Tag Archives: Salute! Wine Festival

The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast Episode 65

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In Episode #65, proudly recorded at Test Pattern Studios:

  • Wise Man Brewing is doing a beer dinner at West End Cafe on March 22.
  • The Salute! NC Wine Festival and Texas Pete Culinary Arts Festival have merged into the Texas Pete Spirits of Summer Festival. More on that to come in future podcasts.
  • Kelly talks about Reboot’s new menu and events calendar.
  • Food Holidays.

Don’t forget our sponsors:

Washington Perk & Provision Company. Better than a convenience store but not quite a grocery store, in the heart of Washington Park and Downtown WSNC.

The Humble Bee Shoppe is challenging your perception of scratch made and leaving you with an experience you couldn’t possibly forget! With inventive flavor combos and a sense of artistry, The Humble Bee Shoppe isn’t your average bakery.

The Man Who Ate the Town is part of The Less Desirables Network. Give it a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict and TuneIn, basically anywhere you can listen to podcasts. Or you can listen here (at the bottom of the post).
This episode is archived. Contact Tim if you need to hear it. 

Bon Appetit!

The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast Episode 36

Posted on by

In Episode #36, proudly recorded from Test Pattern Studios:

Don’t forget my sponsors:

Washington Perk & Provision Company. Better than a convenience store but not quite a grocery store, in the heart of Washington Park and Downtown WSNC.

The Humble Bee Shoppe is challenging your perception of scratch made and leaving you with an experience you couldn’t possibly forget! With inventive flavor combos and a sense of artistry, The Humble Bee Shoppe isn’t your average bakery.

The Man Who Ate the Town is part of The Less Desirables Network. Give it a listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Addict and TuneIn, basically anywhere you can listen to podcasts. Or you can listen here (at the bottom of the post).

This episode is archived. Contact Tim if you need to hear it. 

Bon Appetit!

Salute! the North Carolina Wine Festival is Here!

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The wine festival that gets me going the most, Salute! the North Carolina Wine Festival, is tomorrow, June 4, from noon until 6pm in downtown Winston-Salem. I’m excited about the wine, the atmosphere, the people watching and yes, the food. I’m going to reprint the entry from the NC Food & Wine University page with some of my own stuff, if you’ll indulge me. Again, this excerpt is property of Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership and Salute! the NC Wine Festival.1045x299_fill_header

For decades it seems, the fine art of wine appreciation and selecting the proper wine to go with certain foods left many beginners a tad intimidated.  There was a sense of mystery surrounding the different varietals and a classic stereotype of “wine snobbery” that accompanied those who had solved the puzzle.  More recently, as wines have become more affordable and available from national, regional and local vineyards, many novices continue to feel unqualified to tiptoe into the world of oenophiles, the wine experts.

Salute! The North Carolina Wine Celebration wants to forever put aside those feelings of wine incompetence with an entertaining and educational opportunity perfect for all levels of wine-lovers.  De-mystifying the wonderful world of wine, and clarifying the art of food and wine pairings that bring out the best in our North Carolina wines is the mission of “North Carolina Food & Wine University,” back by popular demand at this year’s festival.

Five unique presentations will be held at NCF&WU every 45 minutes throughout the day.  The knowledgeable local chefs from some of the best restaurants and winemakers from some great NC wineries will help unravel the mysteries of wine, including how to swirl, sniff and savor the luscious varietals that are being produced in our state.

But the biggest lesson to learn at NCF&WU is how to relax and enjoy the experience and the experiments of mixing and matching your favorite wines with different foods.  Or maybe you are trying to find your favorite type of wine?  At this University, there are no wrong questions, and the only test will be as you rate the flavors of wines you’ll try while enjoying the festival!  Be sure you don’t skip these classes….plan to attend at least one during your day at Salute!

Schedule of Chefs Demos and Wineries:   

12:30 – 
Chef Stephanie Tyson, Sweet Potatoes and Hanover Park Vineyards 
– Cornbread Hoe Cake with collard green bruschetta & goat cheese topped with Texas Pete CHA! spiced Shrimp with caviar

Chef Stephanie is the culinary genius behind much of Sweet Potatoes’ success, along with her partner, the awesome Vivian Joiner. Hanover Park has always impressed me with their wares and I’ve had several tastings with them in restaurants in this town.

1:30 –
Chef Richard Miller, Graze Restaurant + Raylen Vineyards
– Grilled NC Shrimp and Oysters with Good Night Brothers Country Ham
      Cucumber Salad, Tossed Local Greens, Lemon mustard vinaigrette

Chef Richard is the reigning champion of the Competition Dining series and makes Graze a not-of-the-ordinary hotel restaurant. Raylen is a beautiful vineyard that produces some great wines. They have their own festival coming up in July.

