VittlesVamp

Puck vs. Park

It's become an annual tradition. I trek to the Puck in the blustery cold. There, I swirl and sip some of Italy's finest wines, while enjoying the view. The view consists of a steady stream of attractive Italian men in attractive Italian suits.

Aaaah, the Tre Bicchieri, sponsored by Gambero Rosso and Slow Food, showcasing over a hundred different vino in all its glory.

This year, however, I wasn't enchanted.

This year, it wasn't at the Puck. Instead, it was at 583 Park Avenue.

Suddenly the stifling crowds of signores didn't feel hip and cool. Nope. They simply felt stifling.

Who knew that uptown could feel so...uppity? Even tastes of an Elena Fucci Aglianico del Vulture Titolo 2005 and a Pietracupa Greco di Tufo 2006 couldn't dissuade me from exiting bid haste.

I can only hope that next year, it's back downtown. Otherwise, I may have to find my Italian wine and Italian men elsewhere.

Bleating in Chelsea

How could I resist an invitation to an event called Goatstravaganza NYC? Puh-leeze!

Last night, myself and about a hundred or so other fascinated urbanites piled into Aronson's Flooring on W. 17th Street to sample artisanal goat's milk cheeses from Saxelby's Cheesemongers, taste goat's meat pate from Focolare Bar and Bistro, guzzle glasses of Goats do Roam vino, pet real live goats in the middle of Manhattan, and listen a reading by the married authors of "The Year of the Goat," a book chronicling their flight from a one-bedroom rental in Fort Greene, Brooklyn to a more fulfilling life in the countryside raising goats.

What fools these Brooklynite goat farmers be.

Little did they know that they were only a couple of subway stops away from some jim-dandy take-out Goat Curry at Boerum Hill, Brooklyn's Brawta. Goodness knows, they could have saved themselves a whole lot of trouble.

Dishing At The Taste of New York

It's a must-do on every New York foodie's annual agenda: New York Magazine's Taste of New York benefit event for City Harvest. And after experiencing last year's festivities, I entered the Puck Building this past Monday night with anticipation and a dollop of dread. I adore the glitterati gourmands that line the ballroom sharing delectable tidbits from their über-fabulous restaurants, but the crushing herd of attendees leaves something to be desired -- mostly elbow room.

Still, sliding in a wee bit early thanks to a press pass, I was able to enjoy my fair share of the fare and even got to chat with celebrated chefs Tom Valenti and Marcus Samuelsson. The big win though came in the form of an exchange with Flatiron Lounge mixology maven Julie Reiner (pictured above), in which she confirmed the rumor that has been circulating among Kings County cocktail cognoscentis: Reiner will indeed be opening a new cocktail lounge on Brooklyn's Smith Street later this year. She's naming the Boerum Hill watering hole after a classic gin drink - The Clover Club - which, cocktail shaker in hand, she merrily whipped up at the event.

After that bit of happy Brooklyn bar news, I sailed through the rest of the bash rather quickly, noticing a decidedly sweet trend this year. Each dessert seemed harder to resist than the next. Los Dados tempted me with deep fried, cinnamon sugar-coated Churros served with a choice of warm Dulce de Leche or Chocolate Sauce.

Pastry master Pichet Ong of P*ONG illicited moans of pleasure with a twist on a New York City classic - Cheesecake. His beguiling version was composed of goat's milk chevre, surrounded by a toasted walnut crust and graced with a splash of cabernet-poached huckleberries and basil oil.

Even Chinese-themed treats made the rounds. Rickshaw Dumpling Bar served up Chocolate Shanghai Soup Dumplings coated with black sesame seeds, squirting hot, molten chocolate lava when you took a bite, and Chinatown Brasserie offered up whimsically decorated Coconut Custard Bao which were exotic, playful and delicious all at once.

A Taste of New York - How sweet it is!

Olé

I am most definitely an avid reader. Fiction, non-fiction and biographies all intrigue, but admittedly I do have a soft spot for cookbooks. I can spend hours pouring over them, concocting riffs on the recipes they share and imagining dinner parties at which they might take centerstage.

Lately, I've become fascinated by a massive tome entitled "1080 Recipes," a veritable bible of authentic Spanish cookery, coming in close to 1000 pages in length. Recipes range from Galician Pie to Rabbit Cooked with Olives and Almonds. I have a strange feeling that this book might end up serving my kitchen and dinner guests well during the brisk days of autumn.

And just to raise the stakes, the publishers are throwing an event tomorrow night at 6pm at the Instituto Cervantes New York to ignite foodie passions for Spanish cuisine. Apparently, a renowned food writer will be leading discussion about the tradition of Spanish home cooking, and wine and olive oil will be sampled as well.

Not sure if I'll be able to attend, but considering I already have "1080 Recipes" in hand, it seems a safe bet that I'll gleefully be shouting out "Olé" soon enough.

Fair Fatigue

I was hoping that the Atlantic Antic would shake me free of my street fair ennui...

Looks grand, doesn't it?

Not so much.

It was simply a never ending sea of beer swilling, Peruvian sweater buying, Mozzarepa eating Brooklynites. That, and middling food, uninspiring music and high prices. ($8 for a small plate of paella!?!? It was only $5 last year!)

To top it off, the festival organizers held the Atlantic Antic on Ramadan, so the luscious, juicy, Arabic spice-inflected gyros from the annual Oriental Pastry & Grocery stall weren't on-hand.

So all in all, the fair was feh.

And if the Antic couldn't pull me out of my street fair fatigue, nothing will. Then again, it could've turned around had Sammy and his tasty halal been on hand...

