Windstorm aftermath
.JPG)
Madonna in concert, New York
Michael Buble in photos
Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2008 > May > 18 > Entry
The Fleurs de Fete, retrospective
The 17th annual Fleurs de Fete is now history … wha’d you think?
My Dayton Daily News reporting colleague, Laura Dempsey, was working Sunday and wrote this story about the event. And other DDN colleagues, Patty and Ray Marcano, along with photographer Samantha Grier, took some great “You’ve been spotted” photos.
The weather turned out great — a bit breezy, but no rain. It was not gridlock under the tent, only slightly cramped at times. There were plenty of impressive wines, and I, for one, didn’t leave hungry. For a list of restaurants and others who provided food, as well as what they served, click on “continue reading” below … I particularly liked the offerings from the Oakwood Club, Thai 9, Coco’s and Pacchia).
Lynda Weide, VP at the Wellness Connection that benefits from the festival, said Monday morning that she won’t have solid attendance figures until the end of the week, but she suspects attendance may have slipped a bit from last year’s 1,700. The weather forecast and cool temps may have contributed to that. Organizers also reconfigured how the restaurants were set up to ease the traffic flow , and it appeared they succeeded.
And Mif Frank’s memorial toast to Doug Simon was heartfelt and very well done.
Your thoughts? Best food? Best wines? Best part of the event? Worst part? What would you change if you were in charge?
Again, for food items served at the Fleurs de Fete, click on continue reading, and if we left anyone out or made a mistake describing any of the dishes, post a comment and let everyone know …
Mark Fisher
Dewey’s: Edgar Allen Poe pizza
La Piazza — Flattened meatball sandwich with tomato sauce and basil pesto
Winan’s — chocolates and coffee
Thai 9 — Chicken salad and Shrimp with lemon grass
5th Street Deli: Olives, salsa, cheese cubes, Berry Summer Cake
Pacchia — Sliced cucumbers topped with poached salmon, faux dill caviar and sugar-cured salmon; crabcakes with faux caviar and Balsamic
Coco’s — House-smoked salmon with carmelized fennel atop garlic cheese crostini
Giavanni’s — Fusili pasta
Jay’s — Salmon atop Spinach salad with strawberries
Christopher’s — Sliced beef tenderloin on sliced baguette with horseradish sauce
Madison’s Bistro — Smoked salmon wontons and Organic Herb Liver Pate with tomato-apple chutney
The Chimney’s Inn — Chicken sausage jambalaya
A Taste of Wine — sliced bread with olive oil and spices
Savona — Berry Tiramisu
Chappy’s — Pulled Pork sliders
Benham’s — Spinach dip, Bruschetta, artichoke dip
Oakwood Club — Honey-mustard glazed salmon; mussels in tomato sauce, garlic and shallots
Chef’s Touch Catering — Mixed fruits, cheeses, veggies with dip
Carver’s — Beef Tenderloin in port-shallot sauce
The Dock — Chilled Atlantic Salmon served over mixed greens topped with bourbon vinaigrette; crab dip
Wellington Grille — Island Crab Cakes
Jerardi’s Little Store — Roast beef with horseradish sauce; pasta with white truffle sauce
Dorothy Lane Market — Breads, Killer Brownies
Central Perc — coffee
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment |
Comments
By John
May 20, 2008 8:21 AM | Link to this
Overall this may have been one of the best Fleurs de Fete’s in years. The food and wine selections were just great and the size of the crowd made it easy to walk around.By Patty
May 19, 2008 2:00 PM | Link to this
This was my first time and I was very impressed with it all. The wines were great, plenty to taste. The food was good, but there were several places where you were actually waiting to get the food. I would recommend that all places have the food ready to serve. It was fine, but just slowed down people a little bit. I’ll be back again!By Kim
May 19, 2008 12:55 PM | Link to this
I thought there was an over kill of salmon offerings. I definitively didn’t think the food offerings were of the same quality as the last couple of years. The Mumm Nappa Brut was my favorite.By Are emm
May 19, 2008 8:18 AM | Link to this
I thought it was a blast. There was plenty of food and it was all good (I know since I think I tasted it all). Wines were very nice, lines were short and crowds weren’t bad at all.I’ll certainly go againBy Jim T
May 18, 2008 8:47 PM | Link to this
Favorite red wine was the Clos du Mont Olivet 2005 chateaunef du pape,and my favorite white was the Brocard Grand Cru chablis Valmur 2004. Biggest disappointment was the total lack of any German Rieslings. If they were there I never found them. Good wine, good food, good friends,a great group and a designated driver. Life is good.By chiefwino
May 18, 2008 7:32 PM | Link to this
As aways, a lot of fun; great chance to catch up with friends I had not seen in a while. Found a few interesting new wines. Auction bidding seemed good in spite of the economy. Thanks to Mif for his toast in rememberance of Doug Simon.