In June, Nadia forwarded me an email about an event called Main Street in Motion, a promotional event by General Motors to create excitement for their new vehicles. As a wannabe race car driver, I jump at the chance to drive cars in a closed-road setting.

For some reason that I can’t explain, I love the Buick Regal, which was on the list of cars to drive. I saw the car on an episode of Top Gear (UK version), and liked the design. Nadia saw that they had SUVs, so she was in.

At the event, we were asked about our car buying habits and the cars for which we would like more information. I chose the Regal.

As a part of the effort to attract younger people to the brand, Buick launched a Discovery Tour, which introduces people to their cars in a relaxed, fun environment.

Because I signed up for more information on the Regal, I received an invite to the tour’s Food and Wine Pairing event hosted by Buick, Ming Tsai, and Food and Wine Magazine. I’ve been a fan of Ming Tsai for a while, so I really wanted to go.

When I asked Nadia if she wanted to go, her reply was, “Who is Ming Tsai?” After a quick (possibly overly animated) explanation, Nadia was on board. Honestly, all I had to say was “free” and “wine” and Nadia was there.

We arrived at the Westin in Annapolis and signed in. Like the Main St. event, they asked us our car buying habits and when we were likely to buy our next car. Because I didn’t see an option for “Today” (and Nadia was standing right there which inspires me to use common sense) I chose “More than a year.”

We also chose the cars we wanted to drive. I chose the Regal Turbo. Nadia chose the Enclave. We were then directed to the hors d’oeuvres table while we waited for the event to start.

A little while later, a well-spoken man from Buick began the event. We were broken into groups and ushered to various modules where we learned about food, wine, and Buicks. The guy from Buick also told us about the chefs and wine expert we would meet during the event.

Cathal Armstrong – Restaurant Eve

As a part of group C, we were taken to meet Cathal (silent T) Armstrong, chef and owner of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Va. He was one of F&W’s Best Chefs of 2006 and, if memory serves me correctly, he was one of F&W’s top 50 Best Chefs of all time – don’t quote me on that.

He was from Dublin, Ireland and had an awesome accent that I associate with movie villains. Anyway, he told us about his journey to cooking and opening a restaurant in 2004. He called his story the “quintessential American dream.”

He entered the country illegally and worked as a dishwasher. One night, a cook called out and he filled in. The rest is history. He applied for the visa lottery and landed one, and gained citizenship.

It’s hard to believe that someone who came to this country illegally and worked a dishwasher would one day cook for Julie Child (twice—once unannounced), President George W. Bush, and President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. But, he did. “Not quite Steve Jobs,” he said, “but not bad for a [college] dropout dishwasher.”

Someone asked who paid for the President’s dinner. He said that President Obama paid with his own credit card. Then he jokingly said, “You guys paid.” He also said that the Obamas are a very cute couple.

He told us how little profit there is involved in restaurant ownership. I believe he said 1% profit when times are good.

Everything in his restaurant is “Made in the USA.” Because he is living the “American Dream,” he takes pride in using products from America. “It even says it on our menu,” he said. He’s also a big fan of using natural, fresh ingredients.

He informed us that the average age of an egg in the grocery store is nine months, which is why he prefers to buy fresh. While this won’t stop me from buying them, it is kind of gross.

He showed us how to make a sashimi of snapper with pumpkin spice vinaigrette, butternut squash and pecan relish and micro cilantro, which tasted excellent.  Part of this recipe involved making an emulsion, which if you’ve never made, is pretty neat. You add all the ingredients except the oil to a blender. Then you add the oil in a thin stream until the blender makes a different sound. There’s some scientific explanation, but I don’t remember it.

Cathal was down-to-earth and was very funny. Nadia and I will definitely visit Restaurant Eve sometime. He also has another restaurant in Alexandria called Eamonn’s. Both restaurants are named after his kids.

Buick Test Drive

Next, we headed outside to the Buick presentation. We listened to a five minute spiel about features found on the new Buick line. Joe from Buick was a straight-up car salesman. He was a silver-haired, fast-talking fox. He may not have been able to sell ice to an Eskimo, but he seemed like he would damn-sure try. He told us about articulating headlights, satellite navigation, cargo space and engines with eAssist Technology.

