Thank you from the bottom of my pot / Foodbuzz Blogger Festivalfeatured

Remember when I was all jazzed about the Foodbuzz Blog Awards?

Well thanks to you beautiful people, LMS took home 2 awards (“Best New Blog” & “Blogger Who Should Have Their Foodie Life Made into a Movie”) last weekend!!!

So excited to be among some very talented folks. Check out the full list of award winners and feast your eyes on some tasty content.

Photo Credits: Upper right photo by Sabrina Garibian, Rhodeygirl Tests; Lower left photo by Joanne Boston, Taking Over the World One Bite at a Time

The Foodbuzz Blogger Festival dinner and award ceremony took place at the Greenleaf Produce warehouse. What a cool location to host an incredible family-style dinner for 250.

We stepped off the bus and faced a loading dock surrounded by dark, spooky warehouses…

…entered the light and were greeted by the sight of our superstar chefs of the evening from Namu.

And our “living art” sculpture of the evening, a serpentine dinner table that wound around the entire warehouse.

The evening was hosted by Outstanding in the Field, an inspirational project that strives to bring people closer to the source of their food by organizing unique dinners in meaningful and beautiful locales, and this striking setting was no exception.

The Namu team did a phenomenal job serving up a thoughtfully prepared menu true to their style (Korean/Japanese-inspired, creative, new California cuisine)…for a massive number of people. I can’t wait to take advantage of their brilliant “Taxi Tuesdays” where they will deduct from your dinner bill the cost of your cab fare from anywhere in SF. Above and beyond, Namu. Above and beyond.

The MENU for the evening:tuna mousse on pain de mie canapé

spiced up shrimp chips
(Totally brought me back to childhood. I loved these. Still do.)

tangy/spicy pickled veggies with kim chee

***mushroom dashi soup with maitake, shimeji, and enoki mushrooms

udon noodles with grilled monterey calamari, cucumber, frisee, and yellow pear tomato, tossed in a chojang & sesame vinaigrette

***sea trout with dashi kombu (dried seaweed) laid on top and grilled over white oak from Japan, seasoned with Japanese curry powder, and garnished with fried garlic chips

soy braised beef cheeks and oxtails with baby carrots and fingerling potatoes in OB beer and denjang demiglace

***mushroom risotto made with koshihikari rice, topped with crispy maitake mushrooms

roasted brussel sprouts w/ fried garlic, crispy guanciale, green onion & bonito flakes that undulated like a creepy science project

***koshihikari rice pudding with poached warren pears topped with a cookie crumble

***Ok, so 2 main things:
1) There is some confusion regarding the “sea trout”. It looked like and tasted like salmon, but our server said that he asked the chef and they said it was indeed sea trout. Can a fish expert please shed some light here?

2) This was my favorite dish of the evening hands down.

The brussel sprouts were roasted to caramelly sweetness. The guanciale was heavenly. Crispy and full of fatty pork goodness. And the bonito flakes added an interesting saltiness…and were just freakin cool.

The food paparazzi descended at each course, naturally. I love food bloggers.

For some great recaps of the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival check out these posts. Feel free to comment with any others I’ve missed…I know there are about 250 of them out there 🙂 :

Chrysanthemum — “Outstanding in the Field” by Namu with Foodbuzz

The Duo Dishes — This Is It: Foodbuzz Bloggers Take Over San Fran

Foodhoe’s Foraging — The Big Buzz

Food Wishes — The First Annual Foodbuzz Blogger Festival: The Greatest Food Blogger Event in the History of the World

Rhodygirl Tests — Foodbuzz Presents: Outstanding in the Field

VirgoBlue — Street Food Night for Foodbuzz Foodies

Thanks again to Foodbuzz, readers, friends, and family!! You all rock my world.