NYC Tastes

The Javits Center was transformed into a food empire last week by the Specialty Food Association's Summer Fancy Food Show; a three day extravaganza of 2,600 exhibitors showcasing 200,000 specialty food products.  It's absolutely impossible to try every single item, but I did my very best. MilkBoy was the big winner this year taking home three Sofie awards. Their milk chocolate with crunchy caramel & sea salt won gold followed by roasted almond and white chocolate with blue potato chips.  I'm a big fan of any kind of chocolate laced with salt, so I found myself at this booth every single day. I'm also a huge fan of butter, so the folks over at  Epicurean Butter  pretty much stole my heart with their thick, creamy varietals like Chili Lime, Black Truffle and Roasted Garlic & Herb. Barcoop Bevy  took home a Sofie award in the Top Innovations category for their Cucumber Mojtio cocktail mix. Along with Sauces 'n Love  for their incredib...

I tend to embarrass myself quite a bit when I'm walking around the city.  I'm klutzy so I trip over things a lot, I'm easily distracted so I also walk into things a lot and I get very excited about things in the moment and tend to scream a lot like I did the other day inside 2Beans when I saw this incredible new delight- the NYC Street Nuts Bar from Chocolat Moderne. Those sweet and salty caramelized peanut, almond and cashews from the NYC Nuts for Nuts carts enrobed in Chocolat Moderne's rich, creamy milk chocolate. Two of my favorite things combined into one incredible bar! Of course it would be my favorite chocolatier in the city who came up with this genius concoction. Joan and her crew at Chocolat Moderne never disappoint and this is truly a New York City classic.   Chocolat Moderne 27 West 20th Suite 904 New York, NY 10010

My favorite chocolatier in the city just released two brand new chocolates; one using the incredible cacao liquor Solbeso. This isn't one of those sickeningly sweet chocolate flavored liqueurs. It's more like a cross between tequila and rum made from the fruity pulp surrounding the cacao bean which has bright tropical flavors of lemon and mango with nutty pecan undertones. Given it's bright lemony flavor this is wonderful on it's own but I enjoy it most in an herbal cocktail like a Rosemary Solbeso gimlet with a twist of blackberry. Chocolat Moderne has infused this spirit into their new Dessert Island bar; a delicious milk chocolate square filled with a creamy caramel of pineapple, mango, passion fruit, lemongrass and of course Solbeso.   It's part of their Avant- Garde series which includes a few of my favorites like the Peanut Pizzazz and Smoked Sea Salt along with holiday season specialties like this dark chocolate Pumpkin Pie...

It's no secret that Chocolat Moderne is my favorite chocolate shop's in city...now they've teamed up with Solbeso to introduce a new spirit into NYC made entirely of fresh cacao! You probably already know that chocolate is derived directly from the seeds of the cacao...but have you ever thought about what happens to all that fruit around the seeds? Look at these huge pieces of cacao fruit... It takes 20-25 of those just to get one kilo of cacao and the rest is usually tossed away.  New World Spirits decided it was time to use that fruit and began distilling the juice from the Cacao to create the first premium white spirit, made entirely from 100% cacao fruit- Solbeso. Of course it only seems right to pair Solbeso which chocolate, so Chocolat Moderne had a little party for the release to see which chocolate paired best with the new liquor.  We went from dark to light and then back to dark again (at least I did)  including two of my favorites of all time...

I've always loved Easter.  Growing up it began with an Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard with my two brothers followed by some serious chocolate and jelly beans from our Easter Baskets.  Then it was off to see relatives- first the Polish side of the family for a brunch of white borscht and potato rolls.  We always had a big thing of butter shaped like a lamb on the table that always confused me.  Then it was over to the Irish side of the family for a classic  dinner of baked ham and scalloped potatoes.  It was a holiday filled with great food and family- what's not to love!  This will be the first time I'm going back home for Easter since I moved here so I'm bringing some delicious treats to share from Chocolat Moderne. The first a Milk Chocolate egg filled with luscious butter caramel and sea salt. The second a White Chocolate egg with a crispy pistachio praline inside and speckled green shell outside. ...

As I looked back on the past year I was seriously humbled by the amount of amazing places I've had the opportunity to enjoy.  I am so lucky to live in this wonderful city and don't take a moment for granted.  Hopefully this will serve as a guide for those of you trying to pick out some tasty meals in 2013.  It's not all new for 2012 but it was all new to me! Enjoy! Best Chocolatier- Chocolat Moderne This little shop on the 9th floor of an office building may be challenging to find but impossible to forget. Joan and her husband are creating incredible combinations such as Dark Chocolate Lime Toffee, Salted Espresso Milk Chocolate Caramel and Kalamto Olive with Sea Salt.  The patterns are almost to beautiful to eat but don't let the look fool you...they're way to delicious to leave for eyes only. Best Brunch (High End)-  Locanda Verde From the warm seasonal doughnuts (think apple cider in fall and fresh blueberry in ...

I was lucky enough to be invited to Chocolat Moderne for a private tasting last week.  I walked in and Joan and her husband gave me a warm greeting like we were old friends.   Since my last visit they've had some incredible success such as winning the Sofie Gold Award for their Lime Moderne Bar.  The bitter dark chocolate and sweet butter toffee seem to meld together perfectly with the addition of acidic lime juice.  But don't stop there... honestly it gets even better. If you like a little kick to your chocolate the Kashmir Spice infused with Cardamon and Cloves would be an excellent choice. I always like a little salty with my sweet so the coarse sea salt bar with almonds was right up my alley.  I almost tried to take this tray home with me :) Another Sofie Award winner was their Karma Sutra Hot Chocolate which placed Silver. But I stuck with the signature chocolates when ...