Let’s get ready to rumble! Renowned chefs from the both California & New York gathered Monday evening at the Rockefeller Center for the 28th Annual Chef’s Tribute to Citymeals-on-Wheels. This years theme was “Rumble At The Rock: NY vs. CA Chef Showdown” where the best of the best of each coast prepared their finest dishes for this worthy cause.

The Rockefeller Center was expertly constructed into a boxing ring by architect David Rockwell with props throughout the venue which included state fruits, apples and orange representing a real “fruit punch out” of both states.  Attendees included Actor Richard Gere and Carey Lowell, owners of Farmhouse at Bedford Post amongst many other food enthusiasts, restauranteurs, and industry professionals.

As I traveled from “coast-to-coast” throughout the event,  my palette explored seasonal produce and regional dishes of California that included the Chef Joachim Splichal’s dish, Santa Barbra Shrimp with Carrot Puree, Celery Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette. I must say one of my favorites was the Hawaiian Butterfish expertly prepared by Chef Sang Yoon.

As much as I enjoyed exploring the delectable dishes of California, my heart and I guess my stomach is in New York City. I had the opportunity of meeting the infamous Nobu Matsuhisa of Nobu Restaurants, he shared “that he enjoys being apart of a worthy cause like Citymeals-on-Wheels”. Some of my other favorite dishes were prepared by Chefs Charlie Palmer, Marc Forgione, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

The evening ended with well-shaken libations from top spirit sponsors such as Absolut Elyx and Cognac Pierre Ferrand, to name a few. A bustling live band carried evening to the end. Citywheels-on-Wheels raised more than $820,000 enough to fund, feed, and hand-deliver 127,725 meals to elderly New Yorkers. Job well done everyone until next year!

Photography By Taj

Isaiah Kelsey

Last weekend was the second annual Food Book Fair in Williamsburg. The event kicked off on Thursday evening with a tasting event fundraiser to benefit the Far Rockaways Recovery & Hurricane Sandy Relief. The next three days were packed with events featuring some very well-known authors, chefs and publishers from the food industry. Apart from the opening night dinner at Brooklyn Winery and the coffee crawl, all of the events took place at either Wythe Hotel or The Brooklyn Kitchen at Pure Kitchen.

I held a day pass for Friday the 3^rd and my main focus was to see Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen in action. The Smitten Kitchen demo was the opening event for Friday and due to my misreading the website’s program schedule, I nearly missed it. I arrived just in time to see the ever so charming Deb wrapping up the event and to have a newly purchased copy of the Smitten Kitchen cookbook signed by the author. Deb seemed to have a pretty good turnout which comes as no surprise given the popularity of the Smitten Kitchen blog. During the event, she talked about her journey as a blogger/writer and did a demo of her Buttered Popcorn cookies which were passed around the room for the audience to sample. As expected, the cookies were buttery and delicious. I feel absolutely no shame in the fact that I ate three for breakfast.

Food + Foraging followed up the Smitten Kitchen demo at Pure Kitchen.  Chef Fredrik Berselius and Forager Evan Strusinski shed some light on the increasingly popular foraging trend. Although for many cultures, foraging comes as second nature, it’s hard to think of it as being popular in this sea of concrete that seems to have no end. Having lived in large cities for several years now, I have gotten so used to the lack of green that it seems almost absurd to me that people here are able to go out and pick their own food. But Berselius and Strusinski pointed out that there are wide open spaces not 20 minutes from New York City where you can find a plethora of wild mushrooms and greens to add to your menu. During the discussion, samples of locally forged leaves were passed around for attendees to munch on whilst the panelists spoke.  Among the snacks were Sheep’s Sorrel, Japanese Knotweed, Garlic Mustard and Cress of Mustard. Though some of them weren’t too impressive, others, such as Sheep’s Sorrel with its bright, tart flavor, were surprisingly delicious and unlike anything you could pick up at the supermarket. There was a great variety in tastes; some were tart, some bitter and some very peppery. Strusinski explained that the taste of one plant can vary wildly from year to year, depending on the weather.  One year you may have an amazing bunch of garlic mustard and the next it may be completely unpalatable. The only way to know is to get yourself out in the woods and start tasting! But make sure that you know what you are eating is safe.

