NYC Restaurant Review - The Darby

Welcome back foodies! Last night I had a spectacular meal at Alex Guarnaschelli's restaurant, The Darby. The whole place had such a genius conception. Read on to hear about my experience.

The Darby             246 West 14th St., New York, NY 10011

The Darby is more than just a restaurant, it is a food experience. The whole feel takes you to a different place. The band, who was really good, played music in the background to compliment every bite of food. To start off, the bread was spectacular. They serve probably the best brioche you will ever have. It also comes with a peppercorn butter that is out of this world. Anyway, we ordered two appetizers to share and both did not disappoint. The veal bacon was incredible. It had some homemade mustard that just added another delicious depth of flavor to the dish. The other dish we ordered was the soup of the day and the soup for that day was a sunchoke (Sunchoke- also known as a Jerusalem artichoke; is a vegetable grown underground that is a similar cross between a potato, water chestnut, and a rutabaga; is not grown in Jerusalem and is not a type of artichoke) soup that was outrageous. Moving to entrees my favorite dish was the homemade ricotta ravioli's. Everything about it was so good. Another dish I liked was the flattened chicken breast that came on a bed of broccoli rabe and with some mustard on top. The chicken was moist and everything went together. My third favorite dish was the salmon with was cooked really well and came with delicious sunchokes and an acidic lemon type sauce that tied the whole dish together. My least favorite dish was the branzino which was cooked well but the whole dish just didn't do it for me. We also order a few sides that were very good. In my opinion, the best was the potatoes that were hollowed out before being cooked. It was crispy and the flavors were incredible. Another side dish that I enjoyed was the beats. The beats were just really refreshing and very tasty. My third favorite side was the onion rings. They were really good. My least favorite is the only side dish I wouldn't order again which is the three cheese macaroni. It just was heavy and was just okay.  For dessert everything was very good but nothing stood out during dessert. My favorite was the apple brown betty. It had that warm feeling. My second favorite would be the Baked Alaska. My third favorite was the cake of the day. When the Foodie Finders NYC crew and I went, the cake of the day was a white chocolate cake with pistachio and raspberry jam. My least favorite would be the sundae. It was just typical although it did come with some cool toppings like homemade marshmallows, toasted almonds, great whip cream and a few more. The server we got was great and very friendly. Everything was just incredible. Definitely recommend to give this place a try.

• Amazing service
• Decor was nice
• Food was really good
• A little pricey but worth it

So that is my review of The Darby. Check back for more reviews of great restaurants in New York City and Long Island. Bon Apetit!

-Mike

De Gustibus Was Amazing. Anne Burrell Was Even Better!

Hi foodies! Yesterday I had an incredible day. I went to Anne Burrell's cooking class at De Gustibus and it was so fun. This was my first time at De Gustibus and I enjoyed the whole experience. The way it works is on the day of the class they allow you to come five and a half hours earlier to put your name on a list (You can only sign up if you already have your tickets in advance). Yesterday, the class with chef Anne started at 5: 30 P.M so at 12:00 P.M ( I went a little before 12:00 because if you get there at noon you will wait on a line) they opened the doors and everyone on line signed there name. When they begin to let people in at 5:15, the order in which you signed is the order you enter the class to pick your seat. I was fortunate to be number 3 on the list out of about 85 people. I sat front row, center. Other people preferred sitting second row center or even third row center because each angles offers a different experience. There are great advantages if you have the luxury of signing in early.

Anyway let's talk about Anne Burrell. First of all she's hilarious. She should have a show with her cooking and interacting with a live audience. She has a lot of knowledge, obviously you would know if you watch her show. She goes to the basics on how to cut an onion and how to hold your knife. She knows how to teach. So, as she cooked the smalll courses came out but the thing you were eating was not what she was making. She told us flat out she is going to go out out of order. The first thing we ate were two little starters. One was a Truffled Deviled Egg which were incredible! I am a huge truffle fan and they are just too good for words. The other starter was the Crostini of Chicken Liver Pate with Balsamic Onions which I thought was incredible and the pate is so easy to make. The next course that came out was the Butter Lettuce Salad with Crispy Prosciutto, Oyster Mushroom Chips, Cabrales and Pears which was very good. My favorite part were the mushroom chips. They added another great texture and taste to the dish. The course that followed was the Braised Cabbage Stuffed with Pork. I loved it especially since there was a drop of chicken liver in there which added this unbelievable texture to the dish. And for dessert Anne made an Apple Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. First of all the cake was incredible and the cream cheese icing just added to it. Everything was so good.

