Destination: New York

review: get it together…

Antipasto: Octopus Carpaccio Insieme It’s astonishing how powerful three words, strung together, can be. Beef heart risotto. See? It didn’t take much to convince me to put Insieme on my itinerary. Sure, I had heard wonderful things about Insieme from valued sources. That it’s one of Marco Canora’s and Paul Grieco’s restaurants was also encouraging. […]

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review: get it together…

Antipasto: Octopus Carpaccio Insieme It’s astonishing how powerful three words, strung together, can be. Beef heart risotto. See? It didn’t take much to convince me to put Insieme on my itinerary. Sure, I had heard wonderful things about Insieme from valued sources. That it’s one of Marco Canora’s and Paul Grieco’s restaurants was also encouraging. […]

Continue

review: home run…

Aquavit, New York A restaurant that has been disparaged, or has received wobbly reviews at best, has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Aquavit was such the underdog. I like underdogs. Needless to say, expectations have a lot to do with one’s dining experience. Regarding Aquavit, mine were heavily guarded, which probably explains, in […]

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review: home run…

Aquavit, New York A restaurant that has been disparaged, or has received wobbly reviews at best, has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Aquavit was such the underdog. I like underdogs. Needless to say, expectations have a lot to do with one’s dining experience. Regarding Aquavit, mine were heavily guarded, which probably explains, in […]

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review: eclipse…

Eleven Madison Park Last time, the earth stood still. This time, my meal at Eleven Madison Park was a total eclipse. Neither the sun nor moon disappeared. But, for the five blissful hours that my hosts and I dined, it seemed as if the whole world’s attention had been diverted to our table. Eleven Madison […]

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review: eclipse…

Eleven Madison Park Last time, the earth stood still. This time, my meal at Eleven Madison Park was a total eclipse. Neither the sun nor moon disappeared. But, for the five blissful hours that my hosts and I dined, it seemed as if the whole world’s attention had been diverted to our table. Eleven Madison […]

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james beard awards (2008)…

2008 James Beard Awards For the second year in a row, I had the honor of attending the James Beard Awards Gala and Reception in New York City.  As last year, the ceremony was held at the Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center. It was hot.  It was a zoo.  At times, the event was somewhat […]

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james beard awards (2008)…

2008 James Beard Awards For the second year in a row, I had the honor of attending the James Beard Awards Gala and Reception in New York City.  As last year, the ceremony was held at the Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center. It was hot.  It was a zoo.  At times, the event was somewhat […]

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review: of the place…

Canapes, Del Posto I was assured that Mark Ladner, Executive Chef of Del Posto, was cooking for us when the server came to our table to apologize that he had no clue what the chef was preparing. Apparently, Ladner had remained “tight-lipped” about our dinner. The courses would be revealed to our servers as the […]

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review: of the place…

Canapes, Del Posto I was assured that Mark Ladner, Executive Chef of Del Posto, was cooking for us when the server came to our table to apologize that he had no clue what the chef was preparing. Apparently, Ladner had remained “tight-lipped” about our dinner. The courses would be revealed to our servers as the […]

Continue

review: reprioritizing life…

Sea Urchin-Caviar, Le Bernardin Le Bernardin, a friend and I concluded, is one of those restaurants that, despite it’s acclaim and fame, one doesn’t necessarily crave or clamour for. It’s one of those restaurants that, when you are there, you wonder why you haven’t thought of it more fondly, and more often. A meal at […]

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review: reprioritizing life…

Sea Urchin-Caviar, Le Bernardin Le Bernardin, a friend and I concluded, is one of those restaurants that, despite it’s acclaim and fame, one doesn’t necessarily crave or clamour for. It’s one of those restaurants that, when you are there, you wonder why you haven’t thought of it more fondly, and more often. A meal at […]

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best dishes of 2007…

2007 saw a noticeable change in food trends. Our nation’s culinary drivers began to consciously steer us away from fine dining and toward casual fare. This de-emphasis on luxury in favor of the humble meant that caviar and foie gras became out-paced by brussels sprouts and short ribs; the fascination and wonder with molecular gastronomy […]

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best dishes of 2007…

2007 saw a noticeable change in food trends. Our nation’s culinary drivers began to consciously steer us away from fine dining and toward casual fare. This de-emphasis on luxury in favor of the humble meant that caviar and foie gras became out-paced by brussels sprouts and short ribs; the fascination and wonder with molecular gastronomy […]

Continue

review: meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Blue Hill at Stone Barns ulterior epicure Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Photographs of this meal can be found on my flickr account.) Moments and reminders of how humans ought to live are, in our world, scarce. Having grown up on the prairie plains of the Midwest amidst fields of corn, wheat and cattle, there […]

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review: meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Blue Hill at Stone Barns ulterior epicure Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Photographs of this meal can be found on my flickr account.) Moments and reminders of how humans ought to live are, in our world, scarce. Having grown up on the prairie plains of the Midwest amidst fields of corn, wheat and cattle, there […]

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review: a tale of two tasting menus

3rd Course: Pan-Seared Dorade Fleur de Sel To see all of the photos from this meal, click here. My recent lunch at the 1 Michelin-starred Fleur de Sel was a tale of two tasting menus.  my guest and I both ordered the five-course lunch prixe fixe.  With the exception of the canape and cheese course, each course […]

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review: a tale of two tasting menus

3rd Course: Pan-Seared Dorade Fleur de Sel To see all of the photos from this meal, click here. My recent lunch at the 1 Michelin-starred Fleur de Sel was a tale of two tasting menus.  my guest and I both ordered the five-course lunch prixe fixe.  With the exception of the canape and cheese course, each course […]

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best dishes of 2006…

#10: Hot Potato at alinea Originally uploaded by ulteriorepicure. From a second visit to the newly named number one restaurant in the U.S., Alinea (according to Gourmet Magazine), to snacking from street vendors in China, I’ve had a pretty amazing year of eating.  I visited Jean Georges on two continents, Thomas Keller on both coasts, […]

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best dishes of 2006…

#10: Hot Potato at alinea Originally uploaded by ulteriorepicure. From a second visit to the newly named number one restaurant in the U.S., Alinea (according to Gourmet Magazine), to snacking from street vendors in China, I’ve had a pretty amazing year of eating.  I visited Jean Georges on two continents, Thomas Keller on both coasts, […]

Continue