AlwaysPartying: Fatty Crab UWS Turns One

Arthur Bovino — March 04, 2010

Clockwise from top: Lamb Breast Sandwich with Lemon-Garlic Emulsion from Fatty ‘Cue, the scene at the bar at Fatty Crab UWS, T-Shirt from the upcoming Fatty ‘Cue.

Last night the Fatty boys celebrated the one year anniversary of Fatty Crab UWS in full-flavored fashion. Among the bites and booze flowing there were previews of two Fatty ‘Cue cocktails (The ‘Cue and the Hunter S) and three dishes. The bartenders worked furiously to send out Fatty cocktails like the Chupacabra, the Dark & Stormy, and the Fat & Dirty, with champagne bottles at the ready. “Maybe save those for later?” someone suggested. “When’s later?” flew back the response with a smile.

Speaking of later, what about the ever-elusive Fatty ‘Cue opening date? Three days? Three weeks? Three months? Rumors floated among the packed revelers in the dining room, but in the VIP room (the doorway to the kitchen) the guys could be overheard being more concerned (at least for the night) with the next round of Malpeque oyster shooters, and making sure that drinks were being distributed en masse to party-goers who were having trouble bellying up to the bar. Whenever the opening is, we’ll be there to get some more of that lamb breast sandwich.

More Fatty 'Cue Preview Photographs >>

AlwaysSoBe: Best of the Best

February 27, 2010

Clockwise from top: Blackberry Farm’s Pulled Pork Shoulder, FIG’s Crispy Pork Trotters, Corton’s Chilled Shellfish Consommé, and Sola’s Wagyu New York Steak, Fingerling, and Oxtail Hash.

Last night’s Best of the Best grand tasting event hosted by Wine Spectator at the Fontainebleau Hotel delivered on its promise of gastronomic excellence. Chefs from over forty of the country’s most highly regarded restaurants prepared their best small plates. Braised meats, foie gras, scallops, pork (of course), oxtail, lobster—all were major players.

Chef Morimoto displayed Iron Chef-like agility and speed in plating his Glazed Pork Kakuni with Congee, the evening’s best dish. It was sophisticated and comforting. Beast’s chef, Naomi Pomeroy, nailed her foie gras as dessert concept with a savory, bite-sized bon-bon on peppery shortbread. The Steamed Bun with Short Rib by Azul achieved Momo-esque perfection. And the flawlessly-executed slow-cooked egg yolk served with The Setai’s Peking Duck defied the logistics of a tasting table set up.

Click here for our Top 5 Best of the Best dishes and the full Slideshow >>

AlwaysSoBe: BubbleQ

February 27, 2010

Clockwise from top: Lonesome Dove Western Bistro’s Lamb Belly BLT with Warm Potato Salad, Big Bob Gibson’s Smoker, Champagne refills from a chandelier-dangling trapeze artist.

Thirty great chefs working the grill. An epic BLT sandwich. Free-flowing Perrier-Jouët Champagne. A woman refilling glasses while hanging from a chandelier. Only on South Beach, and only at BubbleQ.

The event was presented by Allen Brothers, hosted by Emeril Lagasse, and held under a big tent on the beach behind the Delano Hotel. It featured everything from ribs, brisket, and fried Cuban Sandwiches, to Grilled Oysters and Frittas. Unlike at Burger Bash, no official awards were given out, but our winner was Tim Love’s Lamb Belly BLT— a crunchy, well-dressed spin on a classic. Our Top 5 bites of the evening were rounded out by entries from Restaurant August, Centrico, Big Bob Gibson Bar-BQ, and Restaurant Mirazur (Menton, France).

Pork Belly featured in Centrico’s Tacos.

More Bubble, More Q >>

AlwaysSoBe: Symon and Schwartz Take Burger Bash

February 26, 2010

Clockwise from top: B Spot’s Fat Doug Burger, Michael’s Genuine Bacon Cheeseburger, Morimoto’s Pork “Kakuni” Burger, and The Standard Hotel’s Mini Blue Burger.

The burger barons came out to play at last night’s Amstel Light Burger Bash, kicking off the 2010 South Beach Wine & Food Festival in epically gluttonous style. Presented by Allen Brothers, and hosted by Rachel Ray, the event featured entries from 27 chefs from around the country.

