Nordic Cooking In Season

Posted on May 10, 2012 in Trendwatch

You could say 2012 is the year of Nordic cuisine.  Americans have been culinary adventurers for decades now.  We’ll eat anything we can get our hands on, but lingonberry sauce, smoked herring, hay-smoked meats, and cloudberries have never really made it into our dining repertoire until now.  Enter what many have dubbed the New Nordic Cuisine. Let’s be honest it: Ikea’s food court, with its Swedish meatballs, lingonberry sodas, cinammon-cardamon buns and seven kinds of herring had a lot...

Mother’s Day DIY Cheese Kit

Posted on May 7, 2012 in Gizmo Girl

Last minute shopping has never been our strong suit, so we figured we’d better get a jump start on Mother’s Day gifts. If you’re mother’s a chef, an aspiring chef, or just a foodie, this may be the perfect gift.  We’ve always loved Do-It-Yourself gadgets to experiment and experience things for ourselves, but we’re a little intimidated by the notion of making our own cheese. That is, until we stumbled upon William Sonoma’s Cheese Kits (pictured right). We’ve seen...

Q & A with No Kitchen Required’s Michael Psilakis

Posted on May 3, 2012 in Chef Q&A

Michael Psilakis is a fighter.  Plenty of chefs have their ups and downs, but few bounce back as well as Psilakis has done over the years.   Just look at his career: He elevated Greek to a haute plane with Anthos, earning a Michelin star in the process, and cooking at the White House. He parted ways with Anthos and Mia Dona and his partner Donatella Arpaia, and soon after both restaurants closed.  Psilakis then opened a short-lived spot called Gus...

Try This Press

Posted on May 2, 2012 in Best of Everything

On the Web Publishers Weekly – Try This: A Modern Guide to Global Eating Oprah.com – Like This? You’ll Love That: 9 New Ethnic Foods to Try IVillage – ‘Try This’ Demystifies Global Dining Star Ledger – Danyelle Freeman: Jersey girl with a global appetite Denver Post – A Guide to a Whole World of Cuisines Bites on Today – Bobby Flay Co-Hosts with Kathie Lee, Dishes on his Firsts Gotham Magazine – A Food Trip A M N...

Videos

Posted on May 2, 2012 in Best of Everything

Where to Fiesta On Cinco De Mayo

Posted on Apr 30, 2012 in Best Of

Technically speaking, Cinco de Mayo marks Mexico’s victory over the French at the Battle of Pueblo (blah, blah, blah).  And while we can appreciate a little history, what we’re really after is the culinary celebration — salt-rimmed margaritas, tortilla chips, and mountains of guacamole.   There are plenty of places to celebrate this year and an exciting new crop of Mexican joints to try this Cinco De Mayo.  From taquitos to tequila, we’re keying you in to the best...

Where To Dine Al Fresco

Posted on Apr 26, 2012 in Al Fresco Dining, Best Of

You won’t hear us complaining that spring has arrived early this year.  We couldn’t be happier to trade eating hearty comfort foods for vibrant spring produce and dining in the great outdoors.  From the Upper West Side to Carroll Gardens, restaurants are opening their back gardens, retracting their roofs, and setting up sidewalk seating for al fresco dining season. Spring is the perfect excuse to conquer new culinary ground.  And if you haven’t been to Fette Sau, you’ll want...

Best Thing I Ate – North End Grill’s Bacon & Oysters

Posted on Apr 24, 2012 in Best Of

If you’re one of those people who “never eats above 14th Street” or “never travels below Canal Street,” you’re missing out on some seriously good eating these days.  One of the best new arrivals is North End Grill in Battery Park City.  There’s a lot to love about Danny Meyer’s newest venture, a modern American bar and grill.  For starters, there’s a killer scotch selection with flights and flasks, and a raw bar. The restaurant itself is handsomely outfitted in...

Gizmo Girl’s Sweet Tea Brewer

Posted on Apr 18, 2012 in Gizmo Girl

Winter… what winter? Which is fine with us as we happily gear up for spring and summer. One of our favorite warm weather pastimes is brewing authentic southern sweet tea.  But it’s not quite warm enough to set a pitcher of water and tea bags outside to brew in the sun, so we thought we’d seek out a little assistance.  What we found is this Sweet Tea Brewer (pictured right) that brews up to two quarts of tea in...

