XXI Annual Caesar Salad Competition

We woke up bright and early this past Sunday to purchase tickets to the 21st Annual Caesar Salad Competition in Dallas. This event is hosted by The American Institute of Wine and Food and benefits Days of Taste. People occasionally have a choice in status when choosing tickets online. One must purchase VIP to reach a level above regular. The VIP option has the ability to make average explode into temporarily more important than reality. These three capital letters instantly make a person different than those living a general admission existence. Holler!

After valet parking at The Westin Galleria Hotel, we began to feel important. Three escalators later, we arrived at the check-in table. The check-in table can be depressing or super stimulating. When it was our turn, we were surprised to hear the check-in guy’s response to our status claim. “Who are you again? We don’t seem to have you on the… list.” Pause. “Do you know someone with a table?” Pause. “Because it looks like you aren’t in the system at all.” Wow. Our only option was to stare at an empty check-in table guy’s chair while he scampered off to investigate.

Fact: Paying extra isn’t always smart.

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Preferential seating and a gift bag? Waiting. While caring more about the children of this charity event, we just really needed that gift bag. It could’ve been a bag filled with trash. We didn’t care as long as we got the previously promised gift bag. It’s in writing. This is like a contract without an attorney. Where’s the gift bag? We don’t have a gift bag. We are now approaching gift bag drama.

At approximately 1:45 p.m., people were invited to join the chefs in the ballroom for the Caesar Salad Competition. We sat down at table 17 next to an auction guy that talks really fast. After asking him if he felt special he said, “I don’t really feel all that special because I’m working.” All of the sudden, the lady in charge arrived and sat down next to me with a fiercely sharp growl. “What is this about VIP? I don’t have a bag for you. You are not on the list. We have no record of your name. There are only 6 people getting a gift bag. Most people bought tables.”

Gee. It really takes the V out of IP when a PayPal receipt is needed to prove attendance rights. Would we ever get our hands on a gift bag? To our surprise, she came back five minutes later with none other than a… gift bag. She quickly informed us this supposed bag of gifts would not be given to us. Her purpose for parading was to show us the items inside. She pulled out a bottle of red wine and a couple of magazine looking books. Really? Because I don’t think this is worth a VIP payment. Raising our raffle budget would have been a lot more fun.

As for the preferential seating included in this VIP payment— um, not so much. We could reach out and touch commoners. When bidding began, there was nothing very important about this table. Our ears felt like they were being pelted with BBs from a giant gun. It was the most painful half hour ear experience ever. Texting each other from our seats was the only way to communicate. Waterboarding is a day at Disney compared to this level of loud.

The guy I was with had no choice but to bid on the Lexus driving weekend at the Mansion on Turtle Creek with symphony tickets and one dinner at Fearing’s. What other choice did he have? Without a gift bag we were desperate to somehow feel important.

The Winner ~ Sonny Pache of Ocean Prime

This year’s winner and champion Caesar maker is Sonny Pache of Ocean Prime. While being 100% fabulous, he ran out of the grilled cheese part of this winning dish. Living life wondering what this grilled cheese might have tasted like is our own fault. We kept waiting for the line to go away, but it never did. His line was so long we ate ice cream before finally giving in to total line pain. His tiny cup of tomato bisque and Caesar was indeed a win.

Sissy’s Southern Kitchen
Chef Jeffrey Hobbs

Lots of the added extras attached to each plate of Caesar had meat. A carnivore informed me that his favorite was the very first plate he ate. Chef Jeffrey Hobbs of Sissy’s Southern Kitchen described his dish as having anchovies and lots of garlic, with some lemon juice and olive oil. He said this biscuit is traditionally called a cracklin biscuit. He chose to call his a southern cracklin biscuit. Due to the screaming woofer beside his table, this information could be completely wrong. There has never been a louder auction— ever.

Capital Grille
Chef Keith Hanks

There is nothing better than talking lobster rolls at a Caesar shindig. While my date stuffed his face on bloody carcass, Capital Grille’s executive chef Keith Hanks and I talked shop. Word on the street is this guy makes a lobster roll during lunch. After a full blown interview, it has been confirmed this information is true. He concedes that his kitchen makes one of the best in town. This kind of claim gives us no choice but to lunch there immediately.

Pyramid Restaurant & Bar
Chef Andre Natera
Pyramid Restaurant & Bar
Chef Andre Natera

Pyramid Restaurant & Bar’s executive chef Andre Natera served up a non carcass dish of total Caesar Salad Competition delish! I’m pretty sure he said something about beets. He single handedly proved that a gift bag is not necessary to enjoy an event being held on behalf of children. Even though gift bag pain can easily be categorized as a first world problem, it still stings. This event’s leader has our address, so we wait in joyous hope that it will arrive.

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