Blog Bonanza

Yes, it's been awhile since I've posted, but I spent all weekend going to weddings and fancy luncheons.  It's a rough life I lead, indeed.  Since you've probably been bored out of your mind during my 4 day absence from the blogosphere, I figured I'd give a few things to keep the ennui at bay in case this ever happens again...

On Monday, Time Magazine announced their list(s) of the Best, Essential, and Overrated blogs of 2010.  This blog may not have made the cut this year, but I firmly believe it's only a matter of time before quinTESSential information is a household name and bookmarked on computers worldwide. 

I'm not sure I fully agree with Time's list (mostly because I'm not on it and am therefore bitter, duh), but they did shed some light on some new, interesting blogs.  In addition to blogs I already view on a regular basis (Apartment Therapy), I've particularly enjoyed checking out HiLobrow (compilation of random things that make you go "huh", The Oatmeal (cartoons providing instructions, stories, and quizzes - sounds weird; is actually funny), DoubleX (news from a female perspective - sorry, boys), and The Consumerist (product reviews, tips, and news - a marketing must).

When you stumble upon a few moments of boredom at the office or are in the mood for some 1 AM web surfing, try some of these goodies.  They have both the Time and THK stamp of approval.

Cheftestant Showdown: Top Chef Recap, 6/23 Episode

This week, we learned that peanut butter is the worst thing ever according to Amanda and that Padma will be a great mom because all the middle schoolers want to give her ginormous hugs.  But more importantly, let's chat about where the chefs fall this week...

• Angelo:
• Innovation: 0 - Peanut butter and celery.  Are you kidding me?  If you're going to sabatoge someone, do it with flair - turn off your opponent's oven or something; don't make ants on a log.
• Drool Factor: 0 - It's celery and peanut butter.  The judges should have laughed in your face.
• Chef Likeability: 1 - Not a complete 0 because this is the first time we've seen a chef actively try to take down a competitor through conniving means...and we secretly like it. 
• Kenny:
• Innovation: 1
• Drool Factor: 2
• Chef Likeability: 4 - He weathers sabotage in style; however, he doesn't get the full 5 points because he seemed genuinely surprised to hear that tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable.
• Amanda:
• Innovation: 1
• Drool Factor: 1 - Tom said it looked like a turd.  That comment alone made me gag, maybe even induce a little bile, but drool?  No I was def not drooling over turd.
• Chef Likeability: 1 - Waaaay too confident for someone who has failed every challenge to date.  Plus she kinda reminds me of Leah from last season...not a good thing.
• Andrea:
• Innovation: 3 - She thought of ways to make classic kid-friendly (and typically fatty) foods healthy.
• Drool Factor: 2
• Chef Likeability: 4 - I think she could be the dark horse of the competition.  I'm just waiting for her to pop out of the weeds like the hyenas on the prowl for zebras in The Lion King.
• Kelly:
• Innovation: 4 - Love the oatmeal in the tortillas
• Drool Factor: 3
• Chef Likeability: 1 - I get it.  You made the tacos.  We ALL heard you.
• Tiffany:
• Innovation: 4 - Chocolate sorbet and sweet potato is an interesting combo that I never would have thought of...but may be making for dinner tonight
• Drool Factor: 2
• Chef Likeability: 3

Looks like this round goes to the ladies, with Andrea and Tiffany taking the lead.  Though I think the real winner was probably the guest judge.  He is a cute Mr. Clean type who's trying to eradicate childhood obesity.  You could tell he thought he was a tad cooler than the cheftestants...and I kinda agree.

Bottoms Up at Boat Basin

Yesterday my agency held its company summer party at The Boat Basin, so hundreds of MediaVesters headed to the UWS for an afternoon of food and drinks.  The Boat Basin is one of those classic NYC summer spots for all those New Yorkers (myself included) who want nothing more to do during those few cherished warm months than to soak up the weather in a beautiful outdoor setting with a drink in hand.

You don't need a company party to enjoy the great atmosphere at The Boat Basin, so get yourself up there and bask in the summer sun.  The food is good but nothing so special...but do you really care when you're listening to music and catching the breeze off the Hudson? 

