David Chang, Daniel Boulud, Suzanne Goin, + More Fill in the Blanks at Toques & Tonic

Ahead, attendees from Friday's event weigh in on everything from Bieber fever to tweezers.

This past Friday marked Toques & Tonic, the star-studded chef and bartender event that took over the Boston Children’s Museum to raise funds for the Barbara Lynch Foundation, as we’ve told you before.

Since we have a) covered many a food event in our day, yet b) have not covered a food event with this many national bigwigs under one roof—we decided to get a bit creative this time around. So we devised a Mad Libs meets fill-in-the-blanks exam* for the participating chefs and bartenders in attendance, asking them about what they served, who they admired in the room, and the restaurants in Boston that they have their eye on.

At the end of the night, we collected them—which involved watching chef Daniel Boulud fill one out on behalf of both himself and Momofuku chef David Chang—for your viewing pleasure (click and they’ll expand for easier reading). Here, the surveys that made it back in one piece, from visitors and locals alike (all of whom, it seems, share a deep love for Neptune Oyster and O Ya).

Marc Vetri (Vetri, Osteria, Alla Spina, + more in Philadelphia)

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Yay for fresh-ground flour and negronis, nay for Justin Bieber.

 

David Chang (Momofuku Restaurant Group) and Daniel Boulud (Daniel, Cafe Boulud, Bar Boulud, + many more) (Written by Boulud)

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Note: “I used to kiss Barbara with an egg yolk in our mouth (Tampopo),” by Boulud. We’re pretty sure he was serious. The fairly NSFW scene he’s referencing, here. Plus:  “DB stays French making charcuterie, DC tries to be French making tartare.” (Boulud served an array of pates and sausages; Chang served venison tartare.) They’re both totally over Duck Dynasty, and would like to steal Marc Vetri’s mortadella skills.

 

David Wondrich (Cocktail writer for Esquire, author of Punch and Imbibe)

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Wondrich spotlights JP bar The Drinking Fountain, about which he wrote in Esquire, “This classic New England corner tap boasts a raffish, mixed—by any definition of the term—and very gregarious crowd (so perhaps not a place to drag your more delicate friends); strong-ass, cheap-ass drinks; and a jukebox, pool tables, and an aquarium.”

 

Michael Serpa (Neptune Oyster)

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Looking sexy while cooking isn’t always easy.

 

Jackson Cannon (Eastern Standard, The Hawthorne, Island Creek Oyster Bar)

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Lately, Cannon has been inspired by Joaquin Simo, owner of NYC bar Pouring Ribbons (and, apparently, a Boston University grad!).

 

Team O Ya

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For team O Ya, sake > beer + tonic.

 

Paul Kahan (Publican, Avec, Blackbird, + more in Chicago)

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Chicago toque Paul Kahan coins a new noun: Changification.

 

Christine and Carla Pallotta (Nebo)

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Christine and Carla Pallotta only participated because “we felt bad Barbara couldn’t get anyone to do it.” So nice of them!

 

Sara Jenkins (Porchetta, Porsena in New York) and Suzanne Goin (Lucques, A.O.C. in L.A) (Written by both: Jenkins, left; Goin, right)

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Jenkins and Goin, it’s worth noting, both have Boston roots: Goin was named “Best Creative Chef” by Boston magazine in 1994 when she worked under Jody Adams and Todd English at Michaela’s; Jenkins once worked at Figs. Another thing they have in common: They both love BL.

 

*The third line from the bottom of the questionnaire has a typo. Our error.