Chef And Menu Report: Week Of 8/24/14
Rensselaerville, N.Y.
The brainchild of James Beard Award-winning author and longtime New York Times writer Molly O'Neill, the LongHouse Food Revival (September 13 through 14) is a weekend symposium designed to raise the bar for the way food stories are told. The weekend starts with presentations from a number of remarkable presenters including Kat Kinsman (CNN's Eatocracy), Kim Severson (The New York Times), and Amy Thielen (author of The New Midwestern Table and host of Heartland Table on the Food Network), among others. Saturday night is the Live Fire Feast, in which chefs Alex Young and Carlos Gaytan will face off in the Live Fire Cooking Arena, creating dishes for the theme, "Oink Vs. Moo." Chef Edward Lee will be serving at least an acre's worth of handcrafted preserved and ash-cooked vegetables. On Sunday, a firehouse-style breakfast kicks off a day of exhibitions and panel discussions, and a formal olive oil tasting rounds off the weekend's festivities.
New York City
Advance tickets for the 5th Annual TASTE Williamsburg Greenpoint have officially gone on sale. The event will take place at the East River State Park in Williamsburg on Sunday, September 7, showcasing a curated selection of bites and beverages from north Brooklyn. TASTE vendors include Antica Pesa, Aurora Ristorante, Bakeri, Bedford Cheese Shop, The Bedford, Black Bear Bar, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Cupcake, Brooklyn Oenology, The Brooklyn Star, Brooklyn Taco Co., Brooklyn Winery, Bruce Cost Ginger Ale, Café Colette, Café Mogador, Café Moto, Cubana Social, Delaware and Hudson, Dirck the Norseman & Greenpoint Beer & Ale Co., Dona Chai, Donna, El Almacen Restaurant, The Elm, Extra Fancy, Fabbrica Restaurant & Bar, Fat Goose, GuS Grown-up Soda, Hotel Delmano, The Juice Witches, Juliette Restaurant, Le Barricou, Lighthouse, Maison Premiere, McClure's Pickles, The Meatball Shop, Miranda Restaurant, The Natural Wine Company, No Name Bar, Oslo Coffee Roasters, Ovenly, Phin & Phebes Ice Cream, Reynard, Rosamunde Sausage Grill, The Shanty, Spike Hill, St. Mazie Bar & Supper Club, Station, Sweetwater, Teddy's Bar and Grill, Two Door Tavern, Zona Rosa, and many more. All proceeds from TASTE will help fund the Northside Town Hall Community and Cultural Center, an organization working to renovate and operate the former Engine Co. 212 Firehouse for community activity.
Blue Ribbon Restaurants and the Blue Ribbon Bakery Kitchen will offer a special High Holidays menu for Rosh Hashanah, available on September 24 and 25. The full menu includes dishes such as smoked fish consommé with whitefish matzoh balls, braised brisket with pickled raisins, and challah doughnuts with honey-chocolate sauce.
Some acclaimed New York restaurants are supporting the effort to end AIDS in children worldwide at Kids 4 Kids New York Family Festival, hosted by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation on September 27 at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Guests at the event will enjoy food from some of the city's favorite restaurants and chefs such as caterer Abigail Kirsh, Michael's, Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, Pain D'Avignon, Sofia Wine Bar, and Mercer Kitchen.
The Todd English Food Hall at The Plaza hotel is launching new food and beverage menus in honor of the eatery's fourth anniversary. Chef English expanded the menu to include new shareable plates, salads, and pasta options, such as Peking duck buns, lobster guacamole, Burrata and country ham salad, a kimchi Reuben, and much more. The food hall also offers take-away options, a slew of retail items, and gift baskets.
Orlando
Norman's at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes will host a tribute to Charlie Trotter on Saturday, December 13. The evening will feature hors d'oeuvres by renowned local chefs, culinary stations from chef Norman and his team, and sommeliers will be pairing wines accordingly. The chefs in attendance will be Norman Van Aken of Norman's at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes; James and Julie Petrakis of The Ravenous Pig and Cask & Larder; Hari Pulapaka of Cress Restaurant; Greg Baker of The Refinery; Scott Hunnel of Victoria & Albert's; Brandon McGlamery of Luma on Park and Prato; Timothy Keating, of Flying Fish Café; Greg Richie of Cityfish Restaurant; Ryan Vargas of Tchoup Chop; and John Rivers of 4 Rivers and The Coop.
The event will also feature a silent auction to benefit The Trotter Project, an alumni-driven initiative whose mission is to celebrate the lasting legacy of chef Charlie Trotter through culinary and educational programs, services, and events that foster professional and personal excellence, and create a sense of community among individuals dedicated to these principals.
Miami
On Wednesday, September 3, The Dutch in Miami Beach will host a four-course wine pairing dinner with wines curated and presented by Krug, world-renowned Champagne house and winery. The evening will feature a menu created by chef de cuisine Conor Hanlon, paired alongside some of France's most acclaimed wines. Some of the dishes served will be oysters three ways — raw Kushi in the half shell with oyster velouté, warm roasted Rockefeller, and crispy fried Blue Point on a deviled egg — and stracciatella di buratta with grilled Georgia peaches, toasted pecans, and arugula. The events begins at 8 p.m. and reservations are required.
Former Top Chef Masters contestant Herb Wilson joins the Menin Hospitality Team as the executive chef of Red Ginger, set to launch in early Winter 2014. A New York City native, chef Wilson has an international culinary background mastering French, Asian, and Caribbean cooking. He is the only chef to have received a two-star review from the New York Times on three separate occasions by three different reviewers at three different restaurants. Wilson describes the cuisine at Red Ginger as Japanese and Thai-inspired, featuring a sushi bar with an omakase elements and binchotan charcoal robata offerings. The menu will also showcase locally sourced items as well as ingredients flown in directly from Japan.
San Diego
As part of the Relais & Châteaux 60th Anniversary, Dinners in North America, guest chefs William Bradley of Addison at The Grand Del Mar and Claude Bosi of two-Michelin-starred Hibiscus in London will prepare an elegant eight-course tasting menu dinner on Saturday, October 11, at Addison. Lyon-born chef Bosi became a Relais & Châteaux Grand Chef in 2012, while Southern California native chef Bradley became a Relais & Châteaux Grand Chef in 2010, and won the 2014 Robb Report Culinary Masters Competition and helms the only Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five Diamond restaurant in San Diego.
Portland
Bluehour, located in the heart of the Pearl District , has named Kyo Koo as executive chef. A native Oregonian, Koo took the boldest step in his career and moved to Spain to work for chef Andoni Aduriz at the internationally regarded Mugaritz in the Basque country. In 2009, he returned to work at Clarklewis, a restaurant in Southeast Portland with French and Italian influences where he eventually became executive chef. At Bluehour, chef Koo introduces a menu of ingredient-driven dishes that celebrate the bounty of the Pacific Northwest, like handmade orzo with Amarillo ros peppers, heirloom tomatoes, pine nuts, and parmesan, and crispy surf smelt with chrysanthemum emulsion and fried peanuts. In addition to the à la carte menu is the introduction of a five-course tasting menu that will change with the seasons.
Kate Kolenda is the Restaurant/City Guide Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @BeefWerky and @theconversant.