Coming up next week (on May 12th) is our first ever Wellington West Walkabout Feast and we can’t wait!  In case you’re not familiar, walkabout feasts are our favourite and definitely the most fun way to dine around.  Over the past 5 years or so, we’ve hosted this type of dinner in several regions around town, namely Preston Street and the Byward Market.  Participants all meet up at a specified location, have a glass of bubbly and some snacks, then head out on to the street, with a Groovy Grapes Sommelier as their guide, to eat each course of their meal at a different restaurant.  Each dining stop also includes a wine pairing.  Then the entire group meets up for dessert to relax and debate which food and wine pairing was the favourite.  Sounds like fun, right?

Well, the event itself is only part of the fun … luckily for me, I get to coordinate the whole thing and part of that of course is to taste the food and choose the wine pairings.  Sean and I recently enjoyed a fantastic evening at Absinthe, which is taking part as one of our dining stops on the Wellington Walkabout.  Chef Patrick Garland has created a mouth-watering dish for the Feast and we got to taste test and make sure it really was as delicious as he promised – and yes, it was!  The dish is a spice-rubbed and grilled quail, perched atop fresh, tender zucchini paparadelle, and surrounded by a drizzle of pear and foie gras emulsion.  Sounds fancy and looks fancy, but it was amazing how all the flavours combined reminded us of classic summertime bbq flavours – sweet, spicy, smoky.  We sampled some other delicious dishes from Absinthe’s regular menu that night too, but if you want to taste the quail, you’ll have to join us on the Feast – he created it especially for us! 

Also on the Feast menu is Tuna 3 Ways at Allium and Raviloi of Rabbit Rillettes at the Wellington Gastropub.  Our welcome reception is taking place at Thyme & Again, and dessert is hosted by The Urban Element.  Interested in joining us?  We have a few spots left and registration will wrap up by this week-end, so sign up today!  You can read the entire menu and find out more details by clicking here.