Archive for May, 2010

May 28th, 2010

The Museum of Natural History Becomes … the Museum of Contempo Mixology?

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Fork in the Road.

Not long ago, the American Museum of Natural History was a place to learn about the lives of dinosaurs and Neanderthals, with a possible tidbit gleaned here and there about what these creatures ate. Yet the museum has increasingly been offering food and drink events as part of its after-hours programming, through its Adventures in the Global Kitchen event series. “There’s been so much interest from our audience in the world of food,” says public programs director Ellen Silberman, who helped organize a recent lecture and tasting on Persian cuisine, and one about ancient wines, in conjunction with the “Traveling the Silk Road” exhibit. Now it seems Silberman and her staff have caught on to the cocktail-geek movement: On June 8, the museum will bring in mixologist Don Lee of Momofuku Ssam Bar and cocktail historian David Wondrich to talk about “polar cocktails.” The topic relates to the “Race to the End of the Earth” exhibit on artic exploration, and is inspired by the recent discovery of a bottle of century-old whiskey buried in Arctic ice — the drink of choice for explorer Ernest Shackleton. Among the topics these imbibing authorities will discuss is, fittingly, the importance of ice in creating the perfect cocktail. …

Read the rest of the story on Fork in the Road.

Photo: Courtesy AMNH

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May 23rd, 2010

Epic Prom | St. Cecilia’s in Williamsburg

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Metromix.

Epic Prom guests turned up to St. Cecilia’s in Williamsburg in the latest fashions—circa half a century ago, that is. The former school’s gymnasium was awash with chiffon, pearls, white gloves and corsages for the ladies, and boxy jackets and bow ties for the gents. Guests mingled, danced, ate and drank beneath basketball hoops and scoreboards—even a cross!—while DJ Matt Mikas, aka Count Zero, spun the greatest hits of yesteryear.

Theo Peck and Nick Suarez of Food Experiments fame prepared a cafeteria-themed meal served on TV dinner trays, including a standout pate, deep-fried corn beef nuggets, and cups of boozy milkshake with snickerdoodle dippers for dessert. There were drinks from bartenders Vito Dieterle (of Little Branch) and Alejandro Merola, a photo booth created by the artist Ventiko, and even a patrol of “church ladies”—regular bingo players from the adjacent church — who helped serve dinner and kept the crowd in line. Later on in the evening, the Harlem James Gang performed several song-and-dance numbers, and fashion stylist Alexandra Greenwalt crowned a prom king and queen.

Adam Aleksander, who put on the event with Brian Quinn of the Noble Rot, seemed flush with night’s success. “Honestly…” he said, surveying the scene inside the gym, “it’s better than I imagined!” …

Read the rest of the story, and see more photos, on Metromix.

Photos by Kelly Neal

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May 21st, 2010

Ninth Ward Channels New Orleans in East Village

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Grub Street.

Ninth Ward Channels New Orleans in East Village

“The South has always been better at cocktails than the North,” says Shoolbred’s Robert Morgan, who plans to channel New Orleans in his new bar-restaurant, Ninth Ward, as of next month. The East Village spot will feature regional beers like Abita, as well as traditional NOLA cocktails such as the Sazerac. Morgan and his three partners (including Shoolbred’s William Ivey Long) road-tripped south to decorate the space. “We salvaged as much as we could” from New Orleans, Morgan says, including a stained-glass window that once graced a convent, an intricately carved wooden fireplace mantel, and many window shutters in various states of disrepair. The basement space has four wooden alcove-like booths and leads to a Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil–esque ivied brick courtyard with fountains and a brass shrouded woman. …

Read the rest of the story on Grub Street.

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May 21st, 2010

Blu Restaurant Offers Up House-Infused Grappas

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Fork in the Road.

grapps.png
Nicholas Gill

The stretch of 28th Street just west of Sixth Avenue is not an area where one expects to find the kind of artisanal, housemade offerings that are now de rigueur in so many downtown and Brooklyn restaurants. Yet Roberto Bellissimo, the chef of Blu restaurant in the Hotel Indigo, which opened last fall, will soon be offering house-infused grappa as an after-dinner cap-off to his Italian menu.

Bellissimo grew up in Toronto making grappas with his grandfather, who hailed from Calabria in Italy. In traditional fashion, the chef’s “nonno” would use up extra fruit at the end of a season by throwing it into a batch of the liqueur. “He had a pear tree and a fig tree,” Bellissimo recalls.