During the Q&A, when nearly half of the audience claimed to have participated in some foraging adventure, one man informed us that he had foraged mushrooms from Brooklyn’s very own Prospect Park. While I wouldn’t dare eat anything I picked in Prospect Park, much less a wild mushroom, it was inspiring to see so many people trying to get more connected with nature and their food.

Being the coffee fiend that I am, I opted to skip a couple of very interesting sounding events in order to participate in the coffee crawl, led by coffee aficionado, Oliver Strand. Strand led a group of about 15 coffee lovers on a tour around some of Williamsburg’s finest coffee shops. The tour had four stops -Toby’s Estate Coffee, Blue Bottle Coffee Co, Sweet Leaf, and the Wythe Hotel Restaurant – and featured over a dozen coffees. We sampled from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Columbia and Norway. We tried different brewing methods, watched beans being roasted in Toby’s, sampled a single origin espresso shot (very rare!) at Sweet Leaf and had some of the world’s finest coffees from Oslo. Though the crawl ran nearly an hour over the allotted time, and had us drinking so much coffee the shakes started to set in, it was really informative and great fun.  Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming Urban.Food.Print article on how to brew a good cup at home which will have more details about the coffee crawl.

Friday’s final event was Food  + Literature back at Wythe Hotel. A stage of incredibly talented writers explored food as a theme in literature. They shared some of their favorite food writings and then read from their own work. These passages were very touching and at times incredibly funny.  Most of the panel were contributing writers for The Diner journal which was read from several times. Editor Anna Dunn moderated the event. The group successfully showcased the power of literature and the significance that food can have within it.

Though I wasn’t able to attend the events on Saturday and Sunday, I really enjoyed everything that I experienced on Friday. There was so much information flying around and it was really great to be surrounded by so many people who shared an enthusiasm for food, whether it was foraging, baking, technology or just drinking a really good cup of coffee. Co-curators Elizabeth Thacker Jones and Emilie Baltz did an excellent job arranging the program. If you are a food-lover in the NYC area, I definitely recommend marking your calendars for this one next year.

Danielle McReynolds

The Great Street Meet

Street Vendor Project

Tuesday, April 2, 2013 from 7pm to 10:30pm

At: Judson Memorial Church

Address: 55 Washington Square South, NY, NY 10012

What: An event to celebrate NYC’s street vendor community; Sample food from NYC’s best street vendors, enjoy an open bar and music.

Ticket prices vary.

Ticket sales end at 5pm on Monday, April 1 at 5pm

However, a small number of tickets will be available for purchase at the door.

For more info: http://streetmeet-es2005.eventbrite.com/?rank=1

Photo credit: eventbrite.com

Sycamore Bar & Flowershop Presents Small Batch Bourbon

April 9, 2013 8pm

At: Sycamore Bar & Flowershop

Address: 1118 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn, NY

What: An evening of tasting some fine whiskeys with Ashley Carespodi of Brown Forman as the host. The event will feature whiskeys from Woodford Reserve, Old Forester, etc.

Cost: $25

More info: http://www.ediblemanhattan.com/event/sycamore-bar-flowershop-presents-small-batch-bourbon/

Photo credit: www.flickr.com/photos/sycamorebrooklyn/

 Joanne Raymond

Tucked away in the back room of Jake’s Dilemma, in the Upper East Side, Traveler Beer Company released their newest shandy, the Time Traveler.  Formally known as the House of Shandy, Traveler Beer Co. is brewing beer out of Burlington, VA which appears in markets up and down the east coast.  More known for their flagship beer, the Curious Traveler, which hit bars and stores early last year, is bringing attention the emerging shandy market.  Popular in parts of Europe, a shandy is typically a light lager beer mixed to taste with an array of different drinks cider, lemonade, even cola depending where you are.  Traveler Beer Co. takes shandy to the next level by premixing the drink.  A wheat beer base with fruit flavorings, Traveler revamps the classic shandy style.

