It seems that in almost every part of the world, other than the United States, the street (food) vendor is a fixture of life.

I spent some time studying in China where I could purchase anything from crickets on a stick to grilled chicken skewers off the street. In Lebanon, I bought Arabic coffee and grilled corn from street vendors, and in Prague, I bought sausage stuffed with cheese. My brother still dreams about the street food he had in Singapore, wishing for the day that comparable grub finds its way here.

In these countries, and many more, there was never a question of cleanliness about the food. Often times, it looked (and tasted) better than what could be found in restaurants– hey the kitchen was in front of my eyes! The street vendors were in place for the workers, the passersby, for anyone looking for a quick fix from their hunger pangs.

In the United States street food vendors have had some hard times. They are few and far between. In my travels around the country, I cannot recall any city where street food is a thriving culinary option, other than New York City.
Here, the street vendor is a fixture of life. I remember visiting as a child in the 80’s. No visit was complete without a hot dog and pretzel smeared with mustard from a street cart. Tourists still flock to these same hot dog carts and peanut hawkers. It is special to New York.

Now that I live here, the street vendor doesn’t seem so special. Forget the hot dogs and pretzels. In winter I get fresh roasted chestnuts. When I worked in midtown I grabbed Indian dishes galore from the boys in the 40s. And when I come home late, I get fresh tacos or a hot gyro (2 different carts) from the guys down my street.

New York City is different than every other country I have purchased street food from because of its’ selection. It’s not just a local culture selling their local food, but the fabulous immigrant diversity brings a plethora of cultural food memories. When it comes to food, I love this town.

Still, the street food cart, even in New York City, is under appreciated. People won’t touch the stuff, claiming it’s dirty, ill-kept health hazards abound or that it is greasy.
False. False. False.

Street vendors need permits from the Health Department so there is no risk in diving in. In fact, the street cart may be cleaner than the kitchen in your favorite restaurant. At least here you can see your food from start to finish, even any butter or oil they use during cooking. Honestly though, the hardest part is deciding who to buy your food from!

To help set the wave in motion, the Street Vendor Project is looking to change the way New Yorkers look at street food. Not only do they rally behind vendor’s rights, but they hold an annual cook off between vendors. Now in its third year, The Vendy Awards celebrates the street food culture of New York.

Each year, nominations open in the summer. The public votes on their favorite food vendors, gives the location, and reason for nomination. The judges, this year’s range from Ed Levine, Sarah Moulton and Andrea Strong, seek out the vendors, try their foods and narrow the field to 5 finalists.

The great cook off is held September 29th this year, open to everyone. Location is yet to be determined, but tickets are available on the website. If you have ever been unsure about street food, now is the time to try it. This is the best of the best so come hungry!

I attended Wine and Cheese 101 complimentary and enjoyed it so much I signed up for Whiskies and Cheese on my own. Wine and Cheese 101 was extremely informative: Brie, along with other soft cheeses are difficult to pair with wine because they are young and therefore, haven’t found out “who they want to be–” or “what flavors they want to express,” making them difficult to pair with wines. Another surprise was that blue cheese should always be the very last cheese you taste when eating/pairing cheese. Why? Because blue’s bold flavor palate will kill other more subtle cheeses (and wine). Just think about it, blue cheese really sticks to your palate.

Whiskies and Cheese was more fun, and well, a bit hazy.

Artisanal is offering many classes this summer (I am bummed I will be out of town for two that sound amazing). If you live in or will be in the New York area, sign up now because space is limited. The classes are a great value for all the amazing wines, cheese and knowledge you sample!

If you don’t live in NYC, you can always order their tasty cheeses online. Just be careful, in my experience, if you order a stinky, “barnyardy” cheese (as Artisanal likes to call it), your UPS delivery person might think something has died in your package.

Highlighted courses include (there are more offered on their site):

July 6: Red, White & Blue: America’s Best Artisan Cheese. Jeff Roberts, author of The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese will be there to guide this class and their tasting.

