Thursday night I was delighted to attend this year’s Taste of Blount.  Coming from San Francisco, a city of predominantly non-chain restaurants, I was interested in sampling food from a variety of locally-owned and operated eateries.  This year saw representation from Aubrey’s Restaurant, Foothills Catering, Foothill’s Milling Company, Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar, Peerless Restaurant, Sweet Celebrations, The Miles Family 411 Restaurant, The Oaks Dining Room and Bar, The Palace Cafe and Uptown Catering, The Tomato Head and Vienna Coffee Company.  Major chains were also represented by Chili’s, Candy Bouquet, Domino’s, Honey Baked Ham, Lenny’s Subs, Marble Slab Creamery, McAllister’s Deli, Panera Bread, Food City and Aqua Clear Water Systems.

I arrived at the Broadway Parking Garage with my Dad shortly after the gates opened.  It was obvious which were the popular locations based on the massive lines that were already in place.  Dad and I decided to move through the left side first, until we reached the dessert booths, then backtrack and move over to the right side.  I kept track of everything, since I am such a big foodie, and because we would be voting on Favorite Food, Favorite Beverage and Best Presentation later on in the evening.

On to the food:

Aubrey’s

Aubrey’s offered Oven Roasted Prime Rib and Grilled Shrimp on what seemed to be a scoop of some risotto-type dish.  There was also supposed to be a Chocolate Turtle Cake, but we never saw it.  The rub on the Prime Rib was great and tasted like it involved some peppercorn.  It was also cook pretty close to perfect, so Aubrey’s gets bonus points for good taste and proper cooking for the masses (a sold out crowd of 500).  The Prime Rib was also my Dad’s choice for Favorite Food.

Dad enjoying Aubrey’s Prime Rib

The Miles Family 411 Restaurant

The 411 offered up diner delights - Fried Pickles, Fried Mushrooms and BBQ Pork Mini Sandwiches.  I skipped on the sandwiches, because of my pork allergy, but reveled in the just-right breading on the Fried Mushrooms.  The Fried Pickles were good, but an acquired taste for many people.  Dad and I both gave the Fried Mushrooms a thumbs up, but only I appreciated the Fried Pickles.

Foothills Catering

Foothills Catering showed to be a more sophisticated booth than many other the options available at the Taste of Blount.  Note to organizers, put them next to Foothills Milling Company or The Oaks next time.  I think they would be in like company and better appreciated.  Some of the people arriving to this booth after visiting Domino’s and the 411 seemed to be a bit disoriented by the Tropical Tuna Bites.  Besides the Tropical Tuna Bites, Foothills Catering provided us with Spiced Lamp Pita Points with a Mango Salsa and Asparagus wrapped in Parmesan Encrusted Phyllo Dough.  While I found all of these samples to be delectable, my Dad was put off by the seared tuna in the Tropical Tuna Bites and anything with asparagus.  He did mention that if you only ate the part inside of the phyllo dough, it was good.  I delighted in the Spice Lamb Pita Points with a Mango Salsa and it was my choice for Favorite Food.

 McAllister’s Deli

We chose not to eat at McAllister’s Deli because I have eaten their multiple times and I need to conserve my stomach space.  However, I am a sucker for their Famous Sweet Tea.  Dad and I both grabbed a cup of that nectar of the gods and it was a landslide winner for Dad’s Favorite Beverage.

Foothill’s Milling Company

While Dad waiting in the longest line ever for The Oaks Dining Room, I hopped in line for Foothill’s Milling Company and grabbed a Lamb Lollipop with Raspberry Chile Jam and a Vidalia Onion Goat Cheese Tart.  Sadly, I felt that the Lamb Lollipop was slightly undercooked, I loved the Tart.  Later in the evening they surprised us with a Chicken Taco (which I am sure had a fancier name than Chicken Taco) that had the best taco shell I have ever tasted.  Because of their showing at the Taste of Blount I will make sure to visit them in person after my European vacation.

The Oaks Dining Room and Bar

With the most beautiful setup of the evening, The Oaks rolled out the red carpet (literally) and made us all feel like a bride as we walked through the archway to reach their selections of Shrimp New Orleans Charleston Crab Cakes, Praline Cheesecake and BlueberryDream Tea.  The Shrimp and Crab Cakes were both tasty, but not mind blowing.  The BlueberryDream Tea was a tosser, but the Praline Cheesecake was the best dessert at the event.  And that is saying a lot since there were some dessert only booths!

