We've just recorded our second podcast, Value Whites!  This one is going to require a pinch more editing than the previous one, but it should be ready in the next few days.

Restaurant Widow Eat Locally Shirts Now Available!!!

My shirts are now available at Skreened!  For a mere $16.99, you can promote your favorite waitress!  As soon as mine is delivered, I'll have my skinny friend Cat model one.  I fancy it in "Fitted Ringer Tee, Green." Show your love of eating locally and promote a local business (Skreened).

Star Chefs at Spagio - Part One

Last night I got to pretend I was a member of the legit press - I donned a press badge and a pretty skirt, forced Husband into a suit and tie, and headed off to the Star Chefs event at Spagio & Spagio Cellars.  Every other press person there (curious, we were all females) had a much nicer camera than I did, but I'm willing to bet my pictures are more interesting (although some of the lighting is a little wacky owing to many neon lights).  Why?  They all take pictures of pretty people to put in their "society" pages (tried not to choke as I wrote that); toss the pretty people, I say, let's focus on the food!

The event, which benefits Childen's Hospital & Hospice care (Children's Hospice Care might be the saddest phrase ever), takes place throughout Spagio & Spagio Cellars, even in the kitchen - which is great for a food photographer, because the lighting is fabulous.  And of course, a waitress like me always feels more comfortable standing in the kitchen flirting with line cooks than out in the dining room with the pretty people.

Chefs at the event included Columbus favorites Hartmut Handke from Handke's, Spencer Budros & John from Pistachia Vera, of course Hubert Seifert from Spagio.

But what are we waiting for?  Let's get on with the food.  First up, from Chef William Koval of the Lakewood Country Club in Dallas, an Akaushi Beef Carpaccio with a mixed veggie and ricotta salata salad.  (Akaushi Beef, by the way, is a very well-marbled Japanese beef; it has significantly less cholesterol than many other varieties of red meat, and can be purchased locally at Tensuke Japanese Grocery):

Next up, suckling pig!!! One nice thing about events like this is I can taste food from places like Blackbird, without even going to Chicago.  This dish had me thinking of my old Chef, "Chef Chef," who could think of a million things to do with pork.  Once we even got in a suckling pig and he boned the whole thing, rolled it up and roasted it.  It was yummy.  At any rate, this dish was the brainchild of Chef Paul Kahan of Blackbird and Avec.  Roasted suckling pig with homemade cracklins, pickled mustard seed and sweet potato mustard.  YUM.  Baby piggies are tasty:

And here are the chefs plating:

One of my favorite Columbus chefs whose food I never get to eat now that he's a big corporate chef at CMR is Brian Hinshaw.  He had some really great cola-braised short ribs with horseradish sauce and potatoes.  The texture was flawless:

There must have been 6-8 stations set up in the kitchen, which was really cool if for no other reason than to see fancily-clad woman standing around prep tables under florescent lights, eating quail with their fingers.  Usually I only get to see my coworkers in this situation, and it's fun to see guests doing it.  And, here is the aforementioned quail - grilled and topped with pomegranate seeds, mandarin segments, honey and chopped pistachios, from Chef Dean Zanella of 312 Chicago:

and here he is, plating:

I was standing around with winemaker (and Napa host) extraordinaire Drew and wine rep Steve when I noticed this super cool wine packaging.  Now, I am such a girl when it comes to packaging that I can never be around when wine reps bring wine to Husband.  If I had anything to do with it, the wine list would be full of cute labels.  Not only did the wine have a great label (it's called "Plungerhead," Husband is working on retail locations), it also had this super cool closure, the Zork.  Here's Steve, demonstrating in my first ever video!

It's funny, at an event like this - Husband and I are so used to being the ones pouring the wine, smiling at guests and clearing plates that it is really weird to be a guest.  Husband kept trying to clear his plates.  I kept standing aside to let old men pass me, who just laughed and let me through.  Also it's hard to not feel empathy for the servers, chefs, line cooks, and dishwashers - events like this take a ton of work and make for a really, really long day.  Just something to think about the next time you're nibbling at a gala.

The rest is coming soon!

Oh It's Such a Perfect Day

Husband and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day.  Instead, we have our own celebration of our love on February 21st, because that is the day Husband proposed to me.  And so, every year after the hubbub of Valentine's has died down, and we've helped everyone else through their holidays, we get our own.  We took the day off, and Husband even volunteered to go to Ladies Eighties at Skully's, something I love and he hates.  I let him off the hook for that one, but I did request we go to Diaspora for lunch.  I went there when they first opened, and have begged him to go back with me ever since.

