AlwaysHolidays: Petrossian Gifts
December 01, 2009
Petrossian Caviar Samplers.
At Petrossian’s Annual Holiday Breakfast last month, the restaurant displayed caviar samplers and gift baskets. If you want to splash out on high-end gifts this holiday season, these could be the way to go.
Choose from big ticket items, like a certificate for six months of caviar, and the Swarovski Crystal Caviar Presentoir with Caviar, or opt for the smaller Petit Petrossian if you need a stocking stuffer with real “wow” factor.
AlwaysPartying: Petrossian’s Annual Holiday Breakfast
Arthur Bovino — November 02, 2009
Pressed Caviar. Left, Petrossian seal on the door of the New York Boutique & Café. Right, Petrossian.
Can it be November already? We spotted our first Christmas tree last Tuesday so it really must be time to gear up for the end of the year. It was a little easier to acknowledge how little left there is of 2009 while sampling from an open tin of Pressed Caviar at Petrossian (view) during its Annual Holiday Breakfast last Thursday. Alexandre Petrossian introduced pastry chef, Antoine Luchene (right), Petrossian’s Pressed Caviar (which launches Friday), holiday gift baskets and caviar samplers that will be featured next week on AlwaysHungryNY.com.
Click for AlwaysHungryNY.com's Pictures and Slideshow of Petrossian Caviar and Pastries >>
Maintaining the Grade: Momofuku Ko
Arthur Bovino & The Hungry Goat — September 09, 2009
We lucked out and scored a coveted reservation for dinner last night at Momofuku Ko (restaurant page). Taking pictures of composed plates is still banned so we annotated the meal with grades in the Dish by Dish style of two AlwaysHungryNY.com meals there in February.
AlwaysPartying: Oyster Odyssey
Arthur Bovino — August 05, 2009
The John Dory’s Hangtown Fry ($17) is served during brunch.
New York City is a great place for raw bar and fried oysters (see AHNY’s National Oyster Day post). As delicious as these oyster preparations are, other classic and interesting preparations shouldn’t be missed. Take the Hangtown Fry, an oyster and bacon omelette made famous in California during the Gold Rush. Its origin is one of those epic food myths.
It starts in a place forty miles east of Sacramento that was called Dry Diggins until three desperadoes were hanged from the town’s giant oak tree, after which it became Hangtown. Supposedly, in 1849 a miner who had found gold walked into the El Dorado Hotel across the street from the tree and asked the bartender for the most expensive meal possible. The result was a combination of bacon from the East, eggs from the coast and oysters that had been packed on ice and brought in from the San Francisco Bay.
The dish outlasted the town’s name and the hotel. Today, Hangtown is known as Placerville, and the El Dorado was replaced in 1857 after burning down a year before, by the The Cary House Hotel, which still stands. Allegedly one of the only places in town to regularly serves the Hangtown Fry is Chuck’s Restaurant. But that’s okay because you don’t have to go to California to strike culinary gold.
The John Dory’s rendition has to rank up there with the city’s best egg dishes. Eggs are creamy. Bacon is substituted with a thick prosciutto that has the texture of tender corned beef. Slices of pickled jalapeño add bursts of a light vinegary flavor and heat also spread throughout the dish. The oysters are only slightly cooked. The pooled flavors lining the plate’s bottom when you finish are worth wiping up with the delicious Parker House rolls.
The Hangtown Fry is just one of New York City’s many notable oyster dishes on the following Oyster Odyssey that a true bivalve-lover should try to check off their list.
Click to see AHNY's checklist of New York City's notable oyster dishes. >>
FirstLook: Mari Vanna
Jeff Zalaznick — July 31, 2009
Mari Vanna, the new private Russian dinner club at 41 E 20th Street.
We recently got a first look inside Mari Vanna (restaurant page), the new exclusive Russian restaurant that has made a home next door to Veritas. That makes sense, as the place is meant to feel like someone’s home, and has been designed (down to the bathroom, below) with chandeliers, fine china, and glassware that you might find in your babushka’s living room.
Pictures, clippings and other homey touches in the proudly-touted bathroom at Mari Vanna.
According to the restaurant, Mari Vanna (pronounced marijuana, which can’t be overlooked) was a woman in Moscow who hosted extravagant, private dinners in her home. The people who Mari Vanna deemed worthy of eating with her were given keys, so that they could access the apartment. Successful in Moscow, this private dinner club concept was brought to St. Petersburg, and was an instant phenomenon there as well. Now, the same team has come to New York to bring this private Russian dinner party vibe to 20th Street. The goal of Mari Vanna is “to bring Russian food to New York.” They are trying to educate New Yorkers about what real, good Russian food is. Not the old-school, New York City variety found at Brighton Beach or the touristy stuff at the Russian Tea Room, but a lighter, healthier version of Russian food. As the staff noted to me, Russian food is “not necessarily heavy, and not necessarily borscht.”