I won’t bore you with the details, even though Joe bored us with them. After that, we were given the option to test drive the cars. Nadia drove the Enclave, which she seemed to like. It was roomy in the backseat, and had a comfy ride.

I tracked down a Buick Regal Turbo. Unfortunately, the 2012 Regal GS they had was not for test driving. So, I had to settle for the Turbo. The “promotions” person in the car with us urged me to open it up on the long straightaway. I wanted to, but since we were on a public road, I opted to give it some gas until it reached 50.

Nadia commented that the ride was bumpy in the back. I told her I had it in “Sport” mode, which is why it was so rough. She is not a fan of sport mode.

Ben Roche – Moto Restaurant

The next module was with Ben Roche, executive pastry chef of Moto Restaurant in Chicago. We arrived a little late because of my test drive, so he was just starting to tell us about what he was planning on making when we walked in.

On the menu: S’mores bombs and bacon-sage ice cream. Yes, bacon-sage ice cream. Ben told us that any flavor could be infused in ice cream. He wanted to make us turkey ice cream, but the event people told him he couldn’t have a turkey. So, bacon-sage it was.

He chose to use liquid nitrogen to make the ice cream, partly because it was faster, partly because he “really, really, really likes using liquid nitrogen.”

Take a simple ice cream recipe and add liquid nitrogen and keep stirring until you get the consistency you want. He kept adding the liquid nitrogen and commenting how cool the vapor looked. He was way too excited by the nitrogen, which he later admitted.

He also taught us how to coat liquid things in chocolate. Freeze them, and then dip them in melted chocolate, then put them in the fridge. The fridge will harden the chocolate and thaw the frozen filling. Simple concept, but not something I would think of on my own.

Since he had nitrogen, though, he would solidify the chocolate quickly. “Any excuse to use nitrogen,” he said.

We then had the bomb and ice cream. While I wasn’t a fan of the ice cream, it certainly was interesting. We will probably try his restaurant when we are in Chicago around Christmas time. But I doubt we’ll order bacon ice cream.

Michael Green

Next, we headed to the main room, where we met Michael Green, a wine expert. In about 20 minutes, he took us through 20 years of wine education. He spoke about the different factors that affect the taste of wines. Price, however, does not affect the taste, he told us. “If a wine is good to you,” he said, “then it’s good.”

For wine tasting, he showed us how to hold the glass. He said to think of sexual harassment training: no fondling, no caressing, and no cupping. Hold it by the stem.

He also taught us the six S’s: See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, Swish, Spit. If he never spit, he would be on the floor by 8 a.m.. For the Buick event, “spit” was replaced by “swallow and enjoy.”

So, we were given a Sauvignon Blanc from Rodney Strong to try. To see it, tilt the glass and hold it in front a white surface. This particular wine looked like “cat piss.” (His words, not mine.) Then we swirled the glass for a few seconds to introduce air into the wine. I’m not sure why, as I was still chuckling about cat piss. We then smelled the wine. To smell it, you have to put your whole nose in the glass. You’ll feel ridiculous, but you’ll like a wine connoisseur. Trust me.

Next, you sip the wine. Don’t take a big ol’ swig… you’ll look like an amateur if you do. Swish it around in your mouth to experience the flavor. Then spit it.

Now, you’re a wine tasting pro, like him (and now, me.)

We tried the Sauvignon Blanc, which was dry (read: bitter). One woman really didn’t like it because it was so bitter. So, he told us about how different food pairings affect how we perceive wine flavors. We were instructed to eat a slice of lemon, and then drink the wine.

Suddenly, the dry wine was sweet. It was very interesting. We also tried a Côtes-Du-Rhône Belleruche Rouge with and without an Italian cheese. If I remember correctly, the cheese minimized the flavor of the tannins. Tannins are compounds found in grape seeds and skins. They are what give it the bitter flavor. They are also found in coffee.

