Regional events allow for culinary expansion
This is not a popular opinion, I know.
But I like the French. I like their fries. I like their toast. I even like their horn.
So when the guide books trumpeted all the influence the French had bestowed on Vietnamese cuisine during their occupation, my hopes were high during my visit several years ago.
And quickly dashed.
Since I don’t go in for meat – particularly third-world meat – I was relegated to the same bowl of noodles, morning, noon and night.
My boyfriend at the time proved more adventurous. He ate every mysterious thing put in front of him.
I assure you none of it looked remotely like a croissant. And it wasn’t long before I had to leave him huddled miserably over the hotel room’s air conditioner, weakly bidding me to “Say hello to all my friends at ‘Restaurant,’ ” so named for its minimal signage.
He may have regretted his culinary choices right then, but I admired his intrepidity. Eating well is an essential part of travel. (Unless you’re my father, who would just as soon wait until he gets home where there’s a perfectly good box of Wheat Thins.)
If you’d prefer to try new food without exploring the efficacy of foreign plumbing, there’s plenty to choose from right here in your own back yard.
Let’s dig in:
The carnivorous among you may find the sixth annual Wild About Game celebration up your meat-filled alley.
The Sept. 30 event brings Pacific Northwest chefs, ranchers, farmers, winemakers and others together at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland for a cook-off of buffalo, elk, goose, guinea hen, Muscovy duck, rabbit and partridge.
Among the judges will be London chef Fergus Henderson, author of “The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating.”
Couple the questionable reputation of British cuisine with that particular book title, and you can be sure I won’t show up at Henderson’s house for dinner any time soon.
Besides the cook-off, the day includes a wine and game pairing seminar, cookbook signings, demonstrations and an artisan marketplace.
It’s all brought to you by Nicky USA, the self-proclaimed leading distributor and processor of game birds and meats in the Northwest.
(Until I married a hunter, I didn’t know what the sanitized term “processor” meant. And while I’m fond of my husband, I do wish I could go back to those blissful days of ignorance.)
Wild About Game tickets will run you $35 to $125, depending on what you attend. There’s additional information at www.nickyusa.com or (503) 234-4263.
Just desserts
Now this is a food event I can get behind.
SweetFest, the Northwest’s first-ever dessert celebration, will fill Marymoor Park in Redmond, Wash., with ice cream, candy, other sweet treats and, presumably, maniacal children.
The Saturday and next Sunday sugar extravaganza includes organic, fair trade chocolate from Theo Chocolate, Thomas Kemper root beer floats, trans-fat-free donuts from Mighty-O Donuts and lots more.
Sounds more tempting than a heaping dish of entrails, doesn’t it?
If you need a break from the pure sweetness, Pyramid Breweries and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates will be on hand. Or you can take in the cooking demonstrations and live music.
Visit www.sweetfest.com or call (425) 401-1200 to learn more.
Northern noshing
In a prudent effort to separate themselves from their blood-pudding-loving English cousins, the Canadians are pulling out the gastronomic stops this fall.
The Great Canadian Beer Festival will showcase what all-natural brewers can do on Sept. 8 and 9. Beermeisters from the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Alberta and Quebec will serve it up and maybe even answer all your burning beer questions.
Look for ticket information at www.gcbf.com. Or try (250) 383-2332.
The consumption continues Sept. 17 with Feast of Fields, a day in the country held at a different Vancouver Island farm each year. Glendale Gardens and Woodland hosts the 2006 version, with offerings from 50 chefs, wineries and microbreweries.
The $67 (U.S.) tickets help support FarmFolk/CityFolk, a British Columbia organization that promotes ethical and sustainable food systems and relationships between local chefs and farmers.
Go to www.feastoffields.com or phone (250) 746-4637 to find out more.
If you haven’t gotten your fill of Canada yet, just stick around. The second annual Cowichan Wine and Culinary Festival throws wide the doors of the Cowichan Valley’s farms and wineries Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.
Just 45 minutes north of Victoria, the valley serves as home to such producers as Blue Grouse Vineyards, Cherry Point Vineyards, Echo Valley Vineyards, Godfrey Brownell Vineyards and Zanatta Winery.
The festival kicks off at Cherry Point, a 24-acre operation owned by the Cowichan Tribe. Saturday’s “Gala at the Grand” features demonstrations by local chefs and food producers, an appetizer buffet and dancing to live music.
On Sunday, the “Taste of Cowichan” dinner at Steeples Restaurant brings it all together.
Throughout the weekend, you’ll find samples of wines, coffee, chocolate, cheese and even Shakespeare. Excerpts from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” play on Saturday at Merridale Ciderworks.
There’s a complete schedule at www.wines.cowichan.net. Or call (888) 303-3337.
Regional events
•Germanfest, Sept. 10, Missoula. Grab a bratwurst, some sauerkraut and a fine Teutonic beverage to toast Neckargemund, Missoula’s sister city. They’ll have German music, children’s activities and educational information, too. (www.visitmt.com; 406-721-9620)
•My Lake Chelan Vacation Photos Contest, through Sept. 30. The Lake Chelan Tourism Promotion Group may have a cash prize for you. (www.cometothelake.com; 509-663-2637)