The release of the third beer, the Time Traveler was welcomed by many for its easy drinkability and sweet strawberry notes.  The Time Traveler shares the same wheat beer base as her counterparts, The Curious Traveler and the Tenacious Traveler, with the addition of a strawberry puree at the end of distillation that gives it a mild strawberry sweetness, without the thickness that many sweeter beers possess, perfect for the summertime. Traveler’s flagship, the Curious Traveler is a beautifully dangerous beer flavored with lemon and lime that gives the beer a taste not unlike homemade lemonade, thankfully these delicious beers are only 4.4 ABV.

The warmth is coming, fast.  If you want to stay cool when mother nature unleashes heat from above  this summer I suggest finding yourself some shade and a cold Time Traveler.

Robert Wilson

It’s that time of year again. Facebook news feeds are clogged with endless talk of brackets and rankings, crowds of guys are glued to the TV at every bar you enter and you can’t walk five feet without hearing two dudes screaming about Duke or Purdue or Ohio State. March Madness has had its stint in the spotlight and now it’s time to dedicate the month of March to something much more important: the ever fashionable macaron. March 20^th was International Macaron Day and Wednesday turned out to be a lovely day to run around the city scarfing free cookies.

As promised, I am here to tell you where to find the best macarons in New York City. I started out on the Upper East Side at Butterfield Market on Lexington Avenue and then made my way down to Francois Payard Patisserie on 3^rd, headed west along 59^th Street hitting Mad Mac, Macaron Café, another Francois Payard Patisserie (the Plaza Location) and then moved up to Bouchon Bakery and Epicerie Boulud. When I was done scavenging uptown, I hopped on the 1 train and headed down to Christopher Street. Just around the corner at 10 Morton Street I stopped at Bosie Tea Parlor, and then moved east to Bisous Ciao in the Lower East Side and Mille-Feuille Bakery Cafe. My final stop was Macaron Parlor in the East Village.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of macaron shops in New York City but I was able to visit most of the stores participating in Macaron Day. I’m not going to pretend to understand how March Madness works but here’s how the Macaron judging is going to go down: I will randomly place the macaron shops I visited in brackets and there will be three rounds of competition, resulting in one winner. In order to even out numbers, Francois Payard Patisserie and Bakery will be counted as the same and I will disqualify Bouchon Bakery for giving out a macaron the size of my thumbnail.

So, let’s get down to business.

Obviously, Francois Payard has taken the cake (or should I say macaron?) and here’s why: his Salted Caramel macaron is one of the most heavenly things I’ve bitten into and it’s definitely the best macaron I’ve had outside of Paris. The eggshell like exterior gives way to a dreamy light center which is not too soft or cake-like as some macarons made in the States tend to be. The ratio of cookie to filling is right on and the salt in the caramel offsets the sweetness of the cookie perfectly.  I’m not the only one who has fallen for this particular cookie. According to the counter person who helped me to my selection, Salted Caramel is by far the most popular flavor at Francois Payard.

A close runner up was the Basil macaron at Macaron Parlor in the East Village. The sweetness of the buttercream in this one was much more subtle than in most macarons which was a welcome change. The basil flavor was almost overpowering at first bite simply because it was so unexpected, but after I got over the initial reaction to tasting a savory herb in a sweet cookie it became an almost divine experience. Unfortunately, the Basil macaron was made exclusively for Macaron Day but if we’re lucky, owners Christina Ha and Simon Tung will give this one a regular place on the menu.

Macaron Parlor takes the win for having the best selection and giving the most choice to Macaron Day visitors. While most places were offering a limited selection, Macaron Parlor had 17 different flavors to give out for free, six of which were created just for the event. In addition to traditional flavors like Salted Caramel and Pistachio, they also have some totally wacky flavors like Cheetos, Candied Bacon and Maple Cream Cheese, Honey and Cognac, and Giggity which contains dark chocolate, dulce de leche, roasted peanuts and marshmallow cream. Yum!

Mad Mac gets an honorable mention because celebrity chef and judge of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, Florian Bellanger, was in the store to oversee the handing out of his macarons and snap pics with fans.  The Mad Mac macarons were quite a bit smaller in size than normal but people were encouraged to take more than one. While Bellanger was busy taking photographs with fans, the elderly lady handing out the treats informed me that these delicacies weren’t macaroons like many people might think. “There’s no coconut in them at all” she exclaimed, sounding surprised. When I asked her what ingredients were in the cookies, she replied “I don’t know. I think they’re made of air.” Though it may seem so, macarons are actually made of almond flour, egg whites and sugar.  I immediately went for a pumpkin macaron because I’m a sucker for any pumpkin flavored treat but before leaving Bellanger insisted that I take a vanilla as well. No objection from me!

