Today, I went with my parents and Priyanka to the Eat Real food festival in Oakland. It was one of the first times I'd done something really fun since Jon left. There were a bunch of restaurants and food companies selling 3 different types of $3-5 food sample plates. The festival was intended to promote "real" food: fast food that doesn't compromise on quality. As a total foodie, of course I was excited when my mom suggested we go to this.
We wandered around at first, overwhelmed about what to eat. There had to literally be over a hundred different tents to choose from! Priyanka, my dad, and I all ended up eating Mediterranean wraps (I just can't say no if it says "Mediterranean" in the name!). Mine was carrot and hazelnut pate with beets and feta cheese. Priyanka and my dad has one with chicken, onions, and carrots. Both were great. They look almost as good as they tasted!
After this, we went to watch some demonstrations. Now the demonstrations were where things got interesting. We had sadly missed the ricota cheese demonstration, but arrived just in time for the goat butchering. Remember, I don't eat red meat, and thus was a little apprehensive.
The butchering, however, was very interesting! This demonstration was done by 3 females and a male from Avenada, a butcher shop located in Bernal Heights. Avenada was opened by the females on a spur of the moment decision- they were all in the restaurant industry and wanted to try something new and decided to open a butcher shop together. The male joined the team later. He had been a butcher earlier in life, got fed up with it and moved to Germany where he taught yoga for 3 years, then moved back to the US and continued being a butchery (but promotes being healthy and eating good food but not too much of it!). Crazy life storying!
Here, the butcher is breaking the vertebrae of the goat to separate it into manageable pieces.
Yes, indeed, the butcher is sawing the head of the goat in half here...
Interesting fact of the day: goat is the most eaten meat in the world, but in the US we rarely eat it!
After the goat butchering, we saw a demonstration by the owner of Blue Bottle Coffee about roasting coffee beans in your oven at home (a hobby my dad partakes in). I've had Blue Bottle Coffee before and wasn't very impressed but granted I'm not a big coffee drinker so it might have just been too strong for me. He ended up getting into coffee after being a professional clarinet player ("It involves a lot of driving," he said). He used to take his own coffee beans and French press on flights with him and would ask the stewardess for water because he had to brew coffee his own way. Thus, he opened a coffee shop to his likings.
The presentation was fairly interesting. Before it started, an old man came over to us and asked what we were about to watch. Here is how that convo went:
Man: What are you guys waiting to watch?
Mom: Someone demonstrate how to roast your own coffee beans.
Man: What?!
Mom: Someone demonstrate on roasting your own coffee beans at home.
Man: Are you trying to trick me?
Mom: No... it's a presentation on roasting coffee beans.
Man: Why would you do that?
Mom: To learn?
Man: I have some grass growing in my back yard. Do you want to come watch it grow?
At this point, the man's relatives dragged him off. Pretty funny...
After the presentations, we wandered around the festival some more. As if we hadn't seen enough meat already, we wandered over to a pork BBQ place. They had pretty much a whole pig that they planned to cook for 20 hours! Talk about slow cooking!
We sampled a plate of all things pickled- red and regular onion, mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots, and cucumbers (aka regular pickles).
We also tried some flavored roasted nuts (rosemary almond, some sort of Indian flavor cashews, coconut chili macadamia nuts, and spiced pecans). As will often happen in my life, it turned out the nut guy was Israeli so he and my dad started speaking Hebrew. The my mom told him about how she works for Hillel and they networked about him catering future Hillel events. Just a day in the life as a Jew...
We also wandered over to a section where beer brewing was being demonstrated. Below, a giant vat of beer being made.
Finally, I got to see what hops look like. I've been wondering for a while!
There was so much food available to sample at this event. Below, a giant vat of paella (with sailboats in the background!). I didn't actually try any paella, but when I walked past the same stand a few hours later, this vat was empty. They also had 3 more vats of paella, all of similar size.
We also tried some of Laloo's goat milk's ice cream. Goat milk's ice cream has less calories and doesn't cause problems for people who are lactose intolerant. It tasted almost just like regular ice cream, but with the mint flavor I could taste a slight hint of... something that made me think of goat cheese. Not in a weird way at all, though. It was very good!
All in all, it was a great day to embrace my inner foodie. Personally, I would prefer a festival where you can try small portions of more things for $1 (rather than a normal portion for $5), but this festival was more affordable than other similar ones I've been to. I'll definitely have to keep my eyes peeled for more events like this one!
