Photo Recap: CTbites' Chef Demo Tent @ Blues View BBQ Andrew Dominick September 09, 2016 Tropical Storm Hermine brought mid-70s temperatures, a few clouds, and soothing gusts of wind to Connecticut, that made for a picture perfect weekend at the Blues, Views, & BBQ Festival in Westport. The 9th edition of this meat-and-music-centric fair featured grilled and smoked food from area restaurants and food trucks but the real action was at the CTbites Demo Tent where 5 chefs rocked it out and dished out crowd pleasing, meat-heavy samples. This year’s lineup was kicked off by Pietro Scotti (Da Pietro’s) who made juicy milk-fed chicken marinated in a blend of citrus and “secret spices,” grilled with orange and lemon slices and fresh sprigs of rosemary. Then it got REALLY meat heavy when Matt Storch (Match, Nom-Eez) served a trio of Vietnamese grilled meats, followed by Jonathan Vaast (Walrus + Carpenter, Rothbard) with homemade curry bratwurst, and Carlos Baez (The Spread, El Segundo) who skewered tender pieces of ribeye, marinated in ginger and lemongrass, grilled mid-rare, and topped with a green chili sauce. To switch things up, Michael Hazen (The Pearl at Longshore) brought a cooler of Copps Island oysters to cook over the grill’s flames, that would later be shucked, and topped with his take on a New Orleans style mignonette—that he made on the spot—and sprinkled the finished product with beads of pulp from an ingredient many of the crowd hadn’t seen before in finger limes. If that description didn’t do it for you, look at the slideshow and drool! Until next year, Blues, Views, & BBQ.
