Tag Archives: betony

Food & Wine Best New Chefs Award Party 2015

27 Apr

I have amazing perks with my job.  One of them is going to some excellent media events and I was very excited to get a coveted invite to the Food & Wine Best New Chefs party.

IMG_2922

IMG_2925

They awarded the best new chefs their honors, but first, they fed us.

IMG_2942

And they fed us well.

IMG_2927

I really enjoyed the Johnnycake from Chef Linton Hopkins (without the spicy greens).

IMG_2926

And it was fun to be able to taste a dish from Chef Mei Lin (most recent Bravo Top Chef winner)

IMG_2928

Her pork belly paté egg rolls were quite divine.

IMG_2933

Chefs Joe Ogrodnek & Walker Stern (two of last year’s best new chefs) had a dish I would never have ordered from a menu…

IMG_2937

A buttermilk parfait with vegetable muesli.

IMG_2938

But this little dish was actually packed with flavor. It looked so simple, but it was refreshing and flavorful at the same time.

IMG_2940

Upstairs, there were 2 tucked away tasting areas and another bar.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Chef Daniel Humm, seeing as though Eleven Madison Park remains my #1 favorite restaurant in the city and I’m slightly obsessed with The NoMad (especially for breakfast).

IMG_2943

He served “The Humm Dog” which was a bacon wrapped hot dog with gruyere cheese with black truffle mayonnaise and celery relish.

I thoroughly enjoyed this hot dog!

IMG_2945

Among the many celebrity chef tasting tables, they also had passed little bites.

IMG_2948

Chef Koren Grieveson had a tucked away area where she was hamming it up with her staff

IMG_2955

She was so incredibly friendly and welcoming and you could tell she was just tickled to be there.

IMG_2949

Her confit chicken was so light and I loved the pairing of orange with it.  I wish I could have this for lunch every day.

IMG_2953

Back downstairs, the longest line was for Chef Stephanie Izard (first female Top Chef winner and current Chicago restaurant owner, who runs one of my favorite places, The Girl and the Goat).

IMG_2935

I enjoyed her personalized chopsticks teasing a new restaurant, Duck Duck Goat, coming to Chicago this spring. (I’m dying to try it! Peking Duck by Stephanie Izard? I’m in!)

IMG_2957

And mini goat greeting us.

IMG_2958

The dish was a spicy noodle dish, which I couldn’t have.

IMG_2959

 

She sadly sad that they could give me a plain noodle dish and apologized that I’d be missing out… but there was NO missing out! Even these “plain” noodles were packed with flavor. Super delicious.

IMG_2960

Before they gave out the awards, we were treated to an aerialist show that was beautiful.

IMG_2967

Then it was award time.

IMG_2974

They listed out the names of the honored chefs and New York Chef Bryce Shuman (of awesome restaurant, Betony) was last and VERY excited to be there.

IMG_2978 IMG_2980

The reason I got to attend is because one of my clients, BelGioioso Cheese (awesome cheese in your grocery store if you haven’t tried it) was one of the featured sponsors with a yummy dish.

IMG_2985

After the awards and the food was served, the music got cranked up and everyone let loose.  The celebrity chefs were having a blast on the dance floor and we spoke to a few (including Chef Stephanie Izard, who could not have been nicer).  It was at this point that my slightly inebriated husband decided to set up a fun photo shoot with any chef who was game… The sell: “My wife is pregnant and we want to take a picture of chefs pointing at the belly.”  After I swallowed my ever so slight embarrassment at asking all these lovely people to pose, we actually wound up with a great set of pictures:

IMG_2994

Thank you for humoring us, Chefs Stephanie Izard, Marc Murphy, Elizabeth Falkner, Ilan Hall, and CJ Jacobson… and of course Food & Wine.

Awesome event!

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New York Taste Event 2014: Thanks NY Mag!

17 Nov

My job has a lot of perks.  Because we work with a lot of magazines and websites, we get to take advantage of some of their more exclusive events.  Usually the events are more like big parties, which are fun but not really my thing.  But when New York Magazine (which also happens to be the only magazine I read as a consumer, every issue) invited me to their annual TASTE event, I was thrilled.  They even let me take a Plus One, so I had to invite fellow food lover and blogger, That Lori, of Stuff I Ate, to join me.

