Conference Food...
I was in San Francisco for the Supernova conference, held at the Palace Hotel. While I don’t have much to say about the conference (I penned some “work" thoughts for an internal work blog), it is worth mentioning that the food was quite delicious for hotel conference food.
Usually, I don’t even think about mentioning hotel conference food on this blog – wilted salads with bad dressing, dry chicken, bland rice and a sugary slice of pre-packaged cake is about the extent of the offerings. I was completely taken aback when I sat down to a lunch that began with nice, crispy greens and roasted veggies, over which a server poured garlicky creamy dressing. Vegetable lasagna, loaded with more roasted veggies, lots of cheese and a decent red sauce, was the entrée. And just when I thought it was over, the waitstaff produced ice cream sandwiches, vanilla soft serve sandwiched between two oatmeal-raisin cookies and accompanied by a drizzle of both chocolate and vanilla bean sauce.
While evening appetizers were the usual fare (some fried stuff, sushi), I did enjoy the martini glass entrée filled with mashed potatoes and topped with chicken fritters (fried bits of chicken), fava beans and some sauce. Excellent, especially as fava beans are at their summer peak of goodness. (Which reminds me, I cooked some up the other night, sautéing the fresh beans in olive oil, then adding a dressing of yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil and dill. Mmmm.)