NYC Tastes

It was a fabulous night of all things pork, wine and food chatting at Osteria del Principe this week hosted by the wonderful folks at  Tabelog  and  Joios!  Principe is actually the flagship store and first restaurant opened by world class prosciutto manufacturer Principi di San Daniele; making this the place to be for Italian meat, cheese and wine. The main attraction of course is the San Daniele prosciutto aged for 14, 16 or 20 months.  I highly recommend the 20 month "Secolo" for its gorgeous red ribbons and silky smooth texture. There's also Parma prosciutto wrapped around thick chunks of ripe cantaloupe and a bright summery Burrata Caprese Salad with dollops of fresh pesto. Of course there's more to salumi world than just prosciutto like smoked speck, spicy mortadella and a fantastic Tartufotto ham infused with truffles. For a full meal there's an array of primi and secondi like Homemade Tagliolino topped with prosciutto San Daniele, cream and ...

Tabelog hosted a fabulous event last week, celebrating the winners of their Spring 2014 Restaurant awards at Skal.  This cozy Scandinavian restaurant is located on the edge of Chinatown and helmed by Chef Ben Spiegel (formerly of Noma fame).  He created a special seven course tasting that showcased the elements of Nordic cuisine.  Here's a look at the line up: Pickles- Seasonal vegetables in their own Brine Wellfleet Oysters- Verjus and Chamomille Salt Cod Croquettes- Horseradish Remoulade Heirloom Carrots- Burned Honey, Buttermilk and Dill Raw Beef- Fermented Ramps, Littleneck Clams and Sorrel Smoked Mackerel- Onions Steamed in Whey and Foie Gras Long Island Duck Wings- Mussels and Red Seaweed Everything was wonderful...my favorites of the night being the raw beef and ramps (of course) and the unique, savory flavor of the smoked mackerel with foie gras.  It was wonderful to speak with the chef himself and th...

Tabelog hosted a fantastic event last week at the Japanese restaurant Jukai.  This place is certainly transporting...it feels like a cozy den nestled far away somewhere instead of smack dab in  Midtown Manhattan.  We started with a variety of small plates, my favorite being the Smoked Duck with Jamon Iberico and Persimmon. I'm not a big fan of fruit and meat together but this really worked in some strange way. I absolutely love beef carpaccio so this starter was another huge winner for me...well marbled with just the right amount of seasoning.  Onto the main tasting the best dish of the night was probably the Spanish Mackerel. It was topped with ground radish and crispy adobo which gave each bite a snappy crunch. Everyone was raving about these enormous Pacific Oysters. I have a size limit for these guys and this one maxed that out by about 10 so I passed. Lucky for me they started cooking the Shabu Shabu right away and the broth s...

Tabelog is Japan's top food review site and it's just been launched here in New York.  The website held a round of Food Blogger Restaurant Awards of which I was asked to be a judge.  To celebrate the awards the judge's panel was invited to Sakemai in the Lower East Side for a fabulous tasting of food and drink.  There were so many wonderful dishes, my favorite of the night being a spin on the classic beef tartare. Chef Akiyama of Sakemai used filet mignon and topped it with uni, wasabi mascarpone, crushed poached egg and a side of brioche.  Uni, filet and egg... three of my  favorite things... Another favorite of the night was the Tsukune Slider made with a Chicken Meatball, foie gras, caramelized onion and harissa aioli.  The foie gras melted right into the meatball and even though it was pretty messy to eat, it was totally worth it for the flavor. I'm not sure what I felt about the Carrot Puree, dashi gelee and summer truffle.  I lik...