The Best Ticket Giveaway Ever!

I am offering the best giveaway ever, if you either live in the Detroit area or are willing to travel here for an exceptional event!

The Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan - "an independent nonprofit foundation whose mission is to provide and promote compassionate, personalized support to people in Michigan affected by leukemia and other related disorders" - is preparing for an exciting fundraiser.  (This is the same amazing charity that benefited from BRU Fest this past summer.) The event will feature fabulous food, world-class wines, award-winning chefs, and an opportunity to have fun while supporting an exceptional cause:

What a way to cork-off the season! The CRUSH MICHIGAN signature series of events will celebrate its fifth year with the CRUSH Birmingham 2012 Wine and Food Classic to be held on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Michigan.

There will be 12 local executive chefs in attendance, featuring gourmet dishes. Wine personalities and Master sommeliers will describe, advise, and recommend some of the year’s most exquisite wine choices and pairings. There is also a CRUSH After Hours following the main event.

The mission of CRUSH MICHIGAN continues to be that of creating world-class regional wine and food fundraising events for the benefit of Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan, an independent non-profit foundation serving families throughout the state of Michigan.

Did I mention that several James Beard Award finalists and semi-finalists are among that stellar crowd of chefs who'll be feeding guests? Look at this unbelievably impressive list of participants:

Brian Polcyn

Brian Polcyn, Chef and Proprietor, Cinco Lagos, Milford, and Forest Grill, Birmingham

Michael Laiskonis, Chef, The Institute of Culinary Education, New York

Myles Anton, Executive Chef, Trattoria Stella, Traverse City

Jim Barnett, Executive Chef, Westin Book Cadillac, Detroit

Jim Bologna, Executive Chef, The Rugby Grill, The Townsend Hotel, Birmingham

Daniel Campbell, Executive Chef, Tallulah, Birmingham

Luciano Del Signore

Michael Connery, Executive Chef, Capital Grille, Troy

Luciano Del Signore, Executive Chef, Bacco Ristorante, Southfield

Steven Grostick, Executive Chef, Toasted Oak Grill, Novi

Paul Grosz, Executive Chef, Cuisine, Detroit

Guillaume Hazael-Massieux, Executive Chef, La Becasse, Maple City

John Korycki, Executive Chef, Zazios, A Modern Italian Experience, Kalamazoo and Birmingham

Matt Millar, Executive Chef, Reserve, Grand Rapids

Bartholomew Broadbent

James Rigato, Executive Chef, The Root Restaurant and Bar, White Lake

Ron Edwards, Master Sommelier, Wine Consultant and Educator, Wine Talk Radio Host

Madeline Triffon, Master Sommelier

Claudia Tyagi, Master Sommelier

Bartholomew Broadbent, Broadbent Selections, San Francisco, California


Tickets to this extraordinary event cost $250 ... unless you can win a pair.

That's right: I've been given the opportunity to host this giveaway so that you - yes, you! - might win 2 tickets to CRUSH Birmingham 2012, so you and a date, partner, friend, loved one, whomever can join me at the party and enjoy swoon-worthy dishes and wines while supporting a great cause!!!

Here are the details:

- Leave a comment below telling me that you'd love to win tickets to this fabulous party and would be able to attend.

- Make sure you leave an email address, so I can let you know if you've won.

- The giveaway begins today, and will end at noon on Sunday, September 16.

- I will use random.org to pick a number, then send an email to the winner; you'll have until 8 a.m. on Monday, September 17 to respond, or I'll choose another number.

- The folks at Identity P.R., who are so generously providing tickets to CRUSH Birmingham, will contact the winner by email to confirm names and ages for you and your guest.

- You've gotta find your own way to Birmingham (it's a suburb of Detroit, for non-locals); sorry, no air fare or gas money included in the deal!

- The winner's name will be added to the VIP list, so all you'll need to do is check in at the door when you arrive.

So leave a comment and try to win the tickets! Post this on Facebook and Twitter and whatever other social media you can think of! Send it in an email! Get the word out, because The Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan is such a great cause, and this is going to be an amazing party to benefit sick kids and their families.

