Southern Comfort at Bobwhite Lunch & Supper Counter
Saddle up to the counter at Bobwhite for some serious, sustainable fried chicken.
February 03, 2012
Bobwhite Lunch & Supper Counter is a breadbox-size restaurant with a tiny menu and a big heart. Owner Keedick Coulter and chef Amanda Beame opened the Alphabet City spot quietly this January with one goal: Serve simple, sustainable fried chicken and fixings like mom made, only slightly better. Beame, a Miami-native who last cooked at Blue Smoke, brines the organic FreeBird chickens in sweet tea overnight and then batters them with a simple mix of milk, flour salt and pepper—no bells, no whistles, no secret spice. And, man, is she on the right track. The resulting chicken is juicy beyond belief with a crisp, perfectly seasoned skin. “If you choose to add a little honey or hot sauce, that’s your prerogative,” said Coulter. (Try the cayenne honey.) Order your chicken with sides, such as tomato pudding—a wintry mix of stewed tomatoes and bread that recalls caponata—macaroni and cheese, black eyed peas and cheese grits or a more figure-friendly salad with light vinaigrette and cheery watermelon radishes. Beame’s red velvet cheesecake with graham cracker crust is a must for dessert. 94 Avenue C, 212-228-2972
Dinner Plans: Traditional Tapas at Ventanas
Indulge in a sultry evening of Spanish tapas, live music, candlelight and dangerous cocktails.
February 02, 2012
Empanadillas de dulce de leche at Ventanas
Industrial elegance is on display in spades at Ventanas, a tasty tapas restaurant located just a short walk from The High Line. The space itself fits right in with the neighborhood’s nocturnal vibe—exposed beams catch the reflection of the flickering candles responsible for most of the room’s light. Traditional and humble small plates convey a sort of Spain-by-way-of-Morocco concept.
While the presentation may be no-frills, the flavors stand up and get your attention, as does the live music that plays five nights a week. Sweet plantains rolled around Serrano ham and manchego cheese are a welcome wedding of salt and sweet and the impeccably cooked costilla de res (beef short rib) flavors ring true even as the beef nearly falls apart on the plate. For dessert, you’ll want to sample the empanadillas de dulce de leche, tiny empanadas filled with sweet cream.
Be sure to try a drink or two from the extensive cocktail menu. The mango ginger mojito (MGM) is as refreshing as it is tropical. In place of the traditional old fashioned, Ventanas does a High Line fashion with rye whiskey, tamarind purée, muddled oranges and a delightfully dangerous (read: flaming) spoon of absinthe.
While your eyes may be darting around the busy and exciting world of Ventanas, the rest of you will be more than satisfied with one plate at a time. Ventanas, 100 Tenth Ave., 212-366-1640
The Best of the 2012 Cayman Cookout
An eater’s journal from the annual Caribbean getaway with Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain and friends.
January 19, 2012
We’re back from the fourth annual Cayman Cookout, a whirlwind culinary weekend hosted by Eric Ripert and The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. It was a breezy 80-degrees on the islands and between an endless array of epicurean delights, chats with Anthony Bourdain and the inviting crystal-clear beaches, we didn’t miss the New York winter for one minute. Opening with a charity wine action put on by Sotheby’s and ending with a chef-studded gala dinner—prepared by Ripert, José Andrés, April Bloomfield, Laurent Gras, Paul Rogalski and François Payard—the three-day cookout was a gastronomic Eden. Here’s how it all went down.
Day One
It’s 10 AM. José Andrés emerges from the Caribbean waters—in full scuba attire—and marches toward an awestruck crowd. What a way to start a cooking demonstration. Andrés proceeds to cook a breakfast of paella, grilled oysters and sangria, which we finish just in time to rush over to The Imperial Lunch put on by Moët at the hotel brasserie. Soon, a 40-pound snapper, hours out of the water and baked in a salt crust, lands on the table while Champagne flows. We leave feeling like kings and take a short rest.
