Independence Day at Blau Gans

Blaue Gans is throwing a “4th of July Pig Out: The restaurant is roasting up a whole pig and serving it with Schaller and Weber sausages, salads, and a Viennese cake bar. $35, all you can eat.”

Taste of Tribeca Menu Is Up!

Check out the full menu here.

Looks like it's going to be a tasty weekend!

Newcomer Plein Sud Opens and Participates in Taste of Tribeca

Zagats wrote up the new Tribeca Plein Sud, a new restaurant being opened by Frederick Lesort at 85 West Broadway. We look forward to having them at this year's Taste of Tribeca! Check out the article here.

"The Forklifter" Visits The "Taste of Tribeca" Preview Party

Many thanks to The Forklifter for letting us reprint this!

The Forklifter was tempted to become “The Plate-licker” recently. Last Wednesday, a serendipitous invite came my way to the first-ever “Taste of Tribeca Private Preview”. Seven of Tribeca’s top chefs were profiling their offerings for the upcoming Taste of Tribeca. Did anyone seriously think I might turn it down?

Mark Forgione lent his very cool restaurant for the event. Tribeca Wine Merchants supplied their new “Tribeca Meeting Point” wine to go along with the tastings . The godfather of Tribeca restaurants, Tracy Nieporant held court from a seat at the bar as some lucky food writers dug into a parade of tastings.

First off was Amanda Freitag’s “Marinated Artichokes with Lemon-Ramp Ricotta”. This is exactly the kind of thing I’d order at the Harrison and it didn’t disappoint. The ricotta was ethereal and lemony and balanced the earthy artichokes perfectly. It was the type of food you mop up with your bread.

Ricky Estrellado of Nobu (they’re back!) offered up “Chicken Karaage with Green Mango and Jicama Slaw”. These were deep-fired chicken wings with the perfect amount of heat. I was relieved to see that I wasn’t the only person gnawing away trying to get every last morsel of crunchy crust and tender meat. The slaw was the ideal balance--fresh and palate cleansing,

With a name like Chewy Cereceres, you’ve got to believe that the Macao Trading Company’s chef can cook. The beautiful “Crab and Shrimp Jade Dumpling with Cilantro Scallion Puree” were quite delicate, but spiked with fresh ginger. I’ve heard that there are people who (supposedly) hate cilantro, but this puree might make some converts.

Timmy Zherka of Acappella really surprised me with his “Homemade Porcini Agnolotti with Port Wine Sauce”. Thick slabs of juicy porcinis topped off the tender pasta. The filling was clearly loaded with mushrooms and not “fillers”. I had to make do with my fork to get up the last of the sauce.

Blaue Gans’ Kurt Gutenbrunner always manages to defy expectations. If you think you have Austrian cuisine figured out, Kurt will always change things up. His “Nurnberg Bratwurst-Mini-Bratwurst with Sauerkraut, Potatoes, Fresh Horseradish and Watercress” was probably the most elegant and beautifully constructed plate of food—and that was by no means an easy feat with that crowd. The savory, tender sausages were supported by every element of the dish, right down to the homemade mustard.

A couple of years ago, Marc Forgione made a splash at the Taste of Tribeca before his restaurant had even opened its doors. The man clearly has a way with lamb and he highlighted it by serving “Braised Lamb Neck, Carrot Ravioli, Hoppert Cress Peas Shoots”. Did I taste a bit of cardamom, maybe some cumin? I kept thinking about the flavor all night. The meat was meltingly tender. The slight sweetness of the carrot ravioli and pea-shoots set it off nicely.

Let it not be said that I don’t have willpower. When Rachel Thebault of Tribeca Treats set down her dessert plates, I only tried one thing. Was it because I was amongst strangers and the press? I don’t know but it wasn’t easy. Cupcakes, cookies and brownies…from Tribeca Treats…go ahead, you try to do it. I chose wisely: a decadent chocolate-vanilla cupcake. Perfect for the chronically indecisive (who me?).

So that’s how I nearly became “The Plate-licker. Just 14 days until TASTE of TRIBECA—I’ve already got my tickets. Now, pardon me while I adjust my elastic waistband.

