Damn! Three weeks ago we were freezing our butts off at the Arizona Strong Best Festival in Phoenix. Saturday, we were sweating our butts off at the Devoured culinary festival in Phoenix. Doesn’t the Valley ever hit its average temperature anymore? Well, let’s get right to the Day 1 highlights …
At first glance, the crowd in the sculpture garden at Phoenix Art Museum seemed somewhat larger than last year. But you have to take into account there are no longer any indoor elements at the festival – no cavernous wine room, no seminars, no movie screenings, etc. So if I had to guess, I’d say the overall crowd was about the same – just all outside this year.
There were some glitches – both expected (water stations kept running out of bottled water in the near-90-degree temperatures) and unexpected (never-before-seen parking problems). My biggest complaint, however, had to be the change in booth signage from last year (pictured on left) to this year (right). Small black lettering on gray paper in the back of tents – we’re seriously supposed to read that?
Where there’s smoke there’s fire. And where there’s fire there’s often grilled meats. So I made a beeline for Roka Akor, which offered a pair of robata-grilled treats – teriyaki chicken and crimini mushrooms with soy-garlic butter – as well as snow crab California rolls. Off to a good start!
SanTan Brewing co-owner Aaron Sanchez was pouring three of the Chandler brewery’s beers – HefeWeizen (perfect for the hot day), Epicenter Amber Ale and Devil’s Pale Ale. SanTan also served food: cheeseburger sliders stuffed with chipotle bacon and its version of a Cuban pressed sandwich made with sliced ham, slow-roasted pork, jalapeños and beer bread.
Beer put me in the mood for pizza, so I picked up a small slice from La Grande Orange. My original plan was to eat entree-type foods first, then do a round of desserts. But next door Cibo‘s organic strawberries with pastry cream, yogurt, 18-month-old Parmigiano-Reggiano, fresh mint and a dot of balsamic glaze were irresistible.
Green was back this year with its signature mock-chicken Buffalo wings (made with compressed mushrooms and soy), and also served soy-based sausage and peppers that were fairly spicy.
Arizona Biltmore executive chef Todd Sicolo chats with a festival-goer in front of the Frank & Albert’s tent. The restaurant served lime-marinated barbecued shrimp.
It quickly became apparent that sliders were going to be the menu item du jour. Relish Burger Bistro at the Phoenician offered three types of cheese – American, cheddar and blue – on its American wagyu.
At the Barrio Cafe tent, chef-owner Silvana Salcido Esparza – just nominated for a James Beard Award for best chef in the Southwest – was taking photos with her phone and sending them out on social media.
I was more interested in getting some of her conchinita pibil (slow-roasted Yucatan pork) topped with purple pickled onion. Delicious as usual.
Since I was on a Mexican food roll, I stopped at Gallo Blanco for a pork carnitas taco with jalapeño relish (shown on left). The pork was mostly fat and the jalapeño overwhelmed all other flavors, making it my first food disappointment of the day. I rebounded with some pretty good pork carnitas and red-chile beef from Los Taquitos (right).
I expected the Valley’s upscale steakhouses to make their usual strong showings. The Four Seasons’ Talavera delivered with a duo of beef – New York strip and braised beef short rib hash – with a lobster bearnaise sauce (left) and grilled strawberry shortcake (right) for dessert.
Chicago import Province made a big splash with its opening Thursday at the new Westin Phoenix Downtown, but underwhelmed me with a sole, just-OK dish: smoked salmon with olives, capers and lemon on fried gyoza.
If there’s one restaurant that seems to hit a home run every year with Devoured fans, it’s District American Kitchen. This year it went to bat with stacked pastrami sandwiches (upper left), Philly cheese steaks (lower left) and multiple flavors of cotton candy, including lemon (shown), green apple and vanilla. It’s outta here!
A nice spread from Cheuvront Restaurant: beef paté, made from New York strip, with shallot vinaigrette, olives, capers and truffle oil.
Maizie’s Cafe was back with the same Buffalo wing sauce dip (left), off its appetizer menu, I seem to remember them doing last year. There was nothing ho-hum about the lobster crepes and chilled asparagus (right) from Switch.
Fez delivered a couple of surprises. A lamb slider on pita bun (left) was better than I expected, while an enticing lettuce wrap with chicken, dried fruit and almond slivers (right) was doused in some horrible-tasting vinaigrette that led me to spit it out.
One of the day’s most-anticipated dishes: Prime New York strip steak with gingered shiitake mushrooms and a soy-caramel emulsion from J&G Steakhouse. It lived up to its billing.
Kimber Lanning, founder of Local First Arizona (the organizer of Devoured), is interviewed by a TV crew.
The Vig‘s take on sliders: Korean BBQ with Asian cole slaw, marinated cucumbers and Siracha mayo (left). St. Francis‘ tri-colored cauliflower soup, while tasty, was a hard sell as the hot afternoon wore on, but its passion fruit-coconut -kiwi parfaits (right) were going fast.
The most daring decision of the day definitely was made by The Parlor, which featured a charred octopus salad with roasted peppers and onions, crispy chickpeas and a citrus vinaigrette. More than a few people balked at eating octopus, but those that did were rewarded with great flavors and textures.
Jim Roper, one of the brewers at Four Peaks, was pouring several of the Tempe brewey’s popular beers, including Sunbru Kolsch Ale, Kiltlifter Scottish Ale and Hop Knot IPA. They also were serving a lackluster shrimp and scallop ceviche.
Recently opened Arrogant Butcher offered three items – English pea dumplings (left), chicken liver pate and peanut butter mouse. Fellow Sam Fox restaurant True Food Kitchen went light with a “tabbouleh” salad with red quinoa, roasted beets, pomegranate seeds, Marcona almonds and arugula (right).
Modern Steak offered yet another slider, but it was a decadent doozy – American wagyu topped with lobster and caviar aioli (left). Brown sugar cupcakes with Cracker Jack frosting and caramel corn (right) provided a sweet finish.
Anthony Dias Blue, one of the country’s foremost experts on wine, gave a wide-ranging talk, making a passionate defense of wines in screw-cap bottles and also noting that the United States soon will pass Italy and France to become the world’s No. 1 consumer of wine.
Longtime Tempe musician Roger Clyne pours small tastes of his new Mexican Moonshine brand of tequila for fans. He will perform on the musical stage Sunday.
As the afternoon winds down, I finally visit some of the tents I’d been avoiding. Ling & Louie’s brought chafing dishes of non-descript egg rolls and fried rice (left), while the Lone Butte Casino’s Verona Chophouse dished out generic and hardened meat lasagna (right). I take these as my cue to leave and rest up for Sunday’s return to Devoured (with a different restaurant lineup). Until then …
Growing pains: 2011 Devoured culinary festival – Day 2 wrap-up [MXSW]
Roundup of other Devoured roundups [MXSW]
Devoured culinary festival [website]