Don’t worry, the exclusive “key” concept will be coming as well. The restaurant is carefully hand-selecting those who are worthy of such an honor. A key will give you entry and priority treatment at any time, just like it did at the house of Mari Vanna in Moscow. The restaurant is currently hosting private dinners (you need a key), but should be open to the public in September.
Pineapple-Infused Vodka
My visit began (and continued) with a tasting of the housemade infused vodkas (of course). On my trip they were offering watermelon, ginger honey, and the best, pineapple. I have a long history with pineapple-infused vodka (long story, different time), but this is a fabulous rendition. Just the right amount of sweetness so that you still know that you are boozing. They serve it by the shot or carafe(s).
Blinis with Red Caviar (30 gr)
The pancakes were one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. They are a perfectly doughy, pancake-crêpes hybrid. They are incredible eaten alone, with the red caviar which with they are served, and would definitely succeed with some maple syrup and butter in the morning. This dish is incredibly good though, and the quality of Mari Vanna’s salmon roe was on the level of a fabulously fresh ikura. On a side note, in true Russian fashion, if you want to take this dish to the next level, they will allow you to bring your own caviar.
FirstLook: SHO Shaun Hergatt
The Gluttoness — June 08, 2009
It’s rare that I’m speechless, but last Thursday night’s preview dinner at SHO Shaun Hergatt stunned me into my first satisfied oblivion of 2009. Executive Chef Sean Hergatt has spent two years turning the concrete canvas within The Setai New York into a modern Asian masterpiece with simple elegance and ruby red accents. An expansive glass wall separates diners from the theatrics of the grand kitchen and many of the tables face Hergatt’s “stage” where he commands his dutiful “players.” You witness meticulousness then taste it.
The striking décor is matched by the drama of SHO’s impeccable food, which the chef described as “Asian-accented, modern French cuisine.” Hergatt is a brawny Australian with a sweet smile—the unexpected artist behind brilliantly feminine dishes that are as artistically inclined as they are sophisticated in flavor. There’s a continual dance between delicacy and decadence. Riveting taste always wins, but it’s the manner in which it’s achieved that is so interesting.
Duo of Canapes: Crêpe w/ Tobiko & Sour Cream over Lime & Sesame Seed Tuille w/ Whitefish Tartare
Two velvety crêpes were filled with tobiko and sour cream, then tied in purses, served over thin slices of lime and topped with gold leaf. Two sesame seed tuilles were rolled like cigars and stuffed with whitefish tartare. There was an impressive equilibrium between the rich insides and the subtle exteriors.
Click here for AlwaysHungry's full First Look at Sho Shaun Hergatt >>
HungryHamptons: Memorial Weekend Food Gifts
Jeff Zalaznick — May 22, 2009
If you are staying at a friend’s out East this Weekend, it is important not to show up empty-handed. It is even more important that you bring something that has to do with food. Despite these economic times, it is still important to bring something over the top, so here are three recession-friendly alternatives to the bank-breaking lobster salad, wagyu beef and caviar, that you used to bring.
1. Wagyu Beef from Japan Premium Beef
To me, Memorial Day Weekend means one thing: that it is time for me to go back to the place that I feel most comfortable. The place where I can really be myself. That place, is behind the grill. As a guest, there is nothing better than showing up with some prime cuts to help this process along. In my mind there is no better gift. If you used to bring American Wagyu Dry-Aged Boneless Ribeyes from Lobel’s Prime Meats (around $100 for 12 ounces), then this year switch to the 12-oz Washugyu Ribeyes from the newly opened Japan Premium Beef (57 Great Jones Street), which are available for around $70. If you want to be even more creative, choose from their impeccable array of other Washugyu cuts. Sixteen ounces of ground beef costs a reasonable $7.99, and could definitely make for some good burgers.
Dish by Dish: L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Jeff Zalaznick — May 18, 2009
Les Burgers
Beef & Foie Gras Burgers with Caramelized Bell Peppers
It seemed as if I had missed the work of Chef Joël Robuchon when he closed, Jamin, his small, three Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris. I had never been. The food became something that I dreamed about, his famous mashed potatoes, purée de pommes de terre, haunted me in my sleep. Lucky enough, my prayers were answered, and six years after retiring, Robuchon’s L’Ateliers began popping up. First in Tokyo, then Paris, Las Vegas, and finally at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City.
