The Village Voice's Sixth Annual Choice Eats

Is it already time for Choice Eats? In just a few weeks, 50+ restaurants will be serving a plethora of food in the massive 69th Armory.

I was totally overwhelmed the first year I attended - and I didn't even eat about half of the offerings - and last year was no different.  This year's event is the sixth annual and is taking place on Tuesday, March 19, at 6:30 pm.

Brooklyn Pour: Beers in the Bank

This Saturday, October 6, the Village Voice is presenting its second annual Brooklyn Pour craft beer festival at Skylight One Hanson in Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn.

I went last year and loved it.  Because what's not to love?  

My Favorite Bites at Choice Eats 2012

Choice Eats 2012 took place three weeks ago (in fact, it was the day I started my new job!) and this year's edition was the biggest to date, with more than 80 restaurants in attendance.

JoeDough's The Strong Island sub

Unfortunately, more restaurants did not equate to more vegetarian options - in fact, there were fewer vegetarian dishes this year as compared to last year. And, unlike last year, I didn't have a VIP pass, so I didn't have access to the subterranean vault full of sugar (which was probably a good thing). We had about 15 dishes, maybe a third of which were sweets. Keep in mind there were more than 80 restaurants there! So there were slim pickings for vegetarians. But among the few dishes we had, there were several standouts.

The Village Voice's Choice Eats 2012

It's that time of year again...80+ restaurants dishing up amazing food in the massive 69th Armory means only one thing: The Village Voice's Choice Eats!

I was totally overwhelmed last year - and I didn't even eat about half of the offerings - but this year's event, which is the 5th annual and is taking place next Tuesday, March 13, at 6:30 pm - is bigger and better than past years.

Jackson Heights Indian Food Crawl - Sunday February 12

A few weeks ago, my friend Amy asked me if I wanted to host an Indian food crawl in Jackson Heights in February and there was no way I could say no to her.

So, this coming Sunday, Februrary 12, at 1 pm, I will be leading a small group on a culinary tour of Jackson Heights.  We'll stop at three places to sample samosas, chaat, dosa, and sweets such as gulab jamun, kulfi, and falooda, and we'll cap off the trip with a visit to my favorite grocery store in the neighborhood, where you can stock up on ingredients to try your hand at making Indian food at home (or just buy a bag of Lays Magic Masala potato chips, which are apparently my kryptonite).


Killed by Dessert, Part 2

Hopefully a break over the weekend was sufficient time to recover from all that dessert.  I only had about 20 minutes before embarking on the second half of the 12 course dessert feast so imagine how I felt.  Here's part 1 in case you need a refresher on where we left off.

After six desserts, we got our sixth savory course (the one that we thought was missing from the cocktail hour).

Intermezzo
Spaghetti pomodoro
Brooks Headley
Paired with Budweiser (in an 8 ounce can)

Spaghetti pomodoro - when made well - is one of my favorite dishes.  So I was really excited for this course, especially because it was coming from Brooks Headley, the pastry chef at Del Posto, and also because I needed something savory after six courses of dessert.   Not to mention the whimsical presentation and beverage pairing, making this course a somewhat highbrow version of a late night drunken meal.  (Someone told me about that, I have never made spaghetti at 2 am after an evening of  drinks.  No, not me, never.)

Killed by Dessert, Part 1

On Monday night, I was one of the lucky few to get Killed by Dessert.

 

The product of a collaboration of some of the country's best (and some of my favorite) pastry chefs, Killed by Dessert was an occasion for these six pastry chefs to share with us some of their favorite things.  More precisely, one savory appetizer and two desserts per person - which, yes, is six savory courses and twelve sweet ones.  The ticket price seemed steep, but it was far less than you would pay for 18 courses from the restaurants at which these chefs provide the final sweet bites.  (Moreover, the proceeds benefited Share Our Strength.)  Given that I have been known to go to restaurants just to get to the desserts and sometimes order only dessert when there's really nothing on the menu I want to or can eat, there was no way in the world I was going to miss this event.

