Sunday, July 26, 2015

2015 Summer Fancy Food Show


June 28 to June 30, 2015


It’s officially the start of summer when the Fancy Food Show comes to NYC’s Javits Center!

Out of all the previous years I’ve attended, I found this year to be particularly well organized and for the first time ever, manageable.

Along with the all the samples of cheese,

 
Meats, such as Nueske’s delicious applewood smoked bacon:
 

 
Epic’s dry meat (offering: uncured bacon, chicken, bison):


Epic even offered take-home samples of which I took the apple-cured bacon sample (very good and tasted better than beef jerky in my opinion):


 
Ice cream and gelatos, such as Graeter’s handmade ice cream:
 


Nancy’s Fancy sorbet (I tried the roasted banana, which were given out in a cute mini sugar cone!):

 

Desserts, such as personal perennial favorite Delimanjoo’s hot custard-filled, vanilla cakes:

 
Sweet Lady Jane’s cakes (I tried the carrot cake, which was very sweet):


Nia Valentina’s chocolate wafer cups (tastings were handed out with coffee)—great concept, but the coffee was not well made so that might have taken away from the tasting experience:


Nia Valentina is a company founded by two sisters so I am wishing nothing but prosperity and good things for them!

 
The Belgian Kitchen’s samples of their liege waffles:


Teas, such as a special pouring of Moroccan tea in the Moroccan Pavilion:


Smoothies, such as New Zealand’s Kura smoothie powder:


Alcoholic beverages, such as Violeta’s tequila
 


David’s Vineyard’s Kosher delicious ice wine:


PMD NY’s very strong rum-based moonshine from Puerto Rico known as Pitorro:



Non-alcoholic beverages, such as St. Regis’s offerings:

 

And assorted international flavor, such as Mandu Bibimbab Gyozas:

 
Bibigo’s steamed (never fried!) dumplings; offered in three flavors (chicken & vegetables, pork & vegetables, and vegetables—I tasted the chicken-flavored one and it was delicious!):
 


China Pavilion’s white and black-rice sushi sampling:


Laverland Crunch’s seaweed snack, which was displayed to demonstrate the variety of ways one may enjoy this seaweed snack. My personal favorite was the rice ball prepared with Laverland’s seaweed salad topping (a more detailed review to follow!) rolled with sushi rice—LOVED the crunch!!

 
I always highlight the booths, which I consider were standouts in regards to their décor.

From Braswell’s Minion-branded jellies:

 
To Agromonte’s Italy-inspired car:


To Rochef’s chocolate bunny:
 

To Miso Match Sauce’s Ninja Boy mascot:


To the Japan Pavilion’s cherry blossom trees promoting sweet sakura tea:

 
To the China Pavilion’s glasses of assorted rice:

 
To Marukome’s make-your-own miso soup “bar” (I made myself miso supe with asparagus, spinach, tomato, and green onion—refreshing!):

 
 
To a display of a full pig:

 
To Pretzilla’s display of soft pretzels:

 

To Sweet Joy’s corn stick, which can be used in place of sugar cones and waffle cones for ice cream:

 

To Kencraft’s emoji lollipops (super cute!!!):


Two particular giveaways of special note were Secrets of Healthy Cooking by Barbara Seelig-Brown published by the American Diabetes Association.

 

And a sample of Jelly Belly’s special Star Wars Galaxy Mix!:

 
This year, I also attended the 2015 Sofi Awards and After Party, as well as the first-ever Opening Night Party. (Both events will be discussed in separate posts.)





Bistro Le Steak


1309 Third Avenue
(corner of 75th Street)
 

Decent UES spot if you are looking for a good burger.

Met up with two girlfriends whom I haven’t seen in a while for a catch-up chat and dinner.

Had to order their Le Steak Burger with cheddar cheese. I figured if you’re in restaurant called “Le Steak,” one should order either a steak or some other beef menu item.

The burger was very good, and what I thought really interesting is that red pepper, scallion, and mushrooms are mixed in with the ground beef as opposed to being on top of the burger. Came also with very yummy fries!

 
For dessert, we split a delicious molten lava chocolate cake. Warm and moist, which paired perfectly with a glass of malbec!
 

One quibble is that the restaurant offered only one type of rosé—Domaine de Caseneuve. Found this very odd especially considering the popularity of rosés especially during the spring/summer season. Hopefully, the restaurant will rectify this confusing lack soon. The rosé was a good, dry wine, but not one that I would go out of my way to order again (as I prefer my rosés a bit on the sweet side).




Pros:
Very good burger.

