Posts tagged ‘Events’

June 13th, 2010

Big Apple BBQ 2010 | Madison Square Park

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Metromix.


Brisket blowout! Top pitmasters keep the ‘cues smoking and the crowds coming.

June 12, 2010

As the 17 pitmasters at the Big Apple BBQ demonstrated, there’s no right way to cook a pig—or cow, or sheep. Barbecue mavens rolled in from 13 states, including NYC’s own Blue Smoke, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Rack & Soul. And, as Charles Grund—who presided over Hill Country‘s1,500 pounds of brisket—explained, ”Barbecue is a thing where everybody does something just a little bit different: their own flavor, and their own different technique. There’s not a whole lot of people doing it exactly the same way, so there’s not a whole lot of cutthroat.”

Indeed, the 125,000 atendees who were expected for the two-day festival chomped on barbecued brisket, whole hogs cooked up two ways, ribs done in myriad technqiues, a smorgasbord of sausages, and even that Owensboro, Ky., special, barbecued mutton. Everyone had set up the night before, and some stayed up all night tending fires and preparing meat.

But it was all worth it the next day, when the hungry crowds showed up toting kids, dogs and Wet-Naps. “Taste the meat, taste the spice, taste the salt,” exulted ‘cue granddaddy Mike Mills, of 17th Street Bar & Grill in Murphysboro, Ill., gesturing at his baby back ribs. “You’ve got a rodeo in your mouth.” …

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

Photos by Gabi Porter

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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 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 2nd, 2010

Lucky Rice Asian Food Festival: Grand Feast

by jenny

This story originally appeared on Metromix.com

Daniel

Star chefs lit up the Mandarin Oriental’s 36th-floor ballroom for the Grand Feast, the biggest party of the weeklong Lucky Rice Asian Food Festival. Among the luminaries dishing Asian delicacies to several hundred guests were chefs from Daniel, Le Bernardin, Morimoto and Jean Georges.

Standout bites included Jean Georges’ buttery sea urchin with jalapeno and yuzu (though sadly, the man himself did not seem to be in attendance), and plump and crispy fried oysters with wasabi-yuzu sauce by chef Brad Farmerie at Public. Daniel Boulud’s smiling face beamed out from behind his booth, where pastry chef Dominique Ansel was serving an elaborate, Asian-inflected dessert soup.

We caught Daniel making the rounds as well, posing for photographers with a bevy of beautiful women, sampling the pork belly and radish hash at Michael “Bao” Huynh’s booth (as Huynh looked on anxiously—wouldn’t you?), and even pausing to chat with us. “I have a restaurant in Beijing and a restaurant in Singapore, so I’m excited to have a focus on Asia,” said the venerable chef. “For a premier event, I think it’s a huge success.” …

Read the rest of the story on Metromix.com.

Photos by Natasha Ryan

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