The whole class was so fun. Anne is so entertaining and the great stories were endless. Some things that came up was that Anne in coming out with her first cookbook! It is called Cook Like A Rockstar. That book is coming out October 4, 2011. Also, I loved she had all these different rants on ingredients. One rant was on salt. If you have ever seen Anne on T.V you know she loves salt. Salt simply enhances the flavor of food and that is what she went on about. I will tell you the truth her food is amazing and that is because of the salt. Also if you have ever seen Anne's show Secrets of a Restaurant Chef she cooks with oil and with her big fat finishing oil. Her oil is just what she cooks with which doesn't have to be a really expensive high quality oil. Her big fat finishing oil is her more high quality oil for finishing off pastas and other things like that. She also said the biggest rip off with oil is light oil because oil is fat so you can't reduce fat from fat. What makes it light is that the oil has less flavor which is not what you want. Another thing Anne talked about was how she doesn't have a restaurant. She spoke about how she wants to open a restaurant really bad but right now her television career is really taking off. If she opened a restaurant now she couldn't tape and do all the things she does now on T.V. She said she would have to take off a year from the T.V business to open a restaurant and get it going. Then when she comes back this same opportunity might not be there so she said don't expect a restaurant opening soon but she plans to open one day. For now she is just riding the wave. I learned so much from this class with Anne Burrell and I hope she comes back soon to De Gustibus. I loved this whole experience so much.
I also just want to tell everyone De Gustibus is so much fun and I really recommend for anyone to try out one of these classes especially if you are a foodie. It is such a fun environment and a great way to meet food icons.

For more great photos of this cooking class and mouthwatering food come check out Foodie Finders NYC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check back for more great things on everything food and the people who make it in NYC and Long Island. Bon Apetit!

-Mike

LI Restaurant Review - Majors Steakhouse

Hey foodies! Yesterday, I just went out with some friends to Majors Steakhouse on Long Island. I personally wouldn't have chose to go there but we did. I found that I liked it more than I expected. It wasn't spectacular but it wasn't bad.

Majors Steakhouse                       8289 Jericho Turnpike, Woodbury, NY 11797

Average. Average is the way to describe Majors Steakhouse because nothing was bad but nothing was outstanding.We really didn't order any appetizers but a few of us got caesar salads which were okay but they were drenched in dressing and the lettuce got soggy and didn't have that crunch to it. Moving on to the entree's, my favorite dish was the Marinated Skirt Steak. It had that flare of ginger in the marinade that gave you a warm feeling and the meat was cooked pretty well. I also had mashed potatoes with it which I thought were okay. I also liked the Short Ribs. It wasn't too fatty and the meat fell off by the tap of a fork. The other dish we got was the burger which was good but would be better if you could find it on the plate. The burger was very small. Otherwise it was very good. Service wasn't bad, wasn't good. From my experience I was pleasantly surprised by Majors. 

• Service was mediocre
• Decor was typical steakhouse look
• Food was good, nothing special
• Parking was a pain in the neck because the lot is small and you can't park on the street since it is a main road, recommend going a little early for parking

 That wraps up today's review. Check back soon because there are lots of good restaurants coming up in my agenda which means lots more reviews. Bon Apetit!


-Mike

Cooking Class 2/23/11 with Brooks Headley Canceled (and rescheduled)

Welcome back foodies! I just wanted to let you all know that Brooks Headley's cooking class on February 23 at Eataly has been canceled but it is rescheduled for April 27.  Here is some more info.

New York, NY – Flatiron           (Eataly – 200 5^th Ave.)

Watch and meet the Executive Pastry Chef at Del Posto, Brooks Headley

Brooks will prepare:

1. Sunchoke Crema with Tangerines and Sunchoke Crudo
2. Meyer Lemon-Polenta Budino with Polenta Chips 
3. Melanzane Napoletane:  Eggplant and Chocolate Crostata 

Cooking Demo

Date & Time:

4/ 27/ 2011
Starts at – 6:30 – 8:00 P.M

Demo Price: $125

Contact: 212-229-2560

 To sign up click here:

http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=919022

Seats are still available so sign up soon. Check back soon for more updates on food events in New York City and Long Island. Bon Apetit!

-Mike

Update #1 for March - July 2011 Event Calendar

Hi foodies! I have some more updates for the March, April, May, June and July calendar. I have one event in July and I wanted to add it in so don't expect many events in July yet. A lot of them are Beard House Events. Hope you like it.

