The City of Steak

I have now consumed more red meat in the last 5 days of our trip to Buenos Aires than I have in the last 5 years (and probably the next). But after careful consideration, due diligence, and gluttony I can pinpoint some of the highlights.

It's less that we ate excessive amounts of steak at La Cantina de Hugo by La Brigada and more that we ate excessive amounts of cow. Intestines, glands, beef sausage and cuts I've never seen stateside. And they were delicious. Saltier and sometimes fattier than my palate is used to but juicy, flavorful and rich. It was the perfect meal to follow the Boca Junior futbol match we had just attended. Fans frenetically chanting in unison what I'm sure were Spanish obscenities. Life or death reactions to each point scored. Fervent lifelong love for a sports club that unites a community. That kind of unbridled testosterone and passion feels like it should be followed by a big steak dinner. And so it was to be at La Cantina de Hugo. Surrounded by futbol memorabilia and atop a massive wine cellar we feasted.

Cabana Las Lilas is the rustic wood and glass home to one of the finest steak meals I may have ever had. Down in the Puerto Madero neighborhood we found ourselves sitting around a natural wood table so thick it was as if God sliced a piece of a redwood and laid it in front of us to enjoy our meal. We gathered around the proverbial fireplace of delicacies and feasted yet again. On Rib Eye, on shoulder, on meatballs and more. Steak so juicy and tender and flavorful and rare (the way I like it) it was as close to perfect as a steak meal I've ever had. It was truly one of my favorite meals of the trip and it was lovely sharing stories and trading anecdotes from our previous days in Buenos Aires.

After dinning all over this great city of meat, sampling street empanadas and dining with white linen I can truly say that this has been a fantastic culinary trip. Each steak we had was better than the next. But after feasting for days straight on red meat I can say with full confidence that it might be a long while before I visit any City of Meat again.

Memories of Mendoza

Memories from our time in Mendoza dance in my head. On a bright, warm March day we found ourselves at Vines of Mendoza; beginning our morning with a grape harvest and horseback ride, followed by a never-ending comida of wine, grilled meats and fresh vegetables, with the Andes and rolling hills of grape vines serving as our backdrop. We had been invited to tour the Vines of Mendoza in Argentina with potential investors so plying the group with copious amounts of local wines and meats grilled only steps away from our beautiful lunch table was the right way to spend the day. Dessert of fruit with the richest homemade Dulce de Leche--pure sugar blended with sweet cream--reached another level of delicious consistency, neither solid nor liquid, it was melt in your mouth gelatinous goodness. After lunch I laid back in a hammock sipping Recuerdo (translates: memories) Malbec transfixed by the mountains and letting the cool air and warm sunshine bask over me.

Later that evening, after a proper siesta, we found ourselves at Francis Mallmann's 1884, a legendary restaurant and grill within one of the oldest wineries in Mendoza. Despite the excellent food and gorgeous medieval surroundings I got the impression that locals don't frequent this pricey and elegant spot save for special occasions. And the fact that we closed the place down at 1am (prime dinner time in Argentina) substantiated my hunch. Nevermind the tourists though - I enjoyed one of the best meals in recent memory. We began with Andalucian Gazpacho drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with homemade bread crumbs. Followed by sweet grilled pear with burrata cheese dusted with freshly grilled bacon bits. Then began the meats. Mustard encrusted sirloin, rare Rib Eye with Chimichurri sauce, bacon wrapped tornadoes and tender grilled octopus to round out the carnivorous adventure. The entrancing flames jumping from the beautifully weathered grill seared in the flavor and made each bite better than the previous. Dessert was a strawberry, mint soup topped with vanilla ice cream followed by a Dulce de Leche crepe to round out the evening.

The incredible food, tranquil settings and our welcoming hosts at Vines of Mendoza and 1884 seared the senses of this trip in my mind for always. I know I'll look back with fond memories of those moments, the aroma of burning wood and sweet grapes, sitting at the foothills of the Andes. I'm sure the few bottles of wine I consumed over the course of the day contributed to my amorous recollections but no matter what the reasons, I will carry the recuerdo from our time in Mendoza with me always.

Down and dirty at Dirt Candy

Chef Amanda Cohen isn't afraid to get dirty. An alumna of Pure Food & Wine and Heirloom among others, she has made it her personal mission to throw dirt at the carnivore-dominated establishment and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that eating vegetarian (or vegan) can be as satisfying, filling, and rich of an experience as eating even the best meat. She doesn't care about your health, she doesn't care about your dogmatic food convictions, she cares that her vegetarian fare is damn good. And it is.

