Want to re-live the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival? Watch the video below!
#FBZFest Taste Pavilion
While coming down from being all sorts of chocolate wasted, we headed over to the next official festival event, the Taste Pavilion. We were greeted at the entry with colorful macarons and reminded-at-first-bite that the belly could handle no more sweets. Even though there were loads of baked goods ahead of me, I had to pass them up – I was on a savory mission.
I was able to snap photos of most of the food that saved my life my favorite samples of the day. The Asian pork sliders were equally as cute as they were delicious. And they were a total reminder of how badly I want to order a slow cooker so I can satisfy my super strange pork cravings the homemade way!
The most interesting sample I tasted was from a West African catering company located in San Francisco. The vegetarian square of bean goodness was different than anything my palate had ever come across. It was cozy, flavorful, and fresh. And it gave me the inspiration to research Nigerian cuisine for future experimentation on le blog.
My favorite booth, for many a reason, was Alaska Seafood. Not only were their dishes AMAZING (see above and below), but I was able to run into Greg of SippitySup and give him big hugs. Also at this booth was a blogger that I’ve been wanting to meet, Kristy of The Wicked Noodle. We talked about their recent adventure to Alaska and ate more than our fair share of seafood samples. It was good times for sure!
And then we hit a wall. A full-of-yummy-food-must-get-to-our-hotel-room-and-put-on-sweatpants wall. Jessica, Devon, and I mad-dashed to our hotel room and did just that. We changed, watched the Gators whoop some Gamecock butt, and rested up for the gala.
Hellooooo San Francisco!
I’m in San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival! When I arrived at the hotel, Jessica and Devon had a bottle of champagne waiting for us to pop together. We cheers-ed, left the hotel for a mini shopping excursion, quickly spruced ourselves up for our first dinner in San Fran, and were on our way to celebrate Jessica’s birthday at Wayfare Tavern.
A little backstory… Jessica and I initially met at HLS in 2011, but through Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Gchat became legit friends that probably know more about each other’s lives than friends that live blocks away. Devon and I met through a tweet that Foodbuzz sent out teasing us about purchasing our San Fran flights minutes after they announced dates for the fest. So, yup, I flew across the country to meet two girls I know from the internet. Ten years ago, my family would have been worried. Today, my blogger nerd life seems normal to them.
When we arrived at the restaurant, we were all so hungry. Like messed-up-from-different-timezones-and-flying-all-day hungry. Thankfully, the server unknowingly came to our rescue and immediately plopped some popovers on our plates. From there, we ohhh’ed and ahhh’ed at the menu, deciding to split everything that sounded yum.
Jessica and I started with the oysters, which were to die for. The super mini Steamboat oysters were so buttery and amazing, I just may be on the hunt for Steamboats from this point forward. For the rest of our meal, we went with the fried chicken, pork shoulder, and mac n cheese. It was the comfort food to the max! The fried chicken was the best any of us had ever eaten – so herby, crispy, and delicious. The pork was easily worked with a fork and was so melty in your mouth. And the mac n cheese with dry jack was so rich and creamy, I was forced to eat the last bites because I couldn’t stand letting any go to waste.
Wayfare was the first of our #fbzfest adventures. We’re all looking forward to what the rest of this weekend has in store!!