wishiwasthere

My boyfriend and I had so much fun at the Food and Wine Festival and even though it's over I thought it would still be fun to share what we tried.

Santiago, Chile

Shrimp with Cilantro Salsa-We did not like this. There was a flavoring in the salsa that wasn't tasty to either of us.

Spicy Beef Empanada-We both enjoyed this.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

I personally did not try anything from here, but my uncle did try the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce and thought it was pretty good.

The Mouse Catch

Had the three selection of cheeses: Dorothea, Holland; Asiago Pressato, Italy; Manchego, Spain-I only had a piece of the Asiago and thought it was a little strong for my taste.

Martini & Rossi Prosecco- I thought it was good, but a little too bubbly for me.

Mexico City, Mexico

Chilaquiles-Favorite from last year and thought it was just as good this year.

Quesadilla con Chorizo-Chorizo get very greasy which was a downside to this. Luckily I caught the mess running down my arm before it reached my clothes.

Barcelona, Spain

Seared Tuna Loin with Spicy Red Pepper Coulis and Garlic-Herb Ciabatta- I am not a fan of Tuna so this was my boyfriend's dish and he liked it but I guess didn't read or didn't know what seared meant until he got the dish.

Vienna, Austria

Beef Goulash with a Bacon Dumpling-This did not look appetizing to me, but my boyfriend thought it was delicious. I liked the Bacon Dumpling.

Shanghai, China

Chicken Sha Cha- Just as good as last year.

Pork Pot Stickers-Love this! It has great flavor!

Plum Wine Green Tea Cooler- My boyfriend LOVED this, but honestly I thought it tasted like Robitussin.

New Delhi, India

Red Curry Shrimp over Rice- Boyfriend received an extra shrimp for his birthday. It was both our first time with curry. I found it a bit overwhelming, but an interesting taste. My boyfriend loved it.

Cape Town, South Africa

We did not try anything here

Melbourne, Australia

Pepperberry Prawns on the Barbie with Sweet Potato Hash-I really enjoyed this. The prawns def. had that BBQ flavor. My boyfriend enjoyed the sweet potato hash.

Yellowglen Pink Sparkling Wine- I honestly just got this because it looked good. It was alright. I don't think I would get it again.

Green Point Shiraz- I normally don't have a problem with shiraz, but I didn't really enjoy this one.

Foster's Lager- My boyfriend enjoyed it.

Munich, Germany

Apple Strudel-Just had a piece of the Apple Strudel. It was very light and I really liked it.

Bologna, Italy

Pizza with Sausage-I enjoyed it just like last year.

Baked Ziti-I didn't really enjoy it because of the meat in it.

Cream Puff with Mascarpone and Gianduja Chocolate-I didn't try this because I do not like chocolate, but my mother loved it.

Tantinel Prosecco- Not sure if I liked or disliked it.

Placido Chianti- Just had a sip, but it was good.

Moretti Beer- Boyfriend loved this!

Cork, Ireland

Potato Leek Soup with a Dubliner Cheese Stick-I think I would have liked it better if it was a soup with potatoes in it. It really just tasted like watered down mashed potatoes.

Hops and Barely

Boston Crab Cake with Corn and Barley Salad-We both LOVED the crab cake! I thought it was perfectly flavored and I seem to favor crab cakes that don’t have huge lumps of crab in it. I love crab, but I like less lumps in my crab cake. We did not like the corn and barley salad though. The flavoring that they used was not something we liked.

New England Lobster Roll- I loved this last year and I thought it was worth the price and it came with the best cole slaw I ever had. This year they didn’t offer a side yet the price was the same. The lobster roll was good, but I remember loving it last year. I don’t remember it being as cold as it was this year. This year it was really cold where last year it was room temp. I think that is what I didn’t like about it.

Sam Adams Pale Ale- Boyfriend liked this.

Sam Adams Cherry WheatBoyfriend loves this!

Sam Adams Cream StoutBoyfriend hated this and couldn’t even finish it. He handed it to me for me to hold for a few minutes and I tried it (I HATE beer) and I don’t understand how people can swallow it! He said to me that it was the worst beer to try because it was so dark and he tried to get me to try the Cherry Wheat, but I was scarred and couldn’t try anymore!