Returning champ, Spike Mendelsohn, still riding high off his victory in New York, came prepared to throw down. Spike was surrounded by a cheering squad, and donned boxing gloves and a robe, like the Ali of Burgers. His Farmhouse Bacon Cheeseburger was solid, but ultimately it was Michael Schwartz of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, holding home court advantage, who took home the Golden Grill Award for his Michael’s Genuine Bacon Cheeseburger.

For the people’s choice award, it all came down to a tight race between fellow Iron Chefs Bobby Crunch Master Flay and Michael Symon. In the end, Symon’s Fat Doug Burger triumphed over Flay’s crunchified Dallas Burger. We couldn’t agree more. As much as we enjoyed Blackberry Farm’s Chow Chow Cheeseburger and Marc Burger’s Crunchy BBQ Kobe Burger, Symon’s combination of a juicy patty, salty, crunchy pastrami bits, and a soft potato roll was easily our favorite.

Click here for the winners, some of our favorites, and the full slideshow >>

AlwaysSoBe: Patrón’s Great Debate After-Party

February 26, 2010

Meyer Lemon and Jalapeño Cocktail with freshly shaved ice at Patron’s Great Debate after-party.

Judging by the crowd of chefs and stylish festival-goers around the pool of the W Hotel at Patrón’s Great Debate after-party, it was clear that some tequila was just what was needed after gorging at Burger Bash. Patrón cocktails, including exceptional Margaritas, intoxicatingly large shots, Mojitos, and an exceptional drink made with a Meyer Lemon-Jalapeño mixture that was finished with freshly shaved ice. It was like a spicy, tequila-laced fruit slushie. Those who still had room enjoyed tasty bites like gnocchi made with potato and with ricotta, and a duo of tuna carpaccio and tartare. Check out the scene, and the cocktails in the slideshow below.

AlwaysSoBe: South Beach Wine & Food Festival

February 23, 2010

The South Beach Wine & Food Festival is finally upon us, and before we descend upon Miami for a fun-filled weekend of gluttony, we thought that we would get things started off the right way by publishing not one, but two never-before-seen videos from the New York festival’s signature events: Burger Bash and Meatball Madness.

Also, in anticipation of time spent down south, we sent the GutterGourmet down there to do some advance recon on what restaurants you should spend your time at between gorging at the events. We will be bringing you some of his Miami restaurant reviews during the week.

So, whether you are traveling down to SoBe or not, here are two videos from NYCWFF that will most certainly whet your appetite:

BURGER BASH

Spike had cheerleaders, Bobby Flay lead his own cheer, and Josh Capon made the greatest acceptance speech of all time. This is just some of what went down at the Blue Moon Burger Bash at the 2009 New York City Wine & Food Festival. The event, which featured 21 participating restaurants and chefs battling it out in the Tobacco Warehouse under the Brooklyn Bridge, was nothing short of epic.

MEATBALL MADNESS

Meatball Madness. The grand finale of the 2009 New York City Wine & Food Festival featured meatballs made of everything from tuna to wild boar. Ultimately though, it was a meatball master who held strong and took the top prize.

AlwaysPartying: Brooklyn Taco Experiment

Arthur Bovino — February 01, 2010

Clockwise from top: Mike McGowan’s Shredded Beef Rib, John Schnapp’s “Serious Business,” and Andrey Ayrapetov’s Carnitas.

Brooklyn Experiment founders, Nick Suarez and Theo Peck, were at it again this weekend, hosting a group of amateur chefs who competed in The Brooklyn Taco Experiment at The Bell House.

Tortilleria Chinanttla provided tortillas for the cooks, but some teams forewent them altogether, choosing instead to use flour tortillas, and the case of Lisa Koo, to make their own. For teams that used the sponsored tortillas, a not-insignificant hurdle was how they were prepared. Several entries seemed to have been served straight out of the plastic bag. Warming the tortillas made a difference, be they softened by steam, heated in a pan, or in some cases, submerged in the stewed juices of their topping.

The judges (Andrew Knowlton, Cesar Fuentes, and Dave Vendley of Calexico among them) gave top honors to Andrey Ayrapetov’s Carnitas. But the event’s attendants deemed that John Schnapp’s “Serious Business Taco” was worthy of the two tickets to Mexico (courtesy, AeroMexico). Our favorite was Mike McGowan’s meticulously-layered, Shredded Beef Rib Tacos. He served them with avocado mousse and Calabrian hot peppers.

