Columbus Foodie

Last night was the 18th Annual Taste the Future 2006 event, and Paul and I were lucky enough to bbe able to attend. We definitely weren’t disappointed. Amazing food. Amazing atmosphere. And the chance for us to try tons of things we’ve never had the opportunity to try before. For example, the seared (but mostly raw) tuna you see below. It was fantastic, not at all what I expected.

I love the plating on this Togarashi Crusted Tuna with Ginger Scented Edamame Puree and Chilled Mint Cucumber Broth from The Rossi Bar. It’s definitely an establishment we’ll have to try out soon, as I’ve heard nothing but great things about their food:

This fundraiser is held every year by the Columbus State Development Foundation in order to raise scholarship money. It’s an opportunity for budding Central Ohio chefs to show off their skills and knowledge. I was so impressed by the talent of the bunch that were here, if the quality of the food last night was indicative of what we have to expect in the next decade in our restaurants, we’re in excellent hands.

It also gave me the opportunity to try the wares from restaurants/stores I’ve been meaning to check out, like these Parisian style Macaroons from Pistachio:

There was so much food and so many restaurants represented here that we were full very quickly, but managed to make it to all 58 tables in around 3 hours. By the end, I wasn’t tasting as much, and was doing more ooh-ing and aah-ing about the pretty presentation, while hubby was still tasting. Look at the beautiful colors on this roasted pepper antipasti from Katering by Keni/Posh Nosh:

The biggest surprise of the evening was that I actually enjoyed foods I don’t normally like in combinations I thought wouldn’t taste good, but actually did. The runaway hit of the night, at least for me, was the Roasted Duck Breast and Foie Gras “Sliders” with Figs, Preserved Ginger, and Port Wine Glaze from The Winding Hollow Country Club - it was an amazing combination of flavors, but unfortunately I didn’t get a clear picture of it. Another amazing combination, according to my husband was this Roasted Rack of New Zealand Lamb with Blackberry-Horseradish Demi and Black Mission Figs from The Granville Inn:

All in all, we had a great time and look forward to attending next year.

In the meantime, check out the complete photoset of 60 pictures at Flickr. There were so many amazing pictures that I couldn’t fit them all in my blog entry.