« September 2009 | Main | November 2009 »
Hello fellow foodies - please visit the Reviews section for some delectable pictures (and words) from last night's meal at Ardesia!
Sample:
Yea. I'd like to see you try to not go now..
What's better than a big bowl of pasta? A big bowl of pasta with wine and prix-fixe. See below for the Prix-Fixe Pasta roundup:
Giano: This East Village restaurant combines both traditional and contemporary Italian dishes to give you the best of both worlds. Starting next week, they will be offering a prix-fixe Risotto Supper. For $19, you can get a bowl of their nightly Risotto (choice of two), and a glass of wine. This prix fixe dinner will kick off on Sunday, Nov 7th and continues throughout Winter.
Spina: This other East Village Italian tapas restaurant, more commonly known as the "Fresh Pasta House," is offering an amazing pasta-tasting deal on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. For just $25, you get two pasta dishes, a glass of wine, and biscotti for dessert (menu below).
175 Avenue B @ 11th St.And they say a recession benefits no one. Tell that to my stomach.
Spina's Pasta-Tasting Prix Fixe Menu:
PASTA DEGUSTAZIONE
two pasta courses, glass of wine and biscotti
$25
available tuesday through thursday
PASTA FRESCA
please select two:
GNOCCHI
roasted eggplant, tomato, scamorza
MALLOREDDUS
bolognese
CAVATELLI
broccoli rabe, sausage
ORECCHIETTE
rabbit ragu
TAGLIOLINI
clams, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil
TRENETTE
al pesto Genovese, string beans, potatoes
PAGLIA E FIENO
tomato, basil, ricotta salata
VINO BIANCO
Chateau Lafayette Reneau Proprietor’s Reserve
Chardonnay 2007 Finger Lakes, New York
Forstreiter Gruner Vetliner 2008 Kremstal, Austria
Fornas Pinot Grigio 2008 Friuli, Italy
VINO ROSSO
Marchese Fumanelli Valpolicella Classico 2007 Veneto,
Italy
Mormoraia Chianti Colli Senesi 2007 Toscana, Italy
Finca el Origen Malbec Riserva 2007 Mendoza,
Argentina
BISCOTTI
assorted italian cookies
Executive Chef: Roberto Patriarca
Returning for it's third year, the Cook.Eat.Drink.Live event is just around the corner, and just in time for the holidays. This multi-layered event offers cooking demonstrations, tastings from some of NYC's best restaurants and purveyors (list here), wine tours, and new food product showcases. Sick of buying Dad ties and socks for Christmas? Pick up a bottle of wine from Duck Walk Vineyards or Lieb Cellars. And the in-laws? Snag them a gift certificate to Rouge Tomate or Benjamin Steakhouse. That's much better than the matching Snuggies you bought them last year.
Some of the highlights from this year's festival include (from press release):
The Main Stage (Friday 6-8PM, Saturday 2-6PM, Sunday 2-6PM) ) will feature cooking demonstrations, holiday party planning tips, sampling by celebrity chefs and authors all hosted by Tanya Wenman-Steel, editor-in-chief of epicurious.com. The scheduled talent includes Chef Bill Telepan, television personality and author Karen Bussen, Chef Jimmy Bradley and more. Participating authors will follow their demonstrations with a book signing.
The Astor Stage (Friday 6-8PM, Saturday 2-6PM, Sunday 2-6PM) ) will offer a wide range of informative and fun holiday-themed programs throughout the festival hosted by television personality Ted Allen, wine expert Marnie Old, Orson Salicetti, Apotheke’s Mixologist and more. Participating authors will follow their demonstrations with a book signing.
Restaurants for those looking to try new foods from the city’s best restaurants, The Tunnel/La Venue will be offering tasting samples, gift certificates and reservations from One if by Land, Two if by Sea, Rouge Tomate, Benjamin Steakhouse and more.
The Last Store on Main Street throughout the festival The Last Store on
Coffee & Tea Pavilion To help guests recharge after their busy shopping sprees, the folks from the NYC Coffee & Tea Festival will be offering new flavors and holiday blends, including Harney & Sons’s tea.
And in true holiday spirit, a portion of all proceeds go to support programs offered by Action Against Hunger. I LOVE taking action against hunger. I'm doing that right now with a bag of Dirty Chips. Tickets for the event are $65 each and can be purchased here.
Cook.Eat.Drink.Live - those are ALL things I love to do - what a coincidence!