 2:30 –
Chef Travis Myers, Willow’s Bistro and Jones von Drehl Vineyards
ALL LOCAL CHALLENGE featuring fresh produce from Minglewood Farms

– Duck 2ways with Harmony Ridge duck breast, pulled confit leg, duck dirty risotto, wilted Cheshire Farms dino kale, bacon jam & roasted duck jus. 

Chef Travis is one of the most talented chefs I know and there’s a reason I call him “Wonderboy.” You’ll see when you taste his food. I don’t know about Jones von Drehl but I am sure I won’t be able to say that after tomorrow.

3:30 –
Chef Kristina Fuller, Crafted: The Art of the Taco and Raffaldini Vineyards 

– Bahn Mi Taco Bulgogi beef, pickled daikon radishes, carrots and onions, jalapeño, white sauce, cilantro  

Former guest on The Less Desirables, Chef Kris has a way, and a vision, with the non-conventional when it comes to food. She’s a great talent and Raffaldini has to be one of the most pristine wineries in the Yadkin Valley, not to mention in the state. It’s picturesque and looks like you’re in Tuscany (at least from what I have seen that Tuscany looks like), plus the wine is fantastic.

4:30 –
Chef Tirra Cowan from Black Mountain Chocolate and Lake James Cellars 
– Dark Chocolate Torte with Levering Orchards Sour Cherry Compote

Another former TLD guest, Chef Tirra makes some out-of-this-world confections over at Black Mountain Chocolate. You can go by and watch her work through the glass and you can certainly see her do her magic at this event. Like Jones von Drehl, I don’t know about Lake James Cellars but I can’t wait to.

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Salute! tickets are $25 in advance (you should purchase, now!) and $30 at the event. You can purchase tickets and get more info from their website. If you see me out tomorrow, please, come say hello. I love to meet my readers and friends.

Willow’s Bistro to Hold Wine Dinner with JOLO Winery & Vineyards

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Willow Bistro‘s chef-extraordinaire, Chef Travis Myers is teaming up with JOLO Winery & Vineyards out of Pilot willows-logo_optMountain to present a wine dinner on Tuesday, May 31, at 7pm. This is a warmup for their presentation at the NC Food & Wine University at the Salute! Wine Festival on Saturday, June 4.

The featured menu is a four-course treat that features Chef Travis’ culinary genius with the delicious vino from JOLO. The menu is as follows:

First Course
Panzanella with Pickled Shrimp
Charred baguettes, shaved red onion, pickled ramps, fire roasted tomatoes,
local seasonal vegetables, lemon caper vinaigrette. This will be paired with the 2015 JOLO Pink.

Fish Course
Salmon & Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Risotto, Gnomestead Hallow oyster mushroom, English peas, crispy pancetta. This will be paired with 2015 Golden Hallows.

Meat Course
Apple-wood Bacon wrapped Filet
Grilled portobello, Harmony Ridge Farms wilted dino kale, potatoes dauphinoise
Fair Share Farms micro garnet mustard, smoked tomato vin. This will be paired with 2015 Pilot Fog

Dessert Course
Lemon Pound Cake
Macerated blackberry & raspberry compote, vanilla Chantilly cream, JOLO sangria gelato. Paired with 2015 JOLO Sangria.

Tickets for this wine dinner event are $65 per person. You can purchase tickets by calling 336-293-4601.

Willow’s Bistro is located at 300 S Liberty St, Suite 100, in downtown Winston-Salem. It is part of the #SOB40 group of restaurants.

My experience with Chef Travis is that he doesn’t slouch in the kitchen and his meals are always top-notch and special. The tasting events are no exception. In fact, the tasting events allow Chef Travis to show off a bit, dig in and cook scrumptious items and then come from the back to address the Willow’s diners about the tasty art that he and his crew make. The service staff are always attentive and they do so with a warming smile. If you’ve not attended such an event with Chef Travis or at Willow’s in general, treat yourself; you will not be disappointed. The menu does look delicious.

l_joloWine making has been a lifelong dream turned reality for entrepreneurs and wine enthusiasts JW and Kristen Ray. They each left a life of working for someone else to make this dream come true. You can visit them for tastings most Thursdays through Sundays, 11:30am to 3:30pm with tapas. There are other special events happening, as well. Check out their calendar on their website. They are located 219 JOLO Winery Lane, Pilot Mountain. 1-855-JOLOWINE or 336-614-0030.