Pizzeria Biga

Pizzeria Biga opened its second location in April, in Royal Oak (a suburb of Detroit, for my non-Michigan friends); so my BFF Wendy and I made a point of stopping by while we were in the area recently, as this was on the extended Fairy Mary's Food Fantasies "to do" list.

Now, I know you're asking, "Why is a pizza place 40 minutes away from Ann Arbor so important ...?"  Well, let me tell you: because Pizzeria Biga is not just any ol' pizza joint.  Chef and owner Luciano Del Signore was a 2012 semi-finalist for the coveted James Beard Foundation's award for Best Chef: Great Lakes due to the exceptional cuisine he offers at Bacco Ristorante.  Needless to say, then, that if he is the creative force behind even a seemingly simple pizzeria, it's gotta be one fantastic pizzeria!

The restaurant is chic and sophisticated, yet simultaneously warm and unpretentious; it's the sort of place that is at once trendy and hip while being welcoming and comfortable.  You could feel free to loiter over pizza, dessert, coffee, and drinks for an entire evening without feeling as though you were imposing.  Although the dining room was bright and airy, we asked to sit outside because the weather was absolutely stellar on the evening we visited; this let us watch the sun set over the patio as the city lit up and its night owls started to come to life in a flurry of activity.

"Biga," as the menu explains, "is the natural fermentation in our pizza dough" which offers the "distinctive tang of a sourdough."  All of the other ingredients used by Pizzeria Biga are as well chosen and integral to the final product, whether locally sourced or imported from Italy.

Because Wendy has been eating a vegan diet in order to remedy some screwy bloodwork results, we were tickled to see that we would not need to place any special orders and she would not need to compromise (as she's willing to do for special events) her dietary needs.  The Aglio e Olio [AHL-yoh eh OHL-yoh] pizza - featuring garlic and oil, respectively, in the pizza's title, as well as roasted tomato, asparagus, olives, and artichoke hearts - was vegan.

And it was fabulous!

I'm sorry that the picture doesn't do the pizza justice, but there were no candles on the tables and no festive hanging lights where Wendy and I sat; therefore, I could show a photo that's nearly black or a photo with artificial light.  'Tis better to see with a flash than not to see at all.

But the pizza ... back to the pizza!

The crust was crisp and chewy, and also slightly charred - this is not the result of its being burnt by inattentive staff, but is the result of being baked in a 900-degree wood-burning oven.  Rather than this being a mistake, it is indicative of the pizza being authentically "Neapolitano" [nay-ah-pohl-ee-TAH-noh].

Although a simple mix of vegetables topped our pizza and there was no cheese, there was truly an astounding array of flavors.  Each item had been portioned into 1" pieces, rather than huge slices of tomato or chunks of artichoke.  Thus, each bite brought several tastes, as different ingredients shone through and complemented and enhanced each other.  And remarkably, given the pedigree of both the chef and the ingredients, our 12" pizza cost only $8.50 - had we been eating in Ann Arbor, it would have been a Frugal Floozie Friday feature!

Pizzeria Biga's menu offers a variety of choices, from small plate appetizers and pastas to pizzas featuring anything from baby clams to smoked salmon, tuna and capers, even duck prosciutto.  Toppings available for those who want to create their own masterpiece range from the usual suspects to mushroom ragu and roasted zucchini to fried hot peppers and walnuts.

Before our road trip back home, we found our way to the restrooms - one single-person room for each gender.  Rather than waiting in line, since no men were to be found (as per usual!), I used the men's room.  And because it was so entertaining to see the wall decorated with a collage of Farrah Fawcett's famous swimsuit photo from the 70s, I simply had to take a picture. (Wendy told me that Burt Reynolds was showcased in the ladies' room.)

Having already come from an event, Wendy and I couldn't even finish our pizza (which made a fantastic breakfast the next morning), so we weren't hungry for the luscious gelato, cannoli, or tiramisu.  Gee, I guess we'll just have to go back sometime, huh?


Pizzeria Biga
711 S. Main Street
Royal Oak, MI 48067
248-544-BIGA (2442)



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