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While the inaugural Whaling City Brewers' Festival on Pier 3 was awash in suds Saturday, there was plenty to eat, as well.
Restaurants vied for the honors in a chowder cook-off, and a longtime New Bedford restaurant came out on top.
"Davy's Locker has got the bragging rights and we're picking up the trophy today to give to them," festival organizer Richard Cardoza said Monday. T.K. O'Malley's came in second.
"People were feasting all day," Mr. Cardoza said. "Folks from the Mad Hatter (in Mattapoisett) were handing out pizza," and Luzo teamed up with Davidson's to serve hot dogs and linguica. Danl's Quahogs were being sold, with a portion of the proceeds going to the festival's cause of aiding downtown New Bedford cultural projects.
"Stephen Worden did a great job doing the demonstrations, cooking with beer and local produce and handing out samples," said Mr. Cardoza.
For his part, Chef Worden praised the event. "I had a wonderful time; it was a roaring success. For organizing it the first time, it was an incredible job," especially considering the short timetable to put the event together.
Chef Worden had come prepared to cook several dishes, but strolled around the booths to find the brews he thought would work best with them.
Among the preparations he demonstrated were two from the menu at his Padanaram restaurant. For steamed Buzzards Bay clams with linguica, onion and tomato he used Commonwealth Brewery's Boston Burton Ale. A hard cider from the Berkshires went into a braise of pork tenderloin medallions with cabbage and apples.
For Angus beef tenderloin with kalamata olives, shallots, oregano and balsamic vinegar, the chef employed Devil's Mountain Black Honey Ale. An extremely dark brew, "you expected it to be bitter," he said. "But is wasn't; it was smooth."
Once the dishes were finished, festival-goers made short work of polishing off the samples.
Judging from the attendance and the enthusiastic response of participants and ticketholders, the Whaling City Brewers' Festival looks certain to become an annual event.
"Summertime, and the living is easy," sang Bess in the famed Gershwin aria.
Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery is celebrating the season with the first session of a four-part wine and food education series Thursday night.
The Four Seasons program begins with a tour of the vineyard and winery with winegrower Rob Russell. Visitors will see clusters of ripening grapes and find out what happens as the vineyard prepares for harvest and crush.
Then they'll join Chef Kerry Downey Romaniello in Long Acre House for a wine and food pairing class based on casual summer fare. Steamed clams will be teamed with Silver Label Chardonnay, crisp fried chicken with fruity Evensong, and juicy summer fruit with the velvety rich Noble Chardonnay.
Admission is by reservation only, and costs $25. Call (508) 636-3423.
'Net surfers with a culinary bent can find information about Massachusetts farms, food and agriculture products and farm activities by accessing a new web site.
The Massachusetts Agriculture Home Page gives consumers information at any time of day. The page offers listings of pick-your-own farms, roadside farmstands, farmers' markets, and agriculture fairs, along with a wide variety of other publications about farming in the Bay State. Resources for farmers and agribusinesses as well as links to other agriculture-related web pages are included.
Visit www.massgrown.org for this bumper crop of information.
Joanna McQuillan Weeks is The Standard-Times' food editor.
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