In my continuing effort to look back and somewhat document the bits and pieces of our recent trip to Europe before I forget the details I am going back to Italy today.  As I have unfortunately learned in the last few weeks there are no guarantees that the places will look the same if you ever have the opportunity to return some day.

With the way that our schedule worked out in Florence we had to wait until our last day there to go to the Central Market.  In fact we had to fit it in during our final morning before we caught a train to Rome around noon.  It was one place that I really did not want to miss and my strong desire to have a tripe (or more specifically a lampredotto) sandwich before leaving Florence made it a must do.  I think it was a surprise hit for The Wife as well.

Maybe another day I will share some images of the other beautiful things we experienced in Florence, but today is all about the market.  That and me shoving tripe into my face at 10 in the morning.

Enjoy . . .

That is pretty much the content of this post.  As my vacation with The Wife is rapidly approaching I find myself watching videos of the places that we are either definitely going to or those that we are likely to.  It is daydreaming in a way, but it also helps to give me a visual as far as navigating and locating go once we are in a city.

So I started with a general search and ended up with a short video highlighting two of the places I am certain to go to.

Did anyone else notice that Incubus was playing in the bar?  I guess even if I will not always be able to understand the language I will recognize some of the music.

Then I was so interested in the bar/draft set up they had at Moeder Lambic that I wanted just a bit more information.  Yes that might be an odd thing to find interesting.

Again I found something interesting at the end where he was talking about the allotment of taps to various breweries.  I guess I will have to stick to Belgian beers and resist the urge to order a Russian River or Allagash beer I have yet to try.  Unless maybe it is one of the spontaneously fermented beers from Allagash.  I can make an exception for that.

Lastly some waffles caught my eye.  Though it will (among many other things we are sure to do) peg us as tourists I think there will be at least one waffle piled high with something in our future.  Though I admit my tastes lean toward the more traditional version.

Cheers!

Though I am not sure why I would know this since I never really watched the show, I believe it was a episode of Friends that explored why we do charitable things.  Even if I am mistaken I will roll with it and expect someone to correct me.  Can we really carry through with an unselfish act without any benefit to us?  I tend to think not as I think we all do those things to make us feel better; not necessarily because we need the lift but because we want to feel like we have bettered the world in some way.

And why is that a bad thing if spending your money on just one VIP ticket to Taste of the Nation Orlando results in 900 pounds of canned goods for people who need it?  That is the amount of food packed into the back of (and spilling out from) a shiny new Mini Cooper at the event to better demonstrate the good that each of us can do.  That makes you think of how much good can be done with every single dollar collected.  Oh yes, and the event here raised $167,500 this year to help the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida!

So yes it is a good amount of money to go to a Taste of the Nation event and yes still, from where I sit that is no excuse not to go.  Almost every one of us will have an evening or two (or many more) each year where we splurge on a meal that approaches, if not surpasses the price of a ticket to these events.  Do those dinners give you access to dozens of the best chefs and restaurants in your area is one location?  Even more importantly do any of those meals provide hungry children with food that they too often are forced to go without?

The point of my intro being far heavier than my usual tone on this site is to simply tell you to go.  If you have an opportunity to go to a Taste of the Nation event (find one near you here) just go.  If you happened to miss the one near you this year mark your calendar, put aside a few dollars each week, and plan to go next year.  And when you are there eat and drink to your limit and have a blast knowing that you are doing something very very good for a lot of people.

Whew!  I will exhale a bit now and get on with a few bits from my time at Taste of the Nation Orlando over the weekend.

That is me with The Wife and a few new friends who got in a little early to get a chance to talk to the chefs while they set up.  It was a great opportunity and I always like to be able to put faces to the people I follow on the web (talking to you @MegaYummo and @TastyChomps).

There were so many items in the silent auction this year and that is without the instant wine cellar (100 bottles) that you could win via a raffle of sorts.

You can see what the culinary highlights were for the The Wife here, but I am going to hit on a few of my memorable bites.

My favorite bite may have been one of my first of the evening and I now wish I had gone back.  It was the Braunschweiger sandwich from The Ravenous Pig.  From my basic understating it is a bologna / liverwurst of sorts made from various parts of the animal that many people will not touch.  I am a sucker for that stuff and actually I could have made a evening simply sampling from their lineup.

They also made my beer drinking requirement a little easier by offering some Swamp Head Wild Night right at their station (thank you Larry).  All in all the beer was a bit lacking this year compared to past years, but that did not stop me from sampling what was available.

There was also no doubt that I enjoyed the Tripleta Sandwich with marinated shrimp from The Renaissance Orlando at Seaworld and the pork belly from The Technical Education Center of Oseceola County that received some love from Dr. Pepper.

As usual I did not get too far into the dessert selection but I did sample a few and they were all quite good.  For example . . .

And I learned that apparently you can make booze out of anything.  Though this Acai spirit seems to make one heck of a mojito style drink.

That is all I have in me today.  As I think I have made clear, The Wife and I had a great time again and loved the opportunity to hang out with some friends (Brent, Erica, Ian, and Emily) on a Saturday night for once.  There is no doubt that Taste of the Nation is on our calendar for next year, whether here in Orlando or somewhere else.  See you there.