San Francisco, USA

Dynamite Vineyards Merlot-My father and I loved this! One of my new favorite Merlots!

Tokyo, Japan

Spicy Tuna Roll- Boyfriend loves these back home and he liked it here. I don’t eat Tuna Rolls.

California Sushi Roll-I got this, but again it was too cold for me.

Wellington, New Zealand

Bay Scallops with Baby Greens and Cranberry Vinaigrette-This was another cold fish dish (there were a lot of them!). They gave you a lot of scallops. I enjoyed it, but I like my fish warm or room temp.

Private Bin Unoaked Chardonnay- I thought this was a very good Chardonnay and I am not a fan of white wine. I thought it was sweet and I thought it was very good.

Marrakesh, Morocco

Grilled Beef and Hummus in a Pita Pocket-LOVED THIS! The only bad thing was that the Hummus made the Pita Pocket soggy and it came in a baking sheet so when we opened it the pita pocket ripped. It was very tasty though, but from what I can recall they didn’t call it hummus on their board. It wasn’t as thick as hummus, more of a dressing.

Zambra Sangria- I love sangria and while this isn’t as good as the one I make it was still tasty.

Louisiana

Louisiana Seafood Gumbo- It was my first time having gumbo. I thought gumbo was thick so when I got it I was surprised how soupy it was. I thought I would have liked it a lot more. They give you a tiny bit of rice and I wish I would have gotten a little more.

Crawfish Etouffee- My boyfriend and I loved this! It was spicy and thick. There was a lot of crawfish too. I wish they gave just a tiny bit more rice too. I am going to look for a recipe because we loved it that much!

Purple Haze Beer- This was one of my boyfriend’s favorites.

Lyon, France

Milk Chocolate Crème Brulee- My mother got this since she believes in dessert instead of eating real food. She loved it! I also think it gave her the idea of making it herself.

Istanbul, Turkey

Manti with Yogurt Sauce- I was a little nervous ordering this at first, but the last day since we tried almost everything else I gave in. It was surprisingly good. I am not a fan of yogurt sauce though and I wish there was something else they could have used. It tasted like a Swedish Meatball in a very light ravioli.

Pistachio Baklava- My mom loved it (dessert queen!). I thought it was very flaky and light.

Efes Pilsner Beer- I think my boyfriend was just happy he tried a beer from Turkey, but he didn’t complain.

Montreal, Canada

Cheddar Cheese Soup- Who doesn’t love Cheddar Cheese Soup?

Maple Glazed Salmon with Arugula and Roasted Corn- I am not a fan of salmon, but my boyfriend is and he thought this was good. He really liked it and didn’t offer for anyone to try which means that he REALLY liked it.

Athens, Greece

Spanakopita- I didn’t like this last year, but my boyfriend wanted it so we got it and I didn’t like it this year. It’s supposed to be spinach and cheese and just like last year I couldn’t taste any cheese. I like spinach and this was too much.

Krakow, Poland

Kielbasa and Potato Piergoies with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream- I saw pictures of this online and thought it was gross and planned on not getting it, but again my boyfriend LOVES Piergoies so we got it. It was actually really good. It was my first time having kielbasa and I thought it was pretty good.

Chopin Vodka Raspberry Cocktail- This tasted like raspberry sauce. That’s bad because you couldn’t taste the vodka at all. I would have drank so much more of this if I tried it earlier in the week!

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Plantain and Beef Casserole- I love plantains. My uncle being from Puerto Rico we eat it all the time since my mom has the recipe. I did not like them here. This just didn’t mesh well together for me and we couldn’t even finish it. I think it was the only thing that we threw out.

Frozen Pina Colada- WOW! Got this the first day I was down there and I got A LOT more before the week was through. It was so smooth and we all loved it. I will be so sad if they don’t have it next year or they do have it and I won’t be there!!

I had a lot of fun this year because my boyfriend was with me and wanted to go back every day which gave us the opportunity to try a lot of different foods. I really hope I can go back next year!