New York, NY      (The Beard House –167 West 12th Street)

Enjoy a fabulous meal prepared by two of Hawaii’s best chefs, Alan Wong and George Mavrothalassitis

Dinner Event

Date & Time:

3/ 9/ 2011
Starts at – 7:00 P.M

Dinner Price For:

James Beard Foundation Members - $155

General Public - $205

Contact: 212-627-2308

For more information and to see the menu visit:

http://www.jamesbeard.org/?q=node/2636

New York, NY      (Chelsea Market –75 Ninth Avenue)

Guest Chefs at the Event:

• Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter and The Darby
• Sarabeth Levine of Sarabeth’s Bakery
• Bill Telepan of Telepan
• Masaharu Morimoto of Morimoto
• Jacques Torres of Jacques Torres Chocolate
• Amy Sherber of Amy’s Bread
• And MANY more chefs

Dinner Event

Date & Time:

3/ 27/ 2011
Starts at – 6:00 P.M

Dinner Price For:

James Beard Foundation Members - $200

General Public - $240

Contact: 212-627-2308

For more information visit:

http://www.jamesbeard.org/?q=node/2594

New York, NY      (The Beard House –167 West 12th Street)

Enjoy a fabulous meal prepared by Food Network’s Chopped winner, Eric B. LeVine

Dinner Event

Date & Time:

4/ 1/ 2011
Starts at – 7:00 P.M

Dinner Price For:

James Beard Foundation Members - $130

General Public - $170

Contact: 212-627-2308

For more information and to see the menu visit:

http://www.jamesbeard.org/?q=node/2655

  

New York, NY      (The Beard House –167 West 12th Street)

Enjoy a fabulous meal prepared by Susur Lee, Yuhi Fuginaga, and Doron Wong

Dinner Event

Date & Time:

4/ 23/ 2011
Starts at – 7:00 P.M

Dinner Price For:

James Beard Foundation Members - $155

General Public - $205

Contact: 212-627-2308

For more information and to see the menu visit:

http://www.jamesbeard.org/?q=node/2671

 

Long Island, NY-Huntington  (Viking Cooking School – 835 Franklin Avenue)

Watch and meet winner of Food Network’s Chopped, Marc Anthony Bynum

Cooking Demo

Date & Time:

4/ 30/ 2011
Starts at – 5:30 – 7:30 P.M

Class Price: $69

Contact: 516-877-1010

For more information visit:

http://www.vikingcookingschool.com/hc-cgi-bin/hc?sku=83925&store=33&templ=new_vcs/view_class.html

Long Island, NY-Huntington  (Viking Cooking School – 835 Franklin Avenue)

Watch and meet winner one of the chef-testant’s on season 1 of Bravo’s Top Chef, Dave Martin

Cooking Demo

Date & Time:

5/ 12/ 2011
Starts at – 6:00 – 8:30 P.M

Class Price: $69

Contact: 516-877-1010

For more information visit:

http://www.vikingcookingschool.com/hc-cgi-bin/hc?sku=83399&store=33&templ=new_vcs/view_class.html

New York, NY      (The Beard House –167 West 12th Street)

Dinner Event honoring Emeril Lagasses

Date & Time:

7/ 23/ 2011
Starts at – 5:30 P.M

Dinner Price For:

• James Beard Foundation

4:30–5:30 P.M.: VIP Reception - $375(JBF Memebers & General Public. Includes General Admission in price)

• 5:30–8:00 P.M.: General Admission –

JBF Members: $200

General Public: $275

• 8:00–10:30 P.M.: VIP After Party – Included in VIP tickets above
• VIP tables of 10: $3,500

Contact: 212-627-2308

For more information and to see the menu visit:

http://www.jamesbeard.org/?q=node/2667
 
  

 That is all of the event additions I have so far. All of these events have been added to the calendar with the other existing events. I hope you like them and check back soon for more foodie events. Bon Apetit!

-Mike

Restaurant Review - Telepan (coninued for brunch)

Welcome back foodies! I loved Telepan so much I read their brunch menu and I decided I had to go to Telepan for brunch. I ended up at Telepan yesterday for Sunday brunch and it was good. Maybe not as good as their dinner menu but it was still delicious.
Reviewing wise,below is my review of Telepan for brunch and have the bullets there too. On the Restaurant Review page I will add it into the original review (it is clearly separated for dinner and brunch).


