Flight to India : Flight news and information

Steamed Mussels from Muelle Tres in Ensenada A couple of years ago, I met Bill aka Street Gourmet LA through a mutual friend and ever since then, my association with him has enabled me to experience some truly exquisite Mexican cuisine outside of LA, specifically in Tijuana, Guadalupe Valley and Ensenada. The first time I went down Baja Way with Bill, I was amazed! My second visit with him was just as exciting. However, my third visit was truly epically mind-blowing and it made me fall even more in love with the food along the Baja Coast of Mexico

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¡Baja Delicioso! Introduction and the Ultimate Carne Asada Taco at Tacos El Poblano

If you ask me, there is nothing better than a traditional caprese salad with colorful Heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and lots of basil, especially with a glass of wine on a summer evening. The Sac Foodies have been noticing Heirloom tomato dishes popping up on menus all over town lately. Brittany had a delish Heirloom tomato salad the other day at 33rd Street Bistro , Twin Soup blogged about a caprese salad with Heirlooms from Piatti and even the Hot Italian is touting their new menu items with Heirlooms which we can’t wait to try.

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How we Love our Heirloom Tomatoes

An observant Eater operative, after wondering why Bon Ap’s Momofuku Ko comic looked so damn familiar, found the above photo ( full size here ) of the soft opening of MomoKo in the archives. It’s curious to say the least. While there’s nothing wrong with an illustrator using a photograph as a model—though the AP would argue otherwise —it is interesting that Ruth Reichl , editor of rival Conde mag Gourmet was switched with Men’s Health’s Dave Zinczenko and made to look, ahem, a bit manly

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KO-Boom: Why That Momo Comic Looks so Familiar

I’ll admit that at times I’m a bit of a foodie.  I like fine dining, and can appreciate a beautifully composed dish.  A dish that balances savory and sweet, marries textures with rich flavor, combines beautiful colors on the plate…basically food that delights all of the senses! Given the somewhat modest salaries that we make as design professionals, we can’t always afford to live the lifestyle to match our fabulous taste, like we can’t decorate our homes with the styles that strike our fancy, and similarly, I can’t always afford to indulge in gourmet foodie fantasy-land.  But on special occasions….all bets are off! This past Tuesday I had the pleasure of venturing up to San Francisco (about 50 miles from home) to enjoy a delicious meal.  We went to Fleur de Lys , a Hubert Keller restaurant in the heart of SF.  Hubert has been there for over 20 years, I believe, and now has retaurants in other locations as well.  He’s a chef that is measured by Michelin stars, and not “Food Network Stars”.  From start to finish, my meal was a treat!   I enjoy it when food is not only delightful and tasty, but also playful.  My dessert was a “fleurburger”, a take on the American burger and fries.  It was a tiny chocolate ganache “burger”, sliced straberries as “tomato”, sliced kiwi fruit “lettuce”, strawberry puree as “ketchup”, and a sweet bun.  On the side, there were some fennel ice cream french fries.  Fennel ice cream?  Yes, very Iron Chef! The rest of the meal was as creative and unique as the dessert.  I savored my meal and my senses were definitely indulged.  All of the dishes were so artfully composed on the plate.  Care was taken to ensure that every small plate and dish was perched atop a small slice of cucumber to prevent the dishes from clanking together as they were brought to the table.  To top off the evening, as we were leaving the restaurant, Chef Keller was standing near the door to say goodbye to us as we exited.  I shook his hand and thanked him for the wonderful meal.  He was gracious and kind, and just as humble and genuine as you would want him to be.  We chatted briefly about food and I left with a bit of a spring in my step, inspired to go forth and be creative!

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The Architecture of Food

It’s not the food—OK, maybe it is the food—but Momofuku Ko’s online reservation system has gotten as much hype among Manhattanites over the last year as the latest Apple iToy. The online-only system (the restaurant doesn’t even have a phone) has frustrated food critics and senior foodies alike—with an entire night’s open spots disappearing in a matter of seconds, it was definitely designed with the Web-obsessed in mind. I decided to try my hand at making a Ko reservation a few months ago, and with fast fingers, it’s really not that hard to score

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Manhattan’s Most Coveted Reservation: Momofuku Ko

Terraces Bonsecours: In the heart of the Old Port, with it’s three terraces, Terrace Bonsecours offers remarkable views of Old Montreal and the St-Lawrence river. The terraces are covered so you don’t have to worry about getting rained on! Perfect for a night out with the girls with DJ’s playing music and a great place to catch the fireworks competition . For details on how to get there: Terraces Bonsecours Newtown : Located on Crescent street, this lounge/resto/club with a terrace on the 3rd floor is a great place to go after work for a 5 a 7, or meet up with the girls for dinner/dessert.

