Considering I’ve been buried in my work that doesn’t involve blogging, I’ve been having a hard time getting these posts to you guys. Yikes. Though nobody said it would ever be easy, I would like to apologize for that, especially to my faithful readers. Thank you all for being so patient.
Now can we get onto the food? Because last month, I was invited to the Soulo Culinary Ambition Dinner in Washington D.C and can’t even begin to explain what a delight it was to meet Chef Soulo in person and enjoy his food. I went down there with 5 courses in mind, only to receive 8 and a food induced coma. They sure knew how to show my hungry self a good time. I was in love with these cards by the way marking everyone’s seat.
The event was BYOB so I brought down some sangria I made at home but the Chef’s right hand, V, was also offering a spiked strawberry basil lemonade and a lavender iced tea. It was definitely the time to start double fisting. The Soulo Culinary Ambition team was relatively attentive to our table which was full of interesting foodies that I had no idea I was about to fight over biscuits with. I say that in jest but Chef Soulo started us off with a batch of sour cream and onions biscuits that we couldn’t keep our hands off of. They were fresh out of the oven so the biscuits were warm and buttery with a thick consistency but still light and fluffy; to die for! Someone at my table even took some home.
Before we had a chance to finish, the chef surprised us with black-eyed pea fritters with a jalapeño aioli. While I didn’t enjoy the fritter as much on it’s own, the aioli carried it to the next level. However, I was interested in the Parmesan flan the chef prepared as a starter because I am accustomed to flan as a final course so this was a first; no pun intended. I will say that Chef Soulo, if full of creativity because each of his dishes intrigued me from reading the menu alone and boy do I love an interesting menu. While it was likely to be the most interesting of the evening, the flan was far too cheesy for my liking but I was able to enjoy the pickled grapes that accompanied it. Seriously though, it was Parmesan flan so you had to be a cheese head for this one.
Considering everyone’s tastebuds were having a party, the Soulo Culinary Ambition team shocked us with a pineapple mimosa granada to cleanse our palettes. It was absolutely refreshing and I felt prepared for the frog legs that were to come. It was my first time trying frog legs and I found them rather salty but they were over a bed of grits, which I have a newfound love for.
I also learned something new when it was brought to my attention that trout is basically cousins with salmon because the two look like twins! Chef Soul made the trout with a pretzel crust over the top and I started to reconsider how many more plates I could handle. There were still two courses left and the trout was gone before I could blink or breathe again.
Well into my fourth drink, the most beautiful piece of lamb was brought out. The Lamb had been seared so it was extremely juicy and meaty which everyone seemed to be appreciating. If dessert was going to be anything like this, Chef Soulo just might have to come up to NYC to cook here! He surely didn’t disappoint with the layered carrot cake that was served with some of the best ice cream I’ve had in a while. It was a buttermilk ice cream and I don’t think buttermilk can ever go wrong. I really appreciate Chef Soulo’s invitation to the Soulo Culinary Ambition dinner and would love if my DC peeps checked him out for any events you may be having or if Chef decides to make this a regular event, you should check it out.
You can find him on instagram @chefsoulo or on their Website so get #souloreloaded
