snack

hotsnack: I saw it on the radio

I don't listen to the radio. I don't have a car, or a long commute to work, or a shower radio. So my curiosity was piqued when I got the invite to go see Martha Stewart's radio show on Sirius. The occasion was the launch of a new series, "At Martha's Table" featuring a live interview with global super chef Jean Georges Vongerichten. The event took place in the midtown lobby of Sirius Radio, a glass and chrome affair with lots of LCD type schedule boards of what's-playing-now. Conveniently, there's a sort of glass aquarium cum sound booth which was all set for the show. In true MS Living-style, there was a baby grand piano with player, an announcer nattily dressed in a cream linen suit, a table dressed in Martha green linens, floral arrangements, wine and hors d'ouevers from Vong, and several photo and video-ographers. The hour-long live broadcast was peppered with pre-recorded testimonials from culinary notables like Eric Ripert, Wylie Dufresne, and Cedric Vongerichten (JGV's son, a young chef) and calls from listeners. I tried to close my eyes or look away, to listen without watching to try and approximate what it was like for the listeners. While I can tune-out an over crowded subway car with my ipod, I was unsuccessful in quashing the excitement reverberating off of all that glass. It seems there's a free online trial over at Sirius, which I may activate if the "At Martha's Table" rebroadcasts. I wondering if hearing radio is as good as seeing it?

 

snackstuff: robu-baby going, going, gone

Interesting thing about the blog is that every single word and picture lives on forever in cyberspace. Sometimes you forget about a post until someone Googles something and you start getting traffic on an old post, say from last September. Seems a Beanie Baby collectors site over in the UK stumbled upon the post on the Chef Robuchon Beanie Baby. To satiate the collectors' hunger for details (yes I've been getting emails), I've scanned the tags, which are apparently a big deal in determining authenticity. As to the provenance: Ty Warner owns the Four Seasons hotel in New York City, where Chef Joël Robuchon opened his L'Atelier restaurant in August last year. As far as I know, only 200 were made to use as invitations to the opening. In my original post, I wondered how much Robu-baby would fetch on eBay? About $1,025.00, which is the current bid on eBay now. Seems a German collector has put one on the block. Bidding ends on May 31st. Crazy time. But I'm sure le chef will find this story trés amusante. N'est-ce pas?

UPDATE: Sold for $3550.

Photos after the jump.

hotsnack: chef survey: how about those tasting events?

You put 40 or 50 chefs into a big room, have them serve tasting portions of a signature dish. Add in some wine and spirits vendors, and maybe a bottled water company. Then sell a couple hundred – or thousand- tickets to the public. You’ve been to one (maybe hundreds?) of these events. They’re the big walk-around. “Taste of…[fill-in the-blank].”

Usually, they're promotional events, and raise money for a worthy causes or charity. The chefs and restaurants are both the attraction and the caterer, offering their star power and hors d’oeuvres for free so the organizers can raise the most funds and do the most good.

I support charity and fighting the good fight. I believed him when President Clinton told us at the Food Bank Gala, “One person can make a difference.”

That said...

While it’s fun to mingle through a ballroom eating, cocktailing and chatting, the other side of the table is somewhat less enchanting. Snack recently surveyed some of Gotham’s top toques for their opinion on the tasting events. Do chefs like doing them? How much does it cost the restaurant? In order to get the real story, all responses are posted anonymously. Chefs either sent in an alias or one was assigned to them. Complete, un-edited, and slightly profane answers after the jump.

snackspot: san loco on the cheap

At all the local San Locos.

snackstuff: japanese pen shells

I was at a press luncheon last Monday at Le Bernardin. At one point, Maguy LeCoze stopped in to say bonjour et comment ça va? I explained I was a bit fatigued as I was in-between chefs night out and the Beard awards. She said Champagne is always good for a hangover, nodding towards my glass of bubbly on the table. She's such a smart and soignée lady. Indeed, the wine brightened everything up. But I digress…

Chef Douglas Keane of Cyrus was host and cook that day. I've not been to his place in Healdsburg, CA, so it was a nice opportunity to try his (from the website) "contemporary luxury cuisine, which has a strong classic French foundation, layered with contemporary global accents and an emphasis on seasonality" firsthand. Plus, who says no to lunch at Le Bernardin?

A stand out among the passed canapés was a sort of surf-n-turf: crispy bone marrow with California caviar. Salty, crunchy, hot, and fatty. Quite addictive. Of note on the menu was the pen shell with spring corn and pickled ramps. (It seems this is the year of the pickle, with a subcategory of ramps.) What arrived on the plate looked like a seared scallop, but the texture was tougher and more sinewy like a conch or abalone. It caused a refined ruckus at the table.

Pen shells are a type of clam native to Japan and Korea that are available both wild and farm-raised. At the sushi bar they're called Tairagi. A bit of online time revealed they are known around the Mediterranean as la grande nacre (meaning mother of pearl or pearly) and gran nacra. Keane discovered them on a recommendation from his fish purveyor. Many of the chefs reading this might wonder if it was IMP, the super sushi vendor out of San Francisco? Indeed it was. But they also ship to points east including Gotham. I would not be surprised if pen shells start cropping up on menus here. (I've heard that Masato Shimizu had them on his menu at Jewel Bako in 2005 and likely has them at his current home, 15 East.)

snackwire: gone fishing

Today is the official start of the Alaskan Copper River Salmon season. To wit, Wild Salmon chef Charles Ramseyer was on a river boat yesterday catching the catch-of-the-day. He flies back today with fish in hand, hoping to be the first to serve it up tonight in Gotham and make it an annual event. Press release after the jump.

partysnack: chefs night out and…

Good times last night on the James Beard pre-Award Chefs Night Out party circuit. While I only got to hit three of the five parties on my dance card, it was a festive six-hour haul for a Sunday night. Hundreds were in attendance and instead of listing out all the names here, just run through the list of nominees and add in a couple publicists, some Top Chefs, photographers and media.

I started spreading around my newest phrase, hoping it will catch on . Admittedly my attempt at bringing 'gastrodome' to the vernacular has been less than successful.

I asked Sam Mason/Francis Derby/Drew Nieporent/Paul Liebrant, "Are you pulling a Graydon Carter?" To which they replied with slight confusion and a furrowed brow or two. "What do you mean?" I explained,   "You know, opening a restaurant that never opens. Pulling a Graydon Carter."  They smiled, laughed, but ultimately  demurred at  going on record with any details (t hough Sam did note that the plywood is going up soon at Tailor).

Perhaps Mr. Carter himself will be in attendance next year at the Beard festivities, as he's somehow managed to snag a dinner at the Beard House, in spite of the fact his restaurant is not officially  open. From the JBF calendar…

Dinning Vanity Fair Style – Host & Owner Graydon Carter and Chef John DeLucie, Waverly Inn, NYC. Dinner on Monday June 18^th.

partysnack: james beard awards party marathon

Back in the day, the parties surrounding the James Beard Awards (both official and not) would kick off on Friday night, with the media awards. There were brunches (notably Daniel Boulud's block party outside Café Boulud – which he should consider throwing again. N'est-ce pas, Daniel? ) and cocktail parties all throughout the weekend, through to the post-Awards parties and into the wee hours of Tuesday morning. 

Last year the media awards switched to Sunday night, basically pushing all the festivities into a 48-hour period. The media awards also changed venues this year. It is now at the Hudson Theatre in the Millennium Broadway Hotel, with dinner and a show. They'll be the Golden Globes to Monday night's Oscars, if you will.

The cornerstone of Sunday night's festivities has always been Chef's Night Out. Last year I got many panicked emails, asking, "Where's the party?" Seems they've doubled invite list, because this year my in-box is filled with, "See you there!" Sources say the event is beyond capacity at this point, necessitating a strict door policy. I've been told that it will not be the usual free-for-all with people piling in, invitee plus entourage of twelve-style. It's bound to be a big crazy event, with a touch of ugly at the door.

So start your carb loading for the Sunday marathon. I'm planning to take the Lionel Ritchie route (i.e.,all night long).

 

hotsnack: beard award press room protocol

I've been a volunteer in the press room at the James Beard Awards for almost 10 years now. (Yes, I've been around that long and am old lady on the circuit.) We'd all show up an hour beforehand, maybe order in some pizza, and wait for the show to start. My primary duties are to corral the winners as they come off-stage and ply them with Champagne to keep them busy while they wait for their official photos. 

Yesterday, there was the first-ever official pre-game meeting for the protocol at the new venue. I learned that the Chefs' Warehouse is sponsoring the press room, putting out nibbles like Fra' Mani - Paul Bertolli's salumi, cheeses from Italy, South African peppadews, and Twelve – some kind of newfangled non-alcoholic drink. A new amenity, which sounds much better than pizza.

Note to the media and assorted friends and family of the winners, who in past years have jumped out of their seats and rushed backstage in a congratulatory frenzy. There will be no free-wheeling all-area access this year. There will be people at the press room door with lists. So make sure you sign up accordingly or it's a no-fly zone. But the awards at Avery Fisher will be a proper theatrical event, so people won't be getting up from their seats anyway, until it's over. I mean you wouldn't leave Le Nozze di Figaro in the middle of an aria would you?

The awards are sold out to some 1700 culinarians. Even the new VIP tickets, which sold to the tune of $1000-$2500 a pop, for a reserved table at the post-awards reception complete with tasting menu and sommelier service. Said reception includes an outdoor cocktail lounge, with smoking! Which would certainly make Tony Bourdain less cranky if he were in attendance.

I also learned that the floors of Avery Fisher Hall are marble. For the ladies this means high heels will be particularly perilous. Happily flats are à la mode this season.

I was a bit blasé last year about the show, but admit that my enthusiasm is growing. Actually, I'm quite looking forward to it. And now I have the perfect excuse to shop for new shoes.

Partysnack: Picholine kicks off the awards party train

You may have read that it’s time for the James Beard Foundation Awards. While the official ceremony happens on Monday night, there are typically a couple parties leading up to the main event. There’s been a bit of a party drought for the past couple of years but it seems that there’s now a renewed spirit of festivities upon us.

Last night S. Pellegrino, sponsors of the Outstanding Restaurant award, hosted a soirée to fête nominee Terrance Brennan at Picholine. (Note he’s also nominated for Best Chef NYC.) Dressed in a natty blue suit, Terrance graciously accepted the nomination on behalf of his staff. He gave props to the restaurant’s chef, Craig Hopson whom Brennan said does most of the cooking - a refreshingly candid stance for a top chef to take. Terrance was presented with a giant bottle of S.Pellegrino, signed by all in attendance, to which he said “I’ve never received a jeroboam of water before!” As we nibbled on the house fromage and sipped champagne we wondered, what does one do with a jeroboam of bubbly h2o? Cellar it for a special occasion? Pop it Monday night if there’s victory? Turns out it was a show bottle, filled only with bonne chance.