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Must Read: New York Cooks

partysugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:15:56 -0700

Everyone knows New York City is one of the country's top places for eating, so it comes as no surprise that a new cookbook, New York Cooks ($30), celebrates the city's chefs and restaurants. Since I don't live in NYC, I was very excited when I got my hands on a copy of the book. To find out what I thought of it, read more.

Pros:

Each chef has multiple recipes. Before the recipes, there are a couple of pages that describe the restaurant with interesting quotes and details from the chef.
From appetizers to entrees to salads, there's a wide variety of dishes.
Although the cover states there's 100 recipes, because many dishes have sauces or vinaigrettes, it seems like there are more than 100 recipes.
When I dined at Casa Mono, my favorite dish was the fideos with cockles and chorizo. The book has the recipe, so now I can re-create it at home!

Cons:

It's format is hard to follow - it's broken down into section by cuisine. Instead of listing out the recipes in the table of contents, only the cuisine, chef, and restaurant are mentioned.
New York's restaurant scene is forever changing and some of the chefs, for example Anne Burrell, are no longer working at the restaurants associated with their recipes.
Some recipes are complicated with lots of steps. They seem more suited to a restaurant than a home kitchen. Also, others lack detail.
There are no desserts.

Recipes: While I've never heard of a few of the restaurants or chefs, it is the recipes that are important. Here are the ones that caught my eye.

Anne Burrell's taleggio, speck, and egg pizzetta
Mikey Price's blood orange and red onion salad
Joey Campanaro's gravy meatball sliders
Michael Lomonaco's Philly cheesesteak sandwich

Imagery: This read is full of delicious-looking food images and fun restaurant shots. However, not all of them are in color. Every recipe does not have a corresponding picture. Some of the chef's photographs seem dated. After seeing her on Top Chef Masters, it looks as if the picture of Anita Lo was taken years ago.

Overall: This book is a wonderful collection of recipes. It would be an excellent gift to a foodie moving to or from New York. Any well-respected home cook who loves to dine out while vacationing in NYC will also enjoy this tome.

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Top Chef Recap 5.11: Le Bernardin

partysugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:03:59 -0800

I'm bummed: The person I was rooting for was asked to leave during last night's episode of Top Chef. After the remaining six cheftestants were treated to a decadent lunch at guest judge Eric Ripert's New York City restaurant, Le Bernardin, they were asked to recreate a dish. Did you catch the show? To discuss in more depth (warning spoilers ahead), read more.

Is Carla underestimated?
Have you ever filleted a fish?
How did you feel about Leah giving up on the quickfire challenge?
How did the chefs look dressed in their finest at lunch?
Do you think the chefs knew they would be cooking at Le Bernardin?
Did Jamie have a disadvantage because her dish was the only one that Eric did not taste?
Was Stefan's dish the easiest to recreate?
Were you surprised to see Jamie go when she cooked her fish correctly and Hosea and Leah did not?
Did Bravo keep around Leah and Hosea because they hoped more romantic sparks would fly between the couple?
With only five cheftestants left, who will win?

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You Waste, You Buy

YumSugar — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:00:41 -0800

If your eyes are bigger than your stomach, one restaurant thinks you should pay the price for being too greedy. In an unprecedented move, Hayashi Ya, a Japanese buffet on Manhattan's Upper West Side, has begun adding a 30 percent surcharge for customers who don't finish food on their plate. In other words, the restaurant's $26.95 meal deal is all-you-can-eat - but not a bite more. According to Hayashi Ya's manager Ben Lin, the motivation behind adding a surcharge was twofold. First, it's an incentive for customers to only take what they can eat, thereby cutting down on waste. Second, it prevents the eatery from obtaining a surplus of ingredients, which hurts the restaurant's profitability.

There's been a lot of discussion over this charge, but I think it's legitimate. In this tight economy, restaurants are fighting to remain profitable. Although entire civilizations across the globe are in dire need of food, studies show that anywhere between 30 percent and 50 percent of edible food goes to waste. All factors considered, I think the surcharge is rather sensible. Do you think it's fair?

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Now Open: World's First Certified Organic Bar

YumSugar — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:30:56 -0800

This weekend, GustOrganics, an all-organic restaurant in Manhattan, became the world's first 100 percent USDA certified organic bar. The sleek, eco-conscious bar and restaurant is located in Greenwich Village. The bar is stocked with certified organic wine, beer, fresh fruit, and spirits such as rum, vodka, whiskey, and tequila. According to owner Alberto Gonzalez, all of the drinks are free of chemicals, artificial substances, hormones, and pesticides. GustOrganics serves standards cocktails like martinis and mojitos, and fruit concoctions such as Fresquitos, made with mangoes, orange juice, and vodka.

Other aspects of the bar are eco-friendly: there's a wind turbine on the roof that generates renewable energy and the menus are printed with soy ink on 100-percent recycled paper. I'd love to stop by this bar to try the fresh-made drinks and test out the theory that organic drinks prevent hangovers. What about you? Does the organic drink movement interest you, and do you think GustOrganics will (pardon the pun) set the bar for other nightspots?