About three months ago, the chef took apricots he’d frozen during the summer crop, along with pears, pineapple, and jarred Morello cherries, and sealed them in a grappa bath in oversize mason jars. The resulting four flavors are meant to be ordered after the meal, “like a digestif,” explains Bellissimo.  …

Read the rest of the story on Fork in the Road.

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May 21st, 2010

Flour Power: I Trulli’s handmade pastas are a family affair

by jenny

Most restaurants that offer house-made pasta want you to think it’s crafted by a real Italian grandmother, even when the reality is more often a scruffy 20-something who’s never been to Italy.

Unless, of course, you’re dining at I Trulli.

There, the high priestess of the pasta station is Dora Marzovilla, the 74-year-old mother of owner Nicola Marzovilla.

Since I Trulli’s opening almost 16 years ago, the elder Marzovilla has been rolling out snakes of dough, breaking off nubs and deftly fashioning them into a variety of precise shapes. Her delicate ear-shaped orecchiette make perfect vessels for a rich rabbit ragù, and pillows of ravioli encase creamy Robiola cheese.  …

Read the rest of the story on Tasting Table.

Photo courtesy of I Trulli restaurant.

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May 20th, 2010

Fried-Chicken Pop-up on Wheels Is a ‘Viral Party Experience’

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Grub Street.

Fried-Chicken Pop-up on Wheels Is a ‘Viral Party Experience’

Photo: Marcus Price

Music scenester Dante Gonzales will be frying up chicken and tofu in New York for the next ten days or so, before he leaves for L.A. to open a food truck. After rising through the ranks at San Francisco’s Zuni Café and Seattle’s Flying Fish and then deciding he “didn’t feel the same kind of love and energy” there as he had cooking with his grandma, Gonzales began serving his grub at parties and shows around the world, for artists like M.I.A., Theophilus London, and Santigold. Now, for the first time, he’s offering bicycle delivery.

The chef hopes that Ride or Fry, as he’s calling the project, will show people that “fried chicken is not junk food— it’s a character dish; it’s like gumbo.” His “Sock It to Me” chicken consists of Murray’s free-range breasts coated in a batter that includes nuts, seeds, and fresh herbs (Grandma’s trick during times when flour was scarce). Greenmarket sides include a cucumber-corn-and-string-bean salad, a roasted-paprika-corn macaroni and cheese, and a daily pie. …

Read the rest of the story on Grub Street.

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May 19th, 2010

Born to Rum: The latest hidden bar is more sunny than somber

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Tasting Table.

In certain bar-going circles, the only spots worth visiting are those without a sign.

Although Cienfuegos–a new rum-driven bar from Ravi DeRossi (of Death & Co. and Mayahuel fame)–fits this criterion, its cheery vibe is a direct departure from the earnest, often somber environment of other “speakeasies.”

After entering through sandwich shop Carteles and shimmying up an unadorned metal staircase, you’ll be greeted by Latin music and a sunny room sponge-painted in pink and pistachio green. A tile-splashed bar, chunky chandeliers and open windows all suggest Havana in its heyday.

The cocktail menu continues the tone of sun-drenched levity, but rest assured, these drinks are no joke. There are classics like the Ernesto, a rum-maraschino-grapefruit mash-up, and the watermelon-tinted Rosa Verde shows its swagger by employing bartending trends like fancy bitters (celery) and house-made syrups (arugula).

All drinks are available in single servings or in various sizes of punch bowls. Communal imbibing is fun, but hungry drinkers should order solo when it comes to the Cubanitos. The finger-food versions of Carteles’ Cubano sandwich are so rich with house-roasted pork and garlicky mustard that you won’t want to part with them.

Cienfuegos (enter through Carteles), 443 E. Sixth St. (between First Ave. and Avenue A); 212-614-6818

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May 15th, 2010

Taste of Tribeca 2010

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Metromix.com.

Photo Credit:Tod Seelie

Downtown’s hungriest turned out for the 16th annual Taste of Tribeca, and they couldn’t have had a nicer day for it. Among the 65 neighborhood restaurants serving small bites (attendees had the tough choice of selecting six) were big names like Nobu and Bouley, along with old favorites like Walker’s and Tribeca Grill.

The event benefits arts programs at P.S. 150 and P.S. 234, and the short set turned out in full force, many with painted faces, dancing to the sounds of City Winery’s live bluegrass band. Diners queued up for dishes like pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw and watermelon from Walker’s and Duane Park Patisserie’s molten chocolate cake. Maybe it was the sunshine and the outdoor setting, but barbecue seemed to be on every plate—from the bratwurst at Schaller & Weber’s hot dog cart to further mini-pulled pork sliders from Tribeca Grand Hotel.