It's quite possible Diaspora is the most beautiful restaurant in the (North) Campus area.  In a sea of divey, cockroach-covered holes, Diaspora is awash in soothing colors, with a soaring ceiling, giant light-allowing windows, and lots of paper lanterns:

Although they sell pig's feet as an entree (I was sure Husband would choose those), we both settled on the Dol Sot Bi Bim Bop, a Korean favorite consisting of a rocket-hot stone pot wherein rice is topped with beef, vegetables, and an egg.  It's the perfect thing for the cold, snowy day we were having yesterday.

One of the charms of dining in a Korean restaurant is the panchan, the little gratis plates of kimchee, pickles, fishcake, and whatnot which arrive at your table when you order.  Typically, if there is one item of which you are particularly fond, you can request an additional plate.  At Diaspora, our panchan consisted of 7 plates - seaweed salad, fish cake (my second favorite, below, lower right), the potato in a sweet sauce (favorite favorite; above, lower right), standard cabbage kimchee, daikon kimchee, a funny little potato salad with cucumbers and apples, and a tasty, great-textured tofu in chili sauce.  I love these little nibbles, and it's always fun to see what you're going to get.

Now, on to the bi bim bop (below).  There's the aforementioned stone pot, with a nice mound of rice.  Artfully displayed over the top of the rice are a variety of vegetables and meat - ground beef, carrots, mung bean sprouts, mushrooms, daikon, what I think are some sort of pickled fiddlehead, and slivers of toasted nori (seaweed), and of course, a raw egg (my favorite part).  I believe the proper way to eat this deliciousness is to add the mild chili sauce provided (Diaspora gives you a dish of chili sauce and a squeeze bottle of sesame oil) and stir the entire mixture together, (the heat kind of cooks the egg as it coats everything, making a sauce) and then eat it with a spoon.  I'm addicted to eating with chopsticks, so I only lightly stir, cover everything with salt (alas) and eat with chopsticks.

As a sidenote - and of course, I can't remember my source on this, but I've read that Korean cooking doesn't include a lot of salt, so one adds salt when eating.  It goes against my nature to add salt to Asian food, but here I have to.  And, I can't eat an egg yolk without salt.

The rice which maintains contact gets a nice crunchy texture which can be enjoyed throughout the eating of the hotpot and at the end.  I know it's probably completely gauche, but I like to add a pinch of leftover miso soup to the very end of the rice (very crunchy by now) and then eat it with a spoon.

I love Diaspora.  In fact, I would go back again today given half the chance.

A perfect day should include eating with chopsticks (check), going home to find Netflix delivered the next disc of Alias (check) and to find that your new shoes came days earlier than expected (check) and a nap (check).  And then, it should include a super cool event, such as Pecha Kucha (check), and then another meal with chopsticks and something I've never eaten before, such as a Snapper's head (check):

So, it was a Perfect Day, Husband.  (wait for it) I'm glad I spent it with you.

Info:  Diaspora Korean Restaurant 2118 N. High St (just south of Lane) 614.458.1141 Bonus - open late on the weekends.

Not "Just" a Waitress (but so what if I were)

I'm always flattered when guests in the restaurant think I'm still a student.  Especially if they're younger than 90, when anyone under 45 still appears to be in the flower of their youth.  Awhile ago, I decided to just answer the questions without a timeline in my response, perchance giving the impression that I've only just graduated, because the discussion begins to get a little strained.  It usually goes something like this:

Guest (G): So, are you a student around here?
Lisa (L): I was, but I've graduated now.
G: Great!  What's your degree?
L: I have an English degree.
G: Wow, that's really great (clearly this person graduated in something useful, or they'd never say that)!  And now?
L: Sweeps hands around to indicated restaurant surrounding her.
G: Well, yeah, but really, what now?

It's at this point that I start to flounder for something to say.  Should I defend my right to be "just" a waitress if I want to?  Discuss how pointless it is to get an English degree if you aren't going to go on to teach?  Tell him about my secret double life as a blogger?  Tell him I'm really a writer? artist? 

L: Well, I really want to open a restaurant some day.

Gets me off the hook every time.

Of related interest: Why I am a Waitress.

Crumbs

I know, I know - when am I going to start cooking again?!  Bleh - who can stay inspired with all this cold and snow?  May as well stay in and read.

On that note, I'd just like to mention that the fantastic "Culinaria" series of books have been reissued in paperback, even the previously impossible to find Southeast Asian Specialties.  We now have every book in the series with the exception of the US & German books.  Even better, I found them for $10 at Borders and around $12 at Half Price Books!  If you've never owned one of these books, they are really great for learning a lot about a culture or country through its food.  They are amazing.  The books are translated to English from German, and occasionally this leads to a humorous result, but it's easily overlooked.  So go out and buy them! 

