2013 Celebrity & Chef Cookoff
Posted on June 12, 2013 by Ching under Events.
Brian and I had a great time at the 2013 Celebrity & Chef Cookoff last night. It’s a benefit for the Wichita Orpheum. The event was sold out so Brian and I both felt so fortunate to have gotten tickets at the last minute.
This year’s celebrities included Judy Adams, Wichita State University women’s basketball head coach; Marc Bennett, Sedgwick County District Attorney; Linda Brantner, Delta Dental of Kansas President & CEO; Wayne Chambers, High Touch CEO; Jeff Korsmo, Via Christi Health President & CEO; Mark Larson, KWCH Meteorologist; Michael O’Donnell, State of Kansas Senator; and Roger Scholfield, Scholfield Honda President. The chefs this year were Kevin Derks, Newport Grill; Ben George, Treat America at Beech Activity Center; Jake Lippincott, Pretroleum Club; Martin Martinez, Candle Club; Jim McNulty, Kansas Star Casino; Peter Moretti, Wichita Marriott; Marshall Roth, Siena Tuscan Steakhouse at Ambassador Hotel; and Nathan Toubia, Bocconcini Italian Eatery. Three-time champion Chef Jason Febres returned this year as one of the judges. Denise Neil, Wichita Eagle restaurant reviewer; Joe Stumpe, freelance journalist; and Suzanne Tobias, Wichita Eagle family and education writer, complete the rest of this year’s judging panel.
Brian and I got to sample delicious creations by The Anchor, Bocconcini Italian Eatery, Taste & See, Bella Luna, Bob & Luigi’s, Cake Face Bake Shop & Deli, Fat Jewish Girl Catering, Olive Tree, Wichita Marriott, On the Border, Petroleum Club, Public at the Brickyard, Siena Tuscan Steakhouse, A Taste of Art, Treat America, Wagonmasters, etc. We’ve dined at many of the places, but there were a few we’d never tried before. The food was plentiful and the alcoholic beverage flowed freely. The Orpheum folks sure know how to party.
We had a great group from work last night. Ginger attended with her two daughters. Karen came with her husband Don. Patrice, Bridget, and Jimmy (who is actually on the Board of Directors of the Wichita Orpheum) also attended. We had a table full of fun people. A few of us actually won some silent auction items.
There was one live auction item that I wanted, the movie night at the Orpheum, but the price quickly escalated. I think it went for almost $5000. Whoa! It’s scary how high those live auction items go for. One guy accidentally made a bid while waving his bottomless martini order over. The auctioneer was like, “This is a live auction. You can’t be waiving your arms about.” Shortly after that, I almost did the same thing when I was waving good by to some of the members of our group as they were leaving. Ooops! Good thing Brian quickly made me put my arms down. LOL.
There was one table that seemed to bid and win everything. Although, the biggest winner of the evening was Siena’s Marshall Roth when he was anointed winner of the 2013 Celebrity & Chef Cookoff. They were at the table next to ours and the entire table erupted in gleeful celebration when the winner was announced.
Brian and I had a fabulous time. I hope we get invited back next year!
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Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant
Posted on June 11, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
Darcy and I had dinner at Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant in Topeka last night. It was actually pretty yummy. I also got to try their raspberry wheat. Not as good as my peach limbic, but it was pretty good as beers go.
We shared the hummus starter. The orange color is because it’s made with chipotle and tomato. They make different types of hummus each day.
Their special on Monday night was almond encrusted tilapia. Darcy and I both ordered it, except she got hers with green beans.
I asked for black beans with mine.
I thought it was pretty good though the tilapia filet could have used more flavor. It was a little bland for my taste. And the presentation was somewhat lacking. Other than that, dinner was good. The hummus wasn’t the best, but it was delicious. You just had to ignore the bright orange color. LOL.
I may take Brian over there next time we’re in the area so he can try their beer. They have lots of other options on the menu that we can try also. And, the restaurant seemed pretty popular with the locals as the parking lot was quite full when we got there. Even on a Monday night. So that’s pretty good.
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Somewhat Healthy Sunday Dinner
Posted on June 11, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink, Health.
This was our dinner on Sunday night. I decided to put avocados in mine because I bought a ton of avocados from Sam’s Club to use for the guacamole that I’m making for Faith’s food day at work on Friday.
My salad was super delicious. I thought it was even better than the best salad we’d ever made. Makes me want to eat more salad.
Brian said that the only thing that could have made it better is if we ate our dinner outside like we did the last time. We love dining al fresco.
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Ziggy’s Pizza
Posted on June 9, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink, Toys.
Jay and Becca fed us Ziggy’s yesterday for helping Jay bring his new toy home. I was there for moral support mostly. That, and I wanted to play with the puppies. And, I didn’t want to drive myself around. And, I ran out of Labor Run flyers already between leaving some at the Scooter’s in Andover, Pink Boa, Evergreen Recreation Center, and Sports Clips. And, I was already too late for the Zumba party downtown.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the delicious food.
Cheesy Bread
Classic Ziggy
Meat Me at Ziggy’s
Check out Jay’s new toy. It’ll be perfect for scooting to and from their office.
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Friday Errands then Dinner at Sake
Posted on June 9, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink, Health, Shopping.
Brian and I had to return my folding bistro table to JC Penney on Friday after work. I thought it would be perfect for the Bradley Fair jazz concerts, but it was just so poorly constructed that we didn’t even want to risk it. The package arrived on Thursday and we took it back to the store the very next day. This is what I get for impulse shopping online in the middle of the night. LOL.
For now we shall stick with our table in a bag
Since we were already out and about, Brian and I decided to have dinner at Sake. The picture above is of my hibachi shrimp. That’s what I normally get whenever I go to these types of restaurants. Brian usually gets the chicken, which is what he had this time.
We lucked out and got Silo for our chef. We first met him when he worked at Sumo back when the restaurant was located on North Rock Road, in front of Northrock Lanes. That was like fifteen years ago. We don’t see him much anymore as we rarely go to hibachi restaurants these days. I just happened to have a Groupon this time around and we were already out so we went. I’m back to what I weighed when we first joined Genesis a couple of years ago so it’s time to buckle down again. No more eating out for a while. We’ll try not to anyway, except on special occasions.
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