Getting a Bite of A Feast Reborn

As the air grows cooler, the beach toys and swimwear packed away for another year, the atr around Eorzea seems to take on a festive scent. No, that (hopefully) isn't a certain singer finally escaping from the deepfreeze she's been in since the former holiday season, it's the most wonderful time of the year getting ready to begin again- the holiday festival season, starting off strong with the annual food festival “A Feast Reborn”, having taken place over the weekend of 4th and 5th Sun of the Fifth Umbral Moon.

Lasting two glorious days of food, events, and fun, AFR unofficially marks the beginning of Eorzea's autumn festival season, and this year did not disappoint. Many familiar names were in attendance over the two-day festival – Spice and Miqo'te, High Nunh, Otterly Delicious, the Bandee Pakshee, Dan's BBQ, Puku Pizza, Spriggan and Spice- but there was a very nice crop of new establishments also making a showing. You could quite literally send your mouth on a tour of the star's culture and food and still kept your feet planted firmly upon the ground of the Diabolos neighborhood of Ul'dah's Goblet.

Cruising the wares Darksday, I have to call out a few standout dishes that contributed to my enjoyment (and the fact that I think I'm only now just catching up in my exercise):

Bink's Brew's concoction of the same name. With the amount of breweries on the Star, it's always nice to see people stretching concepts to the aformentioned limits.... but at the same time, it's always nice to get back to basics from time to time! There's just something about this that makes me want a few bottles on ice for after the next issue's release! I also wish I could have brought back some of their lemonade...

High Nunh is always a delight, and it is always nice to see some fresh takes on seafood. The Lobster Tornado Roll was a bit on the spicy side, but at the same time, it was good to push my spicy boundaries. Plus, it always amazes me just how many foods can be improved just by putting them on a stick. I'm also intrigued by what they call the Hotfin Crunch Taco, even if the mere mention of such a thing sends my Hingan friend into a tizzy...

Si'kan's House Curry from Spice and Miqo'te is a surprisingly strong contender as far as curry goes- I wish they would modulate their spice a tiny bit better, but to be honest, it makes a very nice change from other usual festival foods, and it's nice to see some competition in certain foods! I also wanted to try the ramen, but honestly, I'd maxed my spice tolerance and felt that if I'd had any more, I might have cooked myself in my clothing. I wish they'd offered a non-alcoholic drink, too...

Finally, to top off a day of sampling spicy foods, nothing seems to calm the tongue, the mind, and the tummy down like a large glass of lassi - especially Bandee Pakshee lassi. There's just something about a sweet and cool cup of lassi at the end of a big meal that says “pray, try not to think about how many calories you've just consumed” or even “curry goes straight to the tail”. But still, lassi makes a very, very good wandering beverage.

As far as wandering around to what, though? Plenty of opportunities to watch things or see things or even to learn from talented chefs in their own right. I'd heard pudding wrestling was on offer, and while it sounded fun, I'm kind of glad I missed it because I'm all but certain my editor would have easily signed me up for it. The Iron Chef competition might have been fun, but there's a reason I take my meals out or constantly get delivery. And the glamour contest was rather enjoyable.

All that said, speaking to me on background, several vendors on Darksday were dissatisfied with A Feast Reborn's attendance. This wasn't an issue the Lightsday vendors faced. 

The next day, Lightsday, had more of the same: food, fun, and various festival activities! Chef Endo hosted a cooking lesson making some amazing Doman-style fried chicken (apparently it also works great on both dodo and other fowl), and I'm hoping more people will make some! Then there was also Morbull Riding, which I might have been willing to get involved with, but... well... when you've eaten as much as I did, well... upset stomach and lots of motion... yeah. A diplomat must remain dignified at all times, after all...

As for selections from Lightsday's gathered vendors...

I stopped for a bit at the Apothecafe for a pastry, and in between bites, I asked a few questions of the owner, Glitchy Aster.

Q: So how long have you been attending A Feast Reborn, and who got you involved??

Aster: Been vending here three years in a row now, I think? … If I remember rightly, it was our friends at Spice and Miqo'te that suggested it to us. They weren't officially involved with staff back then, but they enjoyed it all the same.

