Chocolate & Beer Festival 2013--Richmond (various vendors)

This event was a great way to end beer week for me. An afternoon of sampling artisan chocolates and enjoying craft beers is my kind of afternoon. This was the 4th annual Chocolate & Beer Festival at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, and even though there were a modest number of vendors this year, compared to last year, I still enjoyed it. With my $29 ticket, I got VIP parking, a commemorative pint glass, a poster by a local artist, two tokens for chocolate samples and two tokens for two full pours of beer. Here are some of the vendors I discovered there and will continue to patronize.

Toffeeology
www.toffeeology.com
Candy is one thing I don't tend to make myself. Mostly because you have to babysit it while it cooks and you have to have the right finesse to make it right. One wrong turn and you're left with a burnt mess, something grainy or something that's just inedible. At least there are people who can do it right. I love a good toffee that's not too sweet and doesn't break your teeth when you bite into it. Toffeeology gets it right. This batch of English toffee had the right balance of texture and taste. They also come in very nice packaging.



Bridge Brands Chocolate

www.bridgebrandschocolate.com

I love dark chocolate and Bridge Brands Chocolate's dark chocolate was probably the smoothest chocolate I sampled at this event. This reminded me of the chocolate I tasted in Spain, with no weird aftertaste, graininess, or bitterness. So of course, I had to support them. They have reusable packaging that can be customized for any event or occasion and they've also teamed up with California's Milk Processor Board, so they're (legally) able to use the "got milk?" tagline on their products. As someone who used to work in Marketing, I can appreciate this.



One of their reusable, customizable tins.

Neo Cocoa
http://www.neococoa.com/

Neo Cocoa offers shell-less, handcrafted truffles. Each one was a perfect little treat. Not an overwhelming amount of sweetness, smooth, creamy and enough variety to satisfy any craving. Their Salted Caramel was divine.

Elevation 66 Brewing Co.
http://www.elevation66.com/
This was probably my favorite beer vendor at this event. They were offering a Stout and a Red Ale. I believe they were the Ramble Tamble Red Ale and Esthers Vanilla Stout. The Red Ale was mildly hoppy with a clean finish. Highly drinkable. The Stout had very nice chocolate and coffee tones with excellent body. Very delicious.

This is one event that I will definitely be looking for next year as well.

Va de Vi Bistro & Wine Bar--Walnut Creek (Eclectic, international-inspired cuisine)

Before an afternoon of shopping in Walnut Creek, my friend and I decided to have lunch at Va de Vi. Located at 1511 Mount Diablo Blvd., they are nestled right in the downtown area. They have an outdoor seating area with a relaxing waterfall and heat lamps as well as an indoor dining area and bar. As this is a pretty busy spot, I would recommend making reservations.

http://vadevi.com/

My experience here was very nice as the atmosphere is very modern and somewhat upscale, but also casual enough to go in jeans and t-shirt. The portions are smaller than most places, but I don't mind as long as the food is good. The food was good. Here's what I ate.

Mint Julep. Since I'm on a bit of a bourbon kick, I started off with this bourbon-y, mint-y cocktail and asked that it be made with Bulleit Bourbon. This one was a bit on the sweet side for my taste, but it was still very refreshing.

Bread & Butter. This did not automatically come with the meal, but was included if asked for. I'm so glad we asked for it. The bread was a crusty olive loaf that came with what tasted like a European-style, high-fat content butter. It was so creamy and sweet. I could've had this for a meal.

Trio of Sliders. These little burgers were served on house-made buns, which were very soft and tasty. There were three different kinds. From left to right. Tuna with bacon, pineapple, and teriyaki sauce. Tuna can get a bit dry if overcooked, but this one was very moist and delicious. Next to that was a piece of fried chicken thigh with chile sauce, tomato and pickles. Also a very moist piece of chicken. The last one was crispy pork belly with pickled onions and a spicy aioli. This was the best out of the three. I love a good pork belly, and even though it was a small piece, it was very well prepared and satisfying.

Roasted Butternut Squash. This was a very interesting dish and worked best if each ingredient was eaten together in one bite. The squash was prepared with caramelized onion puree, chard stem agrodolce, fried sage leaves, and calabrian chile macaroons. Each item added a little something to the dish. The squash was fresh, savory and cooked well without being too mushy, the fried sage gave a nice aroma and crispiness and the macaroons were a bit sweet. Very inventive and delicious.

Roasted Alaskan Black Cod. This was probably the prettiest dish we had. A soy glazed, perfectly prepared piece of cod was placed atop a potato cake, then topped with seaweed salad, pickled ginger and pickled fish eggs. Wasabi butter and orange oil was poured around it all and every ingredient was well balanced; literally and in taste. Very nice.

Dessert Tasting for Two. A miniature version of four treats came with this dish. This included chocolate souffle, meyer lemon tart, pastry cream profiterole and toffee bread pudding. The chocolate souffle was definitely my favorite out of the four. It was chocolaty, light and fluffy with oozy chocolate spilling out when cut into. The cream that came with it was also lightly sweet but dense and creamy. A great way to end a great meal.

Va de Vi has a wide selection of international wines as well as delicious food. They offer wines by the glass and also pre-selected flights that are clearly labeled so you know what you're drinking. If in the downtown Walnut Creek area, I would highly recommend stopping in for a bite and a drink.

Spicy Meatball Sandwich (Recipe)

This recipe is reminiscent of a meatball dish I had in Spain. Warm, tomato-y and spicy, this is something I would consider comfort food. Here's what I did.

For the meatballs, I took 1 lb. ground beef and hand-mixed it with 1 egg, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/8 cup dry sherry, 1/8 cup red wine vinegar, 1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/8 cup packed dark brown sugar, 1/8 cup bread crumbs, 1 tbsp. dijon mustard, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. dry chili flakes, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper. After everything was well mixed, I made 1-inch sized meatballs and cooked them in a 10-inch pan over medium heat with about 1 tbsp. of olive oil until browned on all sides. I then turned the heat off, strained the grease out and set them aside.

In a separate bowl I made the tomato sauce mixture. This included one 14.5-oz. can of tomato sauce, 1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/8 cup dry sherry, 1/8 cup honey, 1 tsp. dry chili flakes, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. dry oregano, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. After mixing well, I then turned the heat back on to medium high, poured the tomato sauce mixture back into the pan with the meatballs, brought it all to a boil and then to a simmer on medium low for about 10 minutes until the meatballs were cooked through. Feel free to cut a meatball in half to look inside and make sure there is no more pink.

I then toasted a couple of rolls lightly brushed with melted butter and topped with the meatballs and some sauce. A sharp cheddar or swiss cheese would go well with this too. Any leftovers can be topped over spaghetti or eaten by itself with toothpicks as a finger food.