Before we know it, April Bloomfield is hosting a raw bar demo on one end of the beach while François Payard turns out sweet nibbles on the farther side. Dinner is a beach barbecue with Anthony Bourdain donning a chef jacket and serving savory porchetta that literally melts in our mouth. Andrés is doling out petite salmon roe cones, Ibérico ham and seared tenderloin, served from grill to plate. Live music ebbs, cocktail shakers clack and the smell of barbecue and saltwater waft. Suddenly, it’s midnight. No wonder they call this place a paradise.
Day Two
Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert start the morning with a beachside chat. News of Paula Deen’s diabetes and subsequent drug endorsement deal has just broke and Bourdain rips right in calling her “morally dubious” and a “destructive force.” An audience member notes that Bourdain isn’t exactly the poster child for healthy eating. “My show comes with a parental advisory; hers does not,” he counters. Fair enough.
We decamp for a lunch with Ripert at Periwinkle Restaurant, where the dapper Laurent Gras serves us lobster and caviar. Ripert reveals his favorite everyday drinking wine is Bordeaux and declares, “Guilty pleasures are very American. As a Frenchman, I have no guilty pleasures about anything.” His favorite late night snack? Spicy chorizo and dark chocolate. Later, we hang out with Ripert again for ceviche and cocktails. He teaches us how to make his signature tuna and foie gras, a seemingly simple yet brilliant stack of toasted baguette, foie gras and pounded tuna.
Dinner is prepared by Michael Schwartz and Bloomfield at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, the Cayman outpost of Schwartz’s popular Miami eatery of the same name. The ingredients are distinctly Cayman and the cookery is unmistakably Breslin. We devour wahoo crudo with ginger; vegetable giardiniera and slow roasted pork shoulder; Cayman rabbit and ricotta; and lamb scottadito. Dessert is a sweet and salty peanut caramel bar.
Day Three
Our final day kicks off with a Champagne brunch and local culinary competition judged by Food & Wine’s Dana Cowin, Ripert, Bourdain, Andrés and Cayman Islands governor Duncan Taylor. After last night’s dinner, we can’t imagine making room for more than a nosh. As fresh oysters, sashimi, black cod and a caviar buffet are presented, we somehow find room for a full lunch. Some more Champagne, local fruit and Ispahan macarons seal the deal—we’ll be back next year.
Cocktails and a Bite at The Vinatta Project
You inspire the ingredients in the cocktail shakers at this Meatpacking District newcomer.
January 17, 2012
From the team behind The Mulberry Project comes The Vinatta Project, a new Meatpacking District bar that embraces libations of the bespoke and vending machine varieties. Though much of the buzz for Vinatta has revolved around its enomatic wine, artisanal spirit and beer vending machines, which line the wall facing its shiny zinc bar, the real draw is the bar’s talented team of mixologists and their Netflix philosophy on cocktails (if you like this, you might like this). Mention a spirit, fruit, herb or flavor that you love and something completely unexpected yet altogether familiar and delicious is delivered to you.
On a recent trip we requested a maple cocktail and were served a comforting honey, cinnamon, bourbon and housemade maple syrup drink. You can also put your drink order in the hands of the greenmarket: The bar team makes daily trips to the market for fresh fruits and vegetables to be turned into housemade syrups and purées of the day. We let the market options determine our second cocktail and wound up with a crisp clementine, mango, vodka and seasonal spice cocktail. A signature cocktail list, boasting favorites such as the West Side Cowboy (rye, cherry liqueur, Campari, Benedictine), is also offered.