David Waltuck of Chanterelle Joins The Robert Restaurant Team

David Waltuck, the acclaimed chef who manned the stoves at his 30 year-old restaurant Chanterelle until it sadly closed last year, is joining the team at Robert restaurant at the Museum of Arts and Design as a consultant.

Congratulations David! We're looking forward to seeing you at Taste of Tribeca signing cookbooks!

New Restaurant Franklin Cafe Tavola Calda

There is a new restaurant in Tribeca, the Franklin Cafe Tavola Calda. Located at 222 West Broadway, this affordable italian cafe offers a selection of cured meats, cheeses, pasta, and pizza.

Fun tip: the general manager Luca Manfé says, “If one day you come in and feel like a pasta that isn’t on the menu, we will make it for you."

Chef David Bouley Fun Fact

Chef David Bouley of Bouley's Bakery is a soon-to-be contestant on Bravo!'s Top Chef. The Daily News recently profiled him and his restuarant (located at 120 West Broadway). The Bouley Bakery and Cafe offers a three-level dining experience in a relaxed, casual setting. You can grab a pastry to go, or enjoy the relaxed atmosphere indoors.

The fun fact? In 1991, out of 7,000 diners polled by Zagat, several said they would eat their last meal at Bouley!

Macao Trading Company Gets New Chef, Late-Night Dim Sum, and Gets Rid of Brunch

Macao trading company has gotten a new executive chef, Chewy Cereceres, formerly of the DObe Club. He has been making changes to the menu, including expansion of dessert and late-night menus, adding vegetarian options, dim sum cart service on Thursdays through Saturday late-nights, and getting rid of brunch.

Check out the full article here.

Mmm... Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf at Bubby's!

Craving comfort? Stop by Bubby's anytime (they're open 24/7!) for some bacon-wrapped meatloaf with onion straws and gravy. They also offer a root-vegetable packed chicken pot pie, and delicious desserts, including a apple whiskey crumble! Yum!

Marc Forgione's Sea of Sustainability

On April 7th, chef Marc Forgione offered a seven-course tasting menu, highlighting sustainable seafood from Connecticut & Litchfield Farms. Items ranged from raw hiramasa with daikon-radish confit, to a white asparagus & Marcona almond soup with pickled laughing bird shrimp, cured chorizo, and young mint. Many other seafood dishes were offered, along with an optional wine pairing for each course.

Terroir Tribeca Will Feature Wine On Tap

When Paul Grieco and Marco Canora open Terroir Tribeca this week, the new location will designate two taps to "fermented grape juice," according to TONY. A rep confirms that Grieco is in fact carrying on the exact green trend we're excited about that's bubbling up in San Francisco. We're told that one of the drafts will spout Finger Lakes Riesling and another is still to be determined. [Feast NY, TONY]

Taste of Tribeca Tip #7: Good Food Is Slow Food

This article first appeared in the Tribeca citizen on April 6, 2010. We appreciate being able to reprint this article.

In anticipation of Taste of Tribeca, the benefit for P.S. 234 and P.S. 150 on May 15, I’m asking the participating chefs for cooking tips. Once Alberto Polo, the chef and co-owner of Farinella Italian Bakery and Pizzeria, got started, he realized he had quite a bit of culinary advice….

People cook with too much rush—and rush and good cooking don’t exist together. Ever. Our flame is always low (well, not to boil water). When the flame is high, you dry food out. My tomato sauce takes 30 to 40 minutes. It’s better for the flavors, because the water evaporates, but the flavor is there. People want cooking to be fast—they buy parmigiano that’s already been grated—but cooking is time. So you have to think about what you’re going to do and then organize your time in a better way.

I’ve been trying to eat less meat and more vegetables, but meat usually has more flavor—especially here, not like in Italy where you bite into a tomato and it tastes like a tomato! But if you’re cooking with less meat, you need to add flavor, or a kick, maybe from unusual spices. Last night, I made a veggie carbonara, and I used zucchini instead of pancetta. To make up for the pancetta, I added a little onion, turmeric, and a little more Parmigiano than normal.

