Keep your slaw-ptions open

Today was one of those days for me. I won't get into detail, but it was the kind of day where I just needed to see a friendly face at the end of it. I headed to Cardullo's to see my friend Eileen, who always has her friendly face on. 

show us that friendly face, Eileen!

Tonight she was doing a tasting all of her own. In celebrating of Father's Day, she whipped up a few different slaws using deliciously unique condiments that Cardullo's carries. And of course, everything paired perfectly with a selection from her wine shop. I snapped a few pictures on my phone, which is crappy, to say the least, Bare with me.

The first one featured a fruit vinegar, jicama, apple, and some other things I can't remember, because I took a picture of the wrong slaw. Oops. It was awesome, though. This one was paired with an amazing Prosecco. For those of you who have never tried it, jicama is kind of a sweet root vegetable. It's a Mexican potato that looks like a turnip and tastes sort of like a pear. Flour has a delicious sandwich with jicama, chicken and avocado, which I can't not order whenever I go there.

that's jicama on the left

The second slaw had Sweet Thai Chili sauce as a base, Cardullo's own brand. Eileen tossed fresh radicchio, pineapple, red pepper and cilantro. I think this one was my favorite. She paired it with a hard apple cider.

This next one blew my mind a little. Yes, you are reading that right. Baconnaise. Someone recently decided that everything should have a bacon-flavored alternative, and ever since then, we are seeing everything from bacon-flavored cocktails to bacon-laced cupcakes. Yuck. I have to admit, though, baconnaise and coleslaw is a match made in heaven. I would love to put a spoon-full of this stuff on a juicy burger.

 ...this stuff is vegetarian: Believe it, or Not!

I am feeling a lot better now, thanks Eileen. Oh, and I have more unfortunate news: I had to postpone my tasting next week at Cardullo's due to a work event. Stay tuned, as I will definitely have a new tasting-day in the near future!

Do you have any food-related traditions for Father's Day? What about any cookout specialties?

m