-
Air’s Champagne Parlor is All About the Bubbly
Beer, wine and even cider bars abound in NYC, but Air’s Champagne Parlor is one of the few area drinkeries devoted to bubbly. To be fair, the Riddling Widow briefly preceded it, but owner Ariel Arce was actually beverage director during its tenure, as well as Birds & Bubbles before that, and Chicago’s Pops for Champagne (not to mention Grant Achatz’s exclusive, original The Office) before that. Meaning her reputation as queen of Cuvèe absolutely proceeds her.
-
Where to Celebrate Oktoberfest 2017
If you’re already mourning the loss of summer, Oktoberfest is a reliable way to get you over the hump. Essentially spanning the duration of fall (kicking off on September 16th this year & extending all the way to October 31st, allowing revelers to seamlessly transition to Halloween), the 16 to 18-day festival is a giddy saturnalia of German culture…
-
Spotlight on the Finalists for the 2017 Vendy Awards
As a fun challenge to the James Beard Awards, the Vendy ceremony — now in its 13th year — is dedicated to honoring the very best in street food. So here’s who’s in the running during the September 16th event at Governors Island; from an artisanal twinkie baker to an upstart french toast sandwich maker, to a Chinese meat skewer purveyor, whose been tapped for the Vendy Cup…
Most Recent Dish
Best of – All Things Pumpkin
We have officially succumbed to our fall 2011 pumpkin obsession and we’re dragging you down with us. I don’t know about you, but we remember when pumpkin season meant pumpkin carving, toasted seeds and pumpkin pie, and that was pretty much the extent of it. Those days are long gone. Chefs, bakers, ice cream makers, even bartenders are inspired by this orange, autumn squash. Pumpkin’s being served up in all forms this season — from pumpkin custard to pumpkin...
Read More
Astoria – Beyond Greek Food
One of the reasons New York’s such an exciting city is that there are so many different neighborhoods worth exploring, each with their own distinct feel and attractions. Take Astoria for example. It’s a vibrant neighborhood, located in the northwest of Queens, with a constantly evolving food scene. Astoria has long had a reputation for being a Greek enclave with great Greek restaurants to match. But these days, it’s got more than its share of worthy Middle Eastern, Latin...
Read More
Chip Maker
Now that football season is in full gear we need to start getting creative with our TV snacks. We could open a bag of packaged chips, but we’d rather make them ourselves. This week, we found this Chips Maker (pictured right). This tray and mandolin set lets us make potato chips in the microwave, which is perfect for our New York-sized kitchens. No deep fryer required. And because these chips are cooked in the microwave you don’t have to...
Read More
Q & A With Jonathan Waxman
How do you keep your reservation book full for over a decade? Ask Jonathan Waxman. He’s managed to turn his West Village restaurant, Barbuto, into a vibrant New York staple. An outstanding roast chicken might have a lot to do with all of the success. Ironically, that’s the one dish he’d like to take off the menu, but it’s just too popular. The California-raised chef worked in the illustrious kitchens of Chez Panisse and Michael’s in California before moving...
Read More
Destination Williamsburg: New Fall Dining
If you thought Williamsburg peaked a few years ago, think again. An exciting new crop of gourmet shops and restaurants has just opened in this stylish Brooklyn neighborhood this fall. Where to begin? Well, there are a few Manhattan imports, including a newly minted Meatball Shop and even a café version of La Esquina for starters. There’s lots of new spots as well, like Pillar and Plough with an open kitchen and a chef’s counter or Noorman’s Kil, a...
Read More
Three-In-One Peeler
A peeler isn’t the most glamorous gadget, but this one comes close. Where to begin? Well, the Perfect Peeler (pictured right) can be used by a lefty or a righty, which I can tell you as a lefty, is a rare find. It’s also ergonomically correct and has a non-slip grip. But the cincher is that the blade rotates vertically, horinzontallly, or even a 45-degree angle to cut anything and everything. The blade itself stays sharp ten times longer...
Read More
Dine Out Irene
Although hurricane Irene amazed to more of a party then a natural disaster here in the city, our upstate neighbors are still hurting. Farms were flooded, crops and homes destroyed, and even Dinosaur BBQ’s Troy location had to close down for a few days to get their dining room back into shape. Enter Dine Out Irene, the food world’s answer to emergency relief. Make a reservation at your favorite restaurant for September 25th (we’re taking the opportunity to try out...
Read More
Best of – New York Green Eats
Organic. Local. Natural. In a world of green movements and sustainable living, it’s no wonder so many restaurants are jumping on the bandwagon. Which is why it’s hard to distinguish between the ones that are all talk and the real deal. And while organic and farm-fresh imply health and sustainability, they sometimes suggest a heftier dinner bill. So we thought we’d weed through them and separate the men from the boys. We’re keying you in to some of the...
Read More
Dishspotting: Tonkatsu
We’ll travel almost anywhere to get great ethnic food. Luckily, in New York, you don’t have to travel very far. Hop a train to Astoria for great Greek, Flushing for Szechuan, or head to Jackson Heights’ “Little Tibet” to satisfy a momo craving. Right now, we’re obsessed with Japanese food and we’re not talking about sushi or soba. It’s katsu that’s got our attention lately. Truth be told, there’s nothing super unique about a breaded, deep-fried cutlet. Almost every...
Read More
Tribeca: Destination Dining
Tribeca has become one of the hottest neighborhoods for restaurant openings this fall. In just the past few months, we’ve seen the doors open at Silver Lining, the Il Matto re-do, White & Church and Matt Abramcyk, new eatery, Tiny’s. That’s just for starters. Sarabeth’s opened their first Tribeca outpost and Jung Sik finally filled the void left when Chanterelle sadly closed its doors. Chef David Bouley has long made Tribeca his preferred ‘hood and this past spring, he...
Read More
Sneak Peek: Empellon Cocina
When chef Alex Stupak announced he was leaving WD-50 and the world of modernist cuisine to open a Mexican joint in the West Village, the food world seemed perplexed to say the least. Afterall, this was a talented pastry chef making the strange leap into tacos and tequila. Open less than a year, his restaurant, Empellon, is not only surviving, but by the looks of the nightly crowds in the dining room, it seems to be thriving. In fact,...
Read More
Three-In-One Apple Gizmo
It’s that time of the year again. That’s right, it’s apple picking season. We’d love an endless summer, but if we must move into fall, picking apples with our own hands is pretty great, too. That’s the easy part. The tricky part is coring, peeling and slicing our shiny red picks for a pie. That’s where this Peel Away Apple Peeler (pictured right) comes in handy. Where to begin? It has a suction base and a clamp to hold...
Read More
Fall Food Happenings
Another Labor Day has come and gone, and now it’s back to school, back to fall food happenings. Summer may be the time to get outta town, but fall is all about being seen in the city. France’s Le Fooding is back for a second year with its decidedly casual dining events and annual Vendy Awards, a tasting and award ceremony celebrating everyone’s favorite street carts. For one night, chefs are transforming Roosevelt Island into Pig Island for a...
Read More
Goodbye To Summer
It’s been quite an eventful summer. In just the past few weeks, we’ve had an earthquake and a hurricane, which is more weather action than we New Yorkers have gotten in over a hundred years. We’ve also had some excellent food festivals (Meatopia, Chefs & Champagne), restaurant openings (Baohaus, Tertulia), mourned some big-time closings (Moto, M. Wells) and eaten our way through summer’s bounty of produce. It’s been an amazing few months. Now, with Labor Day upon us, we’ve got...
Read More
Avocado Peeler, Slicer & Pitter
You can never eat too much avocado. Fact. We love guacamole in the summer and avocado slices on our sandwiches all year round. But if you’ve ever tackled an avocado, you know it’s not an easy task. First, you’ve got to peel it without bruising the fruit. Then, you get the pit out, and then you still need to wrestle it off the sharp end of a kitchen knife. Not anymore. This Amco Avocado Slicer (pictured right) has...
Read More
Fast, Foolproof Pie Maker
We’re crazy for pie: Fruit pie, meat pie, pot pie, we like them all. But since making them at home is a chore, we usually hit one of our favorite restaurants or bakeries to get our flaky fix. That is, until we discovered this Breville pie maker (pictured right). This ingenious contraption is no more difficult to use then a panini press or George Foreman grill. Seriously. (It’s almost too easy.) Use the provided pastry cutter to form perfect dough...
Read More
Chinatown Pork Bun Run
One of the greatest things about living in Manhattan is the variety of cuisines at your fingertips. One moment you could be eating your way through a big bowl of bibimbap in Koreatown, the next saganaki in Astoria or twirling noodles on Arthur Avenue. When the craving for a pork bun calls, your best bet is to head south of Canal to Chinatown. We recently found ourselves longing for pork buns, and fortunately for us, there are plenty of...
Read More
New York Crab Crawl
Every summer, we do a city crab crawl, sampling this seasonal crustacean at its best. Years in the making, David Bouley’s Brustroke offers up one of our favorite discoveries — Dungeness crab & salmon roe in a rice pot. 21 Club’s still got some of the best crab cakes in the city and crab cakes, creatively layered with purple basil, squash and zucchini and The Modern’s making an Alaskan king crab cannelloni that’s so good we’ve added it to...
Read MoreCheck out my Book — Try This
Recent Videos
Recently Interviewed
Most Recent Gizmos