Click for More Tacos >>

Best of 2009: In 2009 Chefs Were Hungry For…

December 17, 2009

Just a few of the chefs and personalities AlwaysHungry spoke with in 2009.

AlwaysHungry interviewed a lot of chefs at many events throughout the city during 2009 and among the many questions we asked them, there’s one we always tried to get an answer to: When they’re not hard at work in their restaurants, and they want to eat out, what is it they feel compelled to order no matter how many times they’ve eaten it in the past or seen it on a menu?

Click to Discover What More Than 150 Chefs Said They Were AlwaysHungry for in 2009 >>

AlwaysPartying: Latke Cook-Off

Maryse Chevrière — December 08, 2009

Clockwise from top left, Gilded Latke from the Plaza Grand Ballroom. Latin Latke from el Museo del Barrio. Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola’s Soul Latke. Great Performances’ New American Latke.

Discerning potato pancake tasters gathered at the Great Performances kitchen last night for a good old-fashioned latke-off. Pans sizzled as four chefs presented their best latke interpretations.

There was a “Soul Latke” with tomato jam and black-eyed pea salad from Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola’s sous chef Sherwin Holloway, and a “New American Latke” with clementine compote and basil foam from Great Performances’ chef de cuisine, Marc Spooner. In another corner, Chef Victoria Saldana of El Café in el Museo del Barrio impressed with a fiery “Latin Latke” topped with a smooth avocado cream.

The best was Plaza Grand Ballroom Executive Chef Jack Kiggin’s “Gilded Latke.” With help from Great Performances founder Liz Neumark, he whipped up a warm crispy bite with cream, smoked salmon and a dollop of luxurious, salty caviar.

No doubt the creative spins on this Hannukah favorite will inspire some ideas for the upcoming holiday.

AlwaysPartying: 10th Annual Winter’s Eve

Maryse Chevrière — December 01, 2009

The Christmas Tree at Dante Park.

Turkey hangover be damned! New Yorkers shook themselves out of their food comas to usher in the holiday season at last night’s 10th Annual Winter’s Eve at Lincoln Square (site). The hungry crowds that braved the wet, chilly night sampled tastes from more than two dozen neighborhood eateries. Amid live music, restaurant stations were scattered across three locations, from the Time Warner Center to Lincoln Square, with tastes costing $1 to $5—part of the proceeds benefiting City Harvest (view).

barMasa’s Spicy Tuna Hand-Roll was one of the evening’s best bites, albeit the most complicated. The do-it-yourself roll came with instructions (!) but this is barMasa sushi we’re talking about, at a bargain-priced $5 no less, it couldn’t exactly come no-strings-attached. Other highlights included Gourmet Garage’s warm, rustic Tomato Cheddar Soup and Landmarc’s creamy Orecchiette alla Norcina.

Of the sweet offerings, nothing compared to Bouchon Bakery’s dense, fudgy Chocolate Bouchon—though Le Pain Quotidien’s excellent Mini Brownies make a comparable affordable alternative. The Affogato from Nick & Toni’s Café was enjoyable, despite the cold, and Rosa Mexicano came through with a warm, lightly spiced Mexican Hot Chocolate—a smart choice over their standard guacamole event offering considering the weather (note: we did overhear requests for it).

Click Here for Pictures of the Food at Winter's Eve >>

AlwaysPartying: The Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment

Arthur Bovino and Maryse Chevrière — November 16, 2009

Top, Denise Smith’s Chocolate Chip Cookie. Bottom left judging panel. Right, The Bell House.

Coming off The Brooklyn Cheese Experiment (also hosted by Nick Suarez and Theo Peck) we had high expectations for The Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment (site), their next event at The Bell House.

The event was fun (judges’ and audience awards follow), but several contestants tried to make things a little too interesting. Many savory dishes weren’t chocolate enough, and in some it wasn’t even perceptible. The strongest savory representative was Lei Takahashi’s “Pig in Drag,” which featured a flavorful spice mix, a sauce that was like a smoky chocolate jam, and meat almost as good as some of what we tasted at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party. The other two best savory dishes were Jill Strominger’s Ole! Mole, and BH Squared’s Savory Chocolate Tamales.

