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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.
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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…
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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…
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Make your Own Shamrock Shake and other St. Patrick's Day Sweets
It’s about that time of year when a few, lucky states get the Shamrock Shake and the rest of us just get another, Shamrock-less McDonald’s. You could sulk or plan a layover in Utah for a green milkshake, or you could just make one at home with milk, ice cream, and food dye. This year, we’ve gotten more creative and healthy with our food coloring by adding mint, spinach, or an extra thick shake with avocado. You can...
Read MoreWeighing In On Eatery Expert
Over the past few years, I’ve become a Dear Abby of the food sorts. It wasn’t something I advertised, but when you write about restaurants, you become an obvious resource for advice for the majority of eaters who can’t afford a personal restaurant concierge. I would get emails from people asking where to their wife for a 30th anniversary or a first date suggestion with a vegetarian or the best Thai restaurant in the city. I couldn’t ignore a...
Read MoreOlive Stuffer
Visit Spain or your nearest tapas bar and you’ll find olives stuffed with everything from blue cheese to marcona almonds to anchovies. And just because you’re entertaining at home, doesn’t mean you have to settle for the pre-stuffed, jarred variety. Few people (myself included) have the time or the patience to stuff each olive, individually by hand. Which is why we fell for the Olivator (pictured right,) which does the stuffing for you. Use the hollow end to core...
Read MoreQ & A with Cesare Casella
If you see a chef wtih fresh rosemary in his shirt pocket, it’s Cesare Casella. “I think the Italian cuisine in New York has improved a lot over the past two decades. Most of the time the Italian food here can be even better than you find in Italy,” Casella asserts. One of New York’s quirkier chefs, the chef drew attention at Beppe with his unorthodox Tuscan cooking before opening Salumeria Rosi Parmacotta on the Upper West Side. He...
Read MoreNew York’s Best Tables for One
We all eat alone. Whether it be delivery on the couch or lunch at your desk, sometimes foodie calls aren’t an option. You can’t always grab a friend every time you’re hungry. Unless it’s a burger at the local bar, most people still don’t feel comfortable dining out alone. Some of of the best restaurants in the city are near impossible to get into, but for a party of one, take that seat at the bar and enjoy the people watching ....
Read MoreCraftbar's White Anchovy Bruschetta
By Chef de cuisine Lauren Hirschberg(Serves 4) Ingredients: 24 pieces of marinated white anchovies Country bread cut into 1” slices 4 whole eggs 2 whole leeks 1 ½ cup olive oil 1 Tbsp chopped parsley 1 Tbsp chopped chives 1 clove garlic For the Aioli: 1 cup olive oil 1 whole lemon, zested and juice reserved 1 egg yolk Salt and pepper to taste Procedure: 1) To cook the eggs, bring a pot of water to a boil and...
Read MoreGarlic Slicer
The recent revolt against salt has me thinking that garlic might be the new salt. Garlic boosts the flavor of everything from pasta sauce to roasted chicken to soup. There’s just one drawback: Cutting the cloves. Not only is it time consuming, but it’s also nearly impossible to get uniform slivers. But the worst part is what I call “garlic hands” — the smell that lingers on your skin no matter how much you wash them. This garlic slicer...
Read MoreQ & A with Riccardo Buitoni
Riccardo Buitoni isn’t an Italian-American chef raised in an Italian family on American soil. He’s the real deal. Born in Piedmont, Italy, he learned his craft on Italian soil, making fresh pasta with his mother. His first cooking job was at a local restaurant in his hometown. From there, Buitino cooked his way through London, with a stint at a five-star restaurant in Sardinia, before landing in New York in Tocqueville’s kitchen. Buitino fell in love with Williamsburg...
Read MoreShandy Cocktail on The Rise
By RG writer -- Caitlin Decker This winter has given rise to a warming trend on the restaurant front. First, it was fish shack and now, cocktail menus are showing signs of spring fever, like the gimlet, negroni, and Bee's Knees. More importantly, we've noticed the sudden revival of the beer-based Shandy Cocktail. Considering the recent popularity of beer halls gardens, it’s no surprise that beer is claiming territory on cocktail menus as well. The Shandy was first...