Toloache Today

Today, a few co-workers and I hit up Mexican restaurant Toloache for lunch.  Since we were heading back to work, we skipped the margs, but in the past they have been quite enjoyable.  Thankfully, I didn't need to be drunk to enjoy the food.  Since we had been there before, we knew the guacamole trio was a must.  Why choose between the regular, spicy, or fruity when you can have all three?  The fruity guac is my favorite.  It's filled with pomegranite seeds and chunks of apple, mango, and peach.  It's almost like they combined guacamole and sangria to create a summery treat...that you can eat all year round.  We also had a short rib bbq quesadilla to share.  It was good, but the fruity guac kept stealing my attention. 

We all got tacos for our entrées (I picked tilapia with jicama slaw and guac), which come two per order alongside a heaping portion of beans and rice.  After discovering huitlacoche awhile ago, I had to order the side of huitlacoche mushrooms.  I had previously only tried huitlacoche in corn soup form, and this was good but very woodsy.  Can food be musky?  Because they almost tasted musky.  Or barky...like if tree bark was a flavor.  Aaaaand now I sound like a crazy person.

You should keep this place in mind if you're looking for someplace to go pre-theater.  Since it's right around the corner from the office, we're big Toloache fans, but I don't think it's as good as its sister restaurant, Yerba Buena (mmmm). 

Now That's A Spicy Meatball!

On Saturday night, Matt, Greg, Susan, Dave and I headed to the LES to celebrate Susan's successful fundraising event for the Gulf Coast oil spill cleanup efforts.  Susan put together a fabulous New Orleans themed event (think: bloody marys, hurricanes, king cake, Popeye's, beads, and a great raffle) so a little afterparty was in order and The Meatball Shop was just the place.

This niche café recently opened to praises, and I've been itching to check it out.  The process is simple:

1. 
   
   Pick your meat: Beef, Chicken, Spicy Pork, or Vegetarian
2. 
   
   Pick your sauce: Classic Tomato, Spicy Meat Sauce, Mushroom Gravy, or Parmesan Cream
3. 
   
   Choose your style: Meatballs can be served as four meatballs in a bowl wih sauce and a piece of focaccia, as a slider, as a hero (with cheese if you'd like, served with side of arugula and apple salad), or as a smash (mushed up meatballs on a toasted brioche bun with cheese if you'd like, also served with arugula and apple salad) 

There are also some tasty sides on the menu, but I was way too focused on the meatballs to allow any side dishes to take away from their glory.  Our table was covered in meat and we shared around (though only the smash and sliders are pictured).  I worked on two of the items: the spicy pork meatballs in parmesan cream (served as just meatballs in a bowl) and the special smash.  There is a weekly meatball special, and this week's was delicious: buffalo chicken meatballs in a blue cheese cream sauce.  We decided to hold off on extra cheese so as not to detract from the sauce.  Both items were amazing.  The meat was moist and the sauces were rich.  I would like to sample some of the other combos, but I have a feeling it will be hard for me to deviate from the ones I just tried.

The restaurant is tiny and crowded (the five of us stood hovering over a two-top for our entire meal) but the food and the prices are worth any discomfort caused by the wait and the tight space.  The portions are large and nothing goes over $9.  To give you an idea how much I liked it, I woke up this morning, two days post-meatball feast, and I was still thinking about it. 

For all you folks with your minds in the gutter, you should be elated to know that when you go there, you get to say "balls" a LOT.

Shhh - Quiet in the Library

We were lucky enough to have out-of-town visitors on Friday night.  We were even luckier that they, along with one of their other friends, had already made the dinner/drinking plans.  After working all day, it's nice to reap the benefits of a night out without any of the hassle of planning.

We started the evening at Brandy Library, which was surprisingly more laid back than I anticipated.  I was worried we would feel out of place in jeans, but everyone seemed very casual and welcoming.  I couldn't stop looking at the walls.  I wouldn't call them walls - wall-to-wall shelving is more appropriate.  The shelves were stocked with all the alcohol, which should give you an idea of just how many different types of alcohol they carry (lots of wall space, no repeating bottles)...which leads me to the rather extensive menu.