The most successful desserts were simple, take the chocolate chip cookie. It had delicious raw cookie dough taste and a cross-section revealed impressive brick-like layering of chips. And while it wasn’t part of the competition, the other notable interpretation of chocolate was Young’s Double Chocolate Stout.

Click Here for Pictures of the Food at The Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment >>

HungryChefs: Jean Georges and Anything Peanut Butter

Arthur Bovino — November 10, 2009

Gotham Bar & Grill’s pastry chef, Deborah Racicot.

With all the panels and tasting events that have come with the new season, we’ve talked to a lot of chefs recently. So we’ve had the chance to ask them some questions, namely what they’re AlwaysHungry for and what their current favorite New York City restaurant is. Following is the latest installment of AlwaysHungryNY.com’s occasional feature, HungryChefs, focusing on New York’s great pastry chefs.

Click Here to Find Out What Chefs are AlwaysHungry for >>

AlwaysPartying: Slow Food’s Lamb Butchering Demo

Michelle Kiefer — November 10, 2009

Prepared samples.Clockwise from top:leg, loin, testicle, liver, shoulder Left, Rudi Weid. Right, lamb parts displayed for auction.

Slow Food NYC’s (site) event fundraiser on Sunday, “Nose-to-Tail Eating: Lamb Butchering,” at The Institute of Culinary Education, really was nose-to-tail. The event benefited Harvest Time school programs, and all parts of the sustainably raised, pasture-fed lamb sourced from 3-Corner Field Farm in Shushan, New York, were served. And we mean, all. After Master Butcher Rudi Weid completed the butchering demonstration, the parts were artfully displayed on platters to be auctioned to attendees. Bidding heated up over two halves of a lamb head, which eventually sold for about $40 a piece, but before bidding even began, everyone had a chance to taste some prepared samples.

Who knows why everyone went straight for the piece placed strategically at the front of the plate. Maybe it was the unique white color, or that it just seemed more tender than the other pieces. Whatever the reason, it was devoured so feverishly there was barely time to note its full yet delicate flavor, or the balance of the crisp exterior with an interior that almost literally melted on the tongue. It wasn’t until the rest of the samples were ravaged that Weid explained what each one was. Those juicy white pieces were “lamb fries”- that’s right, testicles- and it made me rethink any preconceived squeamish notions I might have had about eating testicles.

Carnivorous adventures and a wine-induced auction all in the name of good food education? Once again Slow Food demonstrates that pleasure and altruism really can go hand-in-hand.

AlwaysPartying: New York Taste 2009

Arthur Bovino — November 03, 2009

Top, Bobo’s Chocolate Pudding, Cocoa Nibs and Salted Pumpkin Seeds. Left, Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Right, Chef Susur Lee with Doron Wong.

Pumpkin, pork belly and crispy trotters— fall and its comfort-inspiring dishes were in full swing last night at Skylight for the eleventh annual charity tasting event, New York Taste 2009 (site). New York Magazine, partnered with City Harvest (of course) to host quite a party with some terrific food, and AlwaysHungryNY.com was on hand to taste amuses from more than 40 restaurants. It was hard to resist seconds of savory favorites like Public’s Sweet and Salty Fried Fanny Bay Oysters, and SHO Shaun Hergatt’s 3-Day Short Rib, but room had to be saved for Bobo’s Chocolate Pudding, Wallsé‘s tremendous Milchrahmstrudel, and Buddakan’s Cashew Daquoise with Coffee Ice Cream.

From Porter House New York’s Chili-Rubbed Brisket Sliders to Le Cirque’s Squab Tortelli, we’ve selected our top ten favorites and included other mouth-watering dishes in a beautiful slideshow.

Click Here for More Food and Chef Pictures from New York Taste 2009 >>

HungryChefs: Rice, Buttered Toast and Twix

The Gluttoness — October 26, 2009

Guy Fieri at Chelsea After Dark.

With all the panels and tasting events that have come with the new season, we’ve talked to a lot of chefs recently. So we’ve had chances to ask them questions, namely what they’re AlwaysHungry for. Here’s the latest installment of AlwaysHungryNY.com’s occasional feature, HungryChefs.

Click Here to Find Out What Chefs are AlwaysHungry For >>