[/caption]

Guest Post
Special thanks to Mike for once again heading out to Galveston to cover this spectacular event!

Fall is in the air and October has arrived, which means only one thing…no, not another pumpkin flavored beverage/candy/muffin/whatever. It means that it’s once again time for the Landry’s Iron Chef Competition. And just like last year, I was prepared to enter the proverbial food coma, all in the name of investigative journalism. You’re welcome.

In case you don’t know the drill with the Iron Chef Competition, click here. I’ll save you from a drawn out explanation, but what you really need to know is this – innovative chefs, delicious ingredients, and everyone trying to one-up each other. How cool is that?

This year I decided I needed a full day to really soak up the competition, you know so I could really report accurately on the event (it had nothing to do with wanting to taste more food…honestly…okay, not really). Upon arriving at the kitchen, the memories of last year came flooding back and I was downright giddy. What would be on the menu this year, I wondered.

The first dish to come out was shrimp boudin. I like shrimp, I like boudin…what about combining the two? It sounded interesting and it tasted pretty good. It reminded me of a shrimp cake and that’s definitely not a bad thing.

Duck Spring Rolls

The thing to remember about this competition is that food comes out every eight minutes, so you really have to pace yourself. So it was definitely a challenge for me when the next few dishes to come out included duck spring rolls, tempura fried katsu tuna, prosciutto wrapped shrimp and blackened sea bass.

When I hear prosciutto or bacon wrapped anything, my ears perk up, so the shrimp definitely had my attention. The shrimp themselves were delicious, served with two types of potatoes. And the sea bass was delicious, served with sticky rice and a cilantro yogurt. The fish was tender and flaky, and the dish struck a perfect balance between sweet and savory.

Salmon Salad

After a few more main dish and appetizer offerings, it was time for the dessert portion of the day’s competition. The selections included a sweet potato pound cake with cajeta ice cream, strawberry petit fours and a donut bread pudding. But the most visually stunning dessert offering was the peanut butter pillar, topped with brittle that resembled shattered glass. Just awesome.

After a short break for lunch (like we needed it), we resumed the afternoon session and I tried to convince my stomach that we did indeed have room for more gastronomic adventure. The afternoon started off strong, with duck confit spring rolls that were sinfully good, especially when paired with the pineapple and cranberry chutney. It was crunchy, creamy, sweet and delicious.

And now a disclosure. I don’t like oysters. At least, I thought I didn’t. Then I had them with a green tea cream fraiche and watermelon mignonette. The presentation was stellar and it made me like oysters. Mission most definitely accomplished.

What followed were my three favorite dishes of the day – a smoked salmon salad served with herbed potato cakes and an avocado vinaigrette (Best Salad Winner from Chef Brian Robertson of the San Luis Resort), braised wagyu beef cheeks (Honorable Mention, $7-$10 entrée from Chef Tony Riley of Chart House) and crudo of amberjack (the overall competition winner from Chef Carlos Rodriguez of Vic & Anthony’s).

Green Tea Oysters

The salmon salad was truly refreshing, very light and the flavors popped. The beef cheeks almost melted in my mouth, and this one of the dishes where I had to go back in for another bite. But the real winner for me was the crudo of amberjack. The flavors meshed perfectly with the bits of grapefruit. The dish was visually beautiful and tasted as good as it looked. I’m not a big fan of many types of fish, but this was unbelievable.

A few thoughts on this year’s competition…

• The seafood was all fresh and looked gorgeous, which is what should really be a hallmark of Landry’s cuisines. They definitely didn’t let me down in that regard.

• I would have hated to have to pick a favorite from the dessert category. Each was fabulous.

• Lots of seafood was to be expected, but there were also several duck dishes among the offerings this year. And they were all great.

Finally, it’s always really cool to see these chefs in their element. So often, we only see the end result of their hard work and creativity, so I always like to get a glimpse behind the curtain, so to speak. This is a wonderful event that I’ve been fortunate enough to cover for two years now, and I can’t wait to see what’s on tap for next year.

*Invitation to this event was complimentary, but opinions are those of the writer. All photos courtesy of Landry’s representatives.