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Great Montreal Terraces

As you know, most establishments have a “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service” policy.  And I think it’s a good policy to have.  The last thing I want to happen is to step on some poor fella’s toes and get sued!  ha-ha! Burger King in St Louis feels the same way.  They will not serve you a burger or even fries if your not wearing any shoes.  Just the rules.  Simple. Jennifer Frederich, her mother and her 6 month old daughter Kaylin, decided to get a burger at the Burger King in Sunset Hills this past Sunday.  But Jennifer did not put shoes on baby Kaylin!  Jennifer figured since the baby was not walking or talking, the policy of No Shoes, No Service does not apply to her or her family. Burger King employees told the family to leave because the shoeless baby was violating a health code (but we all know St Louis County does not have any such “shoelessness” health code on the books, it’s just a store policy).

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Burger King tells mother of 6 month old to leave the restaurant

A new Asian dining spot is coming to the Inman Square neighborhood of Cambridge, replacing a Thai restaurant that closed earlier this summer. The Ginger Exchange will be opening in the spot on Cambridge Street where Montien used to be (the Montien in Boston remains open), and it looks to be a place that features Japanese and possibly Korean cuisine. Their Web site, which isn’t yet fully up and running, states that they will be featuring sushi, bento boxes, and noodle dishes.

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The Ginger Exchange Coming to Inman Square, Cambridge

According to this bankruptcy webiste and a pdf of the filing, the troubled LES spot and new Ryan Skeen landing pad Allen & Delancey has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. While the filing took place in Connecticut (where one assumes owner Richard Friedberg lives), the creditors listed are high quality NYC food vendors including D’Artagnan and Down East Seafood, the landlord at 115 Allen (owed $15,000 in rent), and of course, the feds. Allen & Delancey owes over $350,000 to the IRS and $210,00 in New York State taxes

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Allen & Delancey Filing for Chapter 11 but Not Closing

Way back in my undergraduate days, the food court concept invaded college campuses.  Cafeteria lines in student centers disappeared, replaced by branded fast food vendors.  Scratch cooking vanished–no more hot biscuits and grits, or baked chicken and macaroni & cheese–replaced by Egg McMuffins and Chik-Fil-A nuggets, or reheated Sysco’s finest entrees. I spotted a lone holdout from the chain fast-food and Sysco heat-n-eat trends this week.  Tucked inside Tulane University’s Lavin-Bernick Center (the UC, to campus old-timers) food court, Byblos dishes up Mediterranean favorites like felafel, gyros, schwarma, hummus, and more.  Best of all, it’s real food, not reassembled, reheated food shipped from some giant Houston commissary.  Witness a cook making a chicken schwarma roll from scratch, using recognizable chicken parts! The NY Times Dining section addressed gyro history a few weeks ago; turns out that the lamb/beef rolls are often mass-produced, making me appreciate Byblos’ handmade chicken schwarma even more

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Real cooking, in a college food court

Fresh seafood in Manahawkin does not have to involve a ride over the Causeway to Long Beach Island.  A great Manahawkin seafood option is the Exit 63 Seafood Corner , located at 743 E Bay Avenue in Manahawkin! Open year round, Exit 63 Seafood Corner combines great prepared seafood and a fresh fish market.  On my last visit, I had Blackened Tuna over rice ($19.00), while my dining partner had a wonder seafood combination in a white wine garlic sauce over linguini (also $19.).  There are daily specials, and it’s the freshest seafood in Manahawkin.

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Fresh Seafood In Manahawkin Without Crossing the Causeway!

Designer Philippe Starck and sushi master Katsuya’s latest Los Angeles hotspot: KATSUYA L.A. LIVE – PHILIPPE STARCK DOES IT AGAIN – See the complete Los Angeles city guide . ________________________________________ Back to UCityGuides.com – The Ultimate City Guides or check out UCityGuides.com Hotels – Design, Boutique, Luxury, Cheap Hotels

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Katsuya L.A. Live: Los Angeles’ Latest Hotspot by Designer Philippe Starck and Sushi Master Katsuya

The Ledbury 127 Ledbury Road London W11 2AQ Website Map Online Reservations 8-course tasting menu (including amuse bouche and pre-dessert) at £70/person, 3-courses at £60/person It is a pleasure to sit in The Ledbury’s dining room, be served by a professional & friendly staff and eat well prepared food with oftentimes interesting ingredients & combinations – I just wish there had been a few more ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ Notting Hill or Berkeley Square? For a long time, I had wanted to eat at either The Square or The Ledbury, the two sister restaurants owned by Philip Howard and Nigel Platts-Martin.

