Taste, Chattanooga’s premiere event showcasing the talents of area chefs, usually takes place in early March, so if you thought you may have missed it, don’t despair. Organizers decided to push the date back a month to April 7; it will be held in Stratton Hall.
“We made the decision in hopes of having warmer weather to utilize the outdoor space at Stratton Hall,” says Amanda Browning, development director for the Kidney Foundation of the Greater Chattanooga Area, the organization that benefits from this tasty event.
Anne BralyLast year, Taste brought in more than $15,000 to support the Kidney Foundation’s Patient Utility Assistance Program, which helps patients with everyday life needs, including payment of utility bills, medications, nutritional supplements, medical equipment and transportation to and from dialysis.
“Taste is a major fundraiser for the Kidney Foundation,” Browning says. “It is very important because the Kidney Foundation of Chattanooga does not receive funding from a national organization, 100 percent of all funds raised stay within the Chattanooga area and are essential to providing the many patient services we offer.”
Restaurants, catering companies and other food vendors who have signed up so far for Taste 2016 are:
* Chelsea’s on Thornton
* Cupcake Kitchen
* Dish T’Pass
* Dry Sparkling
* English Rose Tea Room
* Virginia College
* Milk & Honey
* Ovalle’s Mexican Cafe
* Rolling J Mobile Bistro
* Root Kitchen and Wine Bar
* Bluewater Grille
* Countryside Cafe
* Big River Grille
* 1885 Grill
* Five Restaurant
* Porter’s Steakhouse
* The Feed Co.
* Tremont Tavern
Browning says Taste is a great way for new restaurants to showcase their menus, as well as a chance for established restaurants to introduce new items on their menus.
Tickets to Taste 2016 are $40 per person and sell out quickly, so get your reservations now. Ticket holders will be entitled to free samplings of local cuisine from some of Chattanooga’s finest restaurants, plus a drink ticket to sample beverages from local establishments. With great restaurants, live music, drinks and a silent auction, Taste will be a hotspot for Chattanoogans looking for an upscale night on the town.
“Something as simple as having dinner with us can make a difference in the daily life of a renal patient,” Browning adds.
To purchase tickets or for more information, log onto www.TasteChatt.com.
HOT PIZZA
Stevi B’s Pizza, a fast-casual buffet-style pizzeria with one location at 4400 Frontage Road, in Cleveland, Tenn., will take its pizza to a spicy new level by adding sriracha sauce to its menu. According to a news release, sales of hot sauce have grown by 150 percent since 2000, which is more than all the other condiments – ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard and barbecue sauce – combined.
To capitalize on this trend, the eatery invites customers to experience a variety of sriracha-inspired pizzas. So the next time you want pizza with a kick, make the drive. But this offer isn’t a permanent one – it only lasts through the end of May.
MORE ABOUT OATMEAL
In response to last week’s Side Orders column about oatmeal, Frank Chambers sent in his favorite method of preparing oatmeal each morning for breakfast.
“A few years ago, I decided to try mixing oatmeal and Greek yogurt together. To me, the taste is incredible,” he says. “My preference is cooking steel-cut oatmeal and pouring it into a bowl with Greek yogurt; then adding blueberries – fresh or frozen – and dipping a teaspoon halfway into a jar of locally made honey to stir things up and eat with.”
Chambers says he prefers McCann’s Quick and Easy steel-cut oats and uses a ratio of 3/4 cup water to every 1/4 cup of oats. To each serving, he adds a 5.3-ounce cup of Greek yogurt, preferably Chobani or Fage, then adds the fruit and sweetens it with honey. Other fruited yogurts work well, he says, but Greek yogurt is more healthful and filled with protein, which makes it very filling. Raisins and raspberries are excellent substitutions for blueberries, he adds.
“I mentioned how I fixed oatmeal to a lady while shopping in the yogurt section of a grocery store one time, and she said it sounded great and might be a way to get her preteen kids to eat yogurt,” he says. “Sure enough, about six months later she saw me at the store and told me both her kids liked it and her husband, who had never cared for oatmeal, had begun eating it this way, too.”
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.