The Palace Cafe & Uptown Catering

Originally I had planned on skipping The Palace Cafe.  With all the choices and the lines, I knew I was not going to have the time or the stomach space for something from each booth.  However, the line to Lemon Grass was so long that by the time the line reached The Palace Cafe booth Dad and I could just scoop up a Loaded Potato Soup without having to lose our spot.  The soup was good, but a bit too thick for my taste.  I also had a fun time trying to avoid the bacon.  Dad was practically licking the little plastic cup it came in - no complaints from him.  We did not try the Chicken Salad, but we did have the opportunity to taste the Strawberry Tea.  Although it seemed to have a hint of artificial flavoring, it was a wonderful thirst-quenching drink that I would order again if I were to dine at The Palace Cafe.  We returned later on in the evening when it was time for dessert to try their little brownie bites.  These showed up the Sweet Celebrations’ brownies.

Dad drinks the Strawberry Tea.

Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar

I have always wanted to try Lemon Grass, as I love sushi and would like to have a local joint I could visit on a regular basis.  Sadly, Lemon Grass will not be that place.  The sushi options were a California Roll, Spicy Crunchy Tuna Roll and a Chef’s Special Roll.  I skipped on the California Roll as they were being a bit stingy with what they handed out.  The other two rolls fell flat.  I would like to give them some leeway because they were serving the sushi on a warm evening so the sushi is obviously going to be effected.  They had a Seaweed Salad that was alright, but it was their Thai cuisine that shone.  The Masama Chicken was delicious, as was their grouper, but the Coconut Milk Shrimp stole the show.  Lemon Grass, I say stick with the Thai and work on that sushi.  I need a local  sushi joint.

Peerless Restaurant

What can I say about Peerless?  Even with your free appetizer coupon I still will not be a patron at your establishment in the near future.  Peerless placed their Filet Bites in their Grecian Salad.  The Filet Bites had an off-tasting marinade and I can make a much better Grecian Salad at home.

Food City

Food City was grilling out their meats and fishes right there at the event.  This means that they should not have been tough and over cooked.  But the Tuna Steaks were dry and the Sirloin Kebabs were burnt and tough.  I am sure Food City has perfectly fine meat and fish, they just need a better grill guy.

Vienna Coffee Company

Let me say right up front that I love Vienna Coffee Company.  Before this event I had already made my way through a whole bag of their Front Porch blend.  It is so smooth I don’t even need to use sugar in it.  I was delighted to see that they were their with Don Telmo Reserve coffee and the Iced Spiced Mocha.  Both were fabulous and Don Telmo won my vote for Favorite Beverage.

He drank the whole thing!

Sweet Celebrations

By the time we made it over to the dessert booths, half of everything was gone.  Our only options at Sweet Celebrations were the Lemon Buttermilk Tarts and the Espresso Cream Cheese Brownies.  Both of these failed.  The Tarts were more buttermilk than lemon and the Brownies did not seem to have anything to do with cream cheese or chocolate.  This would have given me doubts on the Kay’s-replacement, but I have been to their shop before and can say that the goods they offer there are much better than what they brought to the Taste of Blount.

Marble Slab Creamery

While I was hoping to have some Fudge Brownie Delight, they only had the Strawberry Shortcake that late in the evening.  Luckily, I am glad they did.  I would not have chosen the Strawberry Shortcake normally but it was a party in my mouth.  Great strawberries and ice cream with some lovely shortcake tossed in.  Delicious!

Lenny’s Subs

We did not sample any of the actual subs from Lenny’s, but Dad chose to taste all of their cookies.  He reports that they were all good and you should try one too if you are over at Lenny’s.

That concludes my review of the 7th Annual Taste of Blount. It was a very enjoyable event with live music from Swank’s Jazz Club and mouth watering treats from all over Blount County.  Many booth were left out because of my reasonably sized tummy, but I believe I hit the highlights. In case you were interested in the winners of the contests, they are:

Favorite Food:

1st Place: Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar

2nd Place: The Oaks Dining Room and Bar

3rd Place: Foothill’s Milling Company

Favorite Beverage:

1st Place: McAllister’s Deli and Vienna Coffee Company (tie)

2nd Place: The Oaks Dining Room and Bar

Best Presentation:

1st Place: The Oaks Dining Room and Bar

2nd Place: Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar

3rd Place: Sweet Celebrations

This entry was posted on Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 6:55 am and is filed under Blount County, Events, Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.