Saturday, January 24, 2009

Food Blogger Dinner: Sandrine's Bistro

As I have said before, local food bloggers just do not seem as united as local wine bloggers. Yet food bloggers can help each other in so many different ways, just as wine bloggers have been doing and continue to do. There is no reason why food bloggers cannot organize and help each other. In general, food and wine blogging is not a competitive field so we lose nothing by assisting each other. We can only benefit.

A positive step was taken this past Thursday evening at a food blogger dinner, organized by Chris Lyons of Lyons Communications, at Sandrine's Bistro in Harvard Square. Several local bloggers met each other for the first time: chatting, eating and drinking. The guests included Jacqueline Church, the The Leather District Gourmet; Adele, the Basil Queen; Pam of Cave Cibum; and Megan of MenuPages.

The dinner was delicious and Jacqueline has posted an excellent description, with photos, which you should check out. For my own entree, I had the New England Rack of Lamb which was superb. Meaty and flavorful lamb in a rich and slightly spicy sauce. I have reviewed Sandrine's before and have always very much enjoyed it, whether brunch, lunch or dinner. Master Chef Raymond Ott is quite talented and I highly recommend you stop by his restaurant.

It was a fascinating evening. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation, getting to know the different bloggers, each with their own unique background and style. There was much laughter and many smiles. I do think we grew closer, sharing tips and information, acknowledging that we can do so much more together rather than as separate individuals. This was a big step forward and I believe there will be more progress in the near future, including other such dinners and meetings. The people I met will become at least colleagues, and some may even become friends.

Good bloggers all share a similar quality: passion. They write because they love food and wine, because they want to share their joy and passion with others. That passion unites us on many levels and I was pleased to see that passion in others at dinner, especially Jacqueline. So at our dinner, there were several passionate foodies, though I remain THE Passionate Foodie. :)

Addendum 1/27/09: The other guests at this dinner have now all posted their own take on this wonderful evening so I thought you might like to check out their thoughts too.

Megan of MenuPages: Alsace in Your Face
Adele, the Basil Queen: Life Lessons
Pam of Cave Cibum: Blogger Dinner at Sandrine's

4 comments:

Megan Johnson said...

so great to meet you...great article! I'm stalking your site.
Menupages Megan

JacquelineC said...

Thanks Richard, I guess you've got dibs on the name. It was a great evening wasn't it? I was struck by how much we have in common, let's get together again soon. Maybe a Spanish wine tasting at Estragon? We can drink our way through a few pages of your Penin Guide?

Richard Auffrey said...

I definitely would enjoy wining and dining at Estragon, especially as I have not been there yet. And I have to check out Las Ventas as well to try some of the Spanish cheese you posted about.

Pam said...

Yes, it was definitely great to finally meet you (and everyone else)! I had a blast, and I'm looking forward to being able to tap your wine knowledge if I need to :)