5 Hot Dates for Your Culinary Calendar

As days get shorter and cooler and summer slips away, it helps to have something tasty to look forward to, right? Fortunately, there are a bushel of super groovy foodie events coming up.

Let’s start with an outing to Bumbershoot. The massive crowds at the annual music and arts fest kinda freak me out, but there’s a calmer side to the mosh pit mayhem at the Words & Ideas lectures and discussions. So civilized. On Saturday, there’s a rare opportunity to get the skinny on the biggest cookbook sensation EVER. Go hear the crew from Modernist Cuisine share “a new perspective on food” and hear about their upcoming cookbook geared to home cooks, too. The event page for this session has been getting lots of attention and suggests: “Get there early!” It starts at 1:45 p.m. at the Leo K Theater. You’ve got to buy a $45 Bumbershoot ticket, but most Modernist Cuisine events cost three times that. 

There’s no admission charge to the Mobile Food Rodeo on September 15, which bills itself as the nation’s largest meals on wheels feast. By rounding up 45 trucks, organizers promise shorter lines, so more munching time. (You pay for orders at each vendor.) Oh, and there will be two beer gardens and music. It goes down between noon and 8 p.m. in South Lake Union.

BLEND will once again wow wine lovers by bringing together some of Washington state’s most skilled vintners, pouring their spectacular grape combos. Get out of my way – I mean, please excuse me – while I make a beeline for Woodward Canyon’s Estate Reserve and then McCrea Cellars and Brian Carter, but don’t want to miss Rotie Cellars or Chateau Ste. Michelle’s 2008 Artist Series red blend. Somewhere along this sip-a-thon, there’s gotta be a pit stop for pork belly, one of the tempting-sounding bites that are going to be showcased. Check back in Friday’s post for a chance to win tickets to this September 16 event at the Bell Harbor Conference Center on Seattle’s downtown waterfront.

The last two are a bit farther out of the way, but so worthy of a save-the-date.

The Incredible Feast pairs up superstar farmers and some of Seattle’s best chefs including event founder, Tamara Murphy from Terra Plata. This year’s lineup is still jelling, but it promises to top last year’s wingding, which was moved to the cool confines of Swanson’s Nursery. Tickets for the October 7 fete, which benefit the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance’s Good Farmer Fund, are $125.

Finally, the gushing reports continue to roll in for the One Night Only project, a pop-up-ish venture launched by seasoned food writer Julien Perry and RUI’s social networking guru, Melissa Peterman as a forum for chefs cooking out of their comfort zones. The cookout on October 28 has really got me stoked. It’s old-school barbecue prepared by Met Grill’s meat master, Eric Hellner. The Met scored a spiffy new smoker last spring and has been rolling it out for special events. I’ve tried chef Hellner’s ribs at a private party and ooo-eee! My mouth’s already watering for this hot date. Check ONO’s Facebook page shortly for all the juicy — and smoky — details.