Foodies are fishing for the answers. Cooking for Solutions © Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Sustainable Specialties If you savor sustainability in the way of choice seafood and want to sample exciting fish dishes created by celebrity chefs from around the country, mark your calendar for May 18-20 and the latest Monterey Bay Aquarium Cooking For Solutions. The three-day cooking, demo, lecture and schmooze-a-thon is loaded with a food show and restaurant honchos, from legends like Rick Bayless and Cindy Pawlcyn to hot new hosts like Carla Hall and seafood guru Ben Sargent. The event kicks off with a Q&A session featuring Nell Newman of Newman's Own Organics line, in conversation with Chicago's renowned Rick Bayless, founder of the Frontera Farmer Foundation, as well as Michel Nischan, food visionary and president of the Wholesome Wave.
For many inquiring foodies, the big event is Friday's “Cooking for Solutions Gala,” stocked to the gills with tasting stations throughout the aquarium. Gourmet seafoods from more than 75 restaurants will line the aquarium's halls. Check out the spectacular exhibits, pause at the beer garden, pick up a souvenir wineglass. Tons of extras.
You have time to plan your visit to this three-day edible infomercial about sustaining the earth's fisheries. But I have to warn you, already several of the top events are sold out, so you'd be wise to choose your event and get your tickets immediately. www.montereybayaquarium.org
Designer Tofu Are you ready for miso-cured tofu? Better get ready, because New Leaf Community Markets just unveiled its new Japanese specialty—tofu misozuke, an intensely flavored, rich and creamy delicacy that is prized by Asiophiles and inquiring gourmets.
New to Bay Area designer food stores, the sensuous substance is a longtime legend in Japan. The folks at Rau Om Foods started making tofu misozuke last year and a cult following developed for the product that is to cheese what sake is to vintage wine. And yes, connoisseurs swear by this tofu's ability to stand up to premium sakes. The Rau Om founders stumbled on the tofu treat in Tokyo four years ago, and since they couldn't find it when they got back to California, they did the reasonable thing—they reverse engineered the flavors and came up with a remarkable product. If you're feeling adventurous, stop by the Westside New Leaf and sample Rau Om's wildly different marinated and cured tofu.
Soif Does Peay Winemaker Vanessa Wong makes some of the most supple and highly decorated pinot noirs in the country for Peay Vineyards. Come taste for yourself when Andy Peay comes to Soif Wine Bar on Sunday, April 29, for a rare pouring of some of the estate's finest pinot noir creations. Email [email protected] for your res. See you there!
