new blog: Todd English’s Inspirations and Aspirations Behind bluezoo

[LeahZ]

http://www.disunplugged.com/2010/11/16/todd-englishs-inspirations-and-aspirations-behind-bluezoo/

 

[BriarRosie]

I attended Todd English's food and wine pairing dinner last year, and it did not compare favorably to any other food and wine pairing dinner I've attended over the years. It was so underwhelming, I laughed when I saw the price went up from $180 to $225 this year. So not worth it!

It wasn't bad that the dishes didn't work. It was that the items on the plate were not enough to cover the amount of wine we were served. Two sugar cubed sized items on a plate will not cut it. And one pasta dish, which was a decent serving for a multi-course meal was so salty, my friend dubbed it the Dead Sea Pasta. Other friends who were at the dinner but across the room from us asked us later, "Did you try that salty pasta???" (Goof ups in the kitchen happen. They know they screwed up.)

Just for the sake of comparison, my friend who called it "Dead Sea Pasta" and the other friend I was sitting with attended his dinner the year before, so this was the second year in a row they went. They also felt he underserved his meals to cover the amount of wine poured, but at least the year prior, the dishes were more inventive and better overall.

I love going to Todd English's bluezoo™ on any regular night, but I'm not paying to go to one of his wine dinners ever again. The typical menu fare is so much better at a price I'm willing to pay. (It's even better if you have Tables in Wonderland or a restaurant.com certificate.)

Wow, I am really opinionated about this!

Oh, this year's Culinary Adventures in Signature Dining event I attended was at The Wave. I hadn't been to the restaurant, but the dinner served to us in the private room was fantastic. The Fess Parker wines were the pairings, and they were also very good. Again, I had a better experience there than at Todd's dinner.