And because cocktails always taste better when they’re accompanied by something savory and bite-size, executive chef Michael “Kiwi” Camplin turns out a seasonal menu of indulgent small plates. House favorites include a classic steak tartare (mixed with horseradish and mayonnaise), citrus-spiked red snapper tacos, a selection of sliders and three varieties of macaroni and cheese. Favorites from our visit included sautéed Brussels sprouts with apple, which come steaming atop molten goat cheese cream, and spicy seared tuna tataki served on tortilla chips with fresh guacamole. Finding elbowroom or holding a conversation without having to yell on a busy Friday or Saturday night is tough, but weeknights tend to be more low-key yet still lively. Add The Vinatta Project to your after-work drinks rotation and your friends will thank you. 69 Gansevoort St., 646-398-9125
Cocktail Trend: Apple Cider Sips
Warm up by the fire with a snifter of spiked apple cider.
January 10, 2012
Sultry, spicy apple cider cocktails are popping up on menus all over the city. Easily mixed with a variety of spirits, and possessing warm notes of cinnamon, clove and orange peel, apple cider is a must-stock Fall mixer. Serve these seasonal cocktails at your next party or mix one up for yourself to enjoy fireside.
Heated Affair
2 ounces Partida anejo tequila
6 ounces hot spiced apple cider (see below)
Heavy cream
Add tequila and cider to a small, warm wine glass. Top with heavy cream and garnish with fresh grated nutmeg.
For the apple cider: Combine one container of organic apple juice with winter spices, such as clove, cinnamon stick, allspice and orange peel, to taste. Simmer over low heat for approximately 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste, strain and serve.
Durango Royale
3/4 ounce Kahlúa Cinnamon Spice
1 ounce Aquavit
1/2 ounce lemon juice
Dry French fermented sparkling apple cider
Add Kahlúa, Aquavit and lemon juice to a shaker with ice. Shake well, strain into a flute and top with cider.
Winter Apple
1 ounce Tequila Avión Reposado
1 ounce fresh pressed apple juice
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce agave bectar
Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain over fresh ice and garnish with a cinnamon stick or apple slice.
Boozy Tea Time Recipes
Le Palais des Thés conjures seasonal tea tipples with red wine, sake and Champagne.
December 19, 2011
Thé N°25 Mulled Wine
In case you haven’t noticed, there is a renaissance happening in the world of tea. From the arrivals of various new teashops (Bosie Tea Parlor being one of our favorites) to tea-infused desserts, tea pairings and tea cocktails, the boundaries of tea are seemingly endless. We’ll leave dessert to the chefs, but tea cocktails can be easily concocted at home.
This Christmas, French teahouse Le Palais des Thés has introduced N°25, a black tea blend scented with rose petals, cinnamon and oranges—all of which are commonly found at holiday festivities throughout Northern Europe. The blend also possesses notes of cardamom, almond and a fragrant finish of vanilla bean. Here are a few ways Le Palais des Thés recommends marrying its potent teas with alcohol for the holidays.
Thé N°25 Mulled Wine
Comforting with a spicy bouquet and lingering citrus notes, mulled wine is precisely what winter evenings call for.
1 bottle of red wine
5/8 cup brown sugar
5 tbsp. N°25 tea
Heat the wine and brown sugar in a large pot over a low flame. As it comes to a boil, reduce the flame and simmer for five minutes, or until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add tea and infuse for four minutes over low heat. Serve warm with an orange wedge.
Thé du Hammam Champagne
When the occasion demands something sparkly, keep Thé du Hammam Champagne in your repertoire. Thé du Hammam is a lush green tea with berries, rose, orange flower and green dates, all of which evoke the scents of a hammam, the traditional Turkish bath.
3 tsp. Thé du Hammam tea
2 tbsp. peach liqueur
Champagne
Brew tea in ten ounces of spring water for three minutes. Filter and chill in the refrigerator. Add chilled tea and peach liqueur into a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into a Champagne flute with equal parts tea and Champagne.
Fleur de Geisha Cocktail
With Japanese green tea and delicate cherry blossom leaves, this tea blend melds seamlessly with sake.
4 tsp. Fleur de Geisha tea
2.5 ounces sake
2.5 ounces pink grapefruit juice
3 1/2 tbsp. triple sec
Brew tea in 12 ounces of spring water for three minutes. Filter and chill in the refrigerator. Add chilled tea, sake, grapefruit juice and triple sec into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass with a pinch of ground ginger and serve immediately.
