Dressed slick with taste buds ready, we walked into the tents at the SF Chefs 2011 Friday Night Grand Tasting at Union Square. Restaurants from San Francisco and beyond were nestled in the movie set foliage and ambient lights. Sponsors hosted stylish lounges off the main floor like the POM casbah complete with tempting, red fruit clad POM martini waitresses as well as the Italian mod espresso bar where one could stand to sip Illy coffee.
Highlights of Friday at SFChefs 2011
Octopus Hors D'Ouevre from Etoile
While some people were bringing our palettes down with heavy, boring pork sliders and greasy sloppy joes in a cup, Etoile presented clean triangles of green papaya fruit with octopus sashimi. Simple, elegant and fresh.
American Prosciutto from Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern
Of course, traffic bottlenecked when passing the intentionally spotlit Wayfare Tavern spot. Owner and celebrity television chef Tyler Florence had his sleeves rolled up to carve slices of prosciutto right off a local trotter's leg. Paired with basil and peach, this bite of cured local pork was a great summer flavor.
Lamb Boat from Foreign Cinema
Nothing like a cute little lamb riding in a Shanghai boat. Foreign Cinema presented perfectly spiced and tender lamb riblets with an Asian slaw and creamy sauce. Succulent.
