Coast to Coast
June 15, 2011
Last night, my friend invited me to a 4 course dinner at Chef Brandon Chavannes’s pop-up restaurant, Coast to Coast. Inspired by worldly coastal flavors, the exotic dishes were all beautifully presented and delicious. In between courses, the mixologists served up specialty cocktails, wine and Greenport Harbor beers.
Curried watermelon with black pepper, scallions and curry scented dressing with the Bisin Fire cocktail- Polish Bison Grass Vodka, jalapeno lemongrass elixir, crystallized ginger and fresh basil
Chilled crab soup with roasted gazpacho broth, hearts of palm and green apple
Cebollada- braised beef cheeks, salsify puree, romesco verde and an onion jus
Mahi Mahi with dandelion greens, chorizo and Marjoram vinaigrette and a 1970 bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild
Tres Leches with maple tuile and chili and Apricot tart with cardamom, cinnamon, marcona almonds and caramel with orange blossom ice cream
Beacon Strawberry Fest
June 13, 2011
Summer is upon us, and it’s time to spend the weekends away from the city and out in the fresh air. While in Beacon over the weekend, a quaint art town about an hour and a half from New York, my friends and I stopped through the Strawberry Festival being held at Riverfront Park. The line was far too long to indulge in the fresh strawberry shortcake, but we enjoyed locally grown berries and a refreshing strawberry mint popsicle.
Beacon's annual Strawberry Festival
Strawberry Mint Popsicle
Volunteers hard at work making fresh strawberry shortcake
Public in Nolita
May 23, 2011
Saturday afternoon a couple friends and I headed to brunch at Public to share Friday night stories at the industrial chic hang out in downtown’s Nolita neighborhood and give us some fuel before hitting up the Brooklyn Flea. The service was probably the best I’ve had in a long time, and the eclectic menu was fun to browse, although I stuck with my usual eggs and toast. I’ll have to make a note to stop back through when I’m feeling more experimental.
Tropical fruit salad with rosewater and sweet tahini yogurt and an iced tea
Quinoa hashbrowns
Scrambled eggs on sourdough toast with slow roast tomatoes and buttered mushrooms
Lunch at Bergdorf’s
May 16, 2011
After spending a day shopping around Manhattan with out of town friends, a little lunch break at Bergdorf’s Bar 5F was the perfect remedy.
Lobster salad wrap with avocado, bacon and mixed greens
Smoked turkey wrap
A Night at the Ad Awards
May 6, 2011
Last night my friend invited me to the International Advertising Awards, so after checking out the recipients’ work headed straight to the food to see what fun things I could shoot. The highlight of the evening was coming across the IKEA Recipe Book. Although it’s written in Swedish, the food styling is some of the best I’ve ever seen, and certainly the most unique. Who would think sticks of butter and sugar could look so great. Aside from that, I had a nice tasting of steak, ravioli, salmon and cute tarts for dessert that were dying to be photographed.
Raspberry tart
Chocolate Peanut Butter bars
IKEA Recipe Book
Rooftop
5 Napkin Burger
May 2, 2011
I know I’ve already featured 5 Napkin’s Deep Fried Pickles, but after ordering out from here not once, but twice over the weekend with friends and roommates, I decided it was worth another blog post. This time showing off their veggie burger and fries. And they’ve recently opened up a joint in Boston as well, so it’s not just limited to New Yorkers anymore.
Veggie Burger
French Fries
Cafe at 407
April 27, 2011
Heading to Syracuse for the holidays always involves catching up with as many old friends as possible. This past weekend I was discussing friends’ wedding plans over a Java Chip Frappachino in the village of Liverpool. Not only does Cafe at 407 have an appetizing menu, their decor is so inspirational with quotes and colorful furnishings to make you feel like you’re hanging out at your artist friend’s living room rather than a coffee shop. As for the back story? Cafe at 407 was opened to fund Ophelia’s Place, a non-profit organization to help those with eating disorders and provide a community space for redefining beauty and health.
Garlic hummus with fresh chopped tomatoes, parmesan and provolone cheese and focaccia wedges
Java Chip Frappuccino
More hummus
Happy Easter!
April 24, 2011
For the family easter dinner, I decided to bring a taste of some of my favorite New York desserts from Crumbs, Bouchon Bakery and Jacque Torres.
Vanilla Sprinkle Crumbs Cupcake
Peep Crumbs Cupcakes & Chocolate covered Peeps from Jacque Torres
Vanilla Sprinkle Crumbs Cupcake & Brownies from Bouchon Bakery
Sweet Leaf Organics
April 23, 2011
This smoothie and snack stand, Sweet Leaf, has quite the resume of festivals, setting up everywhere from Coachella to Bonnaroo. Providing the essential thirst quenching drink for those hot desert afternoons, these guys serve up some of the best. Based in Oregon, this traveling restaurant uses a solar powered kitchen to prep their organic smoothies, sandwiches, salads and more.
Fruit Smoothies
Coachella Farmers Market
April 21, 2011
After falling in love with Santa Monica’s Farmers Market fruit last fall, I was beyond thrilled to experience more from the west coast. Spending a majority of Coachella Music Festival on the grounds, the onsite resources such as the Farmers Market that brought in vendors from neighboring areas of Palm Desert, Palm Springs and La Quinta became most valuable. Here’s what I feasted on that got me through the days…
Lemons, Oranges & Limes
Oranges & Golden Berries
Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Strawberries & Goldenberries
Green Energizing Drinks
a camera in the kitchen 