Days/times: Nov 6th, 6-8 pm; Nov 7th, 2-6 pm; Nov 8th, 2-6 pm. Location: The Tunnel/La Venue (608 West 28th St, at 11th Avenue).
Have you ever thought to yourself, "man I could go for some Wafels & Dinges right about now.." but were too lazy to get up, sign in to Twitter, locate the truck, go to the truck and buy one? Well, today is your lucky day, my lazy friend! Introducing, De Kompleet Wafel Kit.
Thomas DeGeest, proud owner of W&D, has created a way for people all over the world to enjoy his award-winning Wafels, with their own Dinges on top. De Kompleet Wafel Kit is so simple, DeGeest himself refers to it as "idioot-proof." Yes, with two O's. From the press release:
"May I be very clear? Belgians tend to be rather particular about this, but in Belgium waffles are a very different story than pancakes. What we have here is 100% Brussels Wafel Mix, we are not hiding any pancakes or crepes in this box,” DeGeest added. These wafels are light and crispy, with a subtle vanilla flavor. They may be square or they may be round, but even when they’re round, they are still not pancakes. We Belgians are great at two things – making of the wafels and riding of the bicycles. Since I don’t know how to put a bicycle in a box, I’m introducing De Kompleet Wafel Kit.” Preparation on the streets of NYC must be fast and easy – our truck is about the size of the average NYC kitchen. I like to call it ‘idioot-proof.’
Well idioots, you will soon be able to test your culinary competence when De Kompleet Wafel Kit becomes available at gourmet food stores nationwide. The 16 oz. box makes about 15 wafels; all you have to do is add water, cook for 3-4 mins in a 'wafel' iron, and of course, add your chosen 'dinges'. I can't imagine they will be as good as the real thing...however, making a warm wafel in the privacy of my own home where I can eat all 15 of them with no shame makes it more appealing.
As I was walking by Rockefeller Center today, I saw that they had their Christmas decorations up already and I thought, "are they f&%$in crazy? it's only October!" This happens to most people every year. The holidays sneak up on you like Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, only worse. You have kids running rampant looking for Santa, the harried parents who chase them, and then there's us - the people who just want to get through it.
The only part of the holidays I actually look forward to is the food. As if you didn't see that one coming. However, I am one of the fortunate ones who knows how to season a turkey, mash a potato, and candy a yam. But for those of you out there who don't, there is hope. The International Culinary Center (ICC) is hosting a 4-hour class (3 hours cooking, 1 hour eating) for "The Ultimate Thanksgiving Dinner", where students will learn how to create the perfect Thanksgiving meal from start to finish. Students will not only get to eat what they make at the end of class, but they will be given the recipes and leftovers to take home as well (if there is any left). The class is next Friday, November 6th from 6-10 pm, and costs $195 - tickets can be purchased here. I know it's a bit pricey, but don't forget it's at The French Culinary Institute/Italian Culinary Academy, so you're learning from some of the best. AND it's for Thanksgiving...which is for America. Do you really want to turn your back on America??
Trust me, waking up to the smell of turkey roasting and yams baking is a beautiful thing. It's something that only happens once a year unfortunately, so don't take it for granted. If you're going to do Thanksgiving, do it right. I have seen one too many holidays ruined by dry turkey, separated gravy, lumpy mashed potatoes and unnecessary creativity with ingredients (raisins do NOT have a place in mashed potatoes). Don't do this to your loved ones. Sign up for The Ultimate Thanksgiving Dinner today.
The Cupcake stork decended upon my office yesterday, leaving two little bundles of joy from OMG Cupcakes NYC: a pretty quartet of traditional cupcakes, and a cute quartet of vegan/gluten-free cupcakes. Eager to try some, myself and a few office pals dug in, and the outcome was not what you'd expect. Allow me to elaborate.
The strange thing about these cupcakes is that the gluten-free/vegan ones were better than the traditional ones; I don't think that EVER happens, but in this case, it does. They were all beautifully decorated and perfectly sized too - not too big, not too small. I love cupcakes, but some places make them so large they could fit in a D-cup bra. So far, our hopes were high.
For the traditional flavors, there was Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Peppermint, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Pumpkin with Cream Cheese Icing. My main problem with these was consistency; all of them had a different texture and each icing was different. For some that might sound like a good thing to have variety, but I think this works against them. The icing on the Chocolate Peppermint was quite good; creamy and chocolatey. The cake itself was good too, but could have been more moist. In fact, almost all of the cupcakes were lacking in moistness, according to my fellow cupcake clan. The Chocolate Fudge Brownie one was something like I had never seen before, it was basically a brownie, but in cupcake form. It was hard to cut into, which made me nervous because my first thought was, "way too hard to be a cupcake.." but then I saw the inside and thought, "hmm..ok I get it." It tasted like a brownie. Not much more to say on that one. Of the traditionals, the Pumpkin was the best one - the cake was pretty moist and had a nice pumpkin spice taste, and the icing was sweet and gooey. I still prefer the Chocolate Peppermint, but maybe I'm just a chocoholic. The Vanilla Bean one was definitely the least favorite - some comments included, "it smells like lotion," and "I don't know what I'm tasting." I can't say I agree with the lotion part, but something in the icing was definitely off. It had a weird aftertaste.
Winners of this batch: Pumpkin and Chocolate Peppermint.
Poor Vanilla Bean topples over in defeat..
Now on to the vegan/gluten-free cupcakes. This batch had Maple Cinnamon, Carrot Cake, Mounds, and Devil's Food Chocolate. Generally, my problem with gluten-free stuff is that it sits in your stomach like a ROCK afterwards, but I had a taste of all four of these and I didn't encounter that problem. Score: 1 for the gluten free. I actually really liked the carrot cake one. Nice and moist cake with a good, creamy icing. Others who tried this one also agreed, and the second favorite was the Mounds, which was surprising. I'm normally not a fan of cupcakes that try to taste like candy bars, but this one was pretty good; a coconutty cake with chocolate ganache and coconut shavings on top. It was not too sweet, and the chocolate ganache was just right - it actually reminded me of a Mounds. Score: 2. The Maple Cinnamon was the least favorite, it had a strange smell (not like lotion though, which is a good thing) from the spices that were used. This could just be us, but the maple/cinnamon scent was too strong for a delicate little cupcake. It was just too much. And the Chocolate Devil's Food was pretty good, but again, needed perhaps another stick of butter. Oh wait...Vegan...well then it needed another jar of apple sauce and oil. Or whatever the hell they use to make things Vegan..
Winners of this batch: Carrot Cake and Mounds.
Carrot Cake and Mounds on left..
After the taste test, I discovered that OMG Cupcakes NYC is pretty good at chocolate and seasonal cakes, but they seem to be lacking a few basic fundamentals (like more butter maybe?). In their defense though, these were delivered from their bakery in New Jersey to my office in Midtown Manhattan, which might have affected the moistness/fresh-factor. But as of now I wouldn't recommend the traditionals other than the Pumpkin and Chocolate Peppermint. I think their potential really lies in the Vegan/Gluten-Free cupcakes. I have never had a vegan/gluten-free cupcake (nor did I ever have the desire to try one), but I would recommend these to someone looking for a good vegan cupcake. Was it a GREAT vegan cupcake? No, but does a great vegan cupcake even exist?? Cupcakes are meant to be made with butter and eggs! However, these were made with neither and they were still pretty moist and tasty. How'd they do that? I guess you'll have to try and find out. They offer free next-day delivery to most areas of Manhattan.
OMG Cupcakes NYC
174 Union Street
Hackensack NJ
07601-4222
Let's do a little word association. Italy: Pasta. Greece: Lamb. Austria: Von Trapp Children.
Clearly, I'm missing something here. There has to be more to Austria than Rodgers & Hammerstein.
October 25th - November 22nd is Austrian Wine Month in Manhattan and Brooklyn, brought to you by the Austrian Tourist Office and the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. Austrian...wine? I consider myself a wine lover, and I'm saddened to say that I don't think I've ever tried Austrian wine. I mean really, who knew? But apparently, according to Kurt Gutenbrunner, Austrian chef and wine-advocate (and owner of four of the participating restaurants during Austrian Wine Month) says that "80% of high-end restaurants in New York offer Austrian wine." Really? Well, flying under the radar will be no more after this. Nine restaurants in Manhattan and four in Brooklyn will be offering wines from Austria's three major wine regions: Lower Austria, Burgenland, and Vienna. If you haven't tried their wine (or their food for that matter), now would be a great time to do it. A lot of the participating restaurants are offering prix fixe menus and wine pairings. From their press release:
"Participating restaurants Blaue Gans, Café Katja, Café Sabarsky, Café Steinhof, Delmonico’s, Demel at the Plaza, Klee Brasserie, L’Ecole, Seasonal Restaurant & Weinbar, Stone Park Café, The Upholstery Store, Thomas Beisl, Wallsé and Watty and Meg will offer Austria’s famous Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners, red varietals such as Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch, and the country’s renowned dessert wines. Select restaurants will also offer special prices on wines, pairings, flights of wine, and prix-fixe menus. Here is a sampling:
·
At Wallsé and The
Upholstery Store, guests can design their own four-course
tasting menu for $68. For an additional $45, Austrian sommelier Leo
Schneemann will pair each course with Austrian wine.
