HUGE rib eyes
I was invited back on March 4th (yes, I know I’m really behind) to attend a dinner and food demonstration at Fairway Café with Mitchel London leading the show – well, co-starring since this class is called “Mitchel & Me.” The “me” is Dan Glickberg, the 4th generation owner of Fairway. (It’s a family-run business, in case you didn’t know.) I thought it was cool since I do like his most of his baked goods over at Mitchel London Foods.
Mitchel whistling
Walking through the mosh-pit like crowds and lines in Fairway Market, I finally made it upstairs where it’s relatively quieter and see Mr. London and others prepping for the show. As the attendees of this demo and dinner gathered up, I’ve noticed that Mitchel is pretty much calm as time ticks closer to starting time. As you see the photo above, he’s whistling and I heard Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. (It helps that I listen classical music often.)
He’s passing out the apps
When it’s about five minutes to the actual starting of the class, Mitchel passed out napkins and an appetizer – buttery, flaky puff pastries filled with a shrimp and herbed cream sauce. I don’t recall what was the name but that’s all I remembered eating and tasting. All I could think of while eating this thing was the word, “decadent.”
Dan (the “Me” portion of this demo) and Mitchel
Eventually, Mitchel and Dan officially introduced themselves and chatted up a bit about Fairway, Mitchel and shared anecdotes that they had in their past together and of recent.
The menu for the evening consisted of rib eye steak for two (but what they’ve demonstrated, as you’ve seen from the first photo, could feed three or four), Caesar salad (done Mitchel’s way), potatoes au gratin, and apple tatin. Here’s three groups of photo splodges to give you a gist of what happened during the class. I know my descriptions won’t help you much.
Prepping and the final result of the apple tatins
Extra cream (literally) potatoes au gratin
Mammoth-sized rib eyes that I wanted to eat
Once Mitchel was done plating the rib eyes, it was time for dinner. Woot. My stomach was running on empty and I was very tempted to take the plate that’s closest to me.
It’s dinner rush
While everyone started to mingle at their own tables, the waiters started to collect the orders of each table, indicating how would one like to have their steak done. Since I don’t have anything better to do (though I do have Helen in tow), I walked up and around to take a peek at kitchen – seeing Mitchel working on the Caesar salad, the cooks waiting for the orders, etc. It’s pretty hectic yet very energetic in both the dining room and the kitchen.
The wine that I haven’t tasted :(
When the wine guy started to talk about what’s being served for the evening, he mentioned a rosé wine that should be accompanied with the salad. However, they ran out so quickly that not every person or table, including mine, gets to try it. I was disappointed. I love a good rosé.
Wines for the steak
But at least my table had the reds to ourselves. The Cabernet from Lava Cap was delicious solo. It was subtly sweet with a fruity, dry finish. The Malbec from Ique was dry and tannic by itself. When you try the steak and the Malbec, it works out well and I’ve grown to like it.
My dinner
As what was demonstrated earlier, this was dinner: slices of hearty, tender rib eye steak that is cooked more rarer than medium-rare, which is fine in my book and a generous portion of sinfully creamy potatoes au gratin. Sure, it’s a gut buster and will shorten my life span by a few years but it’s worth it.
Mitchel ensured us that in case we don’t have enough fats in our bodies that evening, he gave us a slab of apple tatin, served with crème fraîche. The tatin was served warm, crisp on the edges, and the Granny Smith apples was a good contrast for the buttery puff pastry.
It was a fun and good evening. Too bad it was late and it was a weekday that I would’ve taken Helen to Grom for gelato.
Address:
Mitchel & Me Cooking Class and Dinner at Fairway Market & Café
2427 Broadway, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10023
Great article, and great pictures! Thanks for sharing.
I found some video of another “Mitchel & Me” webisode on this very cool site:
http://www.discoverfairway.com/
Absolutely superb pictures as usual. I am not a huge meat eater but these make me want to run out and buy a great bloody steak or Pork shoulder. The Macaroon pics are awesome too. I have to hit Tafu and try some of their other sweets as I work close by… Thanks!
you had me at … “buttery, flaky puff pastries filled with a shrimp and herbed cream sauce…” YUMMY!