He reminded us, once again, that if a wine is good to us, then it is good. Don’t worry about the price or the label.

Ming Tsai – Blue Ginger

Once Michael was done, it was time for the main event. Ming was introduced by the well-spoken man from Buick. He was taller and bulkier than I envisioned him. He looks like he works out.

He was going to prepare two dishes for us: chicken and tri-bell pepper chow mein and sweet and sour mango pork. He started cooking the chicken in a large wok, and told us about the path he took to cooking.

He was raised by traditional Chinese parents who wanted him to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. So, he went to Yale (that’s right, Yale!) to be a mechanical engineer.

When he was about 10 years old, some relatives came to visit and he offered to cook for them, despite not knowing how to cook. He thought seeing his parents make fried rice gave him enough knowledge to make it himself. He was not successful, though he said his relatives were polite about it. He later cooked at his parent’s restaurant.

While at Yale, he went to Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris during the summer of his junior year. After graduating, he told his parents he wanted to be a chef. He thought they would say no, but they were supportive. He joked that his dad said that he should be a chef because he would make a lousy engineer.

In 1998, Ming opened the Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, MA. Since then, he’s gone on to host three cooking shows, publish several cookbooks, and develop several products. He’s also the spokesperson for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, which focuses on education and research on food allergies.

Once the chicken was done, he put it aside and worked on the veggies. Ming is a proponent of one-pot cooking, because of its simplicity. So, he used the wok again. He pointed out that his tongs were used for raw chicken and to make sure that when you cook with a utensil that touches raw chicken, you use a new, clean one or wash it thoroughly.

He also showed us how to juice limes using a pair of tongs. First, you have to roll them to soften them up, Ming said. “Don’t microwave them like another cooking show host says,” he said. “Sure it will soften them up. But, it will also start to cook them, which defeats the purpose of using fresh lime juice. I won’t mention her by name, though.”

He then placed the cut lime halves near the focal point of the tongs, and squeezed them together, which extracted a lot of juice from the lime. “See, you don’t need to buy a specific tool made by another cooking show host that I won’t mention by name,” he said laughing. “She was in jail, though.”  Everyone laughed.

He also joked that when she got out of jail, she got a book deal and has been on TV. “When I got out, I got nothing,” he laughed. (He hasn’t been to jail, if you didn’t know.)

The chow mein was finished, so he plated it and tasted it. We were then served. It was great!

He then made sweet and sour pork while telling us more about his restaurant and growing up.

Once the pork was done, he plated it and tasted it. He then pointed out that even an experienced chef can make mistakes, noting that he forgot to add the sour. He quickly corrected himself; saying that a cooking trick is to plate the dish and let it sit on the plate so it can absorb the flavor, then put it back in the pot to add the sour. Everyone laughed again.

He then told us of a time that he was cooking on live TV. It was right before a commercial break, and he was going to add fresh vegetables to a hot wok. Unfortunately, someone forgot to turn the wok on. So, he threw the veggies in as he noticed the wok was cold. But, much like a true performer, he pretended that the wok was on, making a sizzling sound with his mouth. The show went to break and no one was the wiser.

Once the sour was added to the pork, he re-plated it and tasted it. He then recapped for us: cook in the pot; take it out of the pot and plate it; then back into the pot; add the sour; then re-plate.

There were only seven portions of the pork dish, so we were asked questions about the event and those who answered correctly received pork.

When all the portions were finished, the well-spoken man said that there was a gift for all of us in attendance. He then took out a Buick key and held it up. He said we would all receive a “brand new, shiny…cook book signed by Ming! What? This key is for the valet. Did you think you were getting a new car?” The audience erupted in applause and laughter.

The well-spoken man wrapped up the event with his rendition of Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” He was actually pretty good. He concluded by saying that the next time we’re in the market for a new car, “Just give [Buick] a look!”

Nadia and I both had a lot of fun and we enjoyed the food. It was a great event, and well worth the five minutes of the Buick sales spiel. And even though I missed the Cowboys game, which they lost, I still had a great evening.