Empire Diner

210 Tenth Avenue

(between 22nd and 23rd Streets)

As a big fan of the Food Network’s show Chopped, I have been meaning to check out the newly reopened Empire Diner under its new head chef, Amanda Freitag—a judge on Chopped.

Retaining its art deco décor, the diner is as comfortable and cozy as I remembered it when I visited it nearly twenty years ago (minus the piano, of course!).

 

I just heard however that Freitag is unfortunately stepping down as head chef of the restaurant so that she could focus on her television shows.

Hope the rumors aren't true, but with a heat wave in NYC, what better place to go then to an air-conditioned diner for some good old-fashioned yummy dessert?

I decided to take the waitress’s recommendation and ordered the Cocoa Carrot Cake Sundae ($10), which was topped with cream cheese ice cream and carrot caramel.

Unbelievably rich and decadent!!!

For some odd reason, I’ve been craving olives all summer. And since I noticed that they seemed to have a well-stocked bar (their drinks and particularly their wine list looked pretty amazing),

I asked if I could order a side of olives. Not only did the waitress say, yes; she also gave them to me as a comp and without any judgment!

 

I do have to say that the mix of salty olives and the sweet carrot cake actually worked well together!

Pros:

Friendly and helpful service.

Cons:

Pricey.

Final Thoughts

Will definitely return just for that carrot cake dessert!

Don Giovanni Ristorante

214 Tenth Avenue

(between 22nd and 23rd Streets)

 

Ever since my experience of dining at Marta’s earlier this year, I’ve been a fan of brick-oven pizza places that offered Neapolitan thin-crust pizzas.

And Don Giovanni did not disappoint.

Went for a late lunch, and with a wide offering of pizzas,

 

I ordered the Bella Mia—a pizza topped with a fried egg, artichoke, pepperoni, and mushrooms.

 

Filling and delicious!

A small pie was more than enough for one person. I actually ended up taking some home and am happy to report that a day later, the slice was still tasty. As opposed to how some day-old pizza crusts become dry and hard like cardboard, this slice still was soft and easy to chew.

The restaurant does offer other entrée options such as pastas, heroes, and dishes like chicken marsala and veal parmigiana

 

As it was a brutally hot July day, I decided to order a glass of white wine as opposed to my usual red (which would be the natural complement for pizza and pasta). After sampling their Chardonnay and their Sauvignon Blanc, I went with the waitress’s suggestion of the Sauvignon as that was sweeter and lighter:

 

I had wanted to order a rosé, but unfortunately they only offered one type by the glass, which was a dry rosé, and I like my rosés sweet.

I then went next door to Empire Diner for dessert.

 

Pros:

Excellent thin-crust pizza.

Affordable pricing!

Offers a leisurely and unhurried atmosphere.

Cons:

Wine options rather limited.

Final Thoughts

Will be a frequent return customer as the pricing is right, and I want to try out their other pizza options.

Sofi Awards 2015 (Awards Ceremony and After Party)

Monday, June 29, 2015

The Sofi Awards: The Best of Specialty Food is touted as “a celebration of taste and innovation.”

This was the first year I attended, because it was the first year that an After Party was made available to attendees of the Summer Fancy Food Show.

The Awards Ceremony was from 5 to 7 p.m. and I arrived just after the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Awards.

 

 

Some of the Sofi winners were:

APPETIZER, ANTIPASTO, OR HORS D’OEUVRES

Lone Mountain Wagyu, LLC

100% Fullblood Wagyu Beef Summer Sausage

CHEESE

Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.

Bay Blue

CHOCOLATE

Laurie & Sons

Dangerously Delicious Black Licorice Chocolate Toffee

COOKIE, BROWNIE, CAKE, OR PIE

Hot Cakes

Organic Molten Chocolate Cake—Dark Decadence

CRACKER

Grains of Health, LLC

Laiki Black Rice Crackers

HOT BEVERAGE

Tea Forte, Inc.

Vanilla Pear Tea

MEAT, PATE, OR SEAFOOD

Fra’ Mani Handcrafted Foods

Salametto Piccante

PASTA SAUCE

Sauces ‘N Love, Inc.

Pumpkin and Kale Alfredo Sauce

SAVORY SNACK

Maya Kaimal Fine Indian Foods

Sweet Chili Chickpea Chips

SOUP, STEW, BEAN, OR CHILI

Cook San Francisco, LLC

Nona Lim Thai Curry and Lime Broth

Biggest trend of the night, appeared to be the ingredient, “caramel,” with the following products also honored:

CONFECTION

Big Picture Farm, LLC

Goat Milk Chai Caramels

DESSERT SAUCE, TOPPING, OR SYRUP

Coop’s Microcreamery

Salted Caramel Sauce

PASTA, RICE, OR GRAIN

Nella Pasta, LLC

Corn, Caramelized Onion & Thyme Ravioli

And the evening’s final two awards going to:

NEW PRODUCT

Big Picture Farm, LLC

Raspberry Rhubarb Goat Milk Caramels

PRODUCT LINE

Fat Toad Farm

Goat’s Milk Caramel

It was heavily promoted that Ted Allen of Food Network fame would make an appearance. As a huge fan of Chopped, I was looking forward to seeing him “Live”! Instead, his “appearance” was via a pre-recorded video, so that was a bit disappointing. Not sure whether he was scheduled to appear as presenting the awards and then unfortunately had to back out at the last minute, but he made a surprise announcement that Chopped judge Alex Guarnaschelli would be handing out the awards to the winners.

She was surprisingly sweet and lovely (as opposed to her gruff demeanor on Chopped—one of my sisters calls her the “mean” judge) and seemed genuinely happy for the winners.

 

The After Party commenced immediately after the ceremony (which ended around 7 p.m.), and was located just as one exited the Awards Ceremony.

 

I stayed for about half an hour and the drinks were plentiful, and many of the food items that were nominated were featured.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I would definitely attend again next year and probably go the next day to visit the Sofi award-winning booths (as each contestant’s booth number was listed on the program) to see if I agree with the judges’ choices!