Choice Eats 2011: Extreme Gluttony & the Resulting Bellyache, Part Two

In case you missed it, here's Part 1 of my recap of Choice Eats.  I was so stuffed and comatose Tuesday night that I couldn't finish writing up the full recap.  That's how bad the situation was.  But it seems that I wasn't the only one who went totally overboard, so I feel slightly less disgusting about my behavior.  Anyway, let's pick up where we left off, shall we.

After waiting in line for about 15 minutes for Del Posto's eggplant dessert (which wasn't really worth the wait), we got the remaining vegetarian savory items.

Lots of vegetarian Mediterranean dips from Kashkaval - beet skordalia, babaghanoush, tzatziki, olive tapenade, and muhammara.  We've never been there and it is now on our list of places at which we must eat in 2011.

Choice Eats 2011: Extreme Gluttony & the Resulting Bellyache, Part 1

I'm fighting off a food coma as I write this.  Earlier tonight (being Tuesday night), Matt and I stuffed our faces at the 4th annual Choice Eats, the Village Voice's tasting event that was held this year at the 68th Armory in Murray Hill.

For once, I'm glad that there were limited vegetarian options.  Of the approximately 60 restaurants there, 15 had vegetarian items, which ended up being plenty of food - everything was so rich that I was barely able to finish each serving (most of which were huge - 4-5 bites instead of the 1-2 bites that I expected).  Add to that the fact that we had VIP tickets, which gave us access to food in the downstairs vault an hour before the main event as well as later in the evening for desserts, and you have a recipe for extreme overindulgence.  At 8:30, neither Matt nor I could bring ourselves to eat even one more bite of food - and the event went until 9:30.

Upcoming Event: The Brooklyn Booze Experiment

Yep, it's that time of year again, and this time the theme is booze.  The Brooklyn Booze Experiment - the 8th Experiment from masterminds and cookoff champions Theo and Nick - is this Sunday, March 6, at The Bell House in Brooklyn, and, of course, I will be there, dishing out a boozy sweet treat.

Tickets aren't sold out yet, but they likely will be before the weekend rolls around (the Experiments always sell out in advance), so make sure to get your ticket now before you miss out on the chance to savor 25 booze-laden dishes, one of which will be my spin on a classic cocktail.  Want more details on what I'm making?  You'll just have to show up on Sunday to find out!  In the meantime, check out my Q&A with the guys about my experience competing in the Experiments.

What: The Brooklyn Booze Experiment
When: Sunday, March 6 at 1 pm
Where: The Bell House - 149 7th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues) in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn
How much: $25 gets you entry, samples of 20-25 booze-laden dishes, and one beer.

Thai Eggplant Green Curry Chocolate Cake with Coconut-Thai Basil Ice cream

Here it finally is: my slightly belated post about my dessert for Dirt Candy’s 2nd birthday at the end of October. I already detailed how this unique opportunity came about so I’ll save this space for how I came up with the concept for the chosen dessert and, following that, an at-home version of the recipe that I shared with Amanda and staff.

As I previously mentioned, Amanda had asked me at the very end of August to come up with a vegetable-based dessert, thereby giving me nearly six weeks to come up with a concept, test, and finalize it before sending her my recipe the last week of October. Because it was still late summer, my head was wrapped around berries and stone fruit and corn but I quickly realized that those items weren’t really in season in late October (even though they could certainly be sourced at that time) and so I decided against them. Within a week, I was fully certain that I wanted to use one of the namesakes of this blog: eggplant.

Dessert for Dirt Candy

Those of you who read this blog (or know me in real life) know that a few months ago I cooked a meal and a slew of desserts for Amanda Cohen and her wonderful staff at Dirt Candy. Since then, I’ve gotten to know Amanda better (and have brought her and her staff assorted treats and brought a ton of mini cupcakes in a Dirt Candy-inspired flavor to her Iron Chef America viewing party). Little did I know that all this would lead to an incredible opportunity.

The lovely little cake I made for the fine folks at Dirt Candy

Dinner for Dirt Candy

**Updated - see below!

One of my favorite restaurants in this city - or anywhere, for that matter - is the brilliant and exceptional Dirt Candy. In the nearly two years since it's been open, it has garnered high praise, and I'm definitely in agreement. Although I'm a lifelong vegetarian, most vegetarian restaurants leave me cold - I'm generally not interested in eating fake versions of meat nor do I want to eat something that's cold, raw, or devoid of fat and other flavors. Dirt Candy, however, eschews all those stereotypes and delivers food that celebrates vegetables and also doesn't attempt to be healthy. I could go on about how much I love this place, but that's not the point of this post.