Q: How has business been today?

Aster: Been good! Spent yesterday browsin' the stalls and business has been pretty steady today.

Q: What keeps you coming back every year?

Aster: It's always a ton of fun every year, whether you're showin' up as a vendor or just here to enjoy the food, friends, and fun.

I honestly can't recommend the pastries enough, but as I've found out in the past, you cannot live on delicious, flaky, fruit-filled pastry and strong coffee for longer than a few hours at a time- I'd done more wandering, and after catching Chef Endo's cooking lesson to learn how to prepare soime absolutely delicious-looking Doman-style fried chicken, my appetite was already looking for a more significant feed. And that's when my nose caught the unmistakable scent of roasting meat, thick sauces, and as much smoke as you could handle.

Dan's BBQ is run by a man going by the name of Stranger Dan, and as he proceeded to spoon me up some delicious-looking ribs and mac and cheese, I got to ask him a few questions.

Q: So how did you get involved with A Feast Reborn, and how long have you been involved?

Dan: Mmm, well about three years ago Nyte reached out to us sayin' she thought we had a good restaurant concept! That was the first year we ran a booth here, and it was a great time. Put me in touch with Vesper who ended up doin a big building design project for us in Empyreum. Then this year for the first time we got to set up our radio station with a special show just for the festivities. Seems like each year we get more involved with the festival, which I kinda like.

Q: How's traffic been for you this year?

Dan: Had a good number of people pop by, and obviously I'm real proud of the radio stuff we did for 'em. I'm hoping we can do even more next year. Would love to do interviews of our own actually n' broadcast 'em. That and do more advertisements with the folks running other stalls.

Q: Anything else you'd like to mention?

Dan: Hmm...I guess just a lil blurb that we're always lookin for other folks that got radio voices that wanna get on the air with us! We'd love to do more shows than just me spinnin' records on Mondays.

And after that... I sat and ate.

Ribs are a decidedly messy food. Show me a person who can eat a rack of ribs without getting sauce all over their fingers and lips, and I will show you someone who doesn't know how to live. They were perfect, and I must admit that there may have been more than one time when I licked the sauce off my claws and I didn't much care who was watching. I'm going to be strongly hinting we take business lunches here, or at least get dinner delivered on long nights. The macaroni was creamy and good and I may have just gained a few ponze just by remembering this.

But after more roaming and taking in the sights - including an absolutely adorable tiny chocobo driving an adorably tiny tank threatening to attack - the hour grew late, and as things started to slow down, I made the decision to get one last meal to go (I would have placed an order of everything from everywhere if I could justify the expense), but I settled on a place with an odd name: the Mouldy Tuba. Granted, I just absolutely needed to know where they got the idea for the name, and as they were readying a container of grilled dodo and popotoes, I added on a mead to go and got to talking with Jameson Blackstone, its owner and proprieter.

Q: Could you tell me a little about how the Mouldy Tuba got its name? How long have you had it?

Blackstone: The Mouldy Tuba has been in my family for 2 generations. It was thought up by my Grandfather, who had purchased the location where we currently are. As he was renovating the tavern, he stumbled upon a tuba in a corner, colored green. As he saw it the name came to him!

Q: Have you been at AFR before?

Blackstone: This is our second year working with AFR! We love having the opportunity to come here and meet so many wonderful people!

Q: Any observations you'd care to share?

Blackstone: We are definitely busier this year than last! The overall layout has improved and there are a ton of people around too! A Feast Reborn is a wonderful event that seems to only get better every year! You can really see the hard work that everyone puts in to bring this all together! We are honored to be here and to take part in this!

And with that, I took my leave of the festival. Having spent two days sampling some of the best food on the star was an amazing time, and if you're around for the next one, I would absolutely attend. But even as I started to make my way home, I recalled many of the things I'd heard as I wandered with the crowd – the great food, the number of things going on.... but there had also been some rumblings of discontent, as well. Several vendors had made mention that Sunday seemed to have somewhat better attendance than Saturday, adding in some frustration that turnout still seemed to be lower overall.

Even then, AFR is still worth the trip, and with so much to do and see, I cannot wait for next year's version!