At Beyond the Shaker we’ve had some good ridiculously amazing meals. And of course, had some great conversations about food with fantastic friends. Mix it all together in the ideal proportions with a bit of vino (hey, we all drove and so a ‘bit’ was certainly reasonable), and you have Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 8pm CT at Semiramis in Chicago, Illinois (ok, I was a bit late to the party, so call it 8:23pm).

On that particularly rainy autumn evening (OH MAN WAS THE RAIN COMING DOWN), I was set to meet a few dynamic business owners from the Chicago-area to chat about our mutual experiences launching gourmet food companies. I was joined by Scott and Una from Fino Products, an importer of incredibly delicious Croatian olive oil sold under the San Gurmano brand, and Elizabeth, an invaluable supporter/savior of Beyond the Shaker, and the brilliant life force behind Octavia Tea, a premium loose tea company.

As soon as we were seated, Joseph, a long-time friend, and the executive chef and proprietor at Semiramis, stopped by our table to highlight some of the many delicious menu items available for our gastronomic pleasure. Seriously, if you like food as we do (and if you don’t like food, 1. why the heck are you reading this?!, 2. what the heck is wrong with you?!, and 3. how the heck are you alive?!), it certainly makes sense to have friends in the food industry!

To jump start the meal, Joseph hooked us up with tasty delights like the fresh and tangy Fattoush salad (a flavorful contrast in textures spanning from diced cucumber to crisp toasted pita bread) and the incredible Vegetarian Plate. Please let me break it down for you…try to follow, if you dare/can. Garlicky hummus? BUT OF COURSE! crazy-good tabbouleh? YEPPERS! the best darn falafel this side (or any side, really) of the Mississippi? OH GOSH YES! dolmas (putting another nested parenthetical in here probably disturbs the grammarians (oh yeah, I got some skillz in vocab), but for the uninitiated, this is a grape leaf stuffed with rice tomatoes, mint and other goodies, and then cooked in olive oil with an accompaniment of yogurt)? DOLMAS, DON’T YOU KNOW IT! and smokey eggplant baba ghannouj? YOU BET YOUR SWEET GHANNOUJ IT IS INCLUDED IN THIS FEAST OF YUM!

Ok, now that you have re-read that last paragraph for the tenth time, you probably have an appreciation for how much we all dug the Vegetarian Plate. It almost makes me wish I was a vegetarian. Wait…oh no…here it comes…Bacon. Steak. Bacon. Lobster. Bacon. Lamb. Bacon. Duck. Bacon. Crab. Bacon. Chicken. Bacon. Trout. Bacon. Scallops. Bacon. Turkey. Bacon. Shrimp. BACON. Drats. Never mind.

The conversation amongst the diners this evening was lively. Perhaps it was the wine, the gorgeous food, or the rain. Regardless, it was one of those special nights that is hard to capture in words. As food folk often have samples in tow, we exchanged goods like surnames – olive oil, tea and salt were strewn across our table in a rainbow of flavor (skittles be damned). The merits of packaging design, wholesale pricing, and food demonstrations were discussed in detail. The ‘why’ of the food start-ups was debated and deliberated. Philosophies of marketing were communally pondered. AND my god, was it fun.

Here I was in the epicenter of creation at the precipice of an erroneously identified dormant culinary tectonic. A gosh darn shame is that when experiencing a moment in time, the actual moment is perhaps lost, and so in a sly (oh yeah, it bordered on a 007 maneuver with freaking ‘dropped’ bread as a distraction), I texted myself “thes is fun” (misspelling included at no extra cost). Yep, a basic message to be sure, but enough to evoke at a later date/time the spark of internal excitement which was felt as I ate ridiculously good food, had amazing conversations, and witnessed the seeds of an exciting gastronomic future.

The dinner progressed, we had amazing entrees, we conversed and eventually (reluctantly) disbanded. To experience and personally understand the passion of those amongst us that work around the clock for the golden ring, whatever it may be, is something special. And so it was an inspired evening with an outline for the most simple of guides to culinary happiness – eat at Semiramis, buy some crusty bread to eat with great olive oil and an equally great salt, and wash it down with a fantastic tea. Yep. That is the ticket for sure.

Related posts:

1. Beyond the Shaker Wins Food Competition – Named “Tastemaker”