Sugar Land Wine and Food Affair

The Sugar Land Wine & Food Affair took place at various venues throughout Sugar Land last week. While I did not attend the On the Rocks Bartender Challenge, the Scotch Whisky tasting, the Churrasco Chef dinner or the Sommelier Secrets Lecture, I did have the opportunity to attend all three of the big weekend events.

Friday night, The Grand Tasting took place in the Town Square Marriot Ballroom. The room was packed with party-goers tasting the many special Chefs' creations while sampling the wide assortment of wines from around the world. One of my favorite tastes of the night was the elk carpaccio created by Vail, Colorado Chef Kelly Liken which I washed down with some Malbec made by Ryan Levy pictured at right, the winemaker for Nice Winery.

The festivities continued on Saturday afternoon at the more casual Sip & Stroll held on the Imperial Sugar property. The Houston Blues Brothers performed outside on the patio while guests strolled through the historic buildings where food and wine options were abundant. For best bite of the day, I was torn between the shrimp salad roll by Houston's own Randy Evans of Haven and the lobster roll by Shanna and Brian O'Hea from the Kennebunk Inn in Maine, both of which I personally enjoyed with a glass of Cava. In addition to the many wine selections, the iced tea was flowing freely and the Mint Juleps from Maker's Mark were a crowd favorite.

The final event was the International Bistro Brunch held in Sugar Land Town Square with food and wine pairings from around the world. People were lining up well before the 11:00 am start time in anticipation of what was to come. Salsa music was being played on the steps of City Hall as guests strolled in to try the many offerings. The line was long at both the Bloody Mary booth and the Paella stand. Lots of sparkling wine and cold beer were on hand to cool you down but the weather was absolutely beautiful and everyone seemed to enjoy the day.

As the saying goes, Life is certainly sweet in Sugar Land!