Though not quite as adventurous as Macaron Parlor, Bisous Ciao and Bosie Tea Parlor both had some interesting flavors to choose from.  Bisous Ciao had a basket full of Salted Peanut Buttercream with Concord Grape Jam filled macarons to give away for the day but also had flavors like Masala Spice Chai, Poppy, Sour Cherry, Blood Orange and Gianduja available for purchase. The peanut buttercream was perfectly salty and sweet but grape jam just doesn’t belong in a macaron if you ask me.

In my opinion, Lower Manhattan is the place to go for the city’s finest macarons. For a more traditional, French experience, Francois Payard is your best bet. The Francois Patisserie on Houston is a great place to go for macarons or other French delicacies. Bisous Ciao, Bosie Tea Parlor and Macaron Parlor are a bit trendier and have great selections. They are all located below 10^th Street and within walking distance of each other, so if you didn’t get a chance to go out on Macaron Day, I suggest visiting these four locations as soon as possible.

Don’t forget that the point of Macaron Day was not just to get people to eat macarons. These bakeries were raising funds for City Harvest, an organization that has been feeding New York’s hungry for 30 years.  The charity relies heavily on the generosity of New York’s food industry. It is inspiring to see how many restaurants, bakeries and purveyors are dedicated to the cause.  I encourage you to visit www.cityharvest.org to make a donation, sign up to volunteer or just learn more about how they work.

As always, please drop us a line in the comments section. We’d love to hear about your experiences on Macaron Day 2013.

Danielle McReynolds

Night Market NYC

Friday, March 29-30 6p-11p

Time Frame: 6pm-7:15pm; 7:15p-8:30p; 8:30p-9:45p; 9:45p-11:00p

Where: The Old Bowery Station (at the corner of Bowery and Kenmare) 168 Bowery New York, NY 10013

What: Nine local vendors offers guests with various foods and drinks at this two-day festival. Innovative recipes from chefs in the city.

Limited reservations available now

$40 per person

2013 Partners include: Nom Wah Parlor, Macaron Parlour, Spur Tree, Imperial Woodpecker, Sno-balls, Hong Kong Street Cart, Filled With Sweets, Asia Dog, Best Summer, Taicken and Taiwan Beer

Info from: http://events.nydailynews.com/new_york_ny/events/show/314702923-night-market-nyc

Just Food Conference 

Friday, March 29-30 8am-7:30p & Saturday, March 30 8am-6:30p

Where: Food & Finance High School 525 West 50th Street New York, NY 10019

Price: $45.00  Fee: $3.24

This two-day event offers opportunities for the general public, food professionals, farmers, and more, to round up for two days to learn about national farm and food issues, CSA trends, cooking and food preservation techniques, and ways to increase access to fresh locally grown food in communities.

Tickets: jfconf2013.eventbrite.com

Website: http://justfood.org/events

NYC Craft Beer Festival

Saturday, March 30

Location: Lexington Avenue Armory (68 Lexington Avenue between 25th and 26th St.)

Session 1: General Admission 1:30pm-4:00pm / VIP & Connoisseur 12:30pm-4:00pm

Session 2: General Admission 7:00pm-9:30pm / VIP & Connoisseur 6:00pm-9:30pm

What: Each guest will be given a glass and have the opportunity to try unlimited 2 oz tastings of about 150 craft beers from all over the U.S. Food will also be available. VIP and connoisseur guests will have the first hour to themselves to sample some beers and connoisseurs will have a private lounge with hors d’oeuvres passing throughout.

Website: http://nyccraftbeerfest.com/

Photo Credit: http://nyccraftbeerfest.com/pics

Joanne Raymond

The Moment You Decided You Wanted To Become A Chef:                                                                                       I always liked to cook.  I can remember when I was a child I used to push my red stool up to the counter at my Grandmothers house and help her make Sunday morning biscuits.

Did You Attend A Culinary Arts Schools or Job Training?:                                                                                     No, I never went to culinary school but just worked at the Culinary Institute Of America.  I worked my way through college working in kitchens and learned from many great chefs.

Culinary Hero:                                                                                                                                                                      My culinary heros are my mother and grandmother, they were first women to teach me how to cook.

Your Proudest Moment In Your Career:                                                                                                                            I think my proudest moment is when my first self published cookbook SOUL was released.

Biggest Obstacle You’ve Faced Thus Far:                                                                                                                         I think my biggest obstacle came about last March (2012) when my mother passed away — she was my biggest supporter, my confident and advisor.  I miss her every minute of every day.

Last evening at 5pm I rushed to the 6 train through Grand Central Station to try to get ahead of the foot traffic, but to my dismay everyone had the same agenda. My stomach grumbled because I only had one restaurant on my mind and that was Sweet Chick at Williamsburg in Brooklyn. After that sardine-packed train ride, I was relieved to see my stop at the corner of eye and climbed out quickly. Once I walked upstairs, the atmosphere had completely did a 180 from a metropolitan frenzy to a quiet, laid back neighborhood and Sweet Chick to my right. I was filled with, well actually I wasn’t with anything I was just hungry.

As I walked in, I was promptly greeted by one of the co-owners, John who was dressed very comfortably in jeans, a knit shirt, and a fitted scully which made me feel equally as comfortable. As my guest and I got sat, I loosened my tie and began to get comfortable myself. Sweet Chick’s decor was very homey, exposed wood decor, picnic-style tables, two-seaters had classroom-style chairs and a large chalk board that displayed their specials of the day.

We began to peruse through the menu and of course we started with cocktails after a long day in the city. I started with “Tiger Woods Ya’ll” that had Honey Jack, Hennessy, fresh lemon, and Arnold Palmer by Brooklyn Soda Works (specially made for Sweet Chick). My guest ordered “Purple Drank” a gin fizz made with Welch’s grape soda. Both equally very Southern, we cheered to a great evening!

For our appetizers, we ordered Sloppy Duck Sliders, Mac & Cheese, and a small sampling of the Pickle Plate. As we waited the ambiance was very laid, hipster-like but their staff was very attentive and friendly. As our table wasn’t that big, they brought our appetizers out in courses which I thought was very smart and also a great service point. We started with the Sloppy Duck Sliders, the serving was three sliders on brioche buns with a spicy, home-cured pickle. I expected duck-confit to be between my buns but again I remembered that I ordered them “sloppy”, it was ragu of duck (ragu means grounded meat with a tomato sauce). No complaints here though, it was childhood memory elevated to the next level. Mac & Cheese was delivered just as we finished the sliders, the appearance alone made me salivate. The creamy dish had gruyere, fontina, and aged white cheddar with buttery Ritz cracker crust. I thought the selections of cheeses were spot on and the crust addition was genius. Lastly, before our entrees arrived we got a small sampling of the pickle plate that included watermelon rind, okra, and carrots. I ordered this just to try the watermelon rind because I had always wanted to try it, after trying it I thought it tasted just like a spicy pickle (checks off foodie bucket list).

Sweet Chick is best known for their selection of Chicken & Waffles, so of course I ordered it. I decided on the rosemary and mushroom waffle with the sweet tea-brined fried chicken. My guest ordered the Artic Char served with crawfish & flageolet bean stew, preserved lemon, and sauteed mustard greens. The appearance of both dishes did not disappoint. My entree included a selection of gourmet compound butters, herb butter, lemon butter, and berry butter. I was throughly happy with my dish, the chicken was well-seasoned and crispy, loved the earthiness the mushroom added to my waffle, and the lemon butter added a brightness to the dish. My guest shared that he enjoyed the crispiness of the skin, I thought with such a delicate fish it must have been a very hot pan with nice sear to achieve that.

After all that eating, I still had a small pocket left for dessert, so I decided on sweet biscuit bread pudding with cherries and creamy, creme fraiche ice cream. After two spoonfuls I had to back away, although very good I had to tap out. Overall job well done to Sweet Chick, I would recommend to all and look forward to returning soon.

Isaiah Kelsey

Photo Credits: No Entry Design, Daniel Krieger, Isaiah Kelsey

Listen up New York: Wednesday is Macaron Day and this girl couldn’t be more excited. For those of you that don’t know, Macaron Day means free, delicious, chewy macarons! Free!

