In exchange for registering for the 2015 International Food Blogger Conference (IFBC) at the discounted blogger rate, I agreed to write three posts about the conference. Additionally, all of the food samples mentioned below were provided free to attendees. The content and opinions expressed in this post are solely my own.
Last week, I traveled to Seattle for the 2015 International Food Blogger Conference. Seattle is an amazing food city, but sadly one can only eat so much in 48 hours. Luckily, the conference included two receptions featuring food samples from various local restaurants and producers. These were my favorite nibbles:
- Raw oyster from Hama Hama Company: Eating a raw oyster is like chewing the ocean: fresh and briny, with a watery slipperiness--there's something special about a food so evocative of its native surroundings. I discovered that Hama Hama sells their oysters to Meritage in St. Paul, so I don't need to fly to Seattle to get my next oyster fix.
- Corn bisque with Dungeness crab and heirloom tomatoes from SkyCity at the Needle: This creamy soup struck the right textural balance, silky without being a heavy slog. The flavor focus was squarely on the sweetest of sweet corn, with a flourish of crab and tomato.
- Burrata with chioga beet, strawberry, basil, pistachio, and maple from Six Seven: The list of ingredients seems discordant, but everything came together in this unexpected salad: earthy, sweet, and herbal all in one bite.
- Braised short rib with parsnip and bacon foam from Loulay: Bites like this are why I will never take my mostly-vegetarianism to an orthodox level. The shreds of beef were cooked to a delicate tenderness that can only be described as perfect.
- Balsamic strawberry ice cream from Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream: I didn't pick up much of a balsamic note, but I was impressed with pronounced and refreshing strawberry flavor.
- Sipping chocolate from Hot Cakes: Sipping chocolate is to hot cocoa is what skim milk is to heavy cream. Hot Cakes' version is a rich sludge of dark chocolate, intensely flavored and not too sweet.
- S'mores ice cream sandwich from Hot Cakes: What made this ice cream sandwich special were the smoked chocolate chips in the cookies. All of the campfire taste, no messy marshmallow goo.
- White peach, blueberry, and mascarpone tart from Lark: An elegantly understated dessert, focused on the natural sweetness of the peaches and the subtle tang of the mascarpone. The sturdy shortbread cookie crust was actually gluten-free, which I never would have guessed.
Thank you to Hama Hama Company, SkyCity at the Needle, Six Seven, Loulay, Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream, and Lark for the delicious nibbles. If you're lucky enough find yourself in Seattle, check them out for yourself.