Street Fairs Take Over New York

It was an embarrassment of riches - street fair riches. I was torn in two yesterday, debating between events in Queens and Brooklyn. The Taste of Jackson Heights beckoned, as did the DUMBO Arts Festival and Cranberry Street Fair.

It was soon decided. A bi-borough street fair adventure was a "go."

Luckily for me, my street festival lovin' pal Ron offered the use of his convertible to shuttle us from fair to fair to fair. First on the list - Taste of Jackson Heights, where we joined Queen Celeste and her brood to indulge in ethnic goodies that ranged from searingly spicy vegetable samosas to Argentinian flaming sausages, doused in a sweet, seductive sauce of cognac and saffron oil.

After lapping up those delectable tidbits and more, Ron and I knew we had to hold on to a few precious food tickets. The organizers had secured a culinary coup, convincing Vendy Award-winning Pakastani food vendor Sammy's Halal to appear at the event. This was a "must-do."

The aromas that wafted off of Sammy's cart made our mouths water with anticipation. As we made our way to the head of the line, Sammy asked for our order. "Whatever you suggest," we replied. He winked and quickly scooped up a mound of fragrant rice, topping it with perfectly seared lamb and chicken, a bit of crisp lettuce, and then squirted a series of three mysterious sauces atop.

What the heck do you call this colorful mishmash? I had no idea. All I knew was that the juicy meats soaked up the spices and the grains of soft, tender rice gave my tongue intermittant relief from the sinus-clearing heat of Sammy's red hot sauce.

Yum!

Ron and I could see why taxi drivers double and triple-park to get a plate of Sammy's gold-standard halal.

Floating on a halal high, we suddenly remembered that we had two more festivals to hit, so we bid Queen Celeste and her gang adieu, passed the requisite sea of strollers at the festival's exit...

...put the top down on the car, and zipped back to Brooklyn for a taste of DUMBO's delights.

But DUMBO wasn't as delightful as year's past. Yes, there were a few pieces of notable art...

...but all in all, the festival seemed to lack energy and enthusiasm. Where were the outdoor food stalls, entertainingly original performance art installations and hipster throngs that I had come to know and love?

That said, the festival organizers did offer up a bizzare family attraction, in keeping with the district's Disney-fied name.

Yes, that's an elephant. Her name is Dondi. She drew oohs and aahs from the crowd as she used her massive trunk to paint modernist pictures. Apparently, she trained at the Elephant Art Academy. (No joke.)

After witnessing pacyderm painting, the wee Cranberry Street Fair paled in comparison. I couldn't even bring myself to snap a photo or two.

Maybe it was simply a case of street fair overload.

But, as the ever-wise Scarlett once said: "Tomorrow is another day!"

That "tomorrow" is today, and today plays host to the grand-daddy of Brooklyn street fairs, The Atlantic Antic. So, I will grab my camera, tastebuds and sense of adventure -- and report back shortly on how the fair fares.

Happy 4th Birthday!

This is one heck of a day: I am free of last year's sins. It's the autumnal equinox. And, most importantly, it's VittlesVamp's 4th birthday!

Cocktails for a Cause

Cocktails, gourmet cuisine and a reason to pat yourself on the back for doing good. Sounds like a winner night to me - especially when the "good" means raising a glass to raising some funds for raising the artform of the cocktail. So, mark May 14th on your calendar and buy a ticket to the World Cocktail Dinner, a charity event benefiting the Museum of the American Cocktail.

Another Night at the Puck

Another night, another food-fest charity event at the Puck...

Yeah. Sure. Right.

In all honesty, I was thrilled to be invited to New York Magazine's Taste of New York event last night, chock-a-block with gourmet glitterati and savory tidbits from the likes of Gotham Bar & Grill, Le Cirque, WD-50, Telepan and Per Se. But, would this charity extravaganza get me as jazzed (and buzzed) as the Tre Bicchieri? Goodness knows that my last trip to the Puck for ViniPortugal left me less than impressed.

Within seconds of walking into the threshold, I saw a sign that boded well for the evening: Phil (pictured above). For those of you that read this blog regularly, you'll know that Phil is one of my favorite people on the planet - a mixologist with great talent and great humor. He is usually found behind the bar at Pegu Club, but tonight he was shaking up Applejack Cobbler and Intro to Aperol cocktails for the Taste of New York's clamoring crowd.

I could have easily stayed at his station all night, but I knew that I needed to explore - and taste. I grabbed a Cobbler to-go and made my way through the maze.

And, what a maze it was! A maze filled with a throng of mice, overwhelmed by a wonderland of cheese.

In other words: It was Bar Mitzvah buffet on crack cocaine (a Long Island Bar Mitzvah on crack cocaine, at that).

Never in my life had my palate been on such a rollercoaster, rollicking up and down and up again in a sea of textures, aromas and flavors, the finest of which included Blue Hill's Vegetables on a Fence...

...Aquavit's Goat Cheese Mousse with Lemon Curd and Basil-Apple Compote...

...and Bouchon Bakery's selection of Autumn Pastries...

I was on culinary sensory overload - and elbow room was essential.

So, would I return to another Taste of New York event? For it's charitable benefits to City Harvest - absolutely. For a truly remarkable epicurean event - I'll have to think twice - but some more of those Bouchon Bakery pastries and another cocktail from Phil might just push me over the edge - and push me right back to the Puck.

Cheesy Lines

I get all sorts of come-ons landing in my VittlesVamp email in-box. But, when one comes with cheese, I pay heed. An invite from Fromagers Waldemar & Nadia:

NEW EVENT! June 24, 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

We're doing it again! Telepan Restaurant in conjunction with Waldemar & Nadia presents the second of a series of Saturday afternoon cheese and wine tastings. Fromagers Waldemar & Nadia have selected special summertime artisan cheeses, and paired them with wines from Telepan.