Orchard in Bloom Preview Event

Orchard in Bloom, the annual garden show hosted at the beautiful Holliday Park begins today. The special preview party was held last evening. Vendors opened their booths a day early and esteemed restaurants fed guests some of their finest morsels. Deliciousness was abound. Here is a peak of some of the edible delights.

Immediately upon entering, we were welcomed with a table of sparkling rosé, a great refreshment for a breezy evening.

Goose the Market displayed their Smoked Duck and Ramp Sausage on a Pork Triscuit with Pickled Radish on a slate platter. The sausage was great, but the "animal cracker" was a bit too crunchy.

H2O Sushi offered bite-sized salmon sashimi on rice crackers.

I thought this adorable, adult lemonade stand was too cute to pass up.

You could (metaphorically) hear the sounds of angel's song at the Taste of Philly table. Soft pretzels are, unarguably, food straight from heaven.

The chef from Great Cooks had an amazing spread of spreads, breads, and sweets. Here you could choose from four different types of freshly baked bread and spreads like olive tapenade, salmon mousse, egg salad, and paté. I appreciated the chef's enthusiasm; it was contagious.

Savorelle had a beautiful table as well. A fresh basil, tomato, and mozzarella appetizer was presented in a tiny martini glass, and the Asian slaw (in front) had it's own mini square dish.

Tulip Noir's table was almost bare when I stepped up to it. Their food is always a smash hit, and I'm not surprised one bit that they were out of samples. Their last taste was a broccoli and cauliflower fritter topped with crème fraiche and Gorgonzola cheese.

Full Plate Catering had an interesting twist at their table. They switched sweet and savory ingredients to make the taster think differently about how foods can be used. Dainty shortbread cookies were infused with herbs, tarragon and oregano. Usually sweet rhubarb was baked into a savory crouton. Both worked equally well.

Naked Tchopstix made my day when I saw the glorious, giant plate of edamame at the end of their table. They had three of their most popular stir-fried dishes to sample as well.

This unholy, blurry photo is of the gorgeous French pastries of Rene's Bakery. I apologize for not capturing the pure beauty of these mini masterpieces.

The cutest, tiny key lime pies and creamy, sun dried tomato pasta were gracing the Sweet and Savory table. Fruit, cheese, and crackers paired well with the complementary wine.

Recess had the most inventive sample: spicy Thai pork and crunchy shrimp cracker. The mix of textures was like "playtime" for the tongue.

The Orchard In Bloom event will continue until May 2nd. If you need any herbs for your kitchen window box or flowers for the garden, this is the place for you.

Hidden Indy Gem - Babushka's Deli

Two doors down from the fantastic Tulip Noir Cafe is a true find, a small Eastern European and Russian grocery store called Babushka's Deli. Here you can get a slew of imported candy, pickled EVERYTHING, dozens of flavors of filled frozen dumplings, cured meats and fish, handmade pastries, unusual booze, and much more. My ten minutes inside the store wasn't enough to soak up all it had to offer. The clerk was very helpful and answered all of my questions. I would have asked her a bazillion more, but I didn't want to be annoying. So instead, I just picked up some sweet treats.

Here's my loot. The pastries are caramel creme puffs. They are slightly nutty, hazelnuts I'm suspecting, and the outer cookies are like dense cakes. Inside is a soft, sweet creme. You can buy them by the pound for $9.99. The Karums and Sirok candies are actually tiny chocolate covered cheesecake bars. At Babushka's you can buy them frozen or refrigerated. I tried one of each. They are a great treat; not too sweet and a bit of tang from the creamed cheese, and there are five different flavors. Oh, the soda: Kvass. It's contents are sugar, malt, and carbonated water. I had my roommates try it as well. One shouted, "It tastes like soy sauce and Colt 45." I think I agree. Kvass is a bit too strange for my American tongue.

This creepy little candy was a sort-of chocolate truffle with a chocolate creme. They melt easily in the sunny heat, so I'd suggest eating one quickly. That's never a problem for me.

When I bought this candy, it had a picture of some strawberries on the wrapper.

"Sweet," I thought, "some type of chewy gummy or taffy." I was very surprised to see chocolate when the wrapper was peeled back. Inside is a strange mixture of wafer, nuts, and chewy fruit - strawberry apparently. My tongue said, "Not so much."

Babushka's Deli is definitely something I'm going to have to check out in more detail. I'll go for the savory items perhaps. Those frozen dumplings will be in my grasp soon enough.

Babushka's Deli - 1248 W 86th St - (317) 843-1920