SLOW FOOD NATION

we went to slow food nation today and it was a. ma. zing. AMAZING!

if they do it again, we would highly recommend the taste pavilion and to get yourself to the first one possible because if they run out ... they run out. and it will be SAD FOR YOU.

we stuffed our faces today and it was pretty much all awesome. sam was left behind with my folks to enjoy his grandparents' undivided attention while skittered off to the city. i had fears that we had dropped $65 apiece for costco-sized toothpick samples, but NO. on all compostable plates and bowls, you could STUFF. YOUR. FACE. stuff your face! everyone gets a stampycard worth 20 "slow dough." at each tasting pavilion you could get treats. most things were 1 or 2 slow dough.

the pizza was two dough and it was worth it! esp if you get HALF A PIZZA with sausage and rapini with a blistery chewy crust!

the beer pavilion had over 40 varieties. in glass cups roughly a little less than a halfpint, each one was worth one dough! happy beer! hideyo was stoked they had racer 5 on tap.

the wine pavilion had over 400 varieties. you could taste pretty much as many as you want, and then they'll pour you a half glass (or half glasses, for many) for 1 dough! woot! (note: there were hella toasted old people.)

the spirits pavilion did mixers and shots. (note: there were hella toasted old people.)

the charcuterie was aMAzing. you got a full slice of mortadella, prosciutto, and two slices of two different types of salami. one dough!

ice cream! three small scoops for 1 dough! i had creme brulee (meh), ginger (eh eh) and ... sweet corn with black raspberry and that was delicious.

flatbread! there was a naan station. two kinds of sauce and three kinds of naan/roti. that was hide's favorite. one dough!

CHEESE. huge line, but HUGE portions. three types with flatbread on your cheeseplate. fat free samples in line. delicious. one dough!

rick bayless was in the house, showing green kitchen tricks!

organic bison chili anyone? one dough!

there were other things to try: fish, olive oil, tea, coffee, pickles and chutney, honey and preserves, but i wasn't as excited about those.

all in all, totally worth it. we couldn't even finish using all of our cards because after 4 hours, they had to shut down and prep for the evening session. sad we forgot the camera -- i think the otts would've had a ball with the cam there. but all in all, it was really fun, honey and i had date time, enjoying the crowds and the ambiance in a leisurely fashion, and after what is essentially a 15-month fast from alcohol, i perhaps got a little carried away with the tablas creek beaucastel blanc and amber ales. but what the hell. it was totally worth the pump'n dump.

go slowfood your faces! the taste pavilions is sold out, but at the civic center, they've set up a marketplace and a victory garden and those are free. you can also go enjoy a slowfood lunch or dinner this weekend. i think they still have tickets for some of the workshops also.

*sigh* happy food face.