Where are we?...

As to the rapture… how do we know that there wasn’t one and we are now all in heaven (or…), and it’s just like it was on earth. After all, the good reverend can’t be located this morning. Maybe HE got left behind..

Anyway, stretching the analogy a bit, we did experience a little bit of if not heaven, maybe nirvana or close to it at that event we attended in Baltimore on Saturday night. As I mentioned it was held in the Baltimore Museum of Art, encompassing most of the second floor. Galleries there included statuary, some impressionists, pre Christian mosaics, and some portrait galleries. Food and drink were not allowed (MFO approved) in them, but you could park your drink at the door and then go appreciate stuff by Picasso, Gauguin, Corot, and so on. Maybe there was another gallery someplace but I was surprised that there wasn’t any works by Monet or Manet.

But of course to your loyal Bottom Feeder, it’s all about the food. The event was catered by Classic Catering which is apparently the “big dog” in Baltimore. My initial reaction upon entering the spaces was that there was a tremendous amount of staff. They were everywhere almost your personal assistant. Unlike last year (a couple of ticks off) we were not met with a beverage on a tray, however there were immediate offers of little bites. From silver trays. And here I was presented with two things I had never experienced before. The napkins that were offered were cloth, not paper. Just a little four by four square with linen borders and a mesh type center. Very tasteful. And if you selected an item that was on a skewer (petite crab cake, small bite of chicken) or maybe a marinated shrimp a second server was following behind with another silver tray and a napkin folded as to form a pocket. “May I take your skewer/shrimp tail, sir?” How civilized. There were several bars strewn throughout the halls connecting the galleries where you could order a drink. MFO asked if she could get a Gimlet. “Of course Ma’am would Gray Goose Vodka be all right?”. Not wanting to do the drink test (there were small lines at this point), I asked if they had scotch (expecting the dreaded Dewar’s answer). Why yes we do. Is Johnny Walker black Acceptable? It is to me. I started to keep notes of the offerings of things on the silver plates, but soon became overwhelmed and gave it up. Mini crab cakes, artichoke/spinach on crostini, seared tuna with corn relish and a hot pepper, brie melted between slivers of flatbread, creamy hummus on toasted baguettes, little spoons of roasted lobster, and many more that I of course can’t remember. And you never were wanting for something in your hand, more often than not you had your mouth occupied and had to say “not yet” as offers were pretty much continual. Here and there live music was being played, a jazz guitarist here, a small ensemble there, with sound levels conducive to conversation.

While the passed things were circulating, food stations began to be occupied, again with more forgotten than remembered items. Lamb chops cut from a rack, juicy and pink, sliced tenderloin as you like it, a traditional Paella with chicken, shrimp, and sausage, crab cakes made to order, grilled rockfish, marinated chicken breast strips, and at each station were salads (heirloom tomatoes with feta (or goat, I can’t remember). I’m not even sure I hit all the stations. The food was very good. Again trying to recall “last year” I seem to remember that the station food was plated for you rather than having to hold out a plate. A small, but noticeable thing. With my rockfish, I decided to have a glass of wine (no more JWB’s for me at this point), so asked if they had a Pinot. We do, its Adelsheim. That will do.

Passed desserts began to come out, again a bewildering amount of choices between small spoons of cheesecakes, little pieces of apple walnut tart, small champagne glasses of mousse, lemon meringue squares, even chocolate chip cookies. Reluctantly we left and headed south for home.

It was a wonderful evening, and well worth the hassle of up and back, late to bed, and so forth. Of course you can’t help but compare this experience with the one last year in DC (Catered by Occasions), and maybe it isn’t fair. I think maybe the Renwick Gallery is a bit better venue, we found the museum a bit harder to mingle, being a series of “hallways” and separate rooms. The double servers for the passed appetizers were a plus for Classic, but the already plated station food from Occasions was nice. If I had to pick, I might lean toward the DC event, but geez, both were just great. What a great opportunity.

Comes the dawn:

After rolling in well after midnight, a short sleep in the digs ended with getting ready to help with the First Annual BeerFest held at Historic St. Mary’s City. Alert readers might recall that I was part of the planning committee, and received an education in dealing with Brewer’s Associations, Permits, Vendors, Licenses, Caterers, and so forth. At the beginning of the day, we didn’t really know what to expect. Other events were happening in the county, it was a beer fest not a wine fest, who knows. We had hoped for at least 500 visitors. Well, guess what? Final numbers are yet to be known, but it is generally believed we nearly tripled that. Despite a couple of growing pains with quantities and logistics, it turned out to be a great event. GeeZer and the 25th Hour Band were just great, folks left the festival to go hear Woods Tea Company, came back, tasted more beer, had some food, and generally enjoyed themselves. There was cider making demonstrations, lessons in home brewing, craft tents, and something for everybody. All this despite not having the legislation in place to allow “off site sales”, which next year will be a feature. And the best part is that all the proceeds will go to support educational programs at Historic St. Mary’s City and help the museum grow. As they say about the rose bowl, planning for next year’s event begins the day after this year’s. And that’s not kidding. First meeting Wednesday.

So, if you came, thank you, and if you didn’t make it this year, plan on next. It will be late in May again, bigger or at least better than ever...so watch for news.

And I guess if you came to the Fest, it was alright to be

DFB(eer).

and no, last posting's DFD was NOT dressed for Doomsday, although i wished i had thought of that.. what great readers!!