Tennis star Lindsay Davenport tastes dishes from Geronimo at the New Haven Food & Wine Festival 2008
Wimbledon has its strawberries and clotted cream. The Pilot Pen – well if you’re thinking New Haven pizza would be about it for local fare (not that there’s a thing wrong with New Haven pizza!) you’d be missing a whole world of cuisine.
Literally.
For a second year, the Pilot Pen will feature among its special events, the New Haven Food & Wine Festival. It’s a tent-ful of tastings from about 20 area restaurants that represent a veritable United Nations of Food. It’s again hosted by Madison resident (and tennis fanatic) chef, cookbook author, man-about-food and longtime friend-of-Julia — Jacques Pepin.
Jacques Pepin at the New Haven Food & Wine Festival 2008
The festival came into being last year in kind of a roundabout way, according to tournament director Anne Worcester. “Because of an extraordinary cluster of high quality restaurants in New Haven, my longtime dream was to mount a full-scale food and wine festival for New Haven,” she said. “There’s this critical mass of very high quality restaurants that are award winning, have international diversity and unique concepts.”
But 18 months of research showed a standalone festival to be prohibitively expensive, so a plan was devised for a mini food and wine festival using the already existing infrastructure of the Pilot Pen – its tents, sponsors, staff. It was one evening of tastings combined with a premier ticket to the tennis. Popular? Oh yeah — it sold out three weeks before the tournament even opened.
“The veal cheeks from Union League Café,” Worcester said in a big hurry when asked what she remembered most. “Something at Ibiza’s. The beautiful cheese from Caseus, which was such a nice compliment to all the other foods and wine and easy to eat on fly.
“But what struck me really was the buzz.”
Enough of a buzz that over the winter, the participating restaurants said they wanted to do more. So this year there are two tastings.
Here’s the deal: Both tastings are on August 26. Each tasting can accommodate 250 people. Afternoon is 12 noon–2 p.m. Evening is 5-7:30 p.m. Afternoon ticket is $105, evening is $125. That includes food, wine and a box seat for the tennis. Evening is sold out, but there’s room in the afternoon.
Participating restaurants (see below) provide a savory and sweet offering – bigger than a taste, smaller than an appetizer. The dishes are decided ahead of time to avoid duplication.
“Last year everyone wanted to do gazpacho,” Worcester said. “This year everybody wanted to do ceviche.”
There is also wine tasting – though the wines are not local.
And next year … “It’s still my dream to stage a full-scale standalone event,” Worcester said.
Participating this year with their savory then sweet dishes, and a little heavy on the coconut and tres leches:
116 Crown – Mediterranean Vegetables & Israeli Couscous; Watermelon Pudding Barcelona – Gazpacho Barcelona; Flan Catalan Basta – Penne ala Vodka with Local Sausages; Handmade assorted Biscotti Bentara – Vegetarian Spring Rolls with a Sweet Sambal Sauce; Sweet Malaysian Mocci with fresh Coconut Bespoke/Sabor – Pan Roasted Sea Scallops served with Cauliflower Puree and Indonesian Vinaigrette; Banana Tres Leches served with fresh Banana Gelato Caseus – Assorted Cheeses; Goat Cheese Brownies Central Steakhouse – Tuna Rice Roll; Banana Coconut Rice Pudding Claire’s Corner Copia – Puebla Salad; Assorted Mini Cakes Foster’s – BBQ Wild Boar Slider on home-style Butter Roll; Orange Creamsicle cake with Vanilla Bean Drizzle Geronimo – Blue Corn Meal Tamales with Rice, Shrimp and Hatch Green Chile Sauce; Bison Adovado with Avocado Crema Ibiza – Ceviche; Arroz con Leche John Davenport’s – Northeast farms New York, Cambrozola Cheese; Port reduction Petit Fours Kitchen Zinc – Artisan Meats, local Cheeses, Olives, fire roasted Peppers, Artichokes & Figs Miso – Pepper Corn White Tuna; Orange Ct Roll Pacifico – Reina Pepiada Shrimp, Avocado Arepa sandwich; Coconut Tres Leches Pound Cake Thali – Baby Shrimp Chorizo; Chilled Coconut, Green Pea and Cucumber Soup Thali Too – Ragda Patties; Garlic Sea Salt Green Chilies Union League Café – Braised Veal Cheeks; Peach Parfait Zinc – Chilled Quinoa “Risotto” and garden Mint Pesto; Poached local Stone Fruits and Basil