Read MoreThe Future of Coffee & Tea
I stopped by the annual Coffee & Tea Festival, expecting to see notables, like Mud, Stumptown, and Gorilla, but no dice. I did find surprisingly good, tea gummy bears and green tea latte dusted almonds made by Tavalon. More importantly, I discovered the future of both tea and coffee brewing is gravity. Credit where credit is due: Teavana was way ahead on this trend. A few years ago, I bought their “Perfect Tea Maker,” which operates under the same...
Read MoreThe Vanderbilt's Baked Egg with Polenta and Piperade
By Executive Chef & Owner Saul Bolton (Serves 8) Ingredients: 8 eggs 10 red bell peppers 10 yellow bell peppers 2 lg Spanish onions 1 head garlic 3 sprigs basil (leaves picked and coarsely chopped) ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 cup polenta 2.5 cup milk 2 T butter ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese Salt and pepper to taste Procedure: 1) Bring the milk and butter to a simmer and add the polenta, season with salt and pepper...
Read MoreThe Hungry in America & Feed Fundraiser
This Sunday, February 21st, Tom Colicchio & Natalie Portman will co-host a fundraiser for The Hungry In America Project, which documents the immense poverty in our own backyard. Filmmakers, Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson, have set out to expose the prevalence of hunger across America. FEED USA joins Vanity Fair to raise funds for The Hungry in America Project, FEED’S first American initiative. The event takes place this Sunday at Colicchio & Sons, located at 85 Tenth Avenue, from...
Read MoreDIY Movie Popcorn
All the snow has forced me into my annual hibernation. The only thing I feel like leaving the house for on the weekends is dinner and a movie. Sometimes, the whole puffy jacket, hat, glove, scarf routine feels like too much trouble. Besides, movie night at home is much less expensive. The only missing is movie popcorn and microwave popcorn just isn’t the same.You can buy a movie popcorn maker for a couple hundred dollars if you plan on...
Read MoreNewfangled Finger Foods
By RG Writer: Agatha Khishchenko Who doesn’t love eating with their hands? How fun would it be to share an utensil-free dinner with someone? It’s not as hard as you think. We’re not talking about fast food. Several great restaurants and chefs are putting a refined spin on finger foods in every genre of cooking. If you’re craving Indian, Tabla’s got tandoori-fired black pepper prawns There’s southern hush puppies at Tipsy Parson, fried pork scratchings at Breslin,...
Read MoreApotheke's Smoky Love Cocktail
By Mixologist Orson Salicetti We’ve still got a few weeks until February 14th, but we’ve been getting lots of requests for romantic elixirs to mix up for Valentine’s Day, so we consulted a few the experts at Apotheke for this sexy, smoky take on the subect. Most people don’t have tamarind-infused mezcal in the house, so the only prep work you have is to add the tamarind to the mezcal the night, or even better, a few days before...
Read MoreC-CAP's 20th Anniversary Celebration
There are many wonderful causes, but this one is close to my heart. C-CAP awards scholarships to talented, underprivileged students to attend culinary school. On February 24th, C-CAP will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary at Pier 60 in Chelsea. This year’s benefit will honor chef Marcus Samuelsson for his contributions and dedication to C-CAP. Dan Barber, MIchael White, Dominique Ansel, Alfred Portale, and Bill Telepan, along with many other chefs, will be serving up their culinary creations. Tickets...
Read MoreMini Heart Baking Molds
Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a couples-only holiday. (Don’t you feel better now?) It’s a perfect excuse to bake for your family and friends. Which is why we love these heart-shaped molds. You can turn your baked specialty into a homemade Valentine’s Day gift. This mold makes 12 mini heart-shaped brownies, cakes, chocolates, or whatever else you can think up. The silicon pan is lightweight and super flexible for easy removal. You can even make a mixed...
Read MoreQ & A with Eleven Madison Park’s Angela Pinkerton
Until recently, Daniel Humm oversaw both the dinner and dessert menu at Eleven Madison Park, one of NYC’s most spectacular restaurants. But what most people don’t know is that Angela Pinkerton was working right alongside him in the kitchen for over two years. In September, Humm handed over the reigns to Pinkerton, who was named executive pastry chef. The former biology major is no stranger to the culinary sciences. She worked as a clerk in a bakery...
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