Restuarateur Drew Nieporent, whose Nobu, Tribeca Grill, and Centrico all made showings, emceed the American Lamb Meatball Challenge (a dumpling cookoff sponsored by Tang’s Natural Dumplings also went down). The Tribeca pioneer pronounced this year’s event “spectacular,” and had to think hard when asked how many years he’d been in attendance. “This started 16 years ago and Montrachet opened 25 years ago,” he said, as though he couldn’t quite believe it. 

Read the rest of the story and see more photos on Metromix.com.

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May 6th, 2010

Guactacular 2010 | The Bell House

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Metromix.com

guactacular

More than 300 revelers stormed The Bell House on Cinco de Mayo for the second-annual Guactacular. Clutching cans of free beer, would-be chip-dippers waited in lines that snaked around, and then around again, to sample 20 guacamoles competing for avocado accolades. Even co-founder Lee Frank, of NachosNY, a nacho reviews Web site, admitted things were un poco off-the-hook. “It’s a little bit crazy, but that’s to be expected,” he conceded. When Alex Meixner got onstage with his accordion and proceeded to churn out out Tejano sounds, things only got wilder.

The guac monikers turned out to be as fun as the flavors, which ranged from a BLT mash-up to a mango dip with some bite. We were tempted to vote for Tu-Guac Shakur or @Awesomeguac (which has its own Twitter account) just for the names, and literary dips like a Guac to Remember and the Hunt for Red Guactober also tickled our punny bones. Speaking of Twitter, a large screen scrolled tweets with the #Guactacular hashtag, including a plea from cupcake peddler Allison Robicelli, who’d been stuck in the lobby pushing her $3 cakes, to pretty please bring her a plate of the green stuff.

Ultimately, Peter Borenstein’s Tu-Guac Shakur (can we pick ‘em?), Chris Willets’ (of Skint fame) Johnny 5, and Marcia Bunda‘s Cumin at Ya took home top honors. Afterward, partygoers filed into the front bar for free tequila shots. It was quite a night…and let’s just say we have no desire to encounter another avocado any time soon. …

Read the rest of the story on Metromix.com.

Photos by Sam Horine.

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May 3rd, 2010

Sweet Spice & Honey's Amatullah Lewis Bakes Some Great Grains

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Fork in the Road.

yami

Amatullah Lewis had been climbing the career ladder as an HR professional until, like many, she got laid off during the recent recession. “I was having that little pity party, ‘Woe is me,’” she recalls. Until she realized she had a talent to share: baking bread, which she’d done for her family for years.

Sweet Spice & Honey Halal Baked Goods is Lewis’s collection of 10 breads, which come in creative flavors such as Yami-Yami–a round, rustic loaf containing roasted beets, squash, and yam–and Extra_Ordinary, a dense, chewy, and heavily seeded dinner bread. For treats that are healthy but not cloying or heavy, Lewis makes a banana bread, a carrot cake, a cherry and coconut loaf, and one laced with chipotle and cocoa dubbed Seattle Swirl, all of which taste not too sweet, and substantial rather than oily. Like a mother tricking her kids into ingesting vegetables, Lewis tucks the unexpected into these loaves: pineapple in the Seattle Swirl and flax seeds in the Extra_Ordinary. These are breads with real heft, the savory ones worthy of playing a big role in a meal, the sweet ones ideal as a nutritious yet satisfying snack.

The baker emphasizes that she uses local ingredients as much as possible, and shops at farm stands and an Amish market near her New Jersey home. “It helps to promote sustainability. It helps to promote local farming,” Lewis says of her approach. “Any time you buy local, you’re guaranteed it’s going to be fresh–you can smell it and you can taste it.”

She recently began sampling her breads at private events, and loaves currently may be purchased directly from her by e-mailing sweetspiceandhoney@gmail.com. Large loaves are (a somewhat pricey) $18 to $21, and smaller ones go for $7 to $10.

In addition, the Brooklyn native will begin offering Sweet Spice & Honey at the
Bushwick Farmers Market when it starts around the end of May, where shoppers will also be able to buy individual slices. “It’s down-home basics,” Lewis says of her products. “Eggs, milk, butter, wheat, whole grains, whole fruit. These are natural ingredients from the Earth. Everybody needs to eat, but what we put into our systems usually hurts us. I know what I’m baking will not hurt you.”

Read the original story on Fork in the Road.

Photo by Amatullah Lewis.

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