Meatopia 2011

Meatopia! There were over 40 restaurants with booths and we got through not nearly enough! There was just too much to eat!

If you are contemplating if Meatopia is worth the hefty ticket prices upwards of $80, absolutely yes! There were no lines for food, there was plenty of food, the food was of high quality and beautiful presentation, you got to get up close and personal with the chefs (all of which have celebrity status IMO), portions were of ample size, restaurants were quite established, and there were lots of free bonuses. I drank more than a gallon of Fiji water and had a serving or two of Capogiro gelato. Stay tuned for blog post #3 of this event. Sweetopia!

In the meantime, here are a few gems from Meatopia 2011. I would post pictures of the rest, but I forgot to take them. I was too busy tasting the food. Sometimes I'm just so overwhelmed living in the moment that I forget to capture it on digital. If only I could let you peek into my memories.

La Esquina: Guisado of Veal breast, Pistachio Mole, Fresno Chile Escabiche, Cotija Crema

Animal: Grilled Chicken Heart, Eggplant Puree

Creekstone Farms: Sixpoint Brewery IPA Braised Short Ribs, Mustard-Green Pesto,
Truffle,  Farmer Jones Red Cipollini-Buckwheat Honey Gastrique

Fossil Farms: Smoked Wild Boar & Chile Sausage w/ Chimichurri Sauce 

Fossil Farms: Fermin Iberico de Belota Costillas

Bar Basque: Crispy Skin Cone, Bacon Sprinkles

Hot and Hot Fish Club: Elk Shoulder Crepinettes w/Olives,
Clementines, Almonds,  Frisee Salad w/Anchovy Vinaigrette

Amanda Freitag's Jerk Chicken and Cornbread

The Hurricane Club: Grilled Duck Magret w/ Green Papaya, Peanuts, Pickled Red Onions

Tertulia: Sheep

Notes:

-The spicy veal taco from La Esquina made me excited to try out the new location in Williamsburg. Yes, it seems like everyone is moving to the burg.

-The grilled chicken heart was definitely one of my top 3 bests at Meatopia. Thanks to @Stellaaa I've really grown to like hearts! They taste exactly like beef.

-The short ribs and black truffles were out of this world. I went to La Bernadin and had the truffle tasting menu. I wasn't too crazy for it but Creekstone Farms did a great job with their truffle accents! Talk about gourmet!

-Fossil Farms did a variety of sausages. Some tasted gamey as they were serving elk, duck, and wild boars of the like. All were very good with the pairings of chimichurri, scallion spreads, and sweet and sour onion relish.

-Bar Basque had a whole tasting menu of Hampshire Hog seven ways. The highlight for me was the bacon ice cream. At first they were serving it in cones. They ran out quickly and I patiently waited about 10 minutes for the new batch of ice cream to soften. By then, they started serving it as chicharron ice cream sandwiches. Sometimes it's worth waiting.

-Hot and Hot Fish Club had volunteer culinary students preparing the food. They did an excellent job with the recipe. The frisee salad that accompanied the elk crepinette was so refreshing. I loved the juicy clementines and the crunchy bites of almonds.

-Amanda Freitag chose to work with chicken. She was literally sweaty and slaving over a hot grill.

-The grilled duck on a paratha from The Hurricane Club was amazing and rich. The serving was so big, even split between two people. It conquered us. The duck was so tender.

-Sheep heads. Every part of an animal was served at Meatopia. I had pig face, chicken hearts, beef ribs, etc. There was even a butcher contest going on. They don't call Meatopia Meatopia for nothing!

Meatopia 2011