1741 on the Terrance, Hotel Bethlehem

Balasia

Blue Grillhouse

Grilled Bison Green Chili
bison – Backyard Bison (Coopersburg)
vegetables – being sourced

Blue Orchid Inn

Blue Sky Café

Butternut Squash and Habanero Soup
butternut squash – Suyundalla Farms (Coplay)
BBQ Tofu with a Cucumber Apple Slaw
organic tofu – Fresh Tofu Inc. (Lehigh Valley)
cucumbers, apples – Suyandalla Farms (Coplay)

Bolete Restaurant and Inn

Curious Goods at the Bake Oven Inn

DeFranco & Daughters Catering

Dolce Patisserie

Apricot & Vanilla Jam Tartlet
apricots – Suyundalla Farms (Coplay)
Two Chocolate Pieces:
Goat Cheese & Port Wine Dark Chocolate
Imperial Pumpkin Ale Milk Chocolate
goat cheese – StoneCroft Farm (Macungie)
beer – Weyerbacher Brewery

Emeril’s Chop House

“BLT” – Braised Pork Belly with Heirloom Tomatoes, Microgreens, Baby Lettuces, and Black Truffle Aioli on Chophouse Focaccia
pork belly – being sourced
tomatoes, microgreens, baby lettuce – Liberty Gardens (Coopersburg)

The Farmhouse

Wild Rice Salad with Blue Cheese, Mixed Greens, Grilled Corn, and Dried Cranberries
organic wild rice – Queen’s Market (Emmaus)
blue cheese – Klein Farms (Easton)
mixed greens – Gottschell Farm (Coopersburg)
corn – Teprovich Farms (Tamaqua)

Fegley’s Brew Works

Beer-Marinated Heirloom Tomato “BREW”schetta topped with Lightly Seasoned Grilled Chicken served on a Potato Crostini
heirloom tomatoes – Little Peace Farms (Northampton)
all-natural chicken – Freebird (Lancaster)
potatoes – Tallman Family Farms (Schuylkill Co.)

Flow Bar & Restaurant

Frecon Farms

Glasbern Country Inn

Melt

Pearly Baker’s Alehouse

Savory Grille

Sette Luna

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho
tomatoes – Meadowview Farm (Kutztown)
Heirloom Watermelon Gazpacho
watermelon – Piazza Farms (Phillipsburg)

Subarashii Kudamono

Freshy-Harvested Gourmet Asian Pears
Nashii Chiizu (“Cheese Asian Pear”) – Grilled Quesadilla with Chopped Fresh Asian Pears, “Caprice” Cheese, and freshly-picked Cinnamon Basil
our own Asian pears
caprice cheese – Rabbit Run Farms (Quakertown)
cinnamon basil – The Seed Farm (Vera Cruz)
locally-made tortilla shells

Vynecrest Vineyards & Winery

Weaversville Inn

Weyerbacher Brewing Company

Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Merry Monks’, Belgian style Abby Tripel

This year’s fest ended on a lower note with downpours drenching the crowds, but that didn’t stop the grounds from being packed during the beginning of the festival, as well as the lastFriday and Saturday.  The year wasn’t without drama though, with BeerGate taking hold of the news.  My opinions on this all?  I don’t know who called the PLCB, and as I found out with previous Freedom of Information Act requests they don’t release who filed the complaint, but it’s a shitty move all around.  The bars have been doing this forever.  Bethlehem lifts the open container law and it should be freedom of the masses and businesses to buy beer wherever the hell they please.  PA’s liquor laws are antiquated, draconian, and stupid.  Shame on them for stepping into this and shame on whoever complained.  That’s all I have to say about that nonsense.

Now then, the food.  I absolutely ate my face off this year at Musikfest, largely in part to the $70 in tickets that I was handed as people were leaving Musikfest, never to return.  This year I only consumed about 5 Hogar Crea shish kabobs this year, down from my record nine last year.  Each one was ridiculously delicious.  I wish I could get a paycheck in shish kabobs instead of money.  I didn’t do deep fried anything this year, as I usually reserve that for something more hickfest-ish….the Allentown Fair.

There was much more jerk chicken this year than I remembered in the past, however none of it I found was spicy enough and dousing it in hotsauce just isn’t the same as good spices from the get-go.  The Bethlehem Dairy Store, which had three locations throughout the fest this year rocked out some pretty delicious (and monstrous) sundaes.  I was pretty excited to try Mr. Bill’s lime fizz but was fairly disappointed when it tastes little more than slightly-flavored seltzer.  Aw Schucks was serving up their usual delicious corn, which is always a standby if there’s nothing else new or interesting.  Kind of a downer, but Alando’s Kitchen’s food didn’t look entirely appetizing when I stopped by so I skipped on that.  Ostrowski’s Polish Sausage served up an absolutely delightful spicy kielbasa with sweet peppers and onions strewn atop.  There was a bunch that I didn’t get to hit up this year and I’ve made a resolve to eat more and document it better next year.