City Harvest’s Annual Evening of Practical Magic

Posted on Apr 16, 2012 in Eating Events, Gourmet Gossip

If you haven’t bought tickets yet, there’s still time to celebrate and support City Harvest at their 18th annual Evening of Practical Magic. This year’s event will be honoring Danny Meyer and his all-star cast of chefs, including Floyd Cardoz, Michael Anthony and Nick Anderer at Union Square Hospitality Group.  There will be a live auction, awards ceremony and plenty of food & wine, of course. To purchase tickets, go to City Harvest and hopefully, we’ll see you next Tuesday...

Trendwatch – Eggs In Fashion

Posted on Apr 16, 2012 in Trendwatch

Not long ago, eggs weren’t exactly considered haute cuisine, nevermind a dish that chefs or diners got excited about.  But those days are over and eggs are  having their moment in the spotlight. Take the celebrated “Farmer Egg’s” at Acme: It’s not as simple as it sounds, of course.What arrive from the kitchen is are two hollow eggs teeming with steamed cauliflower, aged parmesan cheese and egg yolk, crowned with cauliflower foam and ingeniously served on chicken wire and...

Easy Holiday Entertaining

Posted on Apr 8, 2012 in Gizmo Girl

Holiday entertaining just got a lot easier with this dual purpose Crockpot and Food Warmer (pictured right).  If you’ve ever cooked for a large crowd, you know the biggest challenge is finding enough counter and cooking space.  A kitchen only has so many burners and city apartments are often more challenged.  Then, there’s the issue of saute pans, pots and slow cookers. Whether you’re cooking for Easter or Passover, you’re going to need as many kitchen tools and you...

Suddenly Chic -Passover Dining Out

Posted on Apr 4, 2012 in Best Of

Once upon a time, Passover was a dreaded holiday, devoid of bread, rice, cake, cookies and all things yeast.  But times have changed and New York’s best restaurants and chefs are finding inspiration in the holiday and, more importantly, its food traditions.  With the sudden popularity of Jewish deli cooking, there’s a whole new world of reinvented classics, the likes of wild halibut gefilte fish and chopped duck and chicken liver.  But it doesn’t stop there.  There’s brisket tacos...

New York’s Best PB & J Dishes

Posted on Apr 2, 2012 in Best Of

In case you haven’t noticed, we have a serious peanut butter obsession, so we’re pretty excited to milk National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day for all its worth.  This Monday, April 2nd, celebrates that iconic, brown bagged lunch most of us grew up on, but in New York, the humble sandwich has undergone a major makeover.  Afterall, we’ve got bragging rights to the some of the most innovative chefs in the country. Take April Bloomfield for example.  In her...

City Guides

Posted on Apr 1, 2012 in All Things Wine, City Guides

Coming this summer…

Q & A with Salinas Chef Luis Bollo

Posted on Mar 30, 2012 in Chef Q&A

It’s not easy to be a trailblazer in New York. Just ask Luis Bollo, the talented Basque chef who opened Meigas on Hudson Street over ten years ago. Bollo was the first chef to bring modernist Spanish cuisine, with its Ferran Adria-stamped foams and gels to Manhattan.  While reviewers were impressed by his innovative style, the mainstream audience wasn’t quite ready for molecular gastronomy and both Bolo and Meigas relocated to Connecticut after just two years. “When I opened Meigas,...

Easter Sweets

Posted on Mar 26, 2012 in Best Of

To us, holidays are opportunities to feast festively. Sure, seeing family is great (blah, blah blah), but the real joy of Easter is  the chance to eat sweets you only get to have once a year.  Who doesn’t love a bright yellow marshmallow peep or a Cadbury creme egg? And that’s just what’s available at your corner Duane Reade. Just imagine how creative chocolatiers and bakeries have gotten this season. We’ve heard rumors of peep pudding at Sugar Sweet...

Q&A with Empellon's Alex Stupak

Posted on Mar 23, 2012 in Chef Q&A

The thing about Alex Stupak is you never know what he’s going to do next. Which is why he’s one of the most exciting chefs in the country right now.  I mean who walks away from an acclaimed career in pastry at wd-50 to open a taqueria, nevermind that he’s not even from Mexico? And just a few weeks ago, he opened his second restaurant, Empellon Cocina, in under a year. Stupak has once again defied convention with his...