Cheers!

There are only a few things that I will gladly pass up posting some random thoughts on Monday for and today may top the list as I have a giveaway that involves supporting a good cause.

If you have read this blog for the last few years you already know how much The Wife and I love attending the Taste of the Nation events here in Orlando and the one for 2011 is coming up in a little less than a month.  We would love to help share that experience with a few others, so today I am giving away a chance to do just that.

Up for grabs are two (2) different prizes of one (1) general admission ticket which are each valued at $100.  By no means is it a requirement, but the hope is that if you win a ticket and attend by yourself that might make a small donation to Share Our Strength or to maybe get someone to buy a ticket to attend with you.  Buying the ticket is really the same as donating as 100% of the ticket sales for the event benefit their efforts to end childhood hunger.

So a few details before you enter.  Please only enter the giveaway if you are over 21 and will be in Orlando and able to attend the event on the evening of Saturday, August 6th.  Of course you can always win a ticket to give it to someone who is available that evening as well.  I need to have the winners names in advance of the event and I would hate to have them go to waste if someone cannot go last minute.  You can see time and address of the event here.

If you need a little more incentive to attend this year, here are a few menu items that you are likely to see (assuming the product availability does not change) . . .

• Conch Chowder & BBQ-braised Palmetto Creek Farms Pork Belly, Anson Mill Grits Infused with Smoked Gouda and Chipotle, Demi-Q, Grilled Ramp Relish
• Spicy Durban Chicken with Basmati Rice, Mint Chutney, and Papadum
• Kobe Slider with Snow Crab Remoulade Sauce and Swiss on a Ciabatta Roll
• Parmesan Risotto with Grilled Cold Water Prawns and Marinated and Slow Roasted Pork served in a Freshly Grilled Taco and Garnished with Cilantro Lime Crème
• Watermelon Bruleé and Crispy Palmetto Creek Farms Bacon with Mache and Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

Of course there will also be beverages available including many choices of wine, beer, and cocktails.  You can see a list of the Restaurants and Beverage Providers that are participating at the event right here.

That should all be more than enough to entice you to enter.  Who would not want to get a little dressed up and have the chance to taste dozens of great Central Florida  restaurants all in one room?  All you have to do is one thing to enter . . .

Leave a comment on this post telling me just one of the Local Beneficiaries of this event.

If you need a little help I am sure you can find what you are looking for simply by visiting the Taste of the Nation 2011 website.  I should also mention that The Wife is doing the same giveaway with a few tickets of her own, so you can increase your chances by checking that out.

This giveaway will be open for one week.  It starts today and will end at midnight on Monday, July 18th so that I will have time to contact the two winners and get their information in time for our deadline.  We look forward to giving these out and seeing the winners there, but even if you are not one of the lucky ones we encourage you to attend anyway.  You will not be disappointed.

Cheers and good luck!

Once again I must thank The Wife and Cousin Adam for passing along a few things to add to the list this week.  I am not sure what my personal record is for news stories in one post, but I might just have to start setting a limit for myself pretty soon.

Much to get to this morning . . .

• Food trucks are certainly the it thing in the culinary world of larger cities and they have even gained some traction here in Orlando.  Could alcohol soon become a mainstay on may of their menus?
• Though I would love to be hitting all of the breweries they are, I am glad the two of them are doing all the leg work for me (sorry for the bad pun) in highlighting some sustainable brewing practices.
• It is very interesting to read how they might have been brewing beer in France some 2,500 years ago, but I do not think I will be germinating my own grains on the kitchen floor anytime soon.
• I would not have guessed that Pizza Hut would be the first to step up and serve beer by the drink after the local ordinance passed.
• There are so many days where all I want to have a are a few really flavorful and sessionable beers, so I am always happy to read about brewers brewing in the lower range of alcohol by volume.
• There is really no chance that I will get to Japan anytime soon (though I would love the opportunity), but hopefully I will start to see more and more Japanese craft beers find their way to the United States soon.
• I am guilty of hesitation when asked if a particular brown ale is any good.  That is not because it isn’t, but because it is a brown ale and there are not a lot of mind blowing examples that I have tried.  Always nice, but not particularly memorable.  His choice of double browns are of a different species though.
• A printed map or smartphone app or craft beer spots would be very handy and much appreciated for my next trip to Central New York.  The side note here is that I am wondering why they are choosing to do a beer festival on a Thursday (today).
• In the news that probably is only of interest to me category is a mention of wheat from the area I grew up being used to make Brooklyn Brewery’s High Line Wheat.
• Things like this happen quite often, but that doesn’t mean that hearing about this one doesn’t bum me out a little.
• A little Cigar City Brewing update here is really only to help me remember that I really want to get my hands on some White Chocolate Cream Ale.  I have no idea what to expect with that one.
• It seems that it is narrowed down to two locations, but my guess is going to be that they end up in Roanoke.  I am not sure why, but that is what I am going with.  There is a list of other brewery news in this one too.

Closer to picking a new location? (via http://beernews.org/)