July 6: An Oregon Menage-a-Trois: Chocolates, Cheeses and Wines. Join Maitre Fromager Max McCalman for an illustrative and instructive class placing some of Oregon’s finest cheeses alongside some of its most distinctive wines.

July 10: Eat Local: Cheeses of the Northeast. Cheese maker extraordinaire Mateo Kehler from the acclaimed Jasper Hill Farms in Northeast Kingdom, Vermont, to join Fromager Waldemar Albrecht in presenting some of his award-winning cheeses and discussing the state of artisan cheese making in the Northeast.

August 15: Beat the Heat: Cheese and Wines for the Summer. Cool off the old-fashioned way and enjoy an artisan-produced cheese paired with a nice, refreshing glass of wine.

August 16: Craft Beer & Artisanal Cheese. A lineup of the world’s best brewers on a journey through the world of craft-brewed, artisanally-produced beer…paired with the perfect cheeses, of course! The best part of any course is to arrive early and get a tour of their cheese caves! But of course, the cheese is the real highlight in all their classes!

Note: This post also appears on the author’s blog Just Braise.

It’s no surprise. With massive support this year from the PBS documentary, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, the words of Michael Pollan being taken to heart, more people concerned about how they eat, and press all over the place (here, here and here are a few), enthusiasts of fresh produce are getting in on the ground level.

CSAs form a partnership between a local farm and a neighborhood– the two are usually within 200 miles of each other. Before the growing season starts, each member of a CSA purchases a produce share, usually between 6 and 10 different crops, sizes and produce depend on the farmer. Many CSAs also pair with fruit farms, meat/ dairy, honey purveyors and more– it all depends on the demand of the group and what is produced locally.

When the growing season begins (end of May/ early June), fresh vegetables get delivered weekly to a central location in the neighborhood, chosen by the group. The growing season lasts 15-27 weeks (also depending on the farmer, the weather and the area) and some even stretch into the winter months. Since the shares are purchased before the season begins, members just show up on distribution day and grab their share of that week’s bounty. Paying pre-season (now in most cases) can often scare members away. Heavy rains may kill your farmer’s strawberry crop or a drought may destroy seedlings. Farmers usually make up for this by planting some crops in greenhouses or quick-growing crops in the field so there will always be something to offer. On the positive, Mother Nature can bring a higher return on one’s investment. An excellent season means an abundance that gets passed on to members at no extra cost.

The prepaid system for farmers allows them to concentrate on farming, hiring labor and seeding pre-season. It also helps them avoid taking out high-interest loans or having to sell off land to developers. Many farmers develop close community ties, inviting their members to visit the farm throughout the year for strawberry-picking days and fall festivals. (I just attended a Spring Walking Tour on my farm and saw my future foods grow.)

Community Supported Agriculture groups are volunteer-driven, with each member offering their time once or twice a season to help out, usually during distribution. Members often spearhead the formation of new groups and spend their winter developing them, planning membership drives and meeting with the farmers.

In New York City, Just Food is essential to the process, as the organization assists residents interested in forming groups by connecting them with farmers. Right now there are over 50 CSAs in New York City’s 5 boroughs alone, with hundreds more across the country.

Local Harvest offers a listing of Community Supported Agriculture groups around the country, searchable by zip, and make a great resource.

If you want in, act now as many groups are reaching capacity… Don’t forget to enjoy your fresh produce!

A similar text was printed by the author for the Queens Chronicle.

Calling all oenophiles.

Need an excuse to try over 500 delicious wines and spirits and dine on cuisine from local restaurants? Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Toast of the Town is moving East. Having just left sunny San Francisco, the Toast is on its way to blistery New York, April 23, and Chicago, May 3.

Rare, reserve and estate wines will be on hand as well as other exciting selections from a dizzying list of vineyards. (Personally, I’m a little miffed about the lack of New York State wines as that’s my newest study in self-education.)
Ticket prices are $95 for the Grand Tasting Event, $185 for the VIP Ticket.