Most of you won’t be surprised to hear that le Jour du Macaron (Macaron Day) started in Paris. The celebration was created by macaron master Pierre Hermé andL’Association Relais Desserts to honor the treasured little treat and to raise awareness for an important cause. In 2010, Francois Payard, wonderful man that he is, brought Macaron Day to New York City. March 20^th is now officially Macaron Day in Paris, London, Tokyo, New York, Budapest, Vancouver, Manila and other cities around the globe.

This year in New York pastry lovers can pick up a free macaron at over a dozen locations across the city. Participants include Bosie Tea Parlor, Bouchon Bakery, Epicerie Boulud, Macaron Parlour and of course Francois Payard Bakery. For a full list of participants, please visit the official website of Macaron Day NYC: http://www.macarondaynyc.com/

A number of the participating stores will donate a portion of Wednesday’s macaron sales to City Harvest, a charity to help New York’s hungry, so feel free to pig out and buy a couple dozen. It’s for charity so the calories don’t count, right? You can also make a donation to City Harvest on the Macaron Day website or by purchasing a special Macaron Day Apron for $20 at any Francois Payard Bakery or Francois Payard Patisserie location. All proceeds from apron sales will go to City Harvest.

Don’t forget to tell the shop that you’re there for Macaron Day to get your free cookie. Keep in mind that stores have a limited number to give out for the special occasion. And keep an eye on this space for a follow up article where I’ll let you know where I found the biggest, best tasting and most creative macarons around the city.

Danielle McReynolds

New York, NY –

If you are a resident of Chinatown or a frequent Chinatown visitor, you’ll be thrilled to discover that this week is Chinatown Restaurant Week. A person comes across plenty of amazing deals in Chinatown throughout the course of a shopping day. So while grabbing a few items for your closet or essentials to decorate your household, why not also get a few deals on the neighboring eating establishments?

Twenty-two restaurants in Chinatown are offering special Chinatown Restaurant Week meals for only $20.13. This event started on Saturday, March 16 and will continue through Sunday, March 31, 2013.

Restaurants Include:

Asia Roma, 40 Mulberry St., Dinner only

Diamond Hill cafe, 145 Canal St.

Golden Unicorn Restaurant, 18 E. Broadway

Emperor Japanese Tapas Shabu Restaurant, 96 Bowery

HK Wonton Garden, 79 Mulberry St.

Lobster Boat, 11 Mott St.

Lucky Plaza Restaurant, 81 Chrystie St.

Mika Japanese Cuisine & Bar, 150 Centre St.

Mottzar Kitchen, 70 Mott St., Call ahead for reservations

Nha Trang One, 87 Baxter St., Dinner only

Old Sichuan, 65 Bayard St.

Peking Duck House, 28 Mott St., Lunch only

Pho Grand, 277c Grand St.

Red Egg, 202 Centre St.

Shanghai Cuisine, 89 Bayard St.

Shanghai Gourmet, 23 Pell St.

Xe Lua Vietnamese Restaurant, 86 Mulberry St.

Vegetarian Dim Sum House, 24 Pell St.

Yeah Shanghai Deluxe, 50 Mott St.

Some businesses are even offering special deals in honor of Chinatown Restaurant Week. Grand Bo Ky Restaurant which is located on 216 Grand Street, gives a free additional dish (up to $4 in value) if your total order (before tax and tip) is over $20 during your same dine-in visit. Haagen-Dazs on 53 Mott Street offers a special Heart-Shaped Ice Cream Cake (6-8 people servings) for $19.99, all tax included. The regular price of this cake is $29.99. Customers are allowed to pick their own two flavors of ice cream for the cake and place their orders 24 hours before pickup. The pre-made ice cream cake is also available in stock. Nom Wah Tea Parlor is located on 13 Doyer Street and is offering a free drink per person to accompany any meal if the person mentions “Chinatown Restaurant Week.”

Please be aware that restaurant owners do own the right to change their menu at any time without notice. Chinatown Restaurant Week and its producers cannot be held accountable under those circumstances.

Photo Credit: chinatownrestaurantweek.com

Joanne Raymond