Foodie News
Italian indulgence rules at Houston's Risotto Festival
- The Risotto Festival brought out plate after plate of delicious creaminess.Photo by Sarah Rufca
- You can't argue with meat: The winning mushroom risotto with espresso-crustedbeef tenderloin, from Viking.Photo by Sarah Rufca
- If you haven't eaten lobster risotto with gold flakes (like this one fromCarmelo's) then you haven't really lived.Photo by Sarah Rufca
- My favorite: The fall risotto with amaretto cookies and plenty of cheese, fromRistorante Cavour.Photo by Sarah Rufca
"Everything I love is either illegal, immoral or fattening," joked Fabrizio Nava, the general consul of Italy, as we took a breather somewhere between our eleventh and fifteenth risottos.
The International Risotto Festival, now in its ninth year and held at the Houston Design Center, is certainly fattening, with some of Houston's best chefs presenting dish after dish of arborio rice, butter, cheese and their own unique ingredients from the classic to the completely unexpected, all to benefit the Children's Assessment Center.
There was plenty of lobster risotto, and a few chefs definetely went the extra mile. Jamie Zelko of Zelko Bistro served a risotto with five-spice and golden beets paired with an Oregon lager (a welcome respite from endless wine), and Carmelo's truffle and lobster risotto was accented with flakes of edible gold. Yes, gold. Because risotto is for fancy people.
Carmelo's truffle and lobster risotto was accented with flakes of edible gold. Yes, gold. Because risotto is for fancy people.
Each judge on the seven-member blind panel, including Nava and myself, rated the dishes on visual presentation, smell, texture, flavor and overall presentation, and chef Scotty Campbell of Viking Cooking School came out with a victory for his creamy mushroom risotto served with strips of espresso-rubbed beef tenderloin.
David Grossman of Branch Water Tavern took second for his incredibly rich white truffle risotto, and The Grotto came in third with a lobster risotto gamely presented in actual lobster shape — red shell claws and tails included. Trevisio won in 2010 and has been something like the Yankees of risotto in recent years, and this year chef Jon Buchanon took honorable mention with a creamy risotto featuring shrimp, pancetta and chives.
My personal favorite was the cheesy risotto from Ristorante Cavour, presented on a bed of fake autumn leaves and offering a flavorful combination of salty cheese and sweet crunch in the form of crumbled amaretto cookies.
For visitors, the Risotto Festival also included appetizers, live music and the chance to look around the design stores that held offerings from Katz Coffee to a selection of Piedmontese Italian wines.
What restaurant serves your favorite risotto in town?