Thursday evening the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association along with the Arizona Restaurant Association hosted ‘Forks and Corks’. The evening served a dual purpose to raise money for Arizona Hotel and Restaurant Education foundation and to treat local foodies to some great culinary samplings of what Arizona had to offer. The combination of the perfect weather and the amazing selection of food made ‘Forks and Corks’ a memorable night for all.
The moment I entered the venue I was handed the following platter:
As I’ve said before, the food events that know what they are doing offer these platters for everyone while they mill around tasting food and wine. As you can see from the picture, not only was there a spot on on the platter for a wine glass (right above) but there were spots for silverwear and any other food item that you needed to leverage this platter for.
After receiving the platter, I was offered what looked like a push-up ice cream. However, we were told by the person handing the push-up treats out that they were to be used for cleaning my palate after each sample. In my years of being immersed in the foodie culture I have never seen anything like this before. However, after eating a few samples from the booths around the venue, I found that this push up treat really helped in being able to experience all the flavors of each booth. The push up was the perfect solution to not having to worry about my palate being all muddled up with residual flavors of previous samples around the venue.
There were many great booths that had amazing samples (the best are noted below) that really made an impression on me. However, many of the booths at ‘Forks and Corks’ were just average and didn’t really offer anything that could be considered the best that Arizona had to offer. For example, there was one booth, who shall remain nameless, that had a shredded pork taco that was soaking in a very watery pan. The meat was then taken from the pan and put on uncooked or extremely undercooked corn tortillas. The liquid the meat was soaking in then wasn’t fully drained when transferred to the undercooked tortilla so the final presentation included a puddle of water.
For an event that is billed as some of the best that Arizona has to offer, that’s just rank amateur food presentation. Not even Applebee’s would allow food like that to be consumed by the public.
Anyways, here’s some of the best of what Forks and Corks had to offer:
Different Pointe of View – Pan Seared Day Boat Halibut Cheeks atop Morel & Brie Risotto and topped with Apple Basil Olive Oil Emulsion. – This is definitely a mouthful to say. However, this was one of the better dishes I had as the combination of the Halibut cheeks with the Emulsion was just a new and fresh experience brought to a classic seafood dish.
Bluwater Bistro – Oyster Shooters, Shrimp Cocktail, and Smoked Salmon – All were Atlantic seafood and were presented in a straight forward, classic fashion. I love Oyster Shooters when they’re done right. Still in the shell but not attached to the shell, in a tiny bit of water and ready for shooting.
Double Tree Paradise Valley Resort. – Braised Short Rib with Butternut Squash on a Risotto cake – Just a simply amazing dish with flavors that complimented each other perfectly.
Blanco Tacos and Tequila - Shrimp Ceviche (Below) – This sample was something I had to come back for again and again. The taste of the Ceviche was perfectly balanced in that neither the vegetables or seafood overpowered each other. Just a perfect appetizer for such a warm evening.
Capital Grille – Fillet Mignon with shallot butter – Tender and a wonderful compliment to the warm day on Thursday.
Ruth Chris – Cajun Lamb Lolly pop – Yes, you read that right. A Lamb Lolly Pop. It actually was extremely tender lamb still on the bone that just melted in your mouth. Just amazing presentation.
La Hacienda – Pipian de Puerco – Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with Pipian sauce, roasted corn puree, pumpkin seed, and pickled red onion. One of the best dishes I had this evening. The combination of all the individual parts to the Pipian de Puerco were essential in being able to fully enjoy this sample. This was one of these dishes that you had to have a little of each part of the sample to be able to full appreciate how it crossed your palate.
Best Desserts – These two desserts deserved to be mentioned for their amazing taste and originality.
Most Original – Frank and Albert’s at the Arizona Biltmore – Liquid Nitrogen Frozen strawberries coated in hot chocolate and topped with chocolate covered pop rocks – served with champagne. This was simply an amazing take on the classic Strawberries and Champagne dessert. The addition of the sinful chocolate sauce and the chocolate covered pop rocks took two classic tastes and sent them into the stratosphere. The first bite of the enormous strawberry coated in chocolate was a culinary delight unto itself. However, after taking a sip of the Champagne the chain reaction of the Champagne on the chocolate coated pop rocks started a sustained popping in the back of my mouth. The Pop rocks were still popping a good five minutes after the last bite. This was simply an extremely original and well done dish. In addition, the fact that the complexity of serving this dish for hundreds of people while maintaining the overall quality and excellence of the sample was an amazing feat.
Best tasting – La Hacienda – Coconut Flan – I’m normally not a fan of flan. However, when I took a bite of La Hacienda’s Flan I was treated to a taste that was as fresh tasting as it was sweet. The coconut didn’t overpower the typical flan taste but there was enough to make it a perfect warm spring/summer time dessert dish.
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