Brownies and Lemonade Budget Banquet Recap

Even after several venue changes, a missed chef, and a very dynamic collection of judges, the night was, as Borat Sagdiyev would say, a "great success!" The atmosphere was bursting with energy and everybody was friendly, talkative, and most importantly... hungry as hell!

The Chefs: Kush – Barbacoa Tacos

The tacos had a bit of a surprise start. It looked very appetizing with a fancy decoration of the chipotle sour cream swirled atop the carefully prepared pickled cabbage over a bed of barbacoa. When taking your first bite, you're hit with the instant heat of the spices. As it subsides, it takes you through well balanced flavors of salty and sweet. The cabbage added a wonderful texture to the mix that made the dish a delight to have.

Travis Hoffhacker – Pulled Pork Sandwich

When looking at the dish, you think, "this looks like a normal sandwich." However, Travis really understands the concept of blending exotic flavors. Mixing apple with celery root to create his slaw, he gave generous portions of what I considered "the deal breaker" of the meal. It was incredible to taste the mild flavor of barbecue sauce transfer into the sweetness from the apple. Blend that with a juicy bite into his homemade pickle, it was quite the treat.

Eddie Ruiz / Robin Chopra – Dough Burgers (The night's winners)

Keeping it cheap, they thought of making a Pizza with a Burger remix. The dough was the first thing I noticed. It was slightly crispy at its base and very soft and moist at its top. Sitting above that doughy heaven was lettuce, tomato, bits of pickles, and sausages seasoned with fennel seeds and other tasty spices. The marinara from the "pizza" was replaced with thousand island, which made the pizza all the more confusing... and delicious! The color from the mix of toppings really made the initial presentation very impressive, color that was lacking in every other dish. The fries were most certainly made carefully with a perfect blend of crispness and moistness. It was well salted, which made the fries great even without the provided ketchup. Overall, great idea, great execution, great delivery.

Hamad Lewis – Chicken Enchilada

Most certainly the underdog of the bunch, it was presented in its truest, most traditional form. With a pinch of cilantro at the top, you didn't expect much from looking at it initially. When you finally sink your teeth into the enchilada, you're surprised with the mix of peppers that rushed through your taste buds. Green peppers, red peppers, Anaheim (?) peppers immediately took over, and then the rest of the enchilada came through with the cheese and sauces. After talking to several people post-contest, this dish was definitely the surprise dish of the night.

After all the festivities, Eddie and Robin provided the masses with their Nutella Brownies drenched in their homemade whipped cream... a crowd favorite. Everyone was going crazy and couldn't get enough of this rich, chocolatey goodness.

The event was most certainly a success. Everyone had a great time, everyone got to eat great food, and everything seemed to run very smoothly... Brownies and Lemonade Style!

-Johnson Ngo

By Johnson Ngo - Nov 8, 2011

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