Guest Post- Poise In Parma

Hello readers! Well you are in for a treat over the next few weeks. I finally had surgery on my lower back yesterday (nothing scary, I'll be fine), and will be recovering at home for about a month. So a few of my fabulous fellow bloggers have offered to step in and keep you entertained. I know that you will enjoy their guest posts, because these fantastic bloggers are ones that I keep up with regularly in my blog roll and I always look forward to what they post! I've also got some great posts planned (including a fun giveaway for a session at the upcoming Fabulous Food Show), so stay tuned for some posts from me and enjoy reading the guest posts as they come in.

Greetings from Parma! I’m Alicia from Poise in Parma, another Cleveland food blog. There you’ll find my ramblings about finding that elusive “balance” we all seek in life – and in my case – work, blog and dog. If you are a frequent reader of Bite Buff or Poise in Parma, you know we enjoy attending local culinary events. In many ways, we’ve become quite the experts on the strolling food and wine fundraiser! Today I’d like to share my tips on how you too can make the most of these foodie and wine lover extravaganzas.

HOW TO SURVIVE A CLEVELAND FOOD & WINE EVENT

DO get there early. If the event starts at 6:00PM, arrive on time to avoid the valet parking rush and to get a jump start on the freshest tastings.

DO NOT forget to arrange how you are going to get home, especially if the emphasis of the event is more on the beverages. Either decide who in your group will DD, or arrange for a ride home before arriving at the event. You don’t want to remember this evening for the side trip to the police station on the way home.

DO scout out the participants. In that venue, there is an event planner somewhere that spent FAR TOO MUCH time on an event program. Do these poor folks a favor and actually READ the listing of participating restaurant and beverage providers. Create your “must eat and drink” list early on in the evening. You’ll be better prepared because of it.

DO NOT automatically grab the first piece of food or glass of wine that you see. I understand that you are hungry because you starved yourself to “save up”. (HUGE mistake, by the way.) Since you’ve check out who’s in the room, head to your “must have” participant first, then work the room accordingly.

DO be selective and remember your previous experiences. Say you dined somewhere before and had a horrible experience with their product. Why would you waste the time and stomach space for a sample of their lame excuse for a sample? Instead, take advantage of the restaurants and beverage providers that you haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy.

DO NOT feel obligated to finish anything if it doesn’t taste good. I’m not saying spit it out in front of the person who served it to you. If after one bite you decide that it was enough, just dispose of it. There’s probably something else in the room that you’ll like better and will enjoy more.

DO go back for seconds after you’ve made your first round. If something is THAT good, take advantage of your situation and enjoy it. Don’t get greedy – limit it to two visits. Any further consumption of their food need to be made at their restaurant.

DO NOT “hog” a popular chef with unnecessary, drawn out conversation. You’re a foodie – we understood that when you purchased tickets for this event. But so am I, as well as the other few hundred folks here. Don’t be selfish. Remember there are others that may have a quick question to ask. If you want more time with them, come back at the end of the event or, better yet, reserve some seats at their chef’s table for next weekend.

DO know when to call it a night. Are you starting to feel a bit wobbly? Did you already unbuckle your belt an hour ago? Unable to tell the difference between the two red wines you are drinking? Time to head out. Don’t be THAT GUEST that stayed WAY TOO LATE and became the laughing stock of the Northeast Ohio society pages. Instead, head home as you earned the right to enter a food/wine coma.

By following these tips, you too will survive AND enjoy all that our lovely region has to offer! For more fun Cleveland themed food posts, stop by Poise in Parma! I promise it’s more than just pierogies and flamingos!

Thanks, Alicia for the guest post! If anyone else out there is interested in doing a guest post while I am out of commission, please feel free to contact me.