So. Much. Food.
Atlanta’s Food & Wine Festival may be pricey, but you definitely get your money’s worth. 3 days of education followed by tasting tents.
What’s more is that the restaurants rotate – so all 3 days of tasting are different! Gluttony ensued. Seriously – I still had a food baby until this morning.
Corinne, Adam from UVA Imports, and me
It’s only natural that I do a final (maybe… there’s so much to share!) recap of the festival for What I Ate Wednesday this week.
Though it might be shorter to write a “what I didn’t eat” post. 😉
Check out my eats below; then click here to hope on over to our host – Jenn @ Peas and Crayons – to see the tasty treats everyone else in blog-land has been noshing on lately.
Tasting Tents, Day 1:
Clockwise, from the top left:
- Delta wine tasting and a bacon brownie
- Balcones whiskey samples (from an amazing Texas distillery – new favorite!)
- Paco’s Tacos from Charlotte, NC – their Ghost Pepper Salsa almost made me cry
- High Cotton from Greenville, SC brought a delicious chilled English pea soup with citrus-cured smoked salmon and almond brittle
- Harvest on Main from Blue Ridge, GA impressed me with the ramp biscuit they served alongside Applewood smoked BBQ
Clockwise, from the top left:
- Gelato from Honeysuckle Gelato (ok, ok… I had these every day – my favorite was the Peanut Butter Banana)
- Honeycomb and apples from Savannah Bee Company
- My favorite beer – Eschaton from Wild Heaven Craft Beers (aged in Pinot Noir barrels, the grape notes are de-vine);
- Veggie cookies from my friends at Cookie Underground (that Spicy Sweet Potato is not to miss).
Tasting Tents, Day 2:
I woke up still full after the tents and the Pig Out dinner… but I powered through like a fat kid champ.
Clockwise, from the top left:
- Canoe was up first with scallops over an edamame corn salad (the first scallop I have ever liked!)
- I wish I could remember whose this was – the tuna tartar was perfect with that sauce and foam
- Crook’s Corner from Chapel Hill, NC surprised me with a schnitzel with a perfectly crisp yet cheesy crust; the tamale wasn’t the best I’ve had, but certainly the prettiest
- The star of the day – a terrine smorgasbord from Kevin Outzs and The Spotted Trotter (this alone made a temporary return to meat-eating worth it).
Update: I found Kevin’s list of the 7 terrines served on their site: (1) ChiChili Pork Belly with Calabrian Pancetta; (2) Rabbit and Pork Belly with Lardo and Pistachios with Aspic Blanc d’Apple; (3) Leek with Rabbit and Pork Belly & Black & Pink Pepper Creme; (4) Pork Belly with Mayhaw and Mayhaw Aspic; (5) Pork Belly and Rabbit with Apple and Fresh Sage; (6) Pork Belly Champagne Wrapped in Coppa; and (7) Cheeky Belly ~ Beef Cheek with Pork Belly and Rabbit Liver. #2 was my fav – nom.
Tasting Tents, Day 3:
By now I had slowed down a lot. Mom and I went together for Mother’s Day… the thought of food was almost too much to take so I did a tasting of her tastes. In fact, I didn’t take a single picture until we were half way through.
Clockwise, from the top left
- Sliders from Bocado (this place serves the best burger in ATL)
- Some sort of ham deliciousness served with socca (I’ve never seen that out of a Southern cook before!)
- Bistro AIX from Jacksonville, FL offered a Moroccan spice-rubbed pork shoulder with harissa-marinated watermelon salad and crispy pappadam (this may sound weird, but that flavorful cracker was one of the best things I ate that day)
- A rare find – white wine that I loved
- Crispy pig ears from The Spotted Trotter (really good, but I was too freaked out to take more than a bite).
And…
…scene:
***
And that, my friends, is how you become impregnated with a 3 day food baby.
Would you have tried the crispy pig’s ear?
Has anyone else had a 3 day food baby? Moderation who?!
Happy WIAW! Sounds like fun.
Oh.my.gosh!!! Everything looks amazing…you SERIOUSLY would’ve had to roll me out of there! I mean, chilled pea soup with smoked salmon? BBQ and biscuits? (oh I’m such a sucker for southern comfort food) Hot pepper infused watermelon? And my eyes are practically bugging out over the sight of that gorgeous scallop!
LOVE the pun on the Eschaton…I checked out the link and it does sound like it’d be quite “de-vine” 😉
And I totally would’ve tried a bite of the pig ear (even though it sounds pretty funky…I had a dog who used to LOVE the ones from the pet store) just to say I had!
Moderation? Ha! I’m not sure I know the meaning of that word…hence the reason I don’t frequent buffet style restaurants! Lol
dude. that wasn’t even the half of it.
you gotta come down here and i’l hook you up with some “de-vine” beer. 🙂
Oh my gosh that looks like an amazing three days! I know there’s a Food and Wine festival in NYC in the fall, but I am debating about going because of the price. Although from what I see here, I really need to get my butt there!
it is soooooo worth every penny. i think i got my money’s worth on day 1 alone!
Wow, that looks/sounds like a lot of fun; I think I’m full just after reading your post! Great blog and Happy WIAW!!
LUCKY! I love food and wine festivals, but they are so expensive!
That delicious smoked salmon was from H.Harper Station. Just did a recap of the event myself on FB and had the same photo as you! Great summary of the 3 days.
thank you! it was fantastic! what was the sauce, do you remember?
also, if you have a link to your FB recap i’d love to read it. 🙂
Veggie cookies & bacon brownies…I am most definitely intrigued! I totally feel you about the food baby! When I got back from holiday last week, I was SO ready to go back to eating normal amounts and that too, of homemade meals! What can I say- a salad never taste so good :)!
exactly! i’ve been eating super-green this week. i don’t even want anything else!
You KNOW I would have eaten that pigs ear. [Well, pre-vegan no question. Now, maybe not.]
However, I am so jealous I cannot even read all of this post. These are the types of events I miss from Austin!
it was so fried you couldn’t really tell what it was. 😉
hahah I love it.. 3 day food baby! I’ve never been to a tasting like this and it looks awesome! Lots of delicious eats!
I’ve never been to a Wine or Food Tasting before but after seeing your pics I think I should go. Looks amazing! Happy WIAW!
Looks like such fun! I love Atlanta! Ralph and I will be there in September for his Army reunion. Can’t wait!
fun! you’ll have to let me know when!
That all looks so delicious, and I am cracking up about that gone-drinking sign!! Hmmm, crispy pig’s ear? Probably not!
i know! the guys from that restaurant were hilarious.
I am seriously loving all that you tasted on day 2… scallops are one of my favorite foods, and then tuna tartar?! Gaaaah love it! I can understand having a food baby by the end of it all lol, perhaps a bit painful but awesome result of all of it 🙂
day 2 was my favorite too! there was so much i couldn’t even to begin to post all of the pics. 🙂
So I think you should fly down for the next Miami Food and Wine Festival. Just think – food, wine, the beach, and Parita…all in one! 🙂
i know know if i could handle any more! 🙂
miami is one my “one day” list. obv, you being there makes it even better!
Wow, what a cool experience! I’d probably try a pig’s ear just to say I had it, but I don’t think I could get past one bite either.
Glad you returned to meat eating for this. It would have been a sad event without it! Also, miralax is a good way to induce food baby labor. lol
LOL! i needed some of that for sure.
I don’t normally feel bad for myself for having food allergies and intolerances, but sometimes I wish I could do something like this! Looks like a tasty 3 days!
they are fun… i was really surprised at the diversity of foods – i think no matter what you diet is you could have gotten your money’s worth. especially if you are a wine or bourbon fan. 😉
Holy moley that is a lot of food!! I can’t imagine anyone who would better appreciate that weekend of fun than you – too much fun! 🙂
With all that bourbon, you would have been a happy camper too. 😉
LOL 3 day food baby! I love it. That sadly happens to me pretty frequently. Something like every weekend…
LOL! I feel like that a lot of times as well.
Haha this looks like so much fun!! Look at all that food and wine…totally amazing!
Major yum! I’ll take gelato, a bacon brownie, and schnitzel please – all of which can come with wine as well. 😉
seriously – i couldn’t believe how good that schnitzel was!
LOL I had pig ears they are really good 🙂 I have a food baby too, what can I do I can’t say no to good food!
me either! life is short.
Girl, for someone so teeny tiny, you can eat! I’m jealous of your metabolism (I know ya work super hard too).
I bet the food baby was totally worth it though.
I mean, honeysuckle gelato? Hello!
LOL! well, thankfully it doesn’t happen EVERY weekend.
HAHA. “So. Much. Food.”
Looks like a great time babe 🙂 Very tasty 😉
so happy for you!
I think you had 3 days of actually pure heaven – everything looks, sounds and must have tasted simply delicious 😀
I am not jealous of a friend, I am not jealous of a friend 😉
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
knowing you, i think you would have absolutely loved it… there’s always next year!!!
Going to an event like this sounds like my dream come true! Everything looks amazing!
It was a food-lover’s dreamland!
OMG that would have sent me overboard for sure. That’s one of the most tempting WIAW posts I’ve seen in a while!
LOL! Thank you – means a lot. 🙂
This looks awesome! I would love to go an event like this! Sometimes it’s nice just to throw moderation out the window and stuff our faces. 😉
Cheers to that!
What a fun event!!!!!!!
Glad you had a great time at the event!