Don’t those meat and cheese boards look delicious? Asharae from This Wild Season recently helped her fellow food bloggers figure out how to get the best shots in a hands-on food photography workshop at Craft Growler Shop.
Corkbuzz Restaurant & Wine Bar
Corkbuzz co-founder Frank Vafier wants three things to come to mind when someone mentions his establishment: great food, a nice space to hold a special event, and a wine-knowledgeable staff. The Charlotte Food Bloggers can vouch for all three.
We are in the know because the fine folks at Corkbuzz recently treated us to a five course dinner and drink pairing that featured both traditional and non-traditional, or discovery, pairings.
Evoke at Le Meridien
The fine folks at Evoke treated the Charlotte Food Bloggers to a night of great food and wine last week. Our five-course tasting menu started with a delicious salad and ended with a decadent seafood brodetto.
Located in the Le Méridien uptown, the menu at Evoke changes according to the season and features creative house-made pastas and fresh crudo, both of which we also enjoyed. Stop by for cocktails at the bar or reserve a table for dinner. You are sure to enjoy your experience.
The Art of Butchering and Curing
“Ask French Master Butcher Marc Pauvert or Chef Michael Sullivan who the better butcher is and each will point to the other. What is certain is that both preserve a wealth of knowledge as rare as gold.”
In her write-up about the The Art of Butchering and Curing event, Ashley at The Olive and The Sea walks us through the economies of purchasing and butchering a whole animal, the importance of knowing how the breed of an animal impacts flavor, and the use of non-primal cuts and charcuterie in cooking.
Olive This! Oil and Vinegar Tasting
Olive This! treated the Charlotte Food Bloggers to a night of olive oil and vinegar tastings at our April meetup, and taste we did.
Salad dressing is a common use when pairing olive oil and vinegar, so naturally, we ate our fair share of salad. But we did not stop there.
We poured olive oil and balsamic vinegar over everything from pasta to goat cheese, asparagus to potatoes, tomatoes to hard-boiled eggs, and bread to beats. Beyond what flavors go with what foods, we learned a lot more about olive oils and balsamic vinegars.
Sea Level Oysters & Wine Pairing
How do you all feel about shellfish? In particular, how do feel about oysters?
Before our visit to Sea Level, we felt pretty good about oysters. After our visit to Sea Level, we are full on oyster fans. Not only did we enjoy a fabulous oyster and wine pairing, we learned a lot about oysters beyond the half shell.
Crepe Cellar Burrata & Beer Tasting
NoDa’s Crepe Cellar helped the Charlotte Food Bloggers kick the week off right, treating us to burrata and beer last Monday night.
A light but flavorful cheese, burrata is made from mozzarella cheese curds. A portion of the curds, along with heavy cream and a pinch of salt, are whipped smooth while other curds are heated and stretched to form a firm shell. The cheese shell holds the whipped cheese, and the result is sheer delight.
Savory Spice Shop Salt Workshop
Aside from being asked to pass the shaker, do you give much thought to salt? Maybe you have wondered why recipes call for kosher salt instead of table salt. Perhaps the mineral only crosses your mind when a hearty dose of rock salt is needed to help your homemade ice cream along.
We think about salt a lot. Lucky for us, Amy and Scott at Savory Spice Shop recently invited the Charlotte Food Bloggers into their South End spicery to learn all about salt. From the foothills of the Himalayas to the coast of Guatemala, here is your quick trip around the world in nine salts. [Read more…]
Taxes for Food Bloggers | Part Two
January. The month of snow and W-2s. What’s not to love? Lucky for us, accountant by day and blogger by night Mary helps us make sense of it all with more tips for food blogger taxes.
In tax tips part one, Mary made sense of our blogs as a business or hobby. In part two, she lets us know just what expenses we can deduct on those pesky tax returns.
CO Restaurant Charlotte
The Charlotte Food Bloggers kicked off the new year with a meetup at CO. A new Vietnamese restaurant located in the Park Road Shopping Center, CO’s menu features Pan-Asian dishes from banh mi to pho to sushi.
Start with an order of dumplings or enjoy one of many small dishes (we liked the pork belly buns and ahi poke ceviche) before moving on to a variety of entrees. Sushi lovers can choose from a dozen traditional rolls or a handful of pressed sushi options.
Sip on a signature cocktail or sake infusion before ending the meal on a sweet bite of crispy cheesecake wontons with vanilla anglaise, chocolate drizzle, and candied orange. As you can see, we enjoyed our meal.