And, another super cool event I forgot to write about yesterday, which is geared towards all of you artisans and farmers looking to sell you wares and those of you restauranteurs and chefs who are looking to sell more locally-produced goods: this Sunday at the Dispatch Kitchen from 2-4pm, there is a Local Matters meet & greet for you.  Again, this is primarily for those looking to buy or sell their products.

Things to do in Columbus::February 20th Edition

We're headed to March.  The end of winter is in sight.  You might not be able to see it with all that snow flying around, but I was just thinking that we're only about 6 weeks away from having leaves on the trees.  Let's keep our fingers crossed for winter going into spring and then not going back to winter again (this is what made last year disastrous for stone fruits and apples).  Remember this leading to this? 

As usual, I have made mental notes (the worst kind for me) all week on things to add to my events, so I am sure I will forget something.  If you have something to add, please leave it in the comments.

• What could be more indie for the Indie Capitol of the World than a "hang-it-yourself art freeforall?"  Yet another in the long line of super cool events I can never attend because of work, this Saturday is Spark at Junctionville Studios (in Grandview).  You can take your own artwork and hang it up - stop waiting to hear back for that snobby gallery and get out there!  The event includes DJs, poetry readings, and bartending by local celebrities.  And PBR.
• Speaking of cool art events at Junctionville Studios, Thursday is another Pecha Kucha event.  Pecha Kucha (Japanese for the sound of chatter) is an event where designers are given a very short time (around 7 mintues) to present their collection and talk about their work; they can show 20 images for 20 seconds each.  It's a great way to see a lot of work in a short amount of time.  The event is BYOB.
• This week in CAPA events, the Harlem Gospel Choir will preform at the Southern Thursday & Friday, and Sunday is a performance of Noche Flamenca, the famed flamenco company of Spain.
• The Wexner Center is featuring the work of Israeli photographer Adi Nes. "Biblical Stories" shows depicts Old Testement stories of dispossessed characters by showing modern homeless people.  Click to the Wex's website for the rest of their great events.
• This week at Sur la Table: Thu 2/21 - Weekday Inspirations with Mike McCauley; Fri 2/22 - Simply Ming, Sushi with Yokiko Bates ($79); Sat 2/23 - Tean Knife Skills with Mike McCauley (10:30am, $59); and Simply Ming, Sushi with Mike McCauley (3pm $79); Mon 2/25 - Simply Ming, Wok & Steaming; Tue 2/26 - The Mediterranean Table; Wed 2/27 - Simply Ming, Master Sauces & Marinades; Thu 2/28 - All About Fish.  Unless otherwise specified, classes are $69 and take place at 6:30pm.  Click to their calendar for more information.
• And this week at Whole Foods Dublin, Thursday 2/21 - Chinese Nutrition for Spring with Worthington Acupuncturists Joseph Zhuang and Shufeng Ding (free); Sat 2/23 will feature a day of learning nutrition for kids of all ages and a celebration of soul food.  Mon 2/25 afternoon tasting will feature Chile.  Click to their calendar for further information and times.
• If you're dying to start planning for spring, the Home & Garden show starts this weekend and continues through March 2nd.

Inagural Podcast, Value Reds with Husband

I have been hoping to add podcasts for about a year now, and finally recorded my first episode.  It was really fun and I plan to have many, many more.

For my first podcast, I decided to take a suggestion from a few readers who answered my recent survey: have Husband talk about value wines.  He isn't as fond of writing as I am, so we thought an interview-style podcast would be perfect, and if we could have some delicious wine while we're at it, even better.

I will spare you all of my self-deprecating analysis on how irritating my voice sounds and how many times I say "excellent," and just pretend I think it's perfect.  Husband is working on adding some background music, so it might be new and improved soon.

If you download and listen to the podcast, can you please provide feedback?  This is our first one, and we do go off on tangents occasionally, but we learned a lot about what to do next time, and hopefully they will get even better.  I have lots of ideas for future podcasts, but I would love to hear your suggestions.  So, please let me know what you think, even if it's an opportunity for improvement.  Please let me know if you have any troubles.  The podcasts will also be available as an RSS feed.  The file takes about 4 minutes to download (sorry).  If you use Google Reader, you can listen the cast directly from my feed.

Next up on the podcast board - Value whites!

Without further ado: Restaurant Widow Podcast #1 - Value Reds with Husband.  I will provide a downloadable list of the wines tried - along with pictures of the labels and shopping information - very soon.

Download Final.mp3