Another thing: When people want to cook proper Italian, they have to use extra virgin olive oil, no matter what. The other kind doesn’t exist in Italy! I even use extra virgin olive oil to fry eggplant. People say it’ll be heavy. No!

And when we make bread, we never use a proofer [a device that forces the dough to rise]. We set the dough out on a wooden board, the old-fashioned way. When the dough is ready, we make the pizza. If the dough isn’t ready, we don’t. Even if Presdent Obama calls, I’m sorry, we don’t have pizza. And once the dough goes down, I don’t use it. You want dough that is still alive—the enzymes, the protein, the air, the gluten. When people eat pizza somewhere and ask why it’s soggy, I say, ‘You know why it’s soggy? The dough died a few days ago!’

*Tickets are on sale now at tasteoftribeca.org. Buy before May 1 and they’re only $35. Also, join the Taste of Tribeca Facebook group and you might win a T-shirt.

Taste of Tribeca Tip #6: When Applying Sauce, Use Your Noodle

This article first appeared in The Tribeca Citizen on April 1, 2010. We appreciate being able to reprint the article.

In anticipation of Taste of Tribeca, the benefit for P.S. 234 and P.S. 150 on May 15, I’m asking the participating chefs for cooking tips. John Sierp of M1-5 and White Cloud Catering says there’s more to saucing pasta that mixing and serving.

Do you hate when you order pasta and get a plate full of red water on the bottom of your dish/bowl? Here’s a way to avoid that. When you cook the pasta, stop a minute or two before it’s al dente. Strain the pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta water. Put the pasta back in the pot (on low/medium heat), along with just enough sauce to coat it—you want to finish the cooking process by stirring the pasta with the sauce for the last minute or so; that way the pasta aborbs some of the sauce and flavors it. As you finish cooking the pasta in the sauce, add some of the pasta water as the sauce evaporates: The pasta will absorb the sauce/pasta water and the starch in the pasta water will help thicken the liquid. This also works well for serving family-style: When serving, add more sauce to each portion as you like. This way, everyone gets pasta with the right amount of sauce. And serve another helping of sauce on the side, so people can add it themselves as they wish.

*Tickets are on sale now at tasteoftribeca.org. Buy before May 1 and they’re only $35. Also, join the Taste of Tribeca Facebook group and you might win a T-shirt.

Taste of Tribeca Tip #5: Prep Like a Pro

This article first appeared in the Tribeca Citizen on March 29, 2010. We appreciate being able to reprint the article.

In anticipation of Taste of Tribeca, the benefit for P.S. 234 and P.S. 150 on May 15, The Tribeca Citizen is asking the participating chefs for cooking tips. Marc Forgione shares two tips—one he recently taught someone, and one he recently learned.

"I actually just showed one of my cooks how to peel a roasted pepper—and he’s been cooking for six years. Coat the peppers with oil and bake them uncovered at 400 degrees for a half hour, until they’re blistered. Then put them directly into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. You need to really seal it—use two pieces of plastic wrap. The plastic wrap will bubble up from the steam, and it’ll rain in there—drops of water will form on the plastic and rain down. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, cut off the tops and bottoms, lay the peppers flat, remove the seeds, and scrape the peel with a knife. It’ll come right off.

And here’s another tip, about corn. I only learned it last year. Throw the unshucked corn into a pot of water that’s just about to boil (but no longer on the stove). Leave it there for five minutes. When you do shuck the corn, the cornsilk won’t stick to the kernels. And then cook the corn however you want."

*Tickets are on sale now at tasteoftribeca.org. Buy before May 1 and they’re only $35. Also, join the Taste of Tribeca Facebook group and you might win a T-shirt.

Taste of Tribeca Tip #4: Fresh Pasta Shouldn't Be Too Fresh

This article first appeared in Tribeca Citizen on March 26, 2010. We appreciate being allowed to reprint this article.

"In anticipation of Taste of Tribeca*, the benefit for P.S. 234 and P.S. 150 on May 15, I’m asking the participating chefs for cooking tips. Roc’s Giovanni Tenace—pictured above right, with restaurateur Rocco Cadolini—says that if you’re going to go to the trouble of making fresh pasta, take the time to do it right.

When you make fresh pasta, you have to let the dough rest an hour. Don’t refrigerate it. Let it sit outside, under a wet cloth. That way, it will become firmer—easier to work with and less likely to fall apart. And it tastes better, too. This is true for any kind of pasta—squid ink, spinach, whatever. But don’t use regular wheat flour. You should use durum or semolina. It’s much better."

*Tickets are on sale now at tasteoftribeca.org. Buy before May 1 and they’re only $35. Also, join the Taste of Tribeca Facebook group and you might win a T-shirt.

Marc Murphy from Landmarc

Marc Murphy just finished his fifth season on the Food Network's CHOPPED, and he has been keeping busy! On March 8th he joined his fellow judges at GMHC's annual fundraiser. The evening included cocktails and a silent auction, followed by a decadent four-course dinner and Passing the Whisk: a fast-paced, culinary relay featuring the star-chef judges from Chopped. Participating chefs included: Amanda Freitag of The Harrison, Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter, Marc Murphy of Landmarc, Aaron Sanchez of Paladar, Chris Santos of Stanton Social and Geoffrey Zakarian of The Lambs Club.

480 guests attended, raising nearly $500,000 in support of GMHC's care services, HIV prevention, and advocacy efforts including its Meals Program which addresses hunger by providing warm meals, nutrition counseling, and a food pantry to thousands of low-income New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS every year.

Trattoria Cinque Specials!

Trattoria Cinque is updating their weekly specials! Monday through Friday, from 5pm-7pm, they will offer apertivo, an Italian tradition eating various snacks while having a drink. A rotating selection of bruschetta, fried seafood, pizzette, fried vegetables such as olives, zucchini flowers or artichokes, pickled vegetables and cheeses will be available.

Also on Monday through Friday from 5pm-7pm, there will be a $20 artisanal pizza and 2 Peroni special. Chose from a variety of pizzas- Perfect to share!

Trattoria Cinque Presents The 2010 World Cup

It is custom in Italy for fans and their guests to visit the local trattoria before a big football game. Proprietors pass around antipasti (salumi and cheeses), bread and light fare to fans gratis, while passing around jugs of wine. Trattoria Cinque will continue this tradition during the World Cup 2010. Make sure to stop by with your "Azzurri kits"!
Trattoria Cinque is located at 363 Greenwich Street.

Great Review of Last Year's Taste of Tribeca

Our friend's over at Slash Food posted a great review of our lamb cook-off from last year's Taste. Was lamb the new bacon last year? What food trends will Taste of Tribeca 2010 debut this year? Buyy your tickets at tasteoftribeca.org and find out!

Taste of Tribeca's Tip for the Perfect Mashed Potato

This article first appeared in Tribeca Citizen on March 20, 2010. We appreciate being allowed to reprint this article.

In anticipation of Taste of Tribeca, the benefit for P.S. 234 and P.S. 150 on May 15, I’m asking the neighborhood chefs who are participating for cooking tips that mere culinary mortals might use at home. Henry Meer, chef and owner of City Hall, shares the method behind City Hall’s luscious mashed potatoes.

First, scrub the potatoes. Use Yukon Golds, and leave the skin on—it’s where the nutrients are, and besides, I love the flavor. Set a pot of cold water, with a little salt, to simmer. Never boil your potatoes—instead, you want a long, low simmer. If you boil them, all the starch ends up on the bottom of the pot. Now the real key is that all the ingredients have to be hot. So the milk and butter should be brought to boil and combined with the potatoes while still hot, then mashed with love. If the potatoes or milk are cold, it’ll make the potatoes pasty, not creamy, fluffy, and yummy.* Garnish with fresh dill and olive oil, and season to taste.

City Hall is at 131 Duane (between Church and West Broadway); 212-277-7777, cityhallnewyork.com.

* Tickets are now on sale at tasteoftribeca.org. And if you buy before May 1, you’ll get a discount.
** Meer insisted I try City Hall’s mashed potatoes, and I can vouch that they are indeed all that. See for yourself….