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Mario Batali to Light Empire State Building Orange Tonight!

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:15:26 -0700

When the sun goes down on New York tonight, celebrity chef Mario Batali and Hollywood actor-director Stanley Tucci will light Manhattan's Empire State Building bright orange. Batali and Tucci, both board members of the Food Bank, are spreading the word about the orange which, aside from matching Batali's clogs, also happens to be the symbolic color for raising funds and awareness of hunger relief. The duo are helping to kick off a hunger relief campaign called Go Orange! for the Food Bank for New York City. For every $1 donated, the food bank donates five meals to the needy, and at least 1.3 million New Yorkers - most of them children or the elderly - risk going hungry.

Those of you living in or near New York: Will you be checking it out from your window? I'd love to hear what you think of it!

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Food Section Sampler - Nov. 18, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:30:27 -0800

Time to stock up: Looks like pure canned pumpkin is in short supply this year. - Los Angeles Times
Don't miss out on the Beaujolais Nouveau celebrations. - Wall Street Journal
Catching up with rapper Coolio, who's come out with a new cookbook, Ghetto Gourmet. - Boston Globe
Starbucks has raised its coffee prices in the Windy City. - Chicago Tribune
Complementary wine pairings for every Thanksgiving dish. - San Francisco Chronicle
If you have to reach for frozen pie shells, which brands are the best bets? - Washington Post
French legend Pierre Gagnaire is gearing up for Twist, his first restaurant in the US. - New York Times

Top Chef Vegas: Episode 11

partysugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:00:55 -0800

After a brief hiatus with last week's Fabio-hosted reunion dinner, we went back to Vegas - and into Padma's hotel room - for this week's episode of Top Chef.

The final six chefs started things off by cooking breakfast in bed for their fearless hostess and her celebrity chef friend Nigella Lawson. For the elimination challenge, each contestant created a dish for a party, drawing inspiration from different casinos on the strip. Who was playing to win? Let's talk about it when you read more.

I love how Nigella said Eli's dish "would be" good hangover food - you know, in theory. Whose quickfire dish would you want to eat if you were hungover?
How did you feel about Nigella as a guest judge?
What casino do you think would be hardest to base a dish around?
Kevin's dish looked great, but can anyone explain what it had to do with the Mirage?
Why do you think Jennifer has seemingly lost so much of her confidence?
With all the focus on Bryan's son and family life, did you think he might get kicked off?
Isn't it odd that the remaining guys are sharing a room? Shouldn't they be able to spread out by now?
What was up with the wind in that party venue?
Are buffalo wings something you associate with New York City? What iconic NYC food would you riff on in Michael's position?
How do you feel about who won and lost?

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Photo Gallery: 2009 New York City Wine and Food Festival

YumSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:19:52 -0700

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Yummy Links: From Vegetarianism to Breakfast

partysugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:15:51 -0700

This week's episode of Top Chef brought to light four myths about vegetarian cooking. - Jezebel
New York City's food bloggers are playing musical chairs. - Grub Street NY
Are these 10 items really the world's scariest foods? - Concierge
Still looking for a cocktail to serve on Halloween? Make full moon punch. - Chow
A roundup of November's Thanksgiving-themed magazines. - Eat Me Daily
Top Chef Masters season two has started filming, so Angelenos be on the lookout for competing chefs. - Eater
Cod with tarragon-anchovy breadcrumbs is a delicious dinner. - Serious Eats
Learn what people around the world are eating for breakfast. - Woman's Day

Noteworthy Nibbles - Oct. 27-Nov. 3, 2009

YumSugar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:15 -0700

With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, everyone's in for a fun-filled week. Although every major city's likely to have some sort of costume-heavy celebration this weekend, leave some time (and belly room) for some serious food events. New Yorkers have their annual Chocolate Show, Bostonians can veg out on eco-friendly fare, and San Franciscans will discuss and sample the best of the city's street food.

Where will you be eating and drinking this week? Tell us in the comments below.

Washington, DC: Taste of Success - Oct. 27

San Francisco, CA: Hewitson Wine's Mad Hatter Party - Oct. 29

San Francisco, CA: The Street Food Movement: SF Hearts the Cart - Oct. 29

Grand Rapids, MI: Food, Wine & All That Jazz - Oct. 30

Decatur, GA: National BBQ Festival - Oct. 30-31

New York, NY: Chocolate Show - Oct. 30-Nov. 1

Boston, MA: Boston Vegetarian Food Festival - Oct. 31-Nov. 1

New York, NY: Day of the Dead Brunch - Nov. 1

Chicago, IL: A Tasteful Pursuit Dinner - Nov. 2

Boston, MA: StarChefs Boston Rising Stars Revue - Nov. 3

Source: Flickr User jeffreymcmanus