Kirkland Uncorked Pops With A 'Grill Off'

Saturday's grilling competition at Kirkland Uncorked had its share of challenges due to the wildly moody weather. The day started out cold and soggy only to suddenly clear off into a muggy afternoon.

Food junkies staked out their places early, grilling their skin in the hot sun. Someone pointed me toward the Overlake Medical Center booth where those of us cursed with ultra fair skin could pick up free samples of sunscreen.

The 600-degree Weber grills caused shimmering heat waves. Competing chefs Pat Donahue (Anthony's Homeport), Jacob Nyman (Coho Cafe) and Wylie Frank (Lark and Shophouse) wiped their collective brows in preparation.

Shrimp grilling commenced with the arrival of the Seattle Times food writer and event emcee Nancy Leson. She poked fun at her blog "All You Can Eat" by pointing at herself, saying, "Clearly, I've eaten all I can eat." Leson was happy to see the Weber Grilling Stage dedicated to her "dear friend," Kirkland's late Jodi Bartoletti.

Leson interacted with the crowd, most notably a couple from Henderson, NV, while the chefs chopped, squeezed, steamed and grilled three mouth-watering dishes. The judges, Q-13 Fox's Brian Blakely, Mike Seely of Seattle Weekly, and Keren Brown, author of "Food Lovers' Guide To Seattle," milled about talking with the chefs and crowd of onlookers.

Of Nyman's lime shrimp tacos and chili corn, Seely said, "It might be the most simple thing, but I like the color the best. The chili rub is beautiful."

Frank and his wife, Poncharee Kounpungchart--she goes by P.K.--recently spent some time in Thailand, which inspired them to create Shophouse, a pop-up Thai food project. His dish for this competition naturally featured a Thai steak salad as one of the components.

But it was chef Donahue's invention that won over the judges: cocoa-rubbed Alaskan king salmon grilled on an alder plank with a drizzle of bing cherry coulis served with dinosaur kale strata and fresh spot prawns.

Of course, there were many other activities going on at Kirkland Uncorked. The tasting garden hosted hordes of wine-sipping guests. Several local restaurants offered small samples of food, though with the exception of one, every sample contained salmon. Not that I'm complaining, but I was relieved to taste the caramelized onion tortilla cake served by Sasi's Cafe. Dianne's Delights served the only dessert--splendid cake bites. My favorite was the coconut.

Artists booths were available to the public for free outside of the tasting garden. Jewelry, photography, paintings, woodwork and more lined the parking lot near Marina Park. My favorite were the designs of Seattle artist Heather Kraft, who constructs a jewelry line called Material and Movement out of broken china plate pieces.

As the sun dipped lower in the sky, guests made their way over to the Main Stage to hear Creme Tangerine. Wine tokens dwindling and commemorative glasses in hand, happy guests seemed to enjoy the lovely Kirkland waterfront almost as much as we locals.