For some reason, I have a hard time finding gifts for my husband. I’m “anti-Amazon” wish list and feel like my gifts should be more personal. So, for his birthday present, I decided that a trip to the Fabulous Food Show was in order. We had talked about going a couple of times in the past, but hadn’t been willing to spend the money. It was $25 each to get in the door, plus extra if you wanted to see a celebrity chef.
We took the kids to Akron to stay with their grandparents and aunt Carol for the day and headed to the IX Center. I was glad that we bought out tickets ahead and didn’t have to wait in line.
We were able to walk right in. One of my favorite areas of the show was the local farm section. It was fun to see so many products that we were familiar with. We returned at the end of the day to make a few purchases.
The highlight of the day was seeing Michael Symon. The theatre was set up like a rock concert with screens, stadium seating and lights! He made a braised pork shank with a Brussels sprout slaw. It looked great! We loved his shirt and are trying to figure out how to make one ASAP. It’s a tyrannosaurus dinosaur with a carrot and says EAT LOCAL.
We came across this set up for a make it and take it gingerbread house. I thought it was a little cheap looking for $15, but I’m looking forward to making one with Nick this season. The Holiday Show at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens opens right after Thanksgiving. We’ll make a trip there so Nick can scope out some ideas.
Many of the booths had samples of their products. Some we waited in line for and some we just passed by. The apple sample was totally worth waiting for. There were 4 apples to sample from and once you knew which one you wanted, they sliced it for you and gave it to you in a bowl. It was such a welcome treat in between all of the processed “junk” food we ate during the day.
We sampled so many different products from chips and chocolate to pretzels and dip. We bought a few items along the way. We ended up being at the IX center from noon until 6PM. Out date ended with dinner at Rockne’s. It was definitely a successful birthday outing!