Down a few steps in a basement storefront on East 9th Street lies Dirt Candy. Meat eaters and vegetarians alike are invited to experience vegetables in a different light (literally the space glows with an orange hue). But order literally anything off the menu and it too will arrive with a slight halo; each dish is a perfect little piece of art. And while you're not always 100% sure what you're eating when it arrives, you can be sure it'll be meat-free and delicious.

Each dish we ordered had one focus ingredient that played the star of that show and was surrounded by supporting veggies which worked to elevate and compliment the primary flavor. We started our herbivore adventure with pillow-like Jalapeno Hush Puppies with maple butter. Each bite burst with a small kick from the jalapeno and was perfectly complimented by the sweet maple confection. We sampled the Yellow Pepper soup with smoky pepper mouse and jalapeno chips. We indulged in the Carrot barbecue steamed buns balanced by the crunchy and crisp cucumber and sesame-carrot halvah. We continued with an order of Chard Gnocchi surrounded by pungent goat cheese and topped with sweet fig jam, many flavors and textures that all worked to create an incredible bite. Then onto the coconut poached tofu with spicy guacamole, fancifully fried pickles and cucumber salsa - this dish was very good however the main ingredient (Cucumber) felt and tasted like more of a secondary player than the focus. We capped it all off with the the sweet pea, mint and chocolate Ice Cream bar and bid adieu to our vegetarian adventure.

Overall, our evening down in the dirt was excellent. And I would proudly bring even the staunchest meat eaters to Dirt Candy in hopes that a taste of Chef Cohen's treats would broaden their views of what a truly satisfying dinner can be. Meat or no meat, everyone can enjoy getting a little dirty at Dirt Candy.

Dirt Candy
430 East 9th Street

Dessert for Dinner

In honor of Pi Day (3.14.12) we decided that the scientific community would want us to have dessert for dinner. Please don't question my logic here. It's an important day honoring an immeasurable mathematical symbol and an evening to eat dessert.

We started our dessert depravity at Dessert Club, ChikaLicious on East 10th street. We chose the blackberry yogurt souffle as our palate amuse. It was light, eggy and sweet with subtle yogurt flavor punctuated by the tart and sweet blackberry. Yum. Then onto the decidedly adult, rich, deep, dark chocolate lava cake perfectly cut by a cold scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Amazing.

We moved our decadent party down the street to Spot Dessert Bar, a uniquely Asian dessert Mecca. We opted to skip the multi-course dessert omakasa because we thought our stomachs couldn't handle so much sweetness, however, from the looks and aromas coming from the kitchen, we might not make that same mistake next time. What we ultimately landed on was a final bite of the airy, light and delicately Soft Cheesecake with tart passion-fruit foam, blueberry compote, citrus segments and walnut granola. It was light and luscious and a perfect flavor to leave lingering on our tongues. We sipped our teas - green and black rose - and then giggled our entire walk home, our heads filled to the brim with sweet sugar energy. We arrived home in time for a night cap and then off to bed to dream about the decadent candy land adventure we had embarked on in honor of Pi Day. We'll surely look forward to the next opportunity to have dessert for dinner - March 14, 2013 can't come soon enough.

Dessert Club, ChikaLicious
203 East 10th Street btw 1st & 2nd Ave

Spot Dessert Bar
13 St. Marks Place btw 2nd & 3rd Ave

My weekend with Michael White.

I recently had the pleasure of spending an extended weekend with Michael White. Figuratively. But our dalliance did involve not only one, not two, but three delectable meals and it brought me to different parts of the tri-state to enjoy different types of delicacies. Marea and Osteria Morini are Chef White's notable eateries. The former being the seafood forward temple to high end Italian cuisine. The latter is the well-executed home to traditional Northern Italian fare. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the experiences and was pleasantly surprised by how such different establishments could come from the mind and hands of one man...Chef Michael White.

Spaghetti crab, santa barbara sea urchin, basil
(Photo by Ted Axelrod)

Marea was an absolutely lovely uptown dining evening, particularly enjoyable for a seafood lover like myself. Upon first review, the menu was a little overwhelming, but I soon learned that it's hard to order wrong here. One of the reasons I was excited for Marea was because it was a stop on my quest to taste all the best Uni Pastas in NY and White’s version didn't disappoint (actually, it's hard to disappoint with fresh pasta, tomatoes and uni). The other sign of a great dining experience is when the dish on the table that you're least excited about ends up being one of the best. The safe sounding Striped Bass with citrus and candied pistachios was unexpectedly amazing and one of the moistest fish I've ever had.