IMG_1419

I’ve always wanted to go to TASTE, seeing as though it features a taste from some of the best restaurants in NYC, including some of our favorites, all’onda, Barbuto, betony, Butter, Gramercy Tavern, and NoMad.

IMG_1348

The event was in a space called The Waterfront Building on 11th Avenue between 27th and 28th Streets.  It was built in 1891 as the Terminal Stores building and it looked (and looks) like a medieval fortress.  Rail lines ran right into the building from the Hudson river docks and when it was built, it was the only building with direct access to the river, the road, and the rail.

IMG_1372

It was a great space for this event; long and narrow with enough room to get around (though when the masses came in, we were certainly tripping over each other (and the poorly placed floor lights).   Though it certainly felt crowded at times, we never waited more than a few minutes for any food (though by the final hour, most were out of food… not that we could eat any more at that time anyway though!)

IMG_1373

As we walked through the event, I kept noticing that they had great music on. I was actually surprised when we got to the end and it was a live band.  They sounded like a recording.  Great band.

IMG_1407

But now onto the food!  I was impressed to see many of the celebrity chefs working their booths, including Alex Guarnaschelli at Butter and Dale Talde at Talde.

One of my favorite celebrity chefs, Jonathan Waxman, was behind his Barbuto table.  As soon as I lifted my duck liver pâté crostini with apples and saba up to take a picture, Chef Waxman immediately laughed at me and said I was being cute by taking a detailed picture.  I blushfully told him how much I loved his chicken at Barbuto and he told me that he hopes I loved his duck liver even more.  I’m not star struck by many people, but for some reason, Chef Waxman turned me into a giggling little girl.

And yes, his duck liver was superb (though blurry in this picture, seeing as though I was giggling…)

IMG_1405

Here were some of my favorite bites of the evening:

Truffled hummus from Claudette.  I would never have thought to bump up hummus by adding truffle, but this was spot on.  From now on, if I want to make my hummus a more elegant meal, I will be adding truffle salt.

IMG_1420

And while we’re on the topic of truffles, Toloache was serving a beautiful slice of raw tuna with quinoa, avocado aioli, and fresh slices of truffles. It also had a spicy sauce on top which they (kindly) left off of mine.  This was so fresh and just popped with flavor.

 

IMG_1423

The Writing Room was serving a chicken liver mousse with green apples.  The mousse was so fresh and the apples were a great foil for the richness.  A very enjoyable bite.

IMG_1422

Sadly, there was so much food that by the end, I just couldn’t fit another bite.  But I just loved the look of these lettuce cups with egg from Tao.

IMG_1425

But my favorite bite of the evening was squash with pistachio and truffle from Piora.  It was so good, that Piora jumped right to the top of my list for next restaurant I want to try.

IMG_1424

My favorite dessert was the chocolate lollipops from Wallsé. They were so rich and had such amazing flavor.  I went back for one more at the end of the night, but no surprise, there were none left.

IMG_1421

I loved this event and even if I don’t get the opportunity to go as a guest next year, I think it will be worth it to pay for it and bring Mike.  It was an absolutely delicious and fun evening.

Thanks again, New York Magazine!

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Noms of 2013

13 Jan

2013 was truly the best year of my life.  And most of my best memories of the year include (or entirely revolve around) amazing meals.

It was really tough to narrow it down to the top 10 this year with so many amazing meals, so I’m cheating a bit.  (To see the Top Noms of years past, check these links: 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009)

Second Runner Up: After a lot of buzz and rumors of impossible reservations, we were lucky enough to walk in and get a seat at the bar at Chez Sardine.  This sticks out in my memory both for the amazing, creative food and for the fun of watching them construct it while peering directly into the kitchen from our bar seats.

