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Event Wed Aug 28 2013
A" Magnificent" Taste: Haute Culinary Event
Oh, Art Smith, that Southern bananamuffin wrapped in a cheddar bacon biscuit. He can cook for as many Oprahs, Obamas, or Gagas as he wants, but for me, his sweet buttermilk roots will always be in Chicago. So when I was standing only one foot away from him at the Magnificent Taste fundraiser, my little Southern heart just melted into a thousand Paula-Deen butter droplets. (In fact, the only thing that would've made my 10-second encounter better was if it was renamed A "Fabulous" Taste).This year's Magnificent Taste benefited Art's star-studded charity: Common Threads, whose mission is "to educate children on the importance of nutrition and physical well-being, and to foster an appreciation of cultural diversity through cooking."
The restaurants included:
- TABLE fifty-two (Chef Art Smith)
- Frontera Grill/Topolobampo (Chef Rick Bayless)
- David Burke's Primehouse (Chef Rick Gresh)
- deca RESTAURANT + BAR (Chef Mark Payne)
- The Eli's Cheesecake Company (Chef Laurel Boger)
- Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse (Chef Joseph Rosetti)
- Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab (Chef Gary Baca)
- Little Market (Chef Ryan Poli)
- The Lobby at The Peninsula Chicago (Chef Lee Wolen)
- Magnolia Bakery- Paris Club (Chef Alex Ageneau)
- Phil Stefani's 437 Rush (Chef Christian Fantoni)
- Quartino (Chef John Coletta)
- Sable Kitchen & Bar (Chef Heather Terhune)
- Siena Tavern (Chef David Blonsky)
- The Signature Room at the 95th (Chef Rosalia Barron)
- Starbucks
- Travelle (Chef Tim Graham)
Although there were the usual gazpachos, artisan vegetable salads, and seafood ceviches, I was really digging the hot savory dishes. My favorites of the night included:
• Bayless's pork tamale-a perfect pocket of chorizo, pineapple, and pork
• foie gras pasta from Siena Tavern-in a cute little bottle that you shake with fervent anticipation
• seared sea scallop with truffle mashed potatoes, bacon and truffle miso sauce from The Signature Room-talk about sexy haute cuisine
• baby octopus with farro-I consumed three whole servings of this
• shrimp salad roll from Primehouse-the soft roll was the best freaking part (as were the giant porkbelly table decorations)
Of course, I also consumed about 20 mini-pastries from the Paris Club and Eli's Cheesecake Company, but I give my overall creative stamp of approval to Travelle's nutella baklava (aka The Greek Jesus).
As Bruno Mars crooned over the Pioneer Court on Michigan Ave, I sat lazily on top of white couches adorned with sequined purple pillows, watching people drink themselves pink. It was the perfect night: I saw three Top Chefs (Art, Bayless, and Heather), I watched sunset from the best view in Chicago, AND I donated to fucking charity (but not just to any charity--to Arrrtt's charity). And I just have to say, Mastercard created a beast marketing campaign this year by partnering with The Magnificent Mile. Photo backdrops, my swag tote (which included Garrett's popcorn--happy day!), and basically everything there was stamped with Mastercard's logo--so much so that I almost forgot I was donating to Common Threads, not Mastercard. In any case, I had a great time seeing Art, enjoying fantastic food worthy of Alexander the Great, and spending a summer night in the best fucking city in the entire world. 