Cozy Winter Cocktails
These four cocktails are warm, inviting and strong enough to make your cheeks blush.
December 13, 2011
Whether you’re out-and-about or in the cozy confines of home, these delectable drinks are sure to bring merriment to your holiday celebrations.
The Rudolph
SERVES ONE
The Millesime at The Carlton Hotel is serving up a jolly combination of cranberry, ginger and orange flavors in its new holiday cocktail, The Rudolph.
2 ounces cranberry-infused white whiskey (SEE BELOW)
3/4 ounce ginger-infused simple syrup
1 1/2 ounce crémant, rosé or sparkling wine
Dash fresh lemon juice
Dash orange bitters
Combine all ingredients, except wine, into a shaker with ice and shake 20 times. Double strain into a coupe glass and top with wine. Garnish half of the rim with colored sugar or edible confetti.
Cranberry-Infused Whiskey
2 cups fresh cranberries
750 ml white whiskey, such as Death's Door
Puncture cranberries with a fork and add to whiskey. Let sit covered for at least 72 hours in the refrigerator. Strain and enjoy.
88 Madison Ave., 212-532-4100; carltonhotelny.com
The Chicco
SERVES ONE
A Voce Madison and A Voce Columbus are mixing this frothy Chicco cocktail, a luscious concoction that’s perfect for pairing with dessert.
1 ounce Jameson
1 ounce Kahlua Cinnamon Spice
1/2 ounce Triple Sec
1 1/2 ounces milk
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with freshly grated cinnamon.
41 Madison Ave., 212-545-8555; 10 Columbus Circle, 212-823-2523; avocerestaurant.com
Grey Goose La Poire Almond Froth
SERVES ONE
This decadent holiday drink is ideal for enjoying while decorating the tree, and it’s a great lactose-free alternative to eggnog.
1 1/2 ounces Grey Goose La Poire
1/4 ounce brandy
1 ounce unsweetened almond milk
3/4 ounce agave nectar
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is frosted and beaded with sweat. Strain into highball glass and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
Sugar Plum Martini
SERVES ONE
Sip this Sugar Plum Martini at Grand Central Terminal’s Campbell Apartment or at home by the fire.
2 ounces chilled Stoli Razberi
1/4 ounce Chambord
1 sugar cube
Moët & Chandon
Place sugar cube in the bottom of a martini glass, top with Chambord and allow to saturate. Strain Stoli Razberi into Martini glass and top with Moet & Chandon.
15 Vanderbilt Ave., 212-953-0409; hospitalityholdings.com
In Praise of Per Se and Mignardises
At Per Se, the best—a chest of handmade chocolates, macarons, pâtes de fruits and petite caramels—is saved for last.
December 06, 2011
A chest of chocolates at Per Se, part of its mignardises course
Much has been written on the famed “oysters and pearls” (pearl tapioca, Island Creek oysters, Sterling white sturgeon caviar) and salmon coronet canapés at Per Se—both dishes are Thomas Keller originals. But for those with a sweet tooth, Per Se’s greatest prize comes long after canapés, proteins and even pastry. It is in the mignardises: A Pandora’s box of miniature sweet bites that is almost a meal in itself.
Down come silver bowls filled with warm cinnamon-sugar doughnut holes, chocolate-dipped hazelnuts, potent cubes of pâtes de fruits and a rainbow array of macarons—pistachio, coffee and fig, to name a few. Petite caramels and pistachio-studded nougat logs made daily melt like meringue on the palate.
A note to the uninitiated: pace yourself. Presented in an elegant, custom-designed wooden chest is the cocoa-charged culmination of any meal at Per Se—24 magnificent chocolates. Made twice weekly, molded chocolates are created in the kitchens of Per Se, while enrobed chocolates (see the fourth column in the photo above) are made in its sister kitchen, Bouchon Bakery, where a special machine is kept just for the purpose of chocolate-making. The resulting chocolate chests include a row of white chocolates, a row of milk chocolates and a row of sublime dark chocolates. Have one, have two or simply have them all—no one is there to stop you.
