Best Pig Tasting Dinner 2012: Bouquet and Napoleon Ridge Farm

Napoleon Ridge pork loin with sorghum drizzle at Bouquet

’Tis the season for reflection on the year gone by. I’ve had some amazing food adventures that I still haven’t blogged about. I’ll try to remedy that in January, but here’s my first installment. With thanks to the chefs and farmers who made these meals possible, the fine folks I’ve had the pleasure to share a table with, and the new friends I’ve met along the way, Happy New Year!

We’re not talking pig roast here. Last March farmer Tricia Houston of Napoleon Ridge Farm asked if I would like to partake of a tasting dinner Bouquet Restaurant and Wine Bar in Covington was preparing with one of her pigs for a potential customer. There is only one correct answer to an invitation like that: “Yes!” At the last minute, she insisted my meal would be on her, and although I grappled with the blogger ethics of accepting a free meal, I wouldn’t have missed this one for the world.

This herby porchetta followed an appetizer showcasing a sous-vide Napoleon Ridge egg atop quinoa, mushrooms, and sherry cream.

Napoleon Ridge porchetta from Bouquet

The pork loin at the top of this post followed, then a single plate featuring these two pig cuts I'd never had the opportunity to taste before.

Napoleon Ridge pork bicep from Bouquet

Napoleon Ridge pork kidney from Bouquet

While you’re not apt to find pig bicep on the menu at Bouquet on a regular basis, the restaurant's specials are not to be missed. (They are sometimes mentioned on Bouquet's facebook page.) Chef Stephen Williams and his team, including the talented Bhumin Desai, are firmly committed to cooking seasonally and letting their carefully sourced local ingredients shine. One of the coziest rooms in Greater Cincinnati, Bouquet also offers a great wine selection, gracious, unpretentious service, and phenomenal housemade sorbets like this one.

Bouquet's mint sorbet

During 2012, Bouquet expanded its kitchen, and I'm hoping they will open their second floor during 2013.  P.S. The “potential customer” the kitchen was cooking for that night was Jim Cornwell, who sometimes carries Napoleon Ridge products at Dutch’s Larder, which has since opened.

Culinary Smackdown Reminder and More May Food Events

Spring is in the air, and local farmers markets are bursting with early season goodness! One way to put some of those great spring greens to use is to join in this month’s Culinary Smackdown: Battle Salad. The Smackdown is a friendly little cooking/blogging contest that is open to all. We’ve had some great newcomers – and winners – in the last few months! It's a fun kick-in-the-pants to try something new, and I always come away with great ideas from everyone else's contributions. Get all the details here from last month’s winner, Grumpy Granny, who is this month’s host and judge. You're by no means limited to greens, and I love that she poses the question: "What's a salad? You definite it. This is your playground." So play away, kiddos!

Despite its popularity the past two years, Farmers Fair in Covington will not be held this year. Instead, a series of individual events is planned, starting with a 25-mile Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food bike ride next Saturday beginning with coffee and breakfast burritos at Findlay Market, stops at Enright/Price Hill Eco Village, McGlasson’s Farm, and Boone Farm, and concluding with lunch at Covington Farmer’s Market. The event is free, but registration is encouraged to ensure enough food is on hand. Details here.

Another offshoot of Farmers Fair is Dinner on the Farm June 1 at Napoleon Ridge Farm to benefit the Community Farm Alliance. It will feature food sourced from NRF and other local farms prepared by Chef Steven Geddes of Local 127 plus local wines from Stonebrook Winery and music by The Turkeys. Transportation will be provided departing from Local 127, where you can kick off the evening with cocktails. I’ve been to Napoleon Ridge, off I-71 just past where it splits from I-75 toward Louisville, and am really looking forward to this! Only 50 seats available.

Here are some other fun food events you might want to put on your calendar.

Jean-Robert’s Table is offering a Springtime in Paris special Thursdays after 8 p.m. through the end of the month, a bargain at four courses for $40 plus half-price wines by the glass and music.

You can head to Viet Nam via the Cincinnatian's Third Thursday Tasting this month, where $60 gets you a two-course dinner for two and bottle of wine.

The Go OTR Summer Celebration next Sat. (5/19) will feature crafts by City Flea, food by A Tavola, Abigail Street, Bakersfield, Lavomatic, Senate (which is doing a BBQ pop-up), Taste of Belgium, Venice on Vine, and probably more.

