2nd Annual Foodbuzz Blogger Festival 2010

Thank you to Foodbuzz for an awesome event filled with food, fun, and most of all the opportunity to meet new friends.



Three days of exciting events that featured some fantastic sponsors, outstanding food and informative seminars.



It was definitely an experience that was new to me. It was overwhelming and exciting all at the same time.



After meeting the bloggers in person, I was able to get a better sense of their personalities which is somewhat lost in their blogs. Written words can only express so much. It was truly a pleasure meeting all of you!



My family and I arrived a couple of days earlier, Wednesday morning to be exact. And it so happened that the SF Giants had won their first world series! What a monumental time to enter the city of San Francisco. There were thousands of fans cheering on throughout the parade. The downtown financial district was taken over by extremely excited fans. Needless to say, we were stuck in a bit of traffic but we definitely was not short of entertainment during the ride to our hotel.





Coit Tower
Everywhere you looked there were orange shirts and hats. And even into the night, most of San Francisco's landmarks were up-lit with the beautiful color orange in celebration of their first World Series. Congrats San Fran!



Now on with the photos and brief descriptions of the 2nd Annual Foodbuzz Festivities...



Upon entering the Sir Francis Drake hotel Friday afternoon, I immediately headed to registration. And I met my partner in crime, Gina of Whats for dinner across state lines. Boy was I happy to see her! She really made me feel comfortable and we immediately clicked. Thanks Gina for your lovely company!





Day 1- November 5th, 2010

Welcome Reception & Street Food Fare 6pm-9pm

Ft. Mason Center, Herbst Pavilion





Before entering the Herbst Pavillion at the Ft. Mason Center, I was able to browse the awesome food trucks that are available every friday night, titled Off the Grid from 5pm-9pm. It was food trucks galore.





Mini Cupcakes from Mission Minis. Cupcake heaven. Food Network was filming their work to be featured on Cupcake Wars that night and throughout the Foodbuzz Festival. You may get a glimpse of some Foodbuzz bloggers if you watch the episode when it airs.





My favorite food truck that was featured in the pavilion was Spencer on the Go. I mentioned it on my Facebook page a while ago after seeing it on the Food Network Channel. I was ecstatic when I saw his truck because I've been wanting to try his food.



The photo to the left is of the braised lamb cheek sandwich, which by the way was superb. And my favorite the escargot lollipop. A puff pastry wrapped escargot on a stick. Seriously my kind of treat. Excuse the blurry photo but I had to share. I wasn't able to taste the third item on the menu, the New England Lobster Cappuccino. Only if I had more hands! Plus the line for this truck was super long.





Yea that's a photo of an empty bag of Chicharrones of 4505 Meats which was served with a delicious pork sandwich, with out of this world buttery bread. They passed out bags of Chicharrones and they were by far my favorite item of the first nights activities. Crunchy, sweet & salty goodness of pork. Only if they sold them here.



And shame on me for not taking more photos the first night. I was so overwhelmed with meeting bloggers and trying food that I completely lunched. But do not fret my friends I took more photos during the next day's activities.





But I did however get a shot of fellow Korean and parent, Ben of You Fed a Baby Chili with a cupcake smashed on the side of his face....and I think the culprit who did such a thing was Charlie, the CTO of Foodbuzz whose photo is below....



(Then I decided not to use the photo I took from Foodbuzz. Just in case it gets me in trouble. But I did have it included at first. Just wanted you all to know)

Morning Breakout Session, Sir Francis Drake Hotel 9am-12pm

First session, It's a Snap Hands on Photography session. Where seasoned bloggers shared their photography tricks and tips.





Second session. Okay, so I skipped out on the writing session I signed up for and instead went to the Star of the Show: Video Blogging. The Project Food Blog's Challenge #7: Video 411 entry had been extended a week so I took the opportunity to sit in on this session for tips and tricks of video blogging.





After the morning session ended Gina and I walked over to the Taste Pavilion to get our grub on and camera's out. We were famished and couldn't wait to taste all the sponsor's goodies.





We took some photos outside the beautiful City View balcony of the Metreon while we waited for all the sponsors to set up. I miss my Gina.













The beautiful Electrolux set up. Where fellow bloggers demonstrated their recipes.





470 Popcorn, a must try. These gourmet popcorn had the best flavors.







Fresh Express Salads. I asked the  gentleman who was serving the salads for two because I was getting one for a fellow blogger. He hands me the second one and says,"you should take this one, its better." Nice.





I'm not going to lie. I didn't get any samples from these sponsors. But you can't go wrong with Meat and Cheese!





Wine. Yes please! There were several wine sponsors. They all had different flavors from whites to reds.





Mission Mini's. Cupcakes, they're good for you. They had red velvet, chocolate, pumpkin....and so much more. The gentleman you see in the photo is the owner.





The generous people over at Foodzie. They had a slew of tasty goodies to try. I think this is where Chef Dennis, thinking it was alcohol, took a shot of their maple syrup! Oh Chef.





Speaking of Chef Dennis...Ya Man! Rastafarian Chef Man...shhhh don't tell him you saw this photo.





Yep you read it right. Its Watermelon Wheat Beer from the people over at 21st Amendment. A refreshing light tasting beer. I loved it. Perfect for the ladies.









Tyler Florence's butternut squash and apple soup with his Apple Dijon Grilling Glaze. And a savory shortbread made with his American Provence Rub (I think). To die for good. I had more than one.





And another favorite, the Oktoberfest beer was smooth and perfect for little ole me. Thanks Thirsty Bear!





Cook it Frozen Wild Alaskan Seafood presented us with a delicious fish taco. The line for this booth was ridic! But worth it.





Mendochino Seasoning. Provides natural sea salts from the Mendochino Coast.





And of course, Ghrardelli. You can't get any more San Fransisco than these divine chocolates.





And last but not least, the Natures Pride Bread Ambassadors. We're missing two ladies. From left to right is, Julie of Willow Bird Baking, Josie of Daydreamer Desserts and Laura thecookingphotographer.



I was a bit nervous. I just kept my head down and focused on demonstrating my recipe. At one point, someone saw a mouse scurry under our table while the demo was in session.



Check this link out for my recipe. How cool is that. I'm truly grateful that I had the opportunity to be one of six bread ambassadors. Thank you so much!





Joan of Foodalogue and Julie of Willow Bird Baking






And I can't forget the diligence of photography amongst fellow bloggers.