Ferrari’s in Cedar Falls, Iowa was the 6th restaurant that I judged food at for the 2014 Dine Iowa Grand Tasting Gala event in Des Moines, Iowa.

It has been a couple of years since the last time I attended the event, but I do remember it being full of flavor and fun. To get more information on this year’s event click here.

Chef Robert Anderson and I are the main judges. It is a privilege to get to work with him, the IRA staff, and members from the Soy and Beef Council.

During the next couple of weeks, leading up to the September 25th event, we have 9 different restaurants to visit. These restaurants are all across Iowa.

Ferrari’s Ristorante

Ferrari’s is part of the Barmuda group. Barmuda has bars, restuarants, and lounges all over the state. Some places you might be familiar with around the Des Moines area is SoHo, Voodo Lounge, Jokers. Ferrari’s Ristorante features a great selection of fine steaks, seafoods and authentic Italian food. Ferrari’s is able to sit up to 50 people in their private dining room, or you can sit at their marble bar. It’s a unique, and classy setting. If you know where Park Place Events Center is in Cedar Falls, then you know where Ferrari’s is at. These two place are connected and provide a great place for business meetings and special events.

 

The Chef at Ferrari’s

Chef John Morgan heads the kitchen at Ferrari’s.

The Meal

Rules: With this event, each competitor will prepare a main entrée recipe utilizing Braveheart Black Angus Beef Ribeye, donated by Performance Food Group (at least six ounces of cooked beef must be used). Additionally, each competitor will prepare a Tofu (soft-silken or water packed) side dish or sauce (at least a 1⁄4 cup of tofu must be used).

Main Dish

We started the night off with tofu 3 ways. We had spiced honey, chimichurri, and chipotle tomato pesto sauce with our tofo. The chipotle tomato pesto was really spicy. The chipotle peppers really shinned in that sauce. The spiced honey was a nice sauce too leaving your mouth full of flavor from nut meg, cloves, and ginger.

We were also given a salad. There were several varieties to choose from and I picked the spinach salad. When I heard there was raspberry vinaigrette I had to order that. There was blue cheese, dried fruit, and walnuts on the salad. This is one of my favorite styles of salads.

Our main entree that we judged, and you have a chance to judge too, was a truffle herb seared ribeye medallions. Chef Andrew dusted the ribeye was a nice blend of rosemary, thyme smoked salt and a variety of other seasonings which created a nice, bold flavor. Along with the steak he created a harissa spiced corn nut arugula relish and a had very unique twist on potatoes au gratin. He had made tofu lobster au gratin. This was was something very unique! It was a nice treat to have seafood, and steak. For the last touch of seasoning there was a nice oregano vinaigrette that the steak could mop up towards the end of the meal.

 

Chef Andrew displayed a wonderful plate. He should be proud of his presentation.

Contact Ferrari’s Ristorante

1521 Technology Parkway

Cedar Falls, Iowa

(319) 277-1385

Monday – Friday 11:00 am, Saturday 4:00 pm

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