Chez Sardine

First Runner Up: After two amazing meals at WD-50 (still in the top 3 of all time meals) we were excited to try Chef Wylie Dufresne’s more casual new restaurant, Alder.  Our entire meal was creative and great, but the chicken liver toast was a huge stand out that I still think about all these months later.

Alder: Chicken Liver Toast

#10: Our honeymoon was filled with a bunch of absolutely amazing meals, but our meal at Le Pigeon in Portland, OR really stood out for its freshness and unique use of ingredients. The trout lox paired so incredibly well with the raspberries. An unexpected match made in heaven.

Le Pigeon: Trout Lox

#9: We couldn’t wait to try Betony when it opened since it was from alumni of one of our absolute favorite restaurants, Eleven Madison Park.   We fell in love with the “Tuna Melt” with melted fontina cheese and there was sculptural beauty (and flavorful beauty) in the Marinated Trout Roe. Any other year this could be a #1 restaurant, but not in 2013.

Betony: Marinated Trout Roe on a puffed rice cracker with cucumber

#8: While we couldn’t take pictures of the Brooklyn Fare Chef’s Tasting menu, you will have to trust me that it all looked and tasted delicious.  We were very excited when they opened up a grocery store near our apartment in Manhattan and can’t wait to try their restaurant.  The Uni with White Truffle was so incredibly amazing and made me fall in love with uni (after a lot of “what’s the big deal?” in the past).

Brooklyn Fare Chef's Tasting

#7: For our date anniversary dinner, Mike took us to Del Posto, where we enjoyed the beautiful place almost as much as we enjoyed the near flawless meal.  It has certainly earned its stellar reputation as being a top restaurant in New York.

Del Posto: Lobster

#6: In what world does The French Laundry in Napa Valley, CA come in as #6 for the year?  I still am in a bit of disbelief that we didn’t love this famous restaurant even more.  In the end, it was probably one of the most perfect meals I’ve ever had, but it just wasn’t surprising.  But the oysters and pearls have truly earned their place in culinary history.

The French Laundry: Oysters and Pearls

 

#5: Coming back from the honeymoon, we had one last hurrah at The NoMad in NYC.  We tried the famous chicken, which had the audacity to not just be perfectly cooked with impeccably crispy skin, but also stuffed with foie gras and black truffle.  It was every bit as good as I hoped it would be, as was the rest of the meal.

The Nomad: Roasted Chicken

#4: Blanca was another Chef’s Tasting menu that didn’t allow us to take pictures of the meal (bummer), but this private room behind Roberta’s Pizza in Bushwick, Brooklyn offered surprises around every corner. There were more than 25 meticulous courses, including a stand-out king crab with plankton butter sauce and not a single bad dish in all 25.

Blanca: Chef's Tasting

#3: Anytime someone asks where they should go in NYC if they want a nice meal, I recommend Colicchio and Sons.  It never fails to impress and we went back to see if the Tasting Menu could live up to our opinion from the previous time.  Each dish built upon the last and they were all expertly crafted. I have especially fond memories about the uniqueness of the potato bavarois dome with Hackeback caviar and vodka cream with homemade potato chips.

Colicchio & Sons: Tasting Menu

 

#2: A huge surprise was how much we fell in absolute love with Canlis in Seattle, WA during our honeymoon.  Every dish was great and service was so warm and so welcome.  It’s hard to pick a favorite part of this meal, but I still remember how much I enjoyed their preparation of foie gras with homemade brioche to spread it on.

Canlis: Foie Gras

#1 (THE #1): I was so excited to finally try Chef Grant Achatz’s Alinea in Chicago, IL at the very end of the year.  Every moment of this meal was special and fun and incredibly delicious. Even if it hadn’t been as entertaining and creative, the taste of the food alone would have made this the meal of the year.  The rest, and especially the cleverness, made this the meal of a lifetime.  The best meal we have ever, ever had.  The white truffle risotto that they brought out as a special treat was hands down the most amazing thing I have ever eaten.  It is worth a special trip to Chicago just to have the good fortune of eating here.

Alinea: White Truffle Risotto

 

Alinea: Scallop

 

We are so incredibly fortunate.  Thank you, 2013.

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries