Downtown Throwdown joins local food events

As the season for food-centered events gears up, downtown Medford is emerging with a popular new tradition: the Downtown Throwdown.

Regular participants in the Third Friday Art Walk are already familiar with the throwdown, which debuted in July. It’s the brainchild of Nora LaBrocca, a designer for Terra Firma Home and owner of the quasi-catering company Downtown Market Co. Incidentally, LaBrocca has earned top marks in all three previous throwdowns against the stiff competition of 38 Central, Elements Tapas Bar & Lounge, Jackson Creek Pizza Co. and Deli Down.

The restaurants each start with a secret ingredient that a neutral party pulls from a group of envelopes. Typically seasonal, past ingredients were squash, heirloom tomatoes and figs. Last week, yours truly pulled this throwdown’s main ingredient: garlic.

With that theme, each competitor prepares 100 “bites” served free of charge, first-come-first-serve at Rogue Art Gallery & Art Center, My Daughter’s Closet, Molly Reed, Facets Jewelry Studio and Terra Firma Home. Tasters fill out a ballot at each stop, rating the food on a scale of one to five in the categories of “taste,” “use of ingredient” and “presentation.”

LaBrocca says her background as a designer has given her the advantage in presentation. Last month, Deli Down almost beat her fig tarts with mascarpone filling and red-currant glaze with its layered fig and cheese spread. Jackson Creek Pizza did a fig pie that was so popular several customers asked the next week if they could order it, she adds.

The tasting starts at 5 p.m., and “bites” were consumed by 6:30 p.m. last month, LaBrocca says.

If you’re keen for more Friday-night entertainment on the food front, consider the benefit concert at Ashland’s Stillwater for Rogue Valley Farm to School. Fittingly, the local Americanca-bluegrass-folk band Hamfist is covering Neil Young’s album “Harvest” in their first set, which begins at 9 p.m. There’s a $5 cover at the door, 1951 Highway 66, Ashland.

Rogue Valley Farm to School educates children about the food system through hands-on farm and garden programs and endeavors to provide local foods for school meals. This is one of several shows and forums Stillwater has hosted this growing season to benefit farm and food projects.