It’s all about the Vietnamese Festival at Saint Anthony’s and more…
Mai Lee joins us to talk about the St. Anthony Catholic Church annual Lunar New Year Festival. The predominantly Vietnamese church at Second and Ohio is holding its annual festival February 2nd and 3rd. The food and festivities — including games for children and adults, starts at noon Friday Feb. 2, and there is lots of great food and tasty treats available throughout the day and evening.
The festival continues on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. and features Vietnamese staples; to include spring rolls, charbroiled meatballs, sticky rice and dumplings, along with dishes not often found in Vietnamese restaurants in Wichita, such as hot pot goat, Laotian sausage, crispy Vietnamese pancakes and beef jerky.
Tickets for tables at the church’s formal nine-course dinner on Feb. 3 are sold out, but guests are welcome to attend, purchase food and sit in chairs behind the tables to enjoy musical entertainment, dragon dancing and an auction. Food is available to go both days.
St. Anthonys’s 258 N. Ohio, Wichita
Chef, author and Asian cuisine enthusiast Joe Stumpe (also produces Active Age and is a renowned musician) one of my guests and we’ll be talking about Phó. Joe and his wife Carrie have probably been to more Asian restaurants in Wichita than anyone else I know. Joe also teach Asian Culinary classes at Mark Arts. Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is a Vietnamese noodle soup that’s made with broth, rice noodles, meat, and fresh garnishes.
There are three main elements to every bowl of Vietnamese pho: the steamy, flavorful and aromatic broth; the meat, whether it is tenderly cooked chicken or beef that is rare or well-done; and the banh pho noodle. It’s the banh pho that makes pho a noodle dish. Without banh pho noodle, it’s a different noodle soup dish.
Many Vietnamese culinary experts will tell you that the life of pho is in the broth because that is where most of the flavors that characterize this dish are in. But just like you can’t have a great pasta dish without exceptional pasta itself, one can also argue that the body of pho is in the banh pho noodle. Everything else – the fresh herbs, the bean sprouts, the sliced Serrano chili (or jalapeno in the U.S.,) the lime wedges and all the other fixings in the bowl – is just optional, nice to have stuff.
Finally I’ll have a brief chat with Henry Son, owner and Chef at the newly reopened restaurant Pho’ King ICT. Ms. Beth and I ate lunch there this week and the pho is primo. The restaurant is located on Harry near Oliver; 4857 E. Harry St here in Wichita. The menu has lots of options and the dinning room is clean, fresh and inviting. Hours are 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. every day except Wednesday when they are closed. Check out the menu here!
Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week: 2018 Chateau Jacques Noir, Bordeaux
AOC SAINT-EMILION
Harvest : Sorting of the best grapes, harvesting in the cool, early morning Maceration : Pre-fermentation cold maceration of 24 to 48 hours
Fermentation : Alcoholic fermentation in thermo-regulated stainless steel vats at around 26°C, then a gentle vatting for 3 weeks at 30°C. Running off and pressing, separation of the press and free-run juice. Malolactic fermentation in thermo-regulated steel vats a around 18°C.
Ageing : Ageing in oak barrels for 12 months (33% new, 33% once-used, 33% twice used). Bottling and ageing in our cellars for at least 18 more months.
TASTING NOTES
Bright ruby red color, aromas of red fruit and toasted notes. A soft, round attack with plenty of oak revealing great maturity and a balanced structure supported by soft tannins. Persistent notes of strawberry and blackberry bring freshness and elegance on the finish.
Pair this wine with red meat, grilled or in a sauce, game, lightly-spiced dishes, cheeses, chocolate desserts. ABV14.5%
Learn more here
In her debut memoir and cookbook, Susan Gravely celebrates 40 years as Founder and Creative Director of VIETRI. Italy on a Plate is an exploration into what makes Italy so magical: its staggering beauty, unparalleled style, artistic legacy, and incredible food. The close friends Gravely has made during her years of Italian travel have graciously shared their homes and their favorite family recipes, and this book gives a culinary tour of Italy’s flavors with recipes you will enjoy with loved ones for years to come.
Francesca Moretti’s Petra estate perches on the rolling hills the separate the seaside plains of Tuscany’s Maremma and the taller peaks of the Colline Metallifere – the “metal-bearing hills” mined from Etruscan times through the mid-19th Century. Originally planted to Cabernet, Merlot and Sangiovese in 1808 by Bonaparte Baciocchi, Napoleon’s sister and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, the diverse exposures, iron-rich soils, and blend of Tuscan heat and cooling breezes from the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea make this a perfect site for both French varietals like Syrah, Petit Verdot and Merlot and Tuscany’s own Sangiovese.
