<h3>Arlington Wins Again in Locavore Banquet!</h3>
<img src="image/lb_dishes.jpg" alt="" style="width: 320px; height: 270px;" />  <br />
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The Arlington &ldquo;A-Team&rdquo; hooted, cheered, and hugged each other when they were pronounced winners for the second consecutive challenge event. The Energy Smackdown&trade;, a community-based energy efficiency contest, held its first annual Locavore Banquet on Sunday, September 14th at First Parish UU Church in Arlington Center, MA. The Banquet featured teams from the Massachusetts communities of Arlington, Cambridge and Medford competing to prepare dishes made from locally-sourced ingredients. Judges, media representatives, and invited guests expressed their delight at the gourmet-quality meals served with fresh flowers and herb garnishes, sparkling china and crystal, and competitive pride.<br />
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Each team cooked and presented a meal that included an appetizer, a main course, two side dishes, a salad, a dessert and a beverage. Dishes were judged by Jamey Lionette, owner of Lionette&rsquo;s Market in the South End of Boston; Alison Arnett, former restaurant critic for the Boston Globe; and Betsy Block, author of The Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World.  The meals were evaluated according to the quantity of greenhouse gases produced in cooking them, taste, and presentation.<br />
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Local chefs Bob Sargent of Flora Restaurant (Arlington), Julia Shanks of Julia Shanks Food Consulting (Cambridge), and Vittorio Ettore of Bistro 5 (Medford) guided the teams as they prepared their menus, offering advice on combining tastes and preparing locally-sources in-season food.  Many other members of the food, restaurant, and environmental communities lent expertise on so-called &ldquo;locavore&rdquo; issues (a locavore is a person who tries to eat only locally-produced food, in season).  The food vanished as families sampled such delicious dishes as frittata, gazpacho, eggplant parmesan, plum crisp, heirloom tomato salad, and home made grape juice.<br />
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Guests concluded the event by washing their own dishes in a &ldquo;soapy water buffet.&rdquo; The invitation to participants to bring their own plates, cutlery and cloth napkins was met with enthusiasm. It helped to keep the carbon footprint of the event as low as possible. All waste from the event was composted or recycled. Event sponsors for the Locavore Banquet included Whole Foods Market, which provided facilities for composting, Lionette&rsquo;s Market, Starbucks Coffee, and Giles Wine.  Prize sponsors included: Seaport Hotel, Whole Foods, Fireplace Restaurant, Quad Cycles, Home Depot, Sun &amp; Earth, Shootflying Hill Sauce, Recycline, Trader Joes. Entertainment was provided by Muse Stew.