·
Café Katja offers a mixed flight: a trio of Austrian white,
red, and dessert wine for $18. With 24 hours’ notice, Café Katja will also set
up a wine tasting with meat, cheese, and Schnapps, for $42 (minimum four
people).
·
Seasonal Restaurant
& Weinbar will pour a rare 2001 Smaragd wine by the glass: Prager Riesling Smaragd, Kaiserberg ($19/glass).
·
Klee Brasserie will have
a special three-course menu featuring
the rare Austrian Mangalitsa Pork, with an optional pairing of three Austrian
wines ($93 with wine; $58 without).
·
At Thomas Beisl, guests
can design a three-course meal
that includes a choice of soup, wiener
schnitzel, paprika chicken, cucumber salad, fresh strudel, and white, red, and dessert wines
($28/person, including wine).
· Café Steinhof will offer $4 glasses of two Lower Austrian wines: Fritsch Grüner Ventliner and Berger Zweigelt (check website for times). On Mondays, the restaurant serves goulash ($6) and apple bread pudding ($3).
I have heard from a few people now that Austria makes a nice dessert wine, so I'd probably try to get to Cafe Katja and Thomas Beisl. I've heard from an insider that Beisl's has great white and dessert wines too; and $28 for a 3-course meal with wine included is a pretty sweet deal.
At the close of Austrian Wine Month on November 22nd, a drawing will be held for a nine-day trip for two to Austria's wine regions. Participants can enter the drawing at www.austria.info/wine
by completing a brief three-question quiz about the three featured Austrian
wine regions. No purchase is necessary to enter.
Wine, food, free trips...and schnitzel with noodles. These are a few of my favorite things.
Click here for more info/main page and click on "Austrian Wine Month." And see below for a picture of strudel for no apparent reason.
One of the best restaurants in NYC launched a new five-course tasting menu tonight. I don't know why I said "launched," past tense, simply because it's 10:30 pm; this place is so busy that you're LUCKY if you get a res at 10:30. On a Wednesday.
Either way, there are some happy (and tired) people in there right now enjoying Scarpetta's new tasting menu. For $80 per person ($40 additional for wine pairings), you get both crudo and fritto misto to start, then choose from three hot appetizers, three pastas, two main courses, and three desserts. Ok, so it's not exactly restaurant week in terms of price, but I'm sure it's delicious. I love my wine, but I'd nix that (or maybe just order one glass, you alcoholic) and spend $80 to get a delectable five-course meal. Hell, I've spent more than that for just three courses of mediocre food. And if you haven't been to Scarpetta yet, why not go now when you can try as much food as possible? We have to start storing up for winter anyway..
Click here for their regular menu. I believe the tasting menu offers a lot of the same dishes too. For example, tonight they offer Tuna 'Susci' with marinated vegetables and preserved truffles, and Agnolotti Dal Plin pasta filled with mixed meat and fonduta, mushrooms & parmigiano - both from the regular menu.
Scarpetta
355 West 14th St New York, NY 10014
212-691-0555
It's clearly the year of the food truck. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these guys do better business than Hallmark on Valentine's Day. Next Thursday (10/29), This is Why You're Fat, the cult-favorite blog of the most colon-twisting concoctions you've ever seen, is holding a contest to see which NYC food truck can make a TIWYF-worthy dish. Think this is just another silly cooking competition for the owners' bragging rights? Oh, think again, my fat-loving friend; this is a competition for you too. Created by Jessica Amason, co-author of the This is Why You're Fat book, they are calling it the "Eat N Tweet" challenge. @TIWYF will be Tweeting the locations of the participating trucks, and the first person to get to all six trucks while Tweeting photos of themselves eating each creation will win a private food-truck party for 25 people. Stomach-pump is extra. See below for participating trucks:
The Bistro Truck
Treats Truck
Wafels & Dinges
Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream
Cupcake Stop
Cravings Truck
I wonder what they will come up with? Wafel-burger with syrup and bacon?? Deep fried cupcakes with butter filling?? Maybe next Thursday I'll take a mental health day from work, followed by a physical health day.
Stumble It!