And don’t forget Asian Food Fest next Saturday (11 a.m. to midnight) and Sunday (11 a.m. to 9 p.m.) at The Banks.

FYI, I always have an eye out for special food events in Cincy and environs. Check out my facebook page for news as I spot it. And stay tuned to the blog for much more I have in the hopper :)

Amuse Bouche from Last Weekend in Louisville

I'm still full from my food-centric visit last weekend to Louisville, but here's a taste . . . as I scramble to pack for yet another travelin' weekend.

The tongue salad with mustard ice cream above was one of the highlights in an across-the-board fascinating dinner last Friday at 610 Magnolia. I'd wanted to see what this restaurant had in store long before chef Edward Lee became a contestant on Top Chef. Full report to come here or on the "other" blog I write for, AllTopChef. Or both. Stay tuned.

My Saturday lunch choice was new-ish Taco Punk in NULU on Louisville's East Market Street (an area full of interesting locally focused restaurants, shops, and galleries). The grass-fed beef, Amish chicken mole, and Lucky Duck tacos from chef-owner Gabe Sowder, formerly of 610 Magnolia, did not disappoint!

I've recently rediscovered my love of chocolate and confections of all ilks (quality makes indulgence worthwhile!). Ghyslain, which offers some of the most gorgeous desserts I've ever seen or tasted, turned out to be right across the street from Taco Punk. In addition to offering delectable sweets, Ghyslain is a bustling French-inflected cafe with two more locations in Indiana and online ordering through their website.

As I walked into Ghyslain, two women emerged and sat down at an outdoor table that unseasonably warm winter afternoon. I had an inkling they might be the folks who were kind enough to accept my invitation to dinner at Harvest, just down the block, after friend Cindie wasn't able to accompany me on this trip after all.

With nothing more to go on than a facebook picture, I kinda thought that might be Joyce Pinson (food blogger at Friends Drift Inn and columnist for the Appalachian News-Express), with whom I've struck up an online friendship. But I wasn't sure, and didn't want to be too forward. When I walked back outside, emboldened by the purchase of chocolate, I ventured my guess: "Pardon me, but would you by any chance be Joyce Pinson?" Joyce and her sweet friend Rhoda laughed. They thought I might be me too, and had been looking for an online pic of me on Rhoda's phone to confirm.

We got to talkin' on the Ghyslain patio until I remembered the time on my parking meter might run out and Rhoda confessed to being chilly outdoors (yep, it's still winter).

The three of us rendezvoused for dinner at Harvest (another fine Louisville farm-to-fork restaurant, which has made it into the James Beard Award semi-finals!) and got lost in conversation before we had to scurry to the Anthony Bourdain/Eric Ripert show (and compete for parking with the Van Halen and Farm Machinery Show fans in town that night).

I'll try to get more specific posts up about the great restaurants I visited in Louisville this trip, including my brunch the following morning at Garage Bar, the newest venture from Michael Paley, chef at Proof/21C, which is coming to Cincy across from the Aronoff later this year. Hangtown fry with house-cured bacon, anyone?

I'll have a house-made bialy from Garage Bar's wood-fired pizza oven and a side of whimsy, thank you.

I had one more stop to make Sunday afternoon before I-71 with its rolling rural hills merged with I-75 and dumped me back into city traffic, the Napoleon Grocery and Deli.

After tasting this ginormous BBQ pork sandwich on ciabatta from Napoleon Ridge Farm (they supply to Local 127 and Bouquet restaurants) and proprietor Tricia Houston's homemade cherry crisp and Boston Cream cupcake, there is no doubt in my mind. Further research is in order.

A quick shout-out to any bloggers in the area who might be interested. Jen of Our Good Food Life has taken the lead and started a Southwest Ohio Food Bloggers Association facebook page, which you can also follow on Twitter at @swohiofba, inspired by the Kentucky Food Bloggers Association, whose founders we met at the #5B blog conference earlier this month.The aim is to connect with other food bloggers in the region, including Northern Kentucky and as wide a swath of Ohio as people are interested in. Please feel welcome to join, post links to your blog posts on the SWOFBA wall, and share in the conversation.

Off to throw some clothes in my bag and head north for a change. Because the February birthdays just keep on comin' and I'm not passing up an opportunity to celebrate with dear friends.