Osteria Morini is the casual and trendy Soho trattoria as well as the recently opened NJ eatery. The setting at the two Morinis is a little noisier, the crowd is a little rowdier and the food was a little more down to earth. And while the two vibes are slightly different - Soho attracting a hip downtown clientele while the NJ spot is inviting for sophisticated suburban families - I found the food lived up to the hype at both. The menus are also slightly tailored to their audiences. In place of the fantastic antipasti skewers of lightly fried squid with lemon and the tender duck hearts with cherries in Soho, the NJ menu offers artisanal pizzas. But the pastas at both Morinis were delectable and really stole the show. The hearty tagliatelle with bolognese ragu, the delicate stacci pasta rags with wild mushrooms and the airy gnocchi in pomodoro sauce were delightful. All were delicate and flavorful and I was happy to stick a fork in each.

Clearly Michael White is doing something right in these kitchens. It's intriguing to see a great chef so effortlessly move between such distinct styles and settings and I know I'll always reminisce fondly of my weekend with Michael White. In fact I've already made plans for several repeat visits.

Marea

240 Central Park South

Osteria Morini

218 Lafayette Street

Osteria Morini
107 Morristown Road, Bernardsville, NJ

A wedding gift from James Beard

For people like my hubby and me for whom dining is an elevated art form nearing an ethereal experience, a gift to the renowned James Beard Foundation and a gift certificate to dine there was perfection personified. To put it mildly. The second I walked into the old yet hallowed building I felt at home. Why hadn't I stumbled in before or signed up for one of their illustrious dinners? Oh yea, they come with a hefty price tag that most mere mortals reserve for special occasions and birthdays. But there we were on a random Monday rubbing elbows with the culinary elite and we fit right in. Comparing meals we had eaten in Spain. Talking about planned future meals in far-flung corners of the earth or hidden spots down the street. We held our own. And bite after bite offered from our aspirational chef Shuji Hiyakawa of Komé & Ooka Restaurants in Pennsylvania I began to truly understand the mission of James Beard which is to celebrate, nurture, and preserve America’s diverse culinary heritage and future. The Foundation values artists who are creating work not just in New York and other major cities but all over -- bringing elevated food to the masses.

We had signed up for the meal entitled Fine Japanese Cuisine and if you regularly read this blog you'll understand why. The food was fantastic and the amazing wine pairings helped to soften my previous belief that red wine is best (these whites were incredible!). We began with a bevy of hors d'oeuvres including sushi spheres, pork belly pot-stickers with a sweet BBQ sauce and Foie Gras dumplings to name a few. Then onto our memorable five-course meal in which every bite stood out. I was awed by the Cauliflower and Uni Cappuccino - an airy amuse to begin the evening. The Sous-vide Wild Salmon with baby root vegetables, ginger balsamic and lavender foam was perfectly cooked and divine. And we punctuated the meal with a White Chocolate-Raspberry Mouse with Chocolate crumble thank you very much.

For now, we'll rejoice in our membership and no doubt splurge on a few more dinners. But much like Cinderella at the stroke of midnight, in a year's time we'll be reduced to peering into the windows of greatness. Unless of course we or our generous benefactors pony up for year two.

James Beard Foundation
167 West 12th Street

Almost worth the wait...

Check back in two months because by that time The Toucan and The Lion will have worked out the kinks in the service and will have perfected the food and consistency. But tonight, after only 2 months of being full speed, they weren't quite there. That's not to say that we didn't have a devilishly fun night, leisurely dining, drinking and being merry at this soon-to-be neighborhood hot spot. And despite some bumps in the freshly paved road, I will be eager to try again and recommend this spot to friends. No matter that upon arrival we were quoted a 20 minute wait but had to wait a full hour before we were actually seated at our drafty table near the window. What quelled our nerves was the fact that waiting in the bar was lovely, and the host and staff went above and beyond caring for and being solicitous of their patrons.

Everything on the menu appealed to our table but not everything that arrived was what we had hoped it would be. Perhaps it was our high standards that dimmed the cuisine because the Sticky Pear & Arugula salad with spiced pecans and pork crackling, as well as the Chili Tamarind King Prawns with feta and thyme were a degree short of perfection. But the Short Rib Tacos with dried curry, queso and pickled shallots in addition to the decadently charred Brussels with bacon and lemongrass, and the Risotto with squash, goat cheese and pumpkin seeds were finger-lickingly divine. Even though our table was slightly confused as to the appropriate amount and combination of shares vs. mains vs. sides that we should order, in the end we were all happy to stick a fork in a few extra Indian, Thai, Filipino influenced plates.

Despite and because of it all, I wholeheartedly believe that one day very soon all the issues that plague this (and any new) restaurant will be worked out and The Toucan and the Lion will live up to the hype and be more than worth the wait. Until then, I'll be waiting...

The Toucan and The Lion

342 East 6th Street