Now onto the real reason the festival exists, music (this is just what they tell me, I think it exists for beer, food, and camaraderie)!  I saw a few shows while wandering around Musikfest, but I’ll detail the best three I saw here.  Two of them were headlining shows at Riverplace and the other a little jazz/funk/rock band I had never heard of until Musikfest.

I’ll start off with opening night at the Counting Crows.  I had media tickets thanks to Discover Lehigh Valley, who I covered the event and wrote an article for.  You can chalk me up to the “not a huge Counting Crows fan but know their hit singles” crowd, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  The whole concert was a bit of a head-scratcher, with bands coming on and going off stage and a grating mix of music.  Counting Crows would be on stage with Augustana, all of a sudden Augustana would be alone playing one of their songs, then out of nowhere an untalented rapper shows up, and it’s back to just the Counting Crows.  Rinse and repeat for a while.  Skip out on the Counting Crow’s biggest hit, Mr. Jones, and a sprawling 10 minute rendition of Long December and you’ve got yourself one of the weirdest, possibly worst Riverplace shows I’ve seen.  I heard a lot of the diehard Counting Crows fans loved it, but how many of them are there these days?  The only saving grace?  My friend over at VineyardRoad.com hooked it up with VIP Garden Tent tickets and there was free drinks flowing allllll night and they were not for the faint of heart.

The second show I’m going to talk about I actually caught twice, once at Volksplatz (the best venue at Musikfest) and the second at Americaplatz (one of the worst venues at Musikfest, due to it being so far removed from everything else).  The band?  Trombone Shorty from Louisiana, and holy hell can they kill a set.  Trombone Shorty, the nickname of the frontman, has been playing since he was barely big enough to carry a trombone (seriously, check this), and it shows.  What looks like a bunch of young 20-somethings in a ska band turned out to be some of the best musicians I’ve seen in a while.  At Volksplatz the crowd was super, super into the band, while Americaplatz was a lot more mellow (this location is usually less intense, and it was raining out as well).  Regardless of the crowd, Trombone Shorty tore it up by playing various originals as well as some older Sinatra and even music that was written by Short’s grandfather.  I have a video of the closing of the Americaplatz show but my phone isn’t cooperating and I can’t upload it.  You can check out some of their recorded music but let me just say that their recorded stuff doesn’t hold a candle to seeing these guys live.

And just like I saw the opening headliner, it was only fit to see the closing headliner as well.  For full-discolure purposes which are now required by law (but I practice regardless), I do have to tell you that I got in to take photos for free, however I purchased a ticket for the show.  Little did I know Artsquest had a ticket set aside for me until after the show, but that’s my fair warning of any potential bias here. 

Anywho, the closing show was Sublime.  Yes, the Sublime that hasn’t played since 1996 when their lead singer died due to a heroin overdose.  The same Sublime you hear non-stop on the radio during the summer and blaring from the cars of stoners year round.  They replaced their singer with a guy that was actually born the same year Sublime started named Rome Ramirez.  He came onto the scene earlier this year with the Dirty Heads and their single “Lay Me Down” which garnered a lot of play on Philly’s Radio 104.5  Fittingly enough, the Dirty Heads were the second opener for the show and played a great show (their latest, and only, album is perfect summer material.)  Ramirez came out to accompany the Dirty Heads for Lay Me Down and shortly thereafter Sublime took the stage. 

The band come out with a bang and sounded absolutely great.  Rome doesn’t look like Brad at all but is a dead ringer for his voice.  After powering through the first couple songs, however, everything seemed to peter out.  There were a lot of hardcore fans up front that were smoking through loads of weed and singing every lyric, but even as a pretty dedicated listener the middle of the show was lost on me.  Rome either sounded muddled or wasn’t singing well and the lyrics became hard to distinguish, which was a shame because some of my favorite songs were in the middle of the set.  Towards the end it picked up again, however, and the band closed with a bang playing What I Got and Santeria to close out the night.  This show was the first time I’ve ever seen crowd surfing at Riverplace which I thought was hilarious considering the chair inbetween everyone and just the logistics of it all.  All told it was a very fun show and definitely one of the better ones I’ve seen at Riverplace.  The party atmosphere was lively, young, and fun.

Looking towards next year’s Musikfest?  It’ll be an interesting one, that’s for sure.  Musikfest as the residents have known it for years is dead.  Gone.  No more.  I heard words from a few business owners during the festival about Main Street moving to West Lehigh, near the train depot.  Not long after I heard these rumors the Morning Call dropped the bomb that Americaplatz, Main Street, and Liederplatz could be forever moving to the South Side, following in the footsteps of Riverplace which is moving over to the SteelStacks.

Depending on what happens depends on how I feel about all of this.  I’ve forever lamented that Americaplatz is too far out of the way of everything, however Main Street has been a staple of Musikfest ever since I can remember going there as a kid.  Even though the police hate it and dub it “pubertyplatz” and most of the arrests are there, it’s just been an accepted thing and a tradition.  Effectively splitting Musikfest in two would be downright weird and, for festival-goers, logistically terrible.  The only way I could see splitting up the festival between north and southside is providing a direct link to walk between the two, such as the Fahy Bridge being shut down.  Shuttles-only would not do.  I’ll be interested to see what happens and I’ll provide a bit more personal analysis once more details leak out.  One thing is certain though:  anything is better than the current Riverplace stage, as evidenced by the ~20 mosquito bites that are still healing around my ankles.

