Monday, May 21, 2012

Iron Fork 2012

The Dallas Observer hosted their 2nd annual Iron Fork event on May 8 at f.i.g.  This event was a dream come true for foodies looking to sample cuisine from a wide variety of Dallas restaurants like Bread Winners, Cafe Brazil, Dallas Fish Market, Greenz, Landmark Restaurant, Lockhart Smokehouse, Primebar, Torchy's Tacos and a whole lot more!  The trick to surviving this event is to not eat all day and come hungry!

Scott Romano (left) took home the giant skillet. Photo: Dallas Observer


The evening's big entertainment was a Chef's Challenge moderated by local culinary legend, Kent Rathbun. Last year's Iron Fork champion, Scott Romano, returned to battle TJ Lengnick from Whiskey Cake and for the second year remained victorious!  Each chef received a basket of ingredients and the challenge was to go head-to-head in a creative cook-off using provided items with celebrity judges Gene Gates from KVIL, Steven Doyle from Crave DFW and the Dallas Observer's Cheap Bastard columnist Alice Laussade selecting the winner!  Throughout the night, guests not only enjoyed the Chef's Challenge, but tastings from local restaurants, live music, a mixologist station, along with beer, wine and cocktail stations.

Here are some scenes from the event:

(top right) LeeAnne Locken and Kent Rathbun  (top left) Employees of Cafe Brazil
(bottom left) Gene gates, Kent Rathbun and Steven Doyle  (bottom right) Lockhart Smokehouse
(top left)  Mesa  (top right)  Katy Messersmith and Marc Mattox
(bottom left) Matt Russell and Danielle Latta (bottom right) photo booth fun
The best part of the night was an awesome swag bag from sponsor Whole Foods that came with my VIP ticket that was packed with gift cards from participating restaurants and a gorgeous pair of earrings from Kendra Scott.  Surprisingly, it did not include a copy of the Dallas Observer... This is one super fun and tasty event I encourage you to check out next year!