They could not have found a better home for L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. The bar at the Four Seasons has always been a power drinking scene, but it had never really had the food to go with it. A Michelin-rated restaurant where one can order Asian and French influenced cuisine from one of the world’s most renowned French chefs seemed to fit the bill. As the location will reinforce though, this restaurant blurs the distinction between bar and restaurant, just as it does between bar food and fancy french. Over half of the menu is offered as small plates, including a game-changing rendition of sliders topped with seared foie gras (pictured above). This dish could be interpreted as a symbol for the restaurant as a whole.
The remarkable presentations, ingredients and flavors of Chef Joël Robuchon’s cuisine consistently impress, and since they opened in 2006, there is no question that L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon is one of New York’s best restaurants. It is what it’s supposed to be—excellent— and it does what it’s supposed to do: fine dining with out the fancy. It could be that you can sit at one of the twenty bar seats and watch Robuchon-protegé and genius in his own right, Yosuke Suga at work, or it might be that you can order an entire meal as tapas, but either way it is incredibly successful at making you feel comfortable eating foie gras in your jeans. And everyone is served a dish of mashed potatoes alongside the meal.
The world has gained more Ateliers (London and Hong Kong) since, and there is another one planned to open in Philadelphia in 2010. If you have one in your city, and enough money in your wallet, go there now.
Signature Small Plates: Les Burgers (Sliders), L’Anguille (Caramelized Eel Layered with Smoked Foie Gras), Le Calamar (Sautéed Squid with Violet Artichokes & Chorizo in Tomato Water)
AlwaysHungryNY: The Cardinal Club
The Gluttoness — May 11, 2009
Ever invited friends over for dinner, cooked them a fantastic meal and bathed in their rave reviews, seriously considering charging for your food as they suggest? We recently dined at the home of one entrepreneurial couple who followed through on the idea. You may have heard of this before. The New York Times called similar dinners, anti-restaurants. The couple, Simon & Paula (both 27), who prepared our meal, call their kitchen turned restaurant, The Cardinal Club. Running a dinner club was a natural evolution considering the couple’s passion for food and the hosting capabilities their garden apartment allows them. Inspired by Spring and an incredible meal that Jeff had attended at the club the week before, he insisted that the CORE return to experience this special place.
The couple named their dinner club for the cardinals that frequent their backyard. They transformed their ample garden into a clandestine dining sanctuary where friends can enjoy a leisurely meal in a homey, relaxing environment—an amazing alternative to the chaos of dining out in New York City. The warm glow of the romantic garden was compliments of Christmas lights and candles. There were plants, trees and flowers, but also fresh herbs, grown for use in Cardinal Club meals. Inside, a vintage record player spun an eclectic mix of tunes, from South African jazz like Startime with the Dark City Sisters to Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele. You couldn’t help but instantly feel blessed to be aware of this hidden gem.
To keep the Cardinal Club private, Simon and Paula (both graduates of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts), only serve one party per evening (up to 6 guests fit comfortably) and all groups must be recommended by former diners. Diners can choose to have three to six course menus. The cost per person is: $50 for three courses, $60 for four courses, $75 for five courses and $90 for six courses. Every menu is ingredient-driven and relies on French execution. The dinners are always BYOB, so we brought two different sangrias, made using AlwaysHungryNY recipes.
Simon, our cook for the evening, acquired his culinary experience at one of the first acclaimed French restaurants in the Southwest, Vincent on Camelback, in Phoenix, Arizona. Simon learned a lot while working there under Chef Vincent Guerithault, but he is still largely self-taught. He has an impeccable knack for combining seasonal and seldom-used ingredients. He thoroughly sources ingredients from the Union Square Green Market, specialty restaurant suppliers and renowned purveyors. He gets his meat from Esposito’s Pork Store, and his fish from The Lobster Place, for example.
Paula, our Argentinean-bred hostess served us consummately—lighting candles and refilling drinks. She even went the extra measure by serving things on a silver platter. While she doesn’t participate in the cooking, her South American background surely influences his cuisine.
Dish by Dish: Per Se
Jeff Zalaznick — February 25, 2009
Amuse Bouche: Salmon Tartare Cornets
1st Course: “Oysters and Pearls”
“Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar
2nd Course: “Scrambled Eggs”
Sautéed Sweetbreads with Slow-Cooked Black Truffle Scrambled Eggs
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