For more information, check out Wine Enthusiast’s website. In the meantime, get your nose and tasting notes in order. To brush up on your vino-lingo check out this website. Personal favorites (though not necessarily in wine terroire), not listed, include wet slate, hot pavement, eggy and leathery.

Known to many in the New York City area as a great beacon of imported beer and cheap grilling in the summer months, this massive space turns its energies inward for a fete to be reckoned with. A special pork-intensive menu was served up (pork dumplings, pork goulash, pork sausage to name a few) and traditional music and dance could be enjoyed by all ages.

More information on the festival can be found at the Beer Garden’s website, or this article in the Queens Chronicle.

Imported Czech Beer (I recommend Staropramen) costs about $14 a pitcher and pork dishes will be about $12. Entertainment and entry is free. Fun for the whole family. If you missed it this year, be sure to check it out next year

Like most things, Jamba Juice eventually made its way to New York City. I tried one (without sorbet), thought it was overly sugary, and ever since have been skeptical of the place. I prefer my own homemade smoothies to the sugar rush of Jamba (plus, mine were much cheaper).

But a colleague at work recently told me a little secret: There are “Mystery” Jamba flavors.

Interest peeked: “Mystery?”

“Yeah, like In and Out Burger’s ’secret’ menu.”

“Intriguing”

“Let’s go.”

I thought something like this would have hit big already in the blogsphere and was miffed when only one site with anything credible about mystery flavors could be found. Today we went to figure the mystery out for ourselves.

A little research was conducted. I called our closest location and asked about mystery flavors. “Oh yes, I’ve heard of these underground flavors from California. Yes, we have some of those.” I named off the specific flavors I found on a website: White Gummy Bear, Skittles, Push Up, Strawberry Shortcake. The location had some recipes and we could discuss it further upon arrival.

I entered Jamba Juice with coworkers foaming at the mouth for their mystery juice. We asked what flavors were available and were met with a blank stare. “I spoke with someone,” I explained. “He said you have them.” More blank stares so we asked to speak with the manager. An overly happy man–probably hyped up on Jamba sugar– appeared. His nametag said “Vivian.”

Others in the store began to take notice of our unusual interest in Jamba’s flavorings. It was explained to us that there were three flavors available: Strawberry Shortcake, White Gummy Bear and Pink Star. Vivian explained that these lists have started to circulate around Jamba Juice locations so a set recipe is becoming available– They were “finally made official.”

We didn’t really understand what that meant, non of the employees understood what mystery flavors were. As for the concoctions themselves, they will probably never appear on any menus (since they are predominantly sorbet and juice mixtures with little fruit).

We got one of each, passed them around for tasting, and all agreed the White Gummy Bear was by far the tastiest, essentially a sorbet shake with mango. The Pink Star was too sour-sweet; too much lemonade. Strawberry Shortcake was sweet and delicious, definitely reminiscent of pound cake slathered with strawberries and topped with thick whipped cream.

Would I go back for more? If a sugar bolt is desired or if I feel the need to impress a Jamba Junkie with my secret knowledge, I suppose I might be found purchasing another. Really though, I’m waiting for another custard shop in New York City!

Still, I bet my friend out in California doesn’t know of the mystery flavors yet, let the mocking begin!

At a recent evening at the Opera we passed up the usual brownie and champagne at intermission for a more formal meal at The Grand Tier.

There is nothing that can spoil an evening like sitting through a long performance (or intermission) in hunger. Head chef Martin Burge understands this quandary and caters to it perfectly. His specialty is seafood and glancing the stunning plates that surrounded us we sat with anticipation. Presentation takes center stage with entrées embellished to impress without overshadowing your evening’s main attraction– the opera.

There were three of us on this particular evening and we were looking for something light. Our waiter recommended the San Daniel Prociutto appetizer paired with a selection of sushi and sashimi. It was enough variety to satiate all stomachs and unique flavorings to appease all palates. The spicy tuna-mango-avocado roll was by far the most interesting roll we had. A symphony of sweet mango balanced a delicate wasabi finish. The sashimi was delightfully fresh and fatty, melting once it hit the tongue.

