I won’t be eating again for a month or so
Cape Gazette’s esteemed Editor-in-Chief Trish Vernon always reminds me to be on the lookout for things, happenings and general stuff that might make a good column. “Y’never know…,” she intones. And I will admit that sometimes I truly don’t know. I review my calendar, I scroll through Facebook (I should get hazardous duty pay for that) and peruse press releases and pertinent websites until I find something I think you’d like.
And then there are times like last weekend when it feels like somebody dumped a bushel basket of column topics onto my head. The only challenge was to figure out how to cram it all into my humble bit of real estate upon which you are, at this very moment, gazing.
Ever since Rehoboth Beach Main Street Inc. revamped the Chocolate Festival to include professionals only (a requirement that made a lot of sense in terms of protecting festivalgoers from foodborne illness and inadvertent contamination by untrained applicants), the annual event has been an amazing success. And last week’s festival No. 26 was even better, because yours truly was invited to be a judge.
Now being a judge on paper and getting to brag about it is one thing. Another entirely different thing is actually consuming that much chocolate, candy, cake, pie and who knows what else. There I was with my fellow judglings, at 10:30 a.m., facing off against chocolate stout beer-braised pulled pork on a polenta disc (it sounds scary, but it was actually delicious), three gigantic dessert tacos overflowing with every color of the rainbow, Mexican chocolate coffee with peppers and cinnamon (sublime!) and a sea of fudge, brownies, cookies … you get the idea. RBMS Inc. Executive Director Krys Johnson wisely divided us into groups to minimize the need for emergency insulin, an IV sedative or unforeseen rapture. We came, we tasted, we graded, some of us heard voices, others hallucinated, and we all had a great time.
From there I was whisked by helicopter (OK, I walked) across The Avenue to Lula Brazil, where Catherine and Kevin Hester were kicking off their annual Teller Wines Expo. My sugar rush was gently tempered by the choice of over 80 wines, poured alongside nibbles from Michy’s Relaxed Dining, Palate, Lula Brazil, Old World Breads, Touch of Italy, Patty’s Carryout and Papa Grande’s, just to name a few. The Shockley Brothers provided music as participants bid at the live auctions. The Teller Wines Expo has become one of the must-go yearly events, and is the Cape Region’s unofficial harbinger of springtime.
No sooner had I uploaded my photos into the cloud (where my head was also located), than I was on my way to the Holiday Inn Oceanfront in Ocean City, Md. One of the perks of doing what I do is getting to know some of the exceptional people who operate our Delmarva restaurants. One of those people is 2015 Maryland Restaurant Association Restaurateur of the Year Buddy Trala. Buddy owns the huge complex that is Sunset Grille in West Ocean City.
The Believe in Tomorrow Children’s Foundation honored Mr. Trala with their Hero by the Sea Award, using their gala dinner and auction to mark Buddy’s contributions to their House by the Sea, House on the Bay and House on Fenwick Island. These respite houses provide vacations and getaways to families with children undergoing chemo, radiation, and other treatments that would otherwise make it difficult for them to take a real vacation at the beach.
One of the auction items that raised almost $9,000 was an in-home dinner for 10, with antipasto, entrees, wine and desserts provided by Bob Ciprietti and cheesemonger Bill Wilson of Touch of Italy, and crispy fried chicken wing appetizers dished up by none other than yours truly. Morning DJ Bulldog from Ocean 98 radio will be the server, and sommelier duties will be provided by award-winner Buddy Trala.
Whether it’s professional chefs competing for the best desserts, or winery representatives and distributors pouring their best for you to taste, or fellow restaurateurs honoring their own by raising money for charity, the fun never stops in the business of eating here at the beach.
Bob Yesbek is a serial foodie and can be reached at byesbek@CapeGazette.com.