I do want to thank all of the police officers, Artsquest staff, volunteers, and other people involved with Musikfest.  As much as some residents bitch about Musikfest, it really is an awesome event with tons of great, free things to do that really makes the community shine.

Tomorrow at Allentown Brew Works they’re kicking off the only Lehigh Valley whiskey event I’ve ever heard of and it’s shaped up to be an awesome event.  For starters, they’ve got Lew Bryson, author of Seen Through A Glass, managing editor over at Malt Advocate, and author of his own series of books about Pennsylvania and New Jersey breweries.  That’s awesome itself.

Next they’ve got bourbon, and lots of it.  Marker’s Mark 46, just release.  My old favorite, Knob Creek.  Some of the best bourbons for their price and for their availability:  Blanton’s, Eagle Rare Single, and Buffalo Trace.  A special treat? A lineup of Four Roses.  Top that off with bourbon beers from Beau Baden, Stoudt’s, Weyerbacher (I smell Insanity and Heresy coming), and Yards, you really, really can’t go wrong by attending this.  Top this all off with bourbon-inspired food, an area to smoke cigars, and a great venue…well I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday.

Tickets are $45, and they’ve got DD tickets for $25.  I’ll be taking photos and notes so please check back on the full report about this event!  For more information head over to The Brew Works website.

Getting There

Getting to Musikfest is generally a pain in the ass.  All of downtown, SouthSide, and everywhere is backed up.  If you must drive over, park far away.  Park above the Old Brewery Tavern, across the bridge from Brew Works, or on the SouthSide and go over the Fahy Bridge, otherwise you’ll be paying ~$10 for a parking lot and most of those fill up fast as well.  Better yet?  Shuttle your ass in.  I tell everyone to go to the Hellertown Giant, drop their car, and take the drunk bus in.

The Drunking  Drinking

For those of you who aren’t aware (really, there’s people that don’t know?), Musikfest, in my mind, exists solely to drink.  Music second, food third, seeing random people from High School and your office that you hate fourth.  Now, how does one drink at Musikfest?  Well, they’ve got tents with beer and such.  They’ve also got wine and mixed drinks floating around.  First: buy a mug.  You’ll save money.  Get a blinking mug RIGHT AWAY because no matter what, when you’re drunk, you’ll be like, “screw this regular mug, I’m getting a blinking one!”  Just spend the extra cabbage immediately and get it out of your system.

I avoid all beer tents but one:  Volksplatz.  Go to Bethlehem Brew Works.  Face it.  Now turn around.  See the Sun Inn?  See that little alleyway beside it?  Follow it.  Prepared to find the beer tent with the shortest lines in all the Festland.  Enjoy. (Alternate:  Americaplatz, but that’s soooo far away from all the action)

I usually try to buy from Musikest, however I am a beer snob.  I like really great beer, and sometimes the Yuengling just doesn’t cut it.  Enter Hotel Bethlehem, who serves Guinness (eh) among other stuff, Bethlehem Brew Works who serves up their own stuff (yay!), and Starfish, who has craft beer on tap (double yay!).  If you’re just really goddamn cheap you can hit up Joe’s, Penn Pizza, or Ripper’s for discounted refills, but you can’t use those precious tickets.

The Food

Hello, and welcome to Gain Ten Pounds and Spend Fifty Dollars Musikfest Food.  There’s a lot of annual delights that I’ve been devouring since I was probably too young to understand what alcohol was.  So, probably 3.

Aw Shucks – You see this at pretty much every event/fair around the area, but it’s still a must-have.  Roasted corn, still on the cob, doused in real butter, sprinkled with spice and topped off with some parm.  Easy to eat while walking to the next beer tent.  Found in:  Handwerkplatz

Hogar Krea Shish Kabobs – Oh, all that is heavenly.  I have literally come to Musikfest, acquired these, and left.  This is the single best meal in all of Musikfest.  Meat on open flames with smoke that you can see for miles (that’s a lie).  Sweet, barely-charred-on-the-edges green pepper, and sweet onions combine to make this the most amazing thing you’ll shove down your gullet all week.  No joke.  Found in:  Handwerkplatz

Take-a-Taco – Another annual favorite, they’ve got all kinds of tacos and fajitas.  Pretty simple stuff, but unabashedly tasty.  Found on:  Main Street

D&J Concessions – FRIED EVERYTHING.  Cheesecake.  PB&J Sandwiches.  God knows what else.  If this doesn’t sound good, do yourself a favor and just try it.  It’ll blow your mind.  Then go home and curl up in the fetal position and cry about what you just did to your arteries and start doing pushups.  Found in:  Plaza Tropical

Alando’s Kitchen - A newcomer to the Fest, this is African food from a little kitchen that operates in the back of Wired Cafe.  They’ll be cooking up authentic ethnic cuisine so it’ll be interesting to taste something different and new.  Found in:  Volksplatz.

Made in Brazil - Yet another newcomer to Musikfest, from the people that own Made in Brazil in Allentown and Rios in Nazareth.  If you’ve never been to either of those places do yourself a favor and get there.  Absolutely amazing different meats done up in Brazillian steakhouse-style.  It’s a little lengthy to get into what that exactly means, but if their tent is anything like their restaurants you’re in for some tasty, tasty snacks.  Found in:  Volksplatz

The Music

Dina Hall – A local flavor known for her great voice and guitar work.  She plays Starfish, some local open mics, and Wired Cafe now and then.  Always a good time and her show is early on and a great start to your first night.  Liederplatz 6-7:30 Friday August 6. 

Three Legged Fox – Very, very chill summery music.  Frequently referred to as Jack Johnson-like, which means you just want to chill out after a hot day, drink a beer, and listen to music exactly like this.  Liederplatz 8p-10p Friday, August 6.

Counting Crows – In my opinion one of the only other paid shows worth seeing, even if you only know Mr. Jones.  These guys have a bunch of hits, have been on the radio for years, and are known to put on a solid set.  Throw that in with the fact that it’s the opening night show at Musikfest and you’ve got a great way to start your week of festing.  I’ll be covering this one in depth, both for The El Vee and for an article at Discover Lehigh Valley who awesomely hooked me up with the tickets.  Friday, August 6th at Sands Riverplace.  Doors at 6pm.  Note: You have to buy tix for this show. 

Lindyhop Swing Dancers - If you’ve got no idea what Lindy hopping is, take a look over here at some videos.  Needless to say it’s awesome, awesome swing dancing.  If you like any sort of fun you’ll be at this with your jaw agape at how good some of these people are.  7:30-8:10 at Festplatz  Saturday Aug 7th

Mama Jama - Most people here will be stoned.  If you like Marley, come to this.  If you like reggae, come to this.  Sunday, August 8th 9-11 at Volksplatz

Hannah Graser - A young girl who I saw play some open mics that has a great collection of covers as well as some stunning original music for her age.  Check her out at Lyrikplatz Monday August 9th from 7p-7:30p.

Drawing a Blank – Not sure if these guys are the punk band in the link but I can’t find any other “Drawing a Blank”.  If that’s really them, then this should be a great show.  Maybe I’ll see my first ever FestPit.

Scott Mckenna – Always a favorite of mine…I don’t know how this guy isn’t famous yet.  He usually performs with guitar prodigy Nick van Wyk.  Together they make some fantastic pop music.  It’s a shame they’re not on a bigger stage for a longer period of time.  6-6:30pm at Lyrikplatz on Tuesday, August 10th.

Seamus Kennedy – Was introduced to this one through a friend playing drinking songs.  Awesome Celtic music that will make you yearn for Celticfest.  ABSOLUTELY make sure you have a full beer for when he plays the Barley Mow.  1:30-2:30p and 5-6:30p Tuesday, August 10th at Volksplatz.

The Fabulous Greaseband – The band your parents and grandparents want to go see.  Chock full of 50s-70s cover music, they do a great job and are one of the favorites for the older crowd.  If you like Grease, Valens, or anything older you’ll want to give them a look.  That, and they’ve been around FOREVER.  Thursday August 12 8-11 at Festplatz.

Connie Edinger – Awesome local musician with an amazing voice.  She does cover songs of 70s-80s rock and she can belt a tune like no other.  You won’t be disappointed.  See her 7-7:30p at Lyrikplatz on Thursday, August 12.

Sublime – Everyone knows who these guys are.  90’s ska/reggae/punk from California that is the epitome of summer soundtracks.  Songs about drugs, girls, and everything inbetween, they recently reformed after their lead singer Bradley Noll died before their smash-hit record came out.  The new dude doesn’t look like Brad but sounds just the same.  Easily going to be a stand-out show, and the openers The Dirty Heads have a really solid record to boot.  I should be hitting this up if I can get in so there may or may not be photos.  Note: You have to buy tix for this show.  Sunday, August 15, 2010 at Sands Riverplace.  Doors at 6pm.

Other Tips

I’m going to go against what Lehigh Valley With Love says and say don’t even bother with anything around Musikfest.  It’ll be wayyyy too crowded and everyone gets in fights and gets arrested.  Truck your ass over the Fahy and hit up Macgrady’s or Tally Ho if you want a college bar, The Firehouse if you want a shithole, Looper’s if you’re older, or The Bookstore if you want good drinks/beer and want to listen to more swing music.  Oh yeah, there’s a casino somewhere too.

Also, going towards Volksplatz there is a HUGE bottleneck.  Look at the map, try to avoid it.  It sucks being caught in there.  Follow The El Vee and Musikfest on Twitter for up-to-date info throughout Musikfest!  Stop back and check out updates and such.

Go to the Musikfest website for additional info about other concerts, food, maps, etc.  This is just a guide to what I think is good…there’s so much more to see.

The past few weeks saw the introduction of two very different wine festivals to the Lehigh Valley.  Both were the first annual iterations, however one was a massive failure while the other was a glimmer of hope for the future.

The Riverside Wine Festival took place on May 22nd and 23rd in a grassy area on Sand Island in Bethlehem.  As I drove up I was surprised at the amount of cars filling the area.  I soon found out that most of them were in the area for a play at the Ice House, rather than for the wine festival.  Upon walking up I shelled out a staggering $20 and glanced around.  There wasn’t many people and there wasn’t much going on.  I wasn’t going to attend in the first place based on just the winery list, but I decided I should do it for the good of The El Vee.

Upon entering the “tasting area” I was handed a wine glass.  From a box, the kind you buy a load of at Walmart for dirt cheap.  So with my $1 glass I ventured to the winery tables, of which there were 5, to attempt to get the rest of my $19 worth.  I didn’t end up doing so.  Present were Amore, Antler Ridge, Blue Mountain, Cherry Valley, and Franklin Hill.  I walked around and tasted the highlights of each…more wineries didn’t bring their full selections or even their best wines.  I’m not one to usually complain about sample sizes, but the pours were terribly small, sometimes just enough to get a sip.

Some of the tables didn’t have a place to dump wine that you didn’t want any longer.  Even more didn’t have water to rinse your glass between tastings and tables.  The website told of “several food vendors on site to tease the palate with a variety of delectable choices.”  The food vendors? Your typical Musikfest fare..chicken fingers, french fries, and a stand selling different flavored nuts and candy.  FAR from what I would want to pair with a good wine on a lazy Sunday.

All-in-all, the Riverside Wine Festival felt like a waste of time.  It was more than quarter-assed than half-assed.  The money supposedly went to help fund the Star of Bethlehem Festival, of which the website is extremely vague, giving no dates or information other than bland descriptions of what the festival will supposedly stand for.  For $10 in July you can go to Penn’s Peak for Wine on the Mountain, sample 9 Lehigh Valley wineries, get an engraved glass, and have access to way more delicious food than flavored nuts and ballpark concessions.  For the Riverside Wine Festival to survive and be profitable they really need to market (which they did little-to-none of), drop the price, add more places to buy GOURMET food, and add more wineries or they’re going to flail again just like they did this year.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum we have the Lehigh Valley Food and Wine Festival, promoted and held at the Sands Casino and benefitting the Northampton County Community College’s culinary program.  An aside real quick, the NCCC culinary guys are the ones from the Hampton Winds that won the Souperbowl.  The obviously produce top-notch food so any money going into making this program even better is good by me.

After paying my $75, which at first seemed like a LOT of money, I entered the wine festival.  I was greated with an engraved LV Food and Wine Festival glass, a guide to all of the food vendors, and a list of the wines that were being poured.  Awesome.  Inside the gigantic tent in the back of the Sands’ parking lot the Valley’s finest restaurants were dishing out absolute loads of deliciousness upon the masses.

I’m just going to go over some of the hits or misses here real quick…the whole list of food and wine will be at the end of the post.  Bolete can do no wrong.  They must shit delicious food and sweat it out of their pores.  The halibut tacos, with the rich avocado mousse, tart onion, and sweet fruit offered up a great twist on an old classic and made me want to grab a bottle of dry riesling and sit outside all day.  The steak from Emeril’s was the best beef there, not surprisingly.  The real Emeril’s stand-out there was New Orleans with its turtle soup.  Dark, hearty, and perfect for the rain that accompanied the festival, it packed just the right amount of expected cajun spice and was powerfully flavorful.  I’ve only ever had turtle soup one other place in the valley, at the Pine Room at Saucon Valley Country Club, and it paled in comparison.  The Hampton Winds carrot ginger soup with cardamon cream was the best version of that soup I’ve tried to date.  Many places that attempt it miss the flavor matching completely but it was spot on here, providing for a refreshing break between everything else.  Ocean’s Korean tuna tartar on scallion pancakes was quite possibly the dish of the event.  The soy/ginger and rich wasabi mousse, on the salty, strong scallion pancake and a gorgeous piece of fish really did it for me.  Bravo.  The Savory Grill’s Jail Island salmon with fruit salsa wasn’t inventive, crazy, or gourmet, it was just delicious and would make for a great summer dish.  Sodexho did good with their potato gnocchi and even better with their kiwi berry intermezzo.  I could’ve drank a gallon of the stuff.  St James Gate came in with the most interesting dish, the ale-poached chicken meatload, onion marmalade, and mustard vinaigrette, but I must admit that it was oddly delicious.

And now for some of not-so-good things I tried that day.  The Cafe’s genoise was delicious, but holy richness.  Any more than a small bite of this and you’re asking for a stomach ache and a coronary.  Moving on…I eat asparagus.  It’s good.  But I just can’t do asparagus soup…I tried it at the Souperbowl and it was mediocre but The Farmhouse’s rendition with local goat cheese was nearly gag-inducing.  I saw lots of very full cups of this going into the trash so I know it wasn’t just me.  It’s a shame since The Farmhouse is one of the most respected culinary destinations around, but you can’t win em’ all.  And now we come to Prime Steakhouse.  I haven’t made it there yet, but they didn’t give me a good first impression with their prime rib and sirloin sandwich bites.  The first bite I took was complete fat.  Into the garbage it went.  Shula’s Steakhouse?  If you’ve got steakhouse in your name don’t bring the calamari.  Show off what your restaurant is really all about and don’t be cheap.  (Note, I’m not bitching because I feel like I’m entitled to try a $100 steak at a food event, I’m bitching because it’s a stupid business practice.  I’ve done the Shula’s think and dropped $200+ on a meal there and it was the best steak in the Lehigh Valley).  And lastly, Villa Enterprises’ stuff was all very meh.  Not terrible or bad, just meh.

And to the wine:  Only two Lehigh Valley vineyards were displayed which was kind of disappointing: Blue Mountain and Clover Hill.  The only other PA wine was from Chaddsford (near Philly) and all of the rest was from Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Washington, Argentine, Australia, California, Chile, and France.  There were a lot of good, cheap selections here that wowed me.  To name a few: Wyndham Shiraz Bin 555, Mondavi Fume Blanc, Marques de Casa Concha Carmenere, and the Hogue Cellars Genesis Cabernet.  I didn’t have much that was terrible…although I wouldn’t pick up a bottle of Mondavi Woodbridge Moscato or Graffigna Pinot Grigio anytime soon.  To my surprise they were dishing out Perrier Jouet Gran Brut NV, which will run you about $43 a bottle at the store.  I snapped up a few glasses of that (one of the only wines that fully ran out) and a few of the Charles De Fere Cuvee Jean Louis Brut NV.  Nothing like some good Champagne to round out the afternoon.

The organization of this event was impeccable.  The tent was probably just big enough (could always be bigger), they had the Craig Thatcher Band with Nyk van Wyk cranking out awesome tunes (seriously, Kashmir on the violin made the crowd go nuts), and everything went smoothly.  Plates with wine-glass holders built in were perfect.  The passes that were supposed to be punched limiting your sampling of wine usually weren’t punched at all.  The samples weren’t samples, they were full glasses.  The ONLY request I have for next year is they had a big dance area in front of the band stage that was empty until everyone was done eating and drinking.  For the first few hours they should fill it up with standing tables as there was nowhere just to set your plate down and eat for a second, forcing many to leave the tent and side on curbs around the area.  Once most of the eating is done they could just have a few people remove the tables and open up the dance area, problem solved.  It was an absolutely amazing event…I came out feeling like every cent of that $75 was worth it.  I was stuffed like a pig and feeling great.  According to a few of the Sands people I overheard, about 900 people attended, and I’d expect that number to grow significantly for next year.  Until then!

The list of food:

Burgers and More by Emeril:
Mini slider, creole mustard, lettuce, tomato, and kicked up coleslaw
Mini slider, balsamic onions, lettuce, tomato, and kicked up coleslaw
Mini chicken slider, muenster, lettuce, tomato, and kicked up coleslaw

Blue: Hawaiian ahi sashimi on a toasted corn chip with asian microgreens and a wasabi soy mayo

Bolete:  Halibut ceviche tacos, house made crisp tortilla, avocado mousse, picled red onion, and tropical fruit salsa

Bravo!:
House-made tiramasu
Bruschetta roma

The Cafe: Genoise with buttercream

Carnegie Deli:
Warm sliced Carnegie pastrami, rye bread, coleslaw, and mustard
Warm sliced Carnegie corned beef, rye bread, cole slaw, and mustard

Edge: Mushroom toast-sauteed crimini, oyster and shitake mushrooms with triple cream brie, brioche, and a tarragon drizzle

Emeril’s Chop House:
Pepper-crusted prime NY strip loin, wild mushroom salad, pinot reduction
Shrimp and grits with scallions, bacon, and mushrooms

Emeril’s New Orleans:
Turtle soup
Local goat cheese and heirloom tomato bruschetta

The Farmhouse: Chilled asparagus soup with Stonecroft Farm goat cheese

The Hampton Winds:
Braised beef shin with southwestern slaw on crostini
Chilled carrot ginger soup with cardamon cream
Assorted pastries

Looper’s:  Brioche with mascarpone, lemon curd, and seasonal fruit

Melt:  Sweet shrimp salad with roasted yellow tomato vinaigrette, marinated roma tomatoes, and basil oil

Ocean:
Korean tuna tartar on scallion pancakes with soy-ginger vinaigrette and wasabi mouse
Lobster mac and cheese

Pacifico:  Skirt steak churrassco skewers with chimichurri sauce

Prime Steakhouse:  Prime rib and sirloin sandwiches with various sauces

The River Grille:  Chili marinated beef satays, skewered and wrapped in bibb lattuce, topped with mango tomato relish and cilantro aioli

Savory Grille:
Dr. Joe Jurgielewicz duck breast, ricotta cavatelli, blistered grape tomatoes, brown butter sauce
Panned Jail Island salmon with tropical fruit salsa

Sette Luna:
Octopus salad
Heirloom tomato gazpacho

Shula’s Steakhouse:  Calamari fried, tomato coulis, and mustard aioli

Sodexho:
Potato gnocchi salad with riesling poached local asparagus and grape tomatoes and a ginger tarragon emulsion
Sun dried tomato crisps with jumbo lump crab and chipolte aioli
Kiwi berry intermezzo

St James Gate:
Ale poached chicken meatloaf, cipiollini onion marmalade, mustard vinaigrette
Citrus cured Atlantic salmon, new potato salad, capers, horseradish cream, and shaved fennel

Villa Enterprises:
Baked ziti
Sausage and peppers
Chicken and parmesan
Cheese ravioli
Meatballs
Hot wings
Garlic rolls

Wegmans:
Mini mousse cups
Assorted Chocolates

The wine:

Argentina
Graffigna Pinot Grigio
Graffigna Malbec

Australia
Wyndham Shiraz Bin 555
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz
Jacob’s Creek Pinot Grigio
Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Rose

California Au Bon Climat Winery
Emeril’s Chardonnay
Emeril’s Red Red Wine
Au Bon Climat Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc

California Robert Mondavi
Woodbridge Moscato
Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir
Solaire Cabernet Sauvignon
Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc

Chile
Frontera Chardonnay
Frontera Cabernet/Merlot Blend
Casillero Del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon
Marques de Casa Concha Carmenere

France
Charles De Fere Cuvee Jean Louis Brut
Louis Latour Due Chardonnay/Viognier
Domaine Du Pesquier Cotes Du Rhone
Perrier Jouet Grand Brut
Chateau Du Bois Chantant

Italy
Banfi Le Rime Pinot Grigio
Banfo Rosa Regale Brachetto
Banfi Centine Rosso
Banfi Chianti Classico Reserva
Movendo Moscato

New Zealand
Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc
Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay
Kim Crawford Pinot Noir
Kim Crawford Pinot Grigio

Spain
Campo Viejo Temranillo Crianzo
Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva

Washington
Hogue Cellars Johhnisberg Riesling
Hogue Cellars Chardonnay
Hogue Cellars Merlot
Hogue Cellars Genesis Cabernet Sauvignon

The El Vee

For this dinner the Bookstore imported Damon Dyer, a world-renouned bartender who won Benedictine’s Alchemists of our Age contest and is as charming as he is talented.  Dyer bartended at the Flatiron Lounge and Jack the Horse Tavern in NYC before leaving to become a consultant.  And consult he did, completely developing the Bookstore’s cocktail menu from scratch.  Incorporating classic cocktails like the Aviation and newer concoctions, the updated menu at the Bookstore is truly a masterpiece.  Anyways, onto the actual dinner portion.

The first course was a vegetable terrine, which is a sort of pate served with coarse chopped vegetables.  It was sided with dried tomato oil, cured olives, and white anchovies.  The anchovies were absolutely delicious and some of the best I’ve had to date.  The cocktail pairing was a Dutch 75, a play on the classic French 75 cocktail that subbed out the gin for geneaver, a traditional Dutch liquer that is darker and is considered the forerunner to gin.  An excellent pairing, the champagne complimented the vegetables while the genevear tamed the intense taste of the anchovies.

The second course, toro (fatty tuna belly), was prepared with tatsoi and balsamic glaze (I had to opt out of the shrimp chips and calamari due to allergies).  Tatsoi is an Asian herb that added a great depth to the rare toro and topped off with the balsamic glaze made for a fantastic place.  It was paired with an Este Gabacho, utilizing pisco (a Peruvian liqour distilled from grapes, dry vermouth, bitters, and St Germain (and elderflower liquer).  Giving off a strong but floral perfume, the light drink paired delightfully with the tuna, creating a culinary duet that spanned continents to deliver.

Next up would’ve been one of my favorite dishes if it was executed differently.  A masterfully seared pork tenderloin was drizzled in carrot ginger puree and place atop a warm, wilted dandelion salad.  Everything was fantastic until the dandelion, which displayed its characteristically bitter gastonomy and really didn’t work well for me.  The pork tenderloin by itself was probably the best I’ve had in my life, and the carrot ginger only accented the taste.  I’m not sure what the intentions here were but it didn’t really work for me.  Paired with it was a Jacques Rose, a play on the traditional Jack Rose, which in Dyer’s formula combined Laird’s Applejack, pomegranate grenadine, and lemon juice to produce a seriously hefty drink that went well against the pork and puree, but sadly couldn’t help those dandelions.

Next up was hands down my favorite dish, and possibly the most ballsy and inventive.  There’s not a places in the area that will throw down some carpaccio (raw) beef on someone’s plate, but I’m always delighted when I see it happen.  A true culinary delight, eating steak tartare or carpaccio is really an experience in sublime textures and tastes, one that you can only find on the menu at high-end places in the area like Bolete or Emeril’s Chophouse (Emeril’s beef carpaccio is excellent by the way).  Anyways, I digress from my foodie geeking…. This plate was American Wagyu done three ways: carpaccio with sweet soy tempura mushrooms, au gratin au poivre, and with pearl onion jam.  The carpaccio, as expected, was absolutely amazing.  Perfect temperature with a most magnificent cut, the tempura mushrooms adding a rich, hearty taste to the other-worldly texture.  The au gratin (potato preparation) au poivre (coated with black peppercorns and seared to rare) was also exceptional in the fact that it delivered such an intense dose of peppercorn but still remained a structured and balanced dish with steak flavors serving as a compliment rather than a backdrop.  The pearl onion preparation, my least favorite of the three, was still just beautiful.  This dish alone should be added to the menu full-time.  The cocktail to stand up to all of this culinary magnificence?  Vieux Carre, a cocktail hailing from the 30s in the French Quarter.  Absinthe.  Rye whiskey.  Cognac.  Benedictine, vemouth, and two types of bitters.  It’s huge, in your face, and perfect for this dish.  I could live off of this.

Ahem, moving on.  Lastly?  Dessert.  In the form of an intriguing cheese soufflé topped off with aztec chocolate bitters, sweet blackberry compote, and sided with a bitter chocolate wafer.  To accompany?  A glass of averna and a glass of champagne.  The cheese souflee went with the champagne and the averna went with the bitter chocolate.  What compadres.  I think the averna may have been too much for some people there because it’s extremely bitter, pungent, and not what most people are used to.  For me it was a welcome surprise and a real kick in the ass for the end of the meal.

Afterwards I pestered Damon to make me a few drinks from competitions past, including an Averna competition that he was in and the cocktail that he used to win the Benedictine Alchemist of our Age distinction.  He happily made both (a Mole and a Monte Cassino, respectively) , including stories about David Wondrich (famous cocktilian that writes for Esquire) and the juries for such competitions.  Absolutely compelling, especially when you’re pretty in the bag.  All-in-all, for $65 you’re getting way more than your money’s worth.  There were 6 cocktails (5 plus a bonus Corpse Reviver #2), which would equal $66 on a regular night at the bar, so you’re basically getting dinner for free.  And what a wonderful dinner it was.

I’d HIGHLY suggest you sign up for the next cocktail dinner ASAP.  It’s on May 4th at 7pm, hosted by guest bartender Abraham Hawkins from the excellent Dutch Kills bar in NYC.  Be there.

The Bookstore
336 Adams St, Bethlehem, PA
http://www.thebookstorespeakeasy.com

For full disclosure, and I think I’ve mentioned this here before, I’m a jury member and sometimes sit on board meetings for the organization so there’s no question about bias here.  The event, for a first-time-deal, went off extremely well.

The place was pretty packed with TONS of food (seriously more than anyone could eat) and better yet?  EVERYONE in attendance got a prize of some sort.  Tons and tons of stuff was donated, from Bolete gift certs to free tickets to the film festival.  The food from all of the vendors was great and there was seriously far too much food to try everything.  A silent auction was held with lots of nice prizes from all over the valley, as well as a raffle for a TV.

The major event of the evening though was the drawing for $2,500.  After all the names were drawn out for the other prizes 5 people remained.  The option was given for the remaining 5 to divide the money and each take home $500 or risk it and go for the whole shebang.  They ended up agreeing to divide the money and the 5 lucky winners can be seen down below in the pictures.Background music was provided by a really amazing band from Allentown named The Subtle with a lead vocalists that plays the mouth horn.  Really, go listen.  Anyways, it was a great fundraiser and I hope to see you all out there next year!

South Side Film Institute
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I got to Lehigh extremely early.  Too early.  Doors weren’t supposed to open until 8 and I got there at 6:30, just to ensure that I’d get in.  Turns out I was the first one there.  I navigated my way to the basement of Packard Lab to the General Motors Auditorium and used one of their computer terminals to tweet and read news.  Around 7:30 the masses started showing up and promptly at 8pm the doors flung open.

For not being advertised at all other than Facebook the show drew a pretty good crowd.  The auditorium was tiny…holding a few hundred at best with many left to stand along the sides and in the back.  Since this was a short notice show, I was curious as to who the opener would be.  Out walks Todd Barry, famed comedian from Flight of the Conchords.  And man, did he kill it.  A poor student in the front row opened his trap and announced that he was an accounting major when Barry asked the crowd how many were engineering students.  He was subject to a few minutes of ridicule, especially after he mentioned that after becoming an accountant he had aspirations to become a lawyer.  “Man, NO ONE must talk to this guy.  He’s going to rip me apart on his blog… accountantlawyer.blogspot.com.  He practices law in all the ways that aren’t interesting.”  He even jabbed at the Lehigh Valley’s Transbridge bus company, which he had used to travel from NYC.

Louis C.K. came out and got right into things.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with his comedy, it’s exceedingly vulgar and completely true.  His first pieces were brand new material, so new that many places probably haven’t seen it and there’s no videos of it on YouTube yet.  He talked in depth about the Catholic church and how the Pope has sex with kids.  Considering all of the news coming out lately, it was very timely and extremely hilarious.  He also ripped on terrorists, jews, etc. but the Pope bit I think really took the cake for the whole night.  Afterwards he went into some of the stuff from his last tour which stopped at the State Theatre in Easton.  Despite this, it was all pretty fresh and very funny.  All in all a fantastic event, especially because it was free and open to anyone.  Props to Lehigh University Productions and everything that went into pulling this off on a short notice.