The highlight was the Prociutto plate. Dry-aged and served with a savory rosemary olive oil, cantaloupe, pistachios and a thick smoky balsamic vinegar. It is interesting to note that we received cantaloupe though the menu highlights grilled figs instead. Perhaps the kitchen was out of figs and a sudden substitute was made. Still, I cannot help but wonder how the figs would have favored the dish differently. On the other hand, good balsamic vinegar can make or break a dish—in a different setting I might have licked what remained clean off the plate.

We returned during the second intermission to find our desserts already set at our reserved table. Espressos on the way, we could not help but begin to eat. After all, at this performance the second intermission was a mere ten minutes (compared to twenty minutes given for the first). The Opera Cake was tiered to grand heights like the Met itself. It was a nutty and rich expression of its namesake. A cinnamon and green apple sorbet “soup” (no longer on the menu) was a light treat. It was a perfect palate cleanser to what we all agreed was the pinnacle of the dessert offerings: the Pistachio Tartufo.

I rarely order Tartufo when it appears on a menu. It often takes the form of what I recognize as a frozen chocolate Sunday: an ice cream ball coated in a chocolate shell. It is because I would rather indulge in a dessert experience, instead of a mere sweet ending, that I would order this one again. The “pistachio ice cream bombe” was enormous and full of fresh nuts, a splendid contrast to the citrus tang of Cara Cara Orange pool, instead of the chocolate that usually surrounds the dish. Like the balsamic vinegar, we tilted the bowl for every last drop. My simple request is that this dessert is never removed from the menu.

A standard menu heavy on seafood is available, but my suggestion is to stay on the lighter side when eating at The Grand Tier. While the food is fabulous one must remember that when dining during an intermission speed is key. One cannot enjoy a carefree meal in this opulent setting without being hard-pressed to make curtain (and fitting in a bathroom break). Be warned to keep beverage orders to one glass, or else that one-hour second act might find you writhing in your seat. The same warning is extended to a heavy meal.

As expected, this extraordinary setting comes with a price. First courses range from $15-$20 and entrees will set you back $30-$40, desserts are all set around $15. Wines by the glass are priced between $14 for a Nappa Chardonnay up to $25 for a Taittinger Brut Champagne.

In the past only Met Opera ticket holders were able to indulge in the scenic and tasteful pleasures of The Grand Tier Restaurant. Starting this season, hours of operation, menus and attendance were expanded. Now all Lincoln Center performance ticket holders can enjoy dinner, a light meal or an elegant dessert in the majestic Metropolitan Opera. Restaurant Director Fred Mills suggests those with tickets outside the Opera join them for a more relaxing pre-theater meal, or be warned you could miss a curtain call. Met ticket holders wishing to dine during intermission are advised to place orders before the evening’s performance to ensure meals will be served promptly once seated at the table.

Despite the elements of speed dining, this restaurant receives my Bravo!

The Grand Tier Restaurant is located on the Metropolitan Opera’s second floor. The restaurant opens at 6pm. Call for reservations, 212.799.3400

My dining companion and I entered the tiny soothing blue welcome hall, checked our belongings and were promptly ushered to our seats precisely at our reservation time. We were offered a seat off to the side and cozied in. But before we could even pick up a wine list a window seat opened up and we were asked if we would like to move. We did, into a full windowed seat.

As the name suggests, the menu centers on seafood, but is unafraid to abandon surf for turf. A long sleek dining room creates an underwater feel, complete with bubbly floor tiles and frosted blue glass interior. You might be as hard pressed as I was at choosing just one entrée, but no fear, our calming and attentive waiter presented a solution: a tasting menu.

Sous Chef Yuhi Fujinaga stated tasting menus are great fun in the kitchen. They allow the kitchen to play around with ingredients and experiment a little bit more than the fixed menu does. If you truly want to put no thought in to your dinner, or simply can’t decide, the tasting menu is a great option and can be accompanied by a wine pