NYC Tastes

I love the month of October for so many reasons.  There's a nice brisk chill in the air, Sundays are consumed with football and fantastic wine events start popping up all over the city.  Here are two great picks for the month ahead: James Suckling Great Wines of the Andes Experience the incredible wine regions of Chili and Argentina right here in New York City at Great Wines of the Andes.  Over 140 wines hand picked by James Suckling with a score of 90 points or higher (two which have the perfect score of 100 points) will be on hand with delicious grape varieties like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Malbec.  This is the perfect opportunity to take Andes exploration to a whole new level.  Tickets Spain's Great Match Spain's Great Match returns to New York for it's 25th year to celebrate the food and wine of this fantastic country.  Explore their award winning interior design program while some of NYC's top Spanish restaurants pair deligh...

Le Coucou is the newest Stephen Starr restaurant to grace the NYC dining scene.  It's been getting rave reviews since opening last year and most recently took home the James Beard award for Best New Restaurant in May.   The space is absolutely gorgeous.  The entryway is flanked by a beautiful bar to the right with fresh flowers and citrus fruits and a dining room to the left, bright and crisp with long rays of sunshine streaming through the windows onto the white linen tablecloths. I was seated in the middle of the dining room with direct view of the open kitchen in back.  A warm  basket of bread to begin studded with toasted sesame seeds and freshly churned Vermont butter.   Le Coucou offers a two course prix fixe menu at lunch time with an ever changing choice of dishes like Grilled Leeks with hazelnuts, Fried Montauk Eel and Halibut in buerre blanc. I chose the Charred Asparagus with Big Eye Tuna sashimi for my first cours...