Telepan                         72 West 69 Street, New York, NY 10023

Wake up call! Brunch at Telepan is the best. To start off for $28, all year round, you get a spectacular breads and sweet things basket followed by your first course and than you second course. The breads and sweet things basket was so good. They came with homemade raspberry jelly that might be one of the best jellies you will ever have in your life. For the first course, my favorite was the Hazelnut Cream Crepes that came with bananas and a decadent brown sugar sauce. I love a restaurant who can improvise. One person in my party didn't want bananas with their crepe so the chef made a crepe with dried fruits like raisins and cranberries and put it with a honey compote. Both crepes were equally good. Another great first course dish is the Apple Sausage with a poached egg, duck prosciutto, and watercress. One more great dish which is on their brunch, lunch and dinner menu is the House Smoked Brook Trout which I love especially with the buckwheat-potato blini. For the second course my favorite dish was Apple Walnut French Toast. My only problem with the dish was that it was a little too sweet. One more dish I like is the Omelet With Salad & Hash Browns which we got with bacon and aged cheddar. Another dish we got which was good is the Fallen Pancake Souffle. It came with brown sugar bacon and a huckleberry syrup. I liked it but it just wasn't amazing. Everything overall was great. I absolutely recommend Telepan for brunch.

• Okay Service, been here before and had better service
• Good decor
• Great food
• Recommend:

1. Hazelnut Cream Crepes
2. Apple Sausage
3.   House Smoked Brook Trout 
4. Apple Walnut French Toast
5.  Omelet With Salad & Hash Browns
6. Fallen Pancake Souffle

So I hope you found  this review useful and check out Telepan whether it is is for brunch, lunch or dinner. By the way, if you are wondering why there are no stars it is because the stars are from the dinner review and it will be on the Restaurant Review page. Check back soo, I have a few more events to add to the calendar soon and lots more restaurant reviews. Bon Apetit!

-Mike

2011 Winter Restaurant Week is EXTENDED

Welcome back foodies! Restaurant Week should have ended two days ago but it was extended! It is the same deal in which lunch is $24.07 and dinner is $35.00. Restaurant week will now end on February 27. I have updated the NYC Restaurant Week page because not all restaurants who participated in regular Restaurant Week, participate in the extension. Make reservations soon because restaurants are filling up fast. Bon Apetit!

-Mike

Cooking Class 2/11/11 with Karen Tack - CANCELED

Hi foodies! I just wanted to let you all know that the cooking class on February 11th, 2011 with Karen Tack is canceled. This event was going to be at Sur La Table in Manhasset, Long Island. If you were going to the class you probably already received the email about this cancellation. Bon Apetit!

-Mike

NYC Restaurant Review - Centrico

Hey foodies! Yesterday, I went to Aaron Sanchez's restaurant, Centrico. Everything was very good. I went for Restaurant Week and I have to go back after Restaurant Week to get the full experience.

Centrico                            211 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013

Holy Guacamole! Centrico is so good. First of all, the chips and guacamole were spectacular. The chips had a lot of great texture and had lots of salt on the chips which I loved with the guacamole. For the appetizers the the best by far, was the Camarones y Pozole. The creamy guajillo sauce that the shrimp was sitting in was dynamite. It had just enough of a kick and just bursted with flavor. Another dish that was good was the Tamal de Huitlacoche. I thought it was missing something and was a little dry but pretty much the flavors were on par. For the entrees, both dishes were really yummy. The Birria al Estilo Jalisco was really delicious. It was braised short ribs in a ancho chile broth. It also came with great corn tortillas and some chopped onions and garlic. Mix it all together with the short ribs that fall apart to the touch and just a squeeze of lime and I was set. The other amazing dish was the Pollo a Las Brasas which was just incredible chicken. Full of flavor and very moist. Also even though it wasn't on the Restaurant Week menu i had to order a Queso Fundido off the regular menu. I thought the dish was good but not the best Queso Fundido I ever had. Anyway, now onto dessert. The Molten Mexican Chocolate Cake was really chocolaty and rich but the ice cream with it wasn't too good. I thought it just shouldn't have been there. The other dish we got was the Moist Cake with Three Milks. I had expected it to be like a typical Tres Leches but it was a little different but still good. It definitely grew on me as I ate it but I had a problem with the cherry sauce drizzled on top. Over all I still thought it was a good dish. I thought the service was good and the decor was nice. I enjoyed that the kitchen was open and the whole place was small but not too small which makes you feel very crammed. I recommend this restaurant to all food lovers without a doubt

• Good service
• Nice decor, open kitchen and warm feeling
• Great food
• Recommend:

1. Camarones y Pozole
2.  Birria al Estilo Jalisco
3. Pollo a Las Brasas
4. Molten Mexican Chocolate Cake
5.  Moist Cake with Three Milks

   
I really liked Centrico and I plan on returning. Remember Restaurant Week is ending February 6th. Also the survey, in the top right hand corner of this site, is ending in 15 days so hurry up and vote on your favorite competitive food show. Bon Apetit!

-Mike