[NOTE: THIS IS A LONG POST. I GUESS I HAD A LOT TO SAY]
September 14-16 there was a spectacular food and wine festival at a casino not too far from the Thisbe family.
Thisbe had been alerted to this event by PBB, who spotted a billboard while driving home. This is an abbreviated transcript of the conversation:
PBB: Hey - there is going to be a food and wine event at the Casino
Thisbe: Huh. Let me take a look at it online.....[SHRIEKING] HAROLD AND SAM WILL BE THERE! I AM PURCHASING TICKETS RIGHT NOW!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
PBB: Who the heck are Harold and Sam? Wait a sec - how much are those tickets??????
Yes, indeedy. Harold and Sam of Top Chef fame were both scheduled to attend and give cooking demonstrations. Thisbe was thrilled.
And so, with the WK appropriately stashed with babysitters, PBB & Thisbe headed to the casino. It is a bit of a drive (just over an hour), but it was a nice day, so no problem.
When we arrived there was a bit of a snafu with parking, in the sense that the Casino is enormous. Larger than a small city enormous. And we parked in a garage that was all the way on the opposite side of the casino from the event. Compounding this problem was the fact that Thisbe wore cute shoes designed for leisurely strolling through a casino for several hours, not traipsing over hill and dale to get to the thing (courtesy of lame directions from the parking attendant), so when we arrived, Thisbe was in severe pain. Fortunately, the casino staff provided band-aids and we were set.
To begin with, the magnitude of this event is difficult to describe. Basically, it is held in a ballroom the size of a football field, with tables all around the outside edge and clusters of tables at strategic places around the floor. The majority of the tables around the outside of the ballroom are manned by top restaurants, and their executive chefs, who are making all sorts of delicious appetizers. The rest of the tables are various alcohol vendors (wine, beer, spirits of all shapes and sizes).
And this is the beauty of the event: once you have paid for admission, you just go right up to any of these vendors and they will give you food or alcohol. Pretty much as much as you want. So you basically walk around eating and getting increasingly drunk for several hours.
The other part of the event is that they invite famous chefs to do demonstrations and sign books. Giada was there, Morimoto was there, and the Top Chefs - were there.
We got tickets for Harold's demonstration, and then went to wander around and eat. And lo and behold, as I was sipping wine and gazing lovingly at the Junior's Cheesecake table, I gasped out loud. Again, a transcript:
Thisbe: [In a strangled, excited, whisper]: Oh my G*D! It's Harold! HAROLD!
PBB: Who? Where?
Thisbe: [Trying to be discreet and directing with her head, hissing] Over there..
PBB: [Loudly] WHAT? That guy in the white t-shirt? Really? HIM?
Thisbe screwed up her nerve and spoke to Harold, who was pleasant and gracious and even took a picture with Thisbe. Not to be a 13 year old girl, but it was AWESOME.
We continued eating and drinking until shortly before Harold's demonstration time when we went downstairs and got in line. The people in line made Thisbe feel a lot better because they were also discussing the excitement of seeing Harold and also love Top Chef. PBB was thus deprived of one of his favorite pastimes: acting like Thisbe is a crazed fan. Sadly for PBB, Thisbe was by no means the most obsessive Top Chef fan there. People in line were having animated conversations wherein they were comparing chefs from all three seasons, discussing specific episodes and dishes that were cooked, and discussing the merits of each chef's techniques and skills. PBB was slightly alarmed.
[Note: It was at this point that rumors of Sam sightings also began.]
Harold's demonstration was great. He was just as professional and funny and pleasant as on the show, and even had his dad (and a friend?) come up and help him. He was asked many questions about Top Chef (he thinks Casey will win this season, he thinks Sam was cheated last season, he does not like Marcel), and made his ravioli dish look so easy that the WK, or our cats, could make it.
As he was finishing up, Thisbe happened to glance at the door near the back, and who should be there, but SAM!
Sam? Is gorgeous. That is one good-looking chef. And a very nice chef. After Harold's presentation, Thisbe scooted over, and was also able to get a picture with Sam. Proof of Sam's hotness is that Thisbe actually looks good in the picture too. His hotness actually extends to people standing near him!
Thisbe could go on and on about the delicious food and wine (and did I mention that Sam? Is hot?), but will not bore you all any further.
Suffice to say, an excellent time was had by all attendees. And said attendees (at least the one who was bedrunken, and therefore not driving) made many bedrunken phone calls on the way home.
Level of Difficulty: Easy to Medium (driving and parking)
Expectation vs. Experience: Fantastic!
Time to Complete: One month - I found out about it right after I put it on the list!