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The Ledbury: Artistic Flare, Good Ingredients & Great Atmosphere – But I am Left Wanting More

So, I have been hiding away in the Dalmatian coast of Croatia for the last week – and greatly enjoying the amazing coastal scenery! Dubrovnik – despite the thousands of tourists – has to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.  The opportunity to reconstruct it after the Serbian bombings of 1991-92, when an estimated 68% of the buildings in the old city were damaged, has been grasped imaginatively and beautifully – the walk around the city walls is truly magnificent. I was hoping to explore some of Croatia’s vineyards and wineries during our stay – but with prices of most of the ‘quality’ wines for sale being between$30 and $50 a bottle, I swiftly changed my mind! To be sure, it is indeed possible to find some reasonable  wines at much less than this, but I cannot imagine who is willing to pay such prices – perhaps there are far too many over-rich tourists!  If Croatia wants to establish itself as a  reputable wine-making country, it needs to start making better value wines! The food was also, sadly, disapponting  – tasty enough, but we did not manage to find any restaurants that really impressed. The best – and reasonably priced – was Konavoski Dvori near Gruda to the south of Dubrovnik.  The restaurant is in a restored watermill, and on a hot August day the swift-flowing river that runs past the dining tables provides a very welcome cool breeze!  Meat is cooked in an iron bell on charcoal – which keeps it succulent and moist

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Croatia: seascapes, wine and food

When the UGs went to Europe a little over a year ago we partook in the worst sleeping conditions ever. I may have mentioned this before but we once slept in a hostel in the London ghetto where people were murdered outside, I had an Australian masturbating in the bunk below and shaking my bed, and Josie had a crazy Italian chef who slept with a 8-inch knife below her (not a euphemism). It was pretty bad but we were far more lucky in Paris where we got to stay with a friend of a friend’s friends in a large apartment occupied by three cute Parisian men

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Got Frenchy?

FINALLY, I was able to bring something peppery and someone Spidey together! Being one of my staunchest best friends, Spider-man has been keeping me company through my ordeals.  Remember the greeting I made him for his birthday? Peppery & Spider together! This week, since I have been egging him on for days on end to join me for a “ Pepper Lunch ” meal – and since he knew I’ve been bracing for August 5 th – he finally joined me at the newly opened branch at Town.  This would be my fourth time at the said “fast steak” place.  I’ve harped about my joy already here , here , and here .

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Peppery & Spidey

This year’s biggest food story in NYC concluded today with the announcement that Sam Sifton is replacing Frank Bruni as the food critic of the New York Times . Bruni was at the top of his game when it was announced in May that he was leaving the post and becoming a writer-at-large for the New York Times Magazine. Bruni even got off to a preliminary start the other week with a cover-story excerpt from his forthcoming book memoir, Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater

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The New NY Times Food Critic… Is Still Not Me

Native Plants at Habana Outpost Our garden got props today thanks to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s “Greenest Block in Brooklyn” contest who named us one of the top three greenest storefronts in all of BK! We know the green boxes outside of our our fence may seem like they are filled with weeds, but they are actually home to over 20 species of native Brooklyn plants – so while they might not always be as sassy and bright as a geranium or marigold, they are playing an important role in the eco-system on the corner of Fulton and South Portland. Last summer we found a Monarch Butterfly Larvae (we named him Victor) munching on our milkweed and had the honor of watching him turn into a butterfly. Victor exploring Habana Outpost Check out more photos of Victor below Next time you stop by, check out the signs on the planters to learn more about our garden and we  hope to see you at our Back to School Bash on Monday September 7th where there will be a Live Monarch Butterfly Release, story telling, face painting, games, free notebooks and pencils for the new school year and much more !! Monarch Larvae at Habana Outpost Monarch chrysalis at Habana Outpost Monarch Butterfly at Habana Outpost

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Our garden is award winning!

After a very pleasant evening we headed to bed(and I was impressed at the beautiful linens on the bed plus the THICK towels in the bathroom) and were pleased to note that there wasn’t a peep out of the other guests(and every one of the 6 suites was occupied) The only sound was the swish, swash,swish of the waves, and the chirping of crickets… In the morning we woke pretty early and I made some coffee, which we took out onto the patio(as seen at the end of my last post) It was promising to be a very warm day again even ocean side. The tide was far out and the little boats which had been moored nearby were all lying rather ingnonimously on their sides in the wet sand. There was a hubbub of seagulls at the waters edge; evidently capitalizing on the plentiful oysters revealed in the low tide

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our mini trip part three

At right: the current state of Nuela Buried in Flo Fab’s Off the Menu report this morning came the news that Chef Douglas Rodriguez of Top Chef Masters fame was on the move and no longer affiliated with the much-delayed Flatiron project Nuela . Though there reportedly isn’t any bad blood between DR and the investors, tight-lipped sources close to the chef tell Eater that he’s left due to ” creative differences ” and is “actively looking for other opportunities in New York.” Pretty vague stuff, but there are some interesting rumors floating around this afternoon: 1) The chef wasn’t being consulted on major management and hiring decisions and felt like there was no choice but to leave, and 2) He’s gotten an offer from Drew Nieporent and is currently working out a deal with the restaurateur. If this Nieporent thing has any truth to it, it could be an excellent move for the Nuevo Latino pioneer.

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Douglas Rodriguez OUT at Nuela, Chatting with Nieporent