|
|||||
 |
After the lazy, hazy days of summer are coming to an end, people are returning back from their vacations and get back to business. Even the chefs are getting their game on to strut their stuff and show it to the public. Here are some events that are for the food loving people in NYC. StarChefs.com 2010 [...] As some of you, my readers, I have mixed feelings about brunch. I do love having a relaxed daytime, weekend meal at a restaurant but I dislike the fact of seeing ordinary breakfast food that I can make at home. Thankfully, since I’m in the melting pot of culture and restaurants in New York City, there’s hope for me.
Stumbling upon Mercadito’s email about their brunch* it seemed like a good idea to try a Mexican brunch. I managed to convince my brother to get out of his apartment the past Sunday and meet up with him there. Standing in front of this narrow restaurant that’s pretty easily standing out from the rest on this part of Avenue B, it’s already filled with diners. And it’s a few minutes past 12 PM.
We started brunch with fruit flavored mimosas. (They serve off a prix fixe menu of $19 consisting of a fruit mimosa or cafe con leche, an entrée that comes with rice and beans.) The three featured were strawberry, mango, and pineapple. Both were good, bubbly drinks and you can tell they use real fruit instead of a mix. I would prefer the pulp being puréed or muddled down a bit more so I won’t have a large chunk of fruit in my mouth. To go along with the drinks, we ordered the trio of guacamoles (traditional, pineapple, and mango) and fresh tortilla chips. All the guacamoles were fresh and delicious. I prefer the traditional but the mango (the brown colored one) was quite memorable for being the pretty unusual (a darker, sweet-savory guacamole). It’s been three years since I ate at Del Posto. Back then, it was still considered an ambitious restaurant with its grand space with an enoteca, a sort of bar/lounge space that’s considered the casual portion of the restaurant, co-owned by superstar chefs Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich, and her son, Joseph Bastianich. In winter 2009, Del Posto renovated the space to get rid of the enoteca and make it as luxurious as the dining room itself with a greater ambition to get the coveted 4-star rating from the NY Times. Since then, I haven’t been to Del Posto as my eyes (and stomach) shifted to other places I haven’t eaten yet. A good friend of mine, Dr. Y has expressed interest to eat here before he leaves New York City back to his home state of sunny California in a few months.
As we entered the sumptuous lobby, the host greeted us and took us directly to our table. Sitting down on the plush cushioned banquette, I looked at the entire dining room: dark mahogany wood contrasted with lemon yellow walls and touches of marble. Heavy drapes on the windows to hide the bright afternoon sun on a hot July day. Carpeted floors to hush the footsteps of servers and diners as they walk on by.
Celebrating my brother’s 23rd birthday early, as he is a newly minted MBA/CPA-certified auditor at a prestigious Midtown firm, my parents and I thought it was a good idea to go to Adour: Alain Ducasse at the St. Regis New York. It’s been awarded as a 1* Michelin restaurant and the NY Times back in 2008 granted them a 3* rating. I reserved a table and hoped that it’s good during Restaurant Week given to what it’s been awarded. Hearing good things about Maialino, I cannot help but make a reservation during Restaurant Week when I found out they are participating. It’s inexpensive compared to what one would pay for lunch, as most of their pastas hover in the upper teens, as the main courses are in the twenty dollar range. And it’s run by Danny Meyer’s restaurant group, generally speaking over my many years of eating out, a bad experience is rarely encountered. I’ve asked three friends to join me and we’re all hungry, anticipating greatness as to what Chef Anderer’s kitchen has in store.
Entering the dark lobby of the Gramercy Park Hotel yet as I’m into the bar area, the bar and dining area are bright and rustic with dark walnut wood. It feels pretty cozy. I’m putting my Parisian vacation experience on pause for now, to bring us back to NYC in a more current time setting. Scenes from different rooms On Thursday, June 24th, I attended the 4th Annual NYC Food Film Festival: Brad Farmerie’s Southeast Street Food Asian Market at the Astor Center. It’s an food event featuring dishes [...] This will be my last post until I come back from my vacation to Paris in early June, as I’m leaving New York City on Monday. Over the extent of that time, please look at my Flickr just to see touristy photos as well as food porn.
My family and I wanted to celebrate my brother’s graduation from graduate school (he earned a MBA in Accounting and now a newly minted, qualified CPA, as he told me this morning) and ended up going to Jo’s in Nolita. We desired to have a casual dinner amongst us and have a few celebratory drinks for this honor. (Coincidentally enough, it’s Jo’s first year in its existence.)
As a born and bred native New Yorker, I don’t exactly understand the concept of brunch. Brunch to me is basically another way to sneak in more alcohol into your system even though you had your fill of poison the night (or two, if you started on Friday) before and eat somewhat bland food during the late morning to the late afternoon in hopes to get rid of hangover or induce yourself to another drunken stupor. Since I don’t drink that much and I care more about the food, I haven’t encounter brunch food that I truly enjoyed. Until now. Continue reading “Brunch I Actually Enjoyed: ilili Restaurant” » Back on Thursday, April 29th, I attended Lucky Rice Festival’s Opening Night Cocktail Party at the Bowery Hotel hosted by Kelly Choi. Being that this was my first time to visit this hotel’s bar, I’m pretty excited as I read it’s spacious and gorgeous venue. (Thanks to Lucky Rice for inviting me to this event.) By chance, I have met three lovely women, who happened to be food bloggers, Julie of Peek & Eat and Amy of Amy Blogs Chow, and Jessica of Food Mayhem, as we’re all waited on-line and gotten a chance to hang out with them for the night.
Continue reading “Lucky Rice Festival’s Opening Night Cocktail Party” »
Last week, La Maison du Chocolat kindly invited me to their chocolate tasting session called Paracours Initiatique: Tamanaco. It’s a nice, intimate setting in the back of their Upper East Side boutique’s café; adorned in handsome warm wood and a marble topped bar off to the right.
Also, the adorable jungle-themed Easter decorations add a bit of playful flair to the grown-up setting. It’s edible, by the way. It’s made of molded, colored white chocolate with milks and dark chocolates. Improve the web with Nofollow Reciprocity. |
 |
|||
|
Copyright © 2010 The Wandering Eater - All Rights Reserved |
|||||
