Old friend and new tastes highlighted Wine and Food Festival

Wine and Food Festival, 2009, behind Seaport Village
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By Lynne Thrope

SAN DIEGO– Amongst the 170 wineries, breweries, and spirit purveyors, 70 chefs showing off their gourmet prowess, and thousands of enthusiasts in attendance at last weekend’s Grand Tasting at the largest wine and food festival in Southern California was Ellen, my long lost friend from NEFTY (New England Federation of Temple Youth).

What could possibly be the likelihood of me bumping into someone from my high school days on the East Coast here in San Diego? But there she was, all the way from Boston, smiling from ear to ear with Sonoma labeled wine in one hand and a plate of ahi sashimi marinated in a fresh beet juice in the other.

Kvelling over our good fortune of finding each other (yes, like a needle in a haystack), we set our GPS with Huge Hugs and Never Ending Kisses to take us to the many acres of kiosks along the Embarcadero behind Seaport Village. Like two giggling schoolgirls, we reminisced about our jaunty pasts and even more jubilant presences.  Together, we sampled the seemingly endless array of meat, poultry, fish, and deserts and judged for ourselves the winners in each category. Coincidentally, our list closely matched the festival’s official one listed here:

1st Place and “Chef of the Fest” : Anthony Sinsay with Harney Sushi

2nd Place: Paul McCabe with Kitchen 1540

3rd Place: Jeff Rossman with Terra Restaurant

4th Place: Eric Sarkisian with Tom Ham’s Lighthouse

5th Place: Eric Bauer with Anthology

Finalist: Andrew Knudtson with the House of Blues

Finalist: Adam Bussel with Vela Restaurant

Finalist: Ralph Rubio with Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill

Finalist: Anthony Calamari with Sé San

Finalist: Sean Langlais with The Oceanaire

Category Winners:

Raw Category: Anthony Sinsay with Harney Sushi

Meat Category: Paul McCabe with Kitchen 1540

Poultry Category: Eric Bauer with Anthology

Fish Category: Anthony Calamari with Sé San Diego

Dessert Category: Jonathan Hale with Blue PointCoastal Cuisine
Like me, Ellen pursues her passion for haut and international cuisine weeknights and weekends “to bring balance to our Jewish souls.” After happily gorging from 11a – 4p, we were convinced that this spectacular culinary event is the ultimate for anyone interested in innovation, creativity, and great taste.

If you fancy yourself some kind of foodie and/or wine zealot and want some “Lip Smacking, Glass Clinking, Celebrity Watching, Mouth Watering Kind of Fun,” The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival is for you! For information about next year’s event dates, venues, list of visiting celebrities and ticket prices, visit www.worldofwineevents.com or call 619.342.7337.  Hopefully, Ellen will return. I know I will… B’Tayavon

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Lynne Thrope can be contacted at lynnesworld@mac.com