The NoMad: Best Chicken I've Had

The NoMad
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A year ago, I had the best chicken of my life at The NoMad. Was it because these chickens were delivered daily from a farm in Pennsylvania? Was it because there was foie gras stuffed under the skin? Or maybe it was the tantalizing aroma of black truffles found in both the stuffing and the accompanying potato puree. It was a combination of all these factors that made me fall in love with chicken again.

Julia and Davis made a reservation and I brought my friend Anne. The whole point of the dinner was to try the chicken that had every blog and food magazine raving. To start, the server brought us a warm rustic flatbread with grilled leeks and gruyere fresh from the oven, much better than the usual stale basket of bread served at most restaurants.

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The Russian Tea Room: Pass the Borscht!

The Russian Tea Room
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When I first moved to NYC 7 years ago, I thought Restaurant Week was the best thing ever. Every time RW rolled around, I would get excited since it was an affordable way to sample cuisines at high end places. The experience for me was carefully orchestrated like tactical warfare - countless hours poring over the list of 100+ restaurants to seek out the "best bang for the buck" in terms of menu offerings from normally expensive restaurants like Nobu. Culling the list down to the Top 5. Gauging interest from various circles of friends and coordinating their schedules was Phase 2. Phase 3 consisted of the difficult task of booking the table, a separate battle in itself.

Was the time and effort worth it? 

There were more misses than hits - let's be honest, most spots don't really care and it shows. Offerings would include a generic assortment of salad, salmon or chicken breast, and some variant of a chocolate souffle - all items that aren't even close to the standard menu. Other places would serve anemic bite-sized portions that weren't worth the $38 admission. 

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Pho Party with Daphne

Suite ThreeOhSix
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After enjoying the Ferran Adrià exhibit, we made our way back to Daphne’s kitchen at Suite ThreeOhSix to make a vegan version of banh mi and pho. To say Daphne loves pho would be an understatement - she confessed that she ate pho for 21 days straight. Mad respect.

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Ferran Adrià: Notes on Creativity

The Drawing Center
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The first thing you see is a larger than life portrait of Ferran Adrià overseeing his domain, the elBulli kitchen, eyes focused on his brigade. A fitting image for a chef whose culinary creativity sparked a revolution and ushered in an era that has influenced every chef since. 

My first memory of Ferran occurred on Feb 19, 2011. When I first began reading recipe books and chef memoirs at the local Barnes and Noble, Ferran’s name was always mentioned so when my friend Steven invited me to attend a screening of the documentary El Bulli: Cooking in Progress at the MoMA I jumped at the chance to catch a glimpse of the elBulli universe. Besides the insider "behind the scenes" look at what went into the R&D sessions, the highlight for me was the slideshow at the end of the film. Bold colors, juxtaposition of textures, odd shapes, whimsical presentations, Picasso/Tim Burtonesque creations that looked like they came out of a dream sequence. I had never seen food by a man who was so disciplined and driven to push the boundaries.

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Superbowl Ramen

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As we all know, the Superbowl isn't just about football. It’s about family, friends, commercials….and FOOD. When you think Superbowl snacks, you think pizza, buffalo wings, chips with accompanying guac, salsa, bean dip. You think cheese, sour cream, and delicious things that are fried. In other words, you don’t think of homemade ramen, pork buns, and bread pudding - but that’s exactly what I enjoyed two Sundays ago.

It was my first time visiting Long Island City and I took my time admiring gleaming towering condos and sleek office buildings. Upon entering Frank’s apartment, the first thing that caught my eye was a tray of pork belly, braised in mirin, sugar, xiaoxing wine (instead of sake) and a little rice vinegar.

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