The Best Food Blog

Last night I snapped this pic right before I DEVOURED this Lobster Roll. My friend Natasha took me to The Pearl Oyster Bar for my first time and I am left with an overwhelming sadness that I put off going there for all these years. WHAT was I thinking??? When we got there, there was a bit of a wait, as there usually is for this small but hugely popular sea food spot in the village. However, it wasn't long before the lovely hostess had a spot for us at the bar. Natasha had told me that we were having the Lobster Roll, and I am glad she forced me into it. Overall flavor was bright and fresh, but there were no flavor surprises. What was so awesome to me about the roll was that there was tons of lobster, and huge chunks at that. The bun was a perfect buttery vessel and the shoestring potatoes were wonderful as well (and I am typically not a fan). Did I mention the great Rioja Blanco we had too? :) So, if you find yourself in the middle of Manhattan, but are dreamin...

So yesterday I was out in Jersey visiting my family, and my sister-in-law introduced me to this product she found. Normally I do not go for the "semi homeade" type of things. Especially when it comes to easily made dishes. Things like a quick tomato sauce for pasta, or a bright salad dressing shouldn't require a packet for you to make. And when it comes to guacamole, I know I am not alone with this because people are so die hard about their guac. Everyone thinks they make the best, and seem to take it very personal if you try to change their recipe. Until now.. :) Frontera , a company started by the famous chef Rick Bayless has created the perfect little packet of goodness, and all you have to do is add a couple avocados. It really is that easy. What you'll find in this magic packet is different from other guacamole mixes because it's not a dry mix. I have never used a guacamole mix before, but I believe they are mostly dry ingredients, with a lot of preserva...

Yesterday I woke up and wanted Scallops. Not sure why, but it was one of the first things that popped into my head as I was waking up. So I got out of bed, pulled myself together and headed to The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market . I got 6 large scallops, and it made 2 salads. On the way there I decided that I was going to make a salad, because I also wanted to slow roast some tomatoes. I decided on a couple small heads of Frisee for the texture, and my mind went to bacon for some crunch. I thought it could be a play on the classic app of bacon wrapped scallops, but the problem was I didn't actually want bacon. So as I was shopping for the produce at the Manhattan Fruit Exchange , I saw sunchokes and thought that I could make chips with them for that crunch I was looking for from the bacon. I got home and started to work on the tomatoes. I never put much thought into the process, and it wasn't until I was home that it dawned on me this was going to take a long time to ...

    As a person who spends a considerable amount of time and $$$ on the NYC restaurant scene and I do mean considerable, I’m not just looking for delish eats, I’m looking for a full on experience meaning food, ambiance, drinks, service, and fun interactionsn with the folks that work at the restaurant.    What does all of this mean exactly?    Well let me explain, there’s many restaurants out here that have the food part of the business down packed, but unfortunately lack in every other area that for me makes spending my money in their establishment worthwhile, no matter how badly I want to share with the readers which restaurants I’m referring    I’ll be classy and not do it :-/ My offices are in Time Square so co-workers and I are always looking for a great place to have lunch together or if we have client or partner meetings, a great place to bring them.       Almost a year ago I discovered what I call my own “Cheers” in...

Yesterday while I was at my "day job", I received a bottle of wine from a wonderful lady named Maria Helm Sinskey . I have met Mrs. Helm Sinskey a few times before, and knew she was in the wine business, but I had never taken the time to research her vineyards.  She very generously gave me a bottle of Pinot Noir , and I could see the pride in her eyes. I couldn't wait to find out more and get home to open this bottle. In the meantime, I looked up the vineyards online and got to know how Mrs. Helm Sinskey and her husband Robert Sinskey ended up making wine, and could tell why Mrs. Helm Sinskey would have so much pride in her bottle.  Now that I have tasted the wine, I totally get it. What a great bottle! It is robust but still delicate. A little fruity, but still a tiny bit spicy too. (I am so bad at describing wine and I hope I am doing this Pinot justice.) Mrs. Helm Sinskey also told me she was the chef at the Robert Sinskey Vineyards , and when I was on the webs...

A couple of nights ago we had a few friends over for dinner, and while shopping for the food I hit the liquor store for some wine. Once I got the the shop I realized that maybe a nice pre-dinner cocktail was in order. The friends that were coming by hadn't been by in a while and I wanted to make them something special so instead of wine, I headed over to the liquors. I instantly saw a bottle Crop Harvest Cucumber Vodka and decided I wanted a martini made with this. I was in Chelsea Market so I ran over to  Manhattan Fruit Exchange to get a English Cucumber and some mint. They didn't have any mint so I went with Basil instead. When I got home a did some experimenting. I muddled the cucumber and basil together and added the vodka. It was nice, but had a little too much kick. P2 suggested tossing in some blueberries we had on hand to sweeten the mixture up and it worked. It also gave the drink a nice color. I also added a splash of lemon aid we had, and it was perfecti...

I met Alex a few years ago, and although we have only actually hung out a few times, we have always maintained our friendship via email, Facebook, Twitter and text. He has been a great friend who has had my back no matter what was going on in my life. He was especially supportive when I decided to start writing this blog. Since the first post he always commented about how he liked it, and even went to far as to offer to send it over to his contacts at Food Network. As time has passed, my friend has developed into a guy with quite the food obsession. Always Tweeting about where he is and what he is eating, and of course I love to follow along on his culinary adventures. From time to time Alex has even come to me with food questions or recipe ideas. No matter what I throw at him he is always able to pull it off, so I love to be able to help. Today I woke up to a surprise email. I had asked Alex to do a small write up about his favorite restaurant in NYC called Ember Room , and to my...