The drink list was so long that by the time the waiter came to take our order, I was still on page 1.  Thankfully, I found something right away that I felt suited me.  It was called the seer sucker.  I can't tell you what was in it, and to be honest, I never looked past the name.  I love wearing seer sucker, so I figured I must love drinking it as well.  My thought process worked.  I took the waiters suggestion for drink #2 and found it tasty as well, but my heart (and my closet) will always belong to seer sucker.

Even though we were heading to dinner, we were starving so we ordered a couple of appetizers to calm our grumbling tummies while we finished our drinks.  The gougeres (cheesy popovers) were melt-in-your-mouth, the merguez-in-a-blankets were a new take on a retro fave, and the fois gras mac and cheese was gooey and scrumptious.

It may be all the way down in TriBeCa, but Brandy Library was worth the trip.  Tip: it's got a manly vibe, so if boys out there are getting sick of being dragged to girly bars by their ladyfriends, this one is a crowd pleaser.

Around the corner we went for dinner at Nobu Next Door.  It's not next door to the bar; "next door" is actually part of the name - thought I should clarify.  This little sister to Nobu reminded me how good high quality sushi is.  It also reminded me how expensive high quality sushi is.  The rock shrimp were amazing.  Plump shrimp in just the right amount of sauce.  I had the seared tuna salad for my entree (just tuna atop lettuce with miso ginger dressing - nothing special, but good) and tempura broccoli and sugar snap peas.  I also had a few bites of the omakase one of the girls ordered.  Omakase just means the chef prepares whatever he thinks is best.  It's exorbitantly priced but so unbelievably tasty.  After all the apps we'd already had, I didn't want to waste an amazing and expensive meal on an almost full stomach, hence the salad.  However, next time I want to splurge, that's where I'm taking my extra cash.

Lesson of the evening: TriBeCa is not to be overlooked.  Good bars and restaurants without the raucous behavior of other Manhattan neighborhoods.

Cheftestant Showdown: Top Chef Recap, 6/16 Episode

Top Chef is, hands down, my favorite reality show.  Before I delve any further into this season's premiere, I would like to pose three questions:

1. Where did Eric Ripert come from?  And more importantly, where have I been?  I pride myself on staying up-to-date with all the major food blogs, and I don't recall reading about him joining the judges' table.  No matter; welcome, chef.
2. What happened to the Glad family of products?  I'm not sure why they dropped out and Dial jumped in.  What does body wash have to do with cooking?
3. The Bachelor?  Stick to your own reality show.

Now for the recap.  I've created a set of criteria to determine the frontrunners of the season.  Let's see how our cheftestants are faring after episode #1 (all on a scale of 1-5):

• Angelo
• Innovation: 4 - The man made pasta out of potatoes that wasn't gnocci during the quickfire
• Drool Factor: 3 
• Chef Likability: 2 - Loses major points for extreme cockiness and excessive name dropping.  The only reason he didn't get a zero in this category is because his food backed it all up.
• Kenny
• Innovation: 3 - Cinnamon and coffee would not cross my mind as a rub for trout, but it looked yummy.
• Drool Factor: 3 
• Chef Likability: 4 - Not only did he seem nice and talented, the man was a downright machine during the quickfire.
• Kevin
• Innovation: 1 - Nothing new
• Drool Factor: 1
• Chef Likability: 2 - His restaurant is called Rat's.  In my experience, rats are the one thing you don't want in a restaurant.
• Arnold
• Innovation: 3 - Not sure if that cake was sweet or savory, but it looked yummy
• Drool Factor: 2
• Chef Likability: 0 - You may think his crazy dancing is funny.  I happen to find him incredibly annoying.  
• Alex
• Innovation: 5 - I'm very intrigued by deconstructed dishes and this one had that wow factor.
• Drool Factor: 4 - I drool over unique stuff
• Chef Likability: 1 - I don't dislike him, just don't know anything about him

In future episodes, I'll touch on more chefs, but since this was only the first episode and there are 17 chefs, I was a little too overwhelmed to talk about every dish/chef.  

Aaaand now I'm hungry.