Yes, I am aware of the fact that the top part of the logo is supposed to
be a starlight mint, but I was going for a post-modern interpretation. 

That, or my fondant skills are low and I was in a rush (note the mangled 

spoon on the left sepal!) so I decided to play it safe.

Win 2 tickets to sold-out New York Food Film Festival Food Truck Drive-In

The Fourth Annual NYC Food Film Festival begins tomorrow and continues through Sunday. In addition to films about food, there are so many great food events, ranging from a Southeast Asian Street Market by Brad Farmerie (of Public) to a sold-out Food Truck Drive-In under the Brooklyn Bridge in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn.

It's the latter to which I'm giving away a pair of tickets. The Drive-In is this Saturday, June 26, from noon-10 and will be the largest gathering of food trucks ever!  Some of my favorites - Wafels and Dinges and the Red Hook Ballfield Vendors - and many many more will be there, and short films will be shown from 1-4 and then again from 8:30-10.  The event has been sold out for weeks, but, because I don't know how to read my calendar properly, I can't use the two tickets that I have to it and am giving them away to one of you!

Come to my cupcake class at the Brooklyn Lyceum Spring Food + Craft Fair!

This coming Sunday, May 2, I will be teaching a class at the Brooklyn Lyceum's Spring Food + Craft Fair!  I won't be selling my cupcakes there, but I will be teaching 10 people not only how to make great cupcakes but how to come up with unique flavor combinations and translate those flavors into an amazing cupcake.  The class is already half full so register now if you've always wanted to learn how to make killer cupcakes but were afraid to ask how sold out!   As always, feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions.

Hope to see you there!

Saturday April 17: Share Our Strength Food Blogger Bake Sale @ Brooklyn Flea

Most of us don't realize that hunger is a problem that is widespread in our country.  We think of it as something that only afflicts so-called third world countries, but the reality is that there are millions of people in the US who struggle with hunger.  Food insecurity (the technical term for it) is even more rampant these days as a result of the recent economic downturn, and children are disproportionately affected.  I'm fairly certain that nearly everyone reading this (myself included) is fortunate enough to never have had to struggle with this; we can all buy food without worrying if we can pay the rent, and often we buy items that are downright luxurious (Maldon sea salt and farm eggs that cost 50 cents a piece are just some of my recent indulgences).  Because of this disparity, I've decided to participate in this year's Share Our Strength Great American Bake Sale, and I'm asking all of you to help out.

Two great food events today!

A little last minute, but better late than never!

First up is Fierce and Sweet, the 1st Annual Brooklyn Bake Off to Benefit New York Cares. Lots of great contenders and guest judges, and it's all for a great cause. It's today from 1 pm - 4 pm at the East River Bar in Williamsburg. Tickets are $20, which gets you lots of sweets and a sense of satisfaction for donating to a good cause. [I was supposed to participate but a dear friend of mine is in town this weekend from London, so I didn't have the heart to be in the kitchen for the better part of the evening when I don't get to see her very often.]



The second event is the NYC VegFest - the website isn't all that informative, but it does tell me that Masta Killa of the Wu-Tang Clan is speaking at 3 pm. WHAT? That's what I thought too, so to find out, get yourself over to Tompkins Square Park in the East Village.

OK, that's it from me for now. I've got lots of great posts in the works, so stay tuned!

The Brooklyn Beer Experiment

The First Annual Brooklyn Beer Experiment, which was organized by cook-off masters Nick and Theo, was held this past Sunday at the gorgeous Bell House in, of course, Brooklyn. And, of course, I was one of the participants.


There were two contests, home brewing and a cook-off. Since I know absolutely nothing about brewing beer (I’m only good at drinking it), I decided to conjure up a sweet treat infused with beer. Before I delve into that, let me give you my little recap. (Theo’s recap is here, followed by a list of those on other blogs.)