Cons:
Offers only one (?!?) bottle of rosé, and found the overall wine list rather limited.


Final Thoughts
Would return for either lunch or dinner, if in the area.




Sunday, June 14, 2015

Tavola

488 Ninth Avenue
(between 37th and 38th Streets)



My new favorite Italian pizza place! Thin crust pizza with the taste of Naples—what’s not to like?

The restaurant is cozy and comfortable and the food is excellent. Has a wonderful “neighborhood-feel” to it.

 
Started off with a glass of pinot grigio ($9), which was very light and basically tasted like fruity water.


I soon switched to a heartier red—the Nero D’avola ($12). Definitely better suited for pizza and pasta!

For our appetizer, we ordered a roasted beet salad—bronta pistachio nuts, goat cheese, and wild arugula. LOVE red beets ($11.50).



For our pizza dish, we went for the Truscan Brunch Pizza ($16), which was topped with mozzarella, smoked prosciutto, and farm egg, and fresh spinach. Soooo good!!!
 


We also ordered a pasta dish—fusilli lunghi siciliano pesto trapanese ($11.75). Had an interesting salty, anchovy taste.


Though we were full from our meal, our fellow diners insisted that we try one of the restaurant’s homemade desserts. The lady who was sitting in the next table over raved over their gelato dessert, so we of course had to try it.
 
And we were not disappointed. We ordered the Gelato Pistachio Crushed Ameretti ($8.75) and it was a perfect dessert for sharing.

 
 
Perfect ending to a close-to-perfect meal!


Pros:
Excellent thin-crust pizza.
Friendly service and friendly patrons!



Cons:
Opens at 2 p.m. on weekends.


Final Thoughts
Will be a frequent customer.



Bistango

413 Third Avenue
(between 29th and 30th Streets)



Best gluten-free restaurant in New York City. Great place to take friends who can’t or don’t want to eat gluten.

Bistango has several locations in Manhattan, but the one to go to is the one on Third Avenue. The restaurant is cozy and relaxing and the service is excellent.

An out-of-town friend, who can’t eat gluten, insists on coming here at least once for dinner during her once-a-year business visit. She is always in awe that they offer gluten-free bread.

We started off with the Calamari Bistango (sautéed calamari and tomato sauce).  Light and chewy goodness!


My friend ordered the Wild Mushroom and Ricotta Ravioli with pesto sauce. She always orders a ravioli entrée. She was a bit disappointed this time, though, as she felt the dish had too much pesto sauce on it.
 
I ordered the Risotto Primavera, Burrata, and Lite Pesto. LOVED the burrata, but like my friend, I did feel they went a bit overboard with the pesto.


For dessert, we had the Torta Di Carota—carrot cake with buttermilk crème frosting. Simply delicious! Unbelievably moist and light. Could have had two of them and still want more!

 
To accompany the entire meal, we ordered a bottle of the Primitivo—a wonderful full-body red with a very smooth finish. Whenever I see the Primitivo on the wine list, I go out of my way to order it, as it never has disappointed!
 


Pros:
A must-go-to if you are looking for a gluten-free meal.
Good service.
Great carrot cake.


Cons:
Too must pesto on dishes.


Final Thoughts
Will return next year!




Asian Jewels Seafood Restaurant

133-30 East 39th Avenue
Flushing, NY 11354


Mother’s Day 2015. Treated Mom to dim sum. Instead of fighting the crowds and long lines in Manhattan’s Chinatown, we decided to go to Flushing’s Chinatown. Plus, it would be Mom’s first time visiting Flushing.

After doing a bit of research, we chose a restaurant that would take a reservation. If you know anything about Chinese dim sum places, most will not accept reservations. It’s first come, first serve (most make you take a number) and the waits may take as long as an hour, especially on holidays such as Mother’s Day. We also searched for a large, family-style restaurant, as opposed to a hole-in-the-wall dim sum spot, which would be appropriate for a celebratory meal.

 

When we showed up at the restaurant at 10:30 a.m., and a crowd was already present at the restaurant’s lobby. However, my mom walked in like royalty because we had a reservation. The restaurant literally added a table for us. They rolled out a new tabletop and took chairs off of stacks of chairs that were placed against a wall.

The food was fresh and delicious and plentiful.
 


 





The cart ladies were ever-present, and we were also able to order dishes to be made to order (we ordered a vegetarian noodle dish to go).



Pros:
Takes reservations!
Friendly service.
Great variety of dim sum.
Nice, clean restrooms!!!


Cons:
Pricier than most dim sum places.


Final Thoughts
Mom was happy and enjoyed the meal. And in the end that’s all that matters!