Presiding pastry chef Elwyn Boyles trusts Mast Brothers Chocolate for his chocolate supply. As ganache goes, many of Boyles’s are water-based, which results in a purer chocolate flavor. On the other hand, cream-based ganache options are silkier with a more luxurious mouthfeel. Ask for one of each and let your tastebuds do the math. It’s a world of difference.
Chocolate chest flavors change daily and with the season. A bright passion fruit square yields a delightful pucker and a buttery Bailey’s cheesecake number is as playful as it is delicious. Classic flavors are always represented and more inventive combinations—gin martini, curry, coffee cardamom—cycle in and out. Make haste to try the maple pecan, Per Se’s most popular flavor of late.
Demystifying Ice Wine
A look at how the pleasing dessert wine is made and how it is best enjoyed.
November 18, 2011
Ice wine. The name alone conjures images of grapes frosted with freshly fallen snow. Idle fancies aside, the careful art of ice winemaking is a mystery to many wine drinkers.
The Niagara region’s sweet, slightly nectar-like Inniskillin ice wines owe their unique flavors to a process of repeated freezing and thawing, a cycle that serves to concentrate the sugars in the grapes while they remain on the vine well into the winter. Winemakers wait until the ideal temperature is reached to begin harvesting, a painstaking nocturnal process (harvests usually begin at night when it’s coldest) in which the grapes are collected and immediately pressed. The vintage will yield only a fraction of the volume that normal winemaking would, given that the water in the grapes remains frozen. The result: a trickle of highly concentrated juice, the base of what will later mature into fine dessert wines.
The hard work of growing and harvesting grapes for ice wine is well worth it. The 2007 Vidal by Inniskillin possess a smooth, silky taste that sets it apart from other dessert wines. Its notes of citrus and papaya pair delightfully with holiday favorites like almond cookies and pastries, fruit-based cakes and pies, foie gras and cheese (gorgonzola dolce, Roquefort, Gruyère). Beekman Liquors, 500 Lexington Ave.; beekmanliquors.com
Teqa Brings Tacos to Murray Hill
A chef from a taco truck brings a new menu to Mexican eatery Teqa.
November 17, 2011
Try the hibiscus and rose margarita with the inventive tacos at Teqa
Ask any taco aficionado where to go for authentic Mexican food in New York City and they will probably direct you to a taco truck. Mobile taquerías have captivated foodies all over town with their delicious fare and reputation for staying true to their roots. Now the phenomenon has moved inside. Chris Goossen, owner of The Knockout Taco Truck in Los Angeles and executive chef at Teqa, has brought more of Mexico to the Murray Hill restaurant via his new menu of authentic tacos.
Highlights include the pollo asado, which combines free range chicken with lemon and “secret” spices, salsa roja, cotija cheese, mixed onions, and cilantro on a soft corn tortilla. The menu, which debuted last week, also includes global tacos—a concept that Goossen, a Southern California native, has been perfecting for more than a decade. His regional inspiration manifests itself in dishes like the blackened shrimp. Created for those not afraid of heat (the choice is marked with two jalepeños printed on the menu), the soft taco is stuffed with achiote shrimp, bacon, cheese grits, and Cajun salsa.
Goossen has cooked in some of the most popular restaurants in Los Angeles, including Le Dome and Bottega Louie. He also worked as Mark Wahlberg’s personal chef for five years before starting The Knockout Taco Truck, and is now excited to bring his expertise to NYC. “The Mexican food scene is fierce in Southern California,” says Goossen, who calls himself the “undisputed world champion of tacos.” “I respect the culinary traditions and sensibilities of the Hispanic community and am looking forward to introducing my unique flavor combinations that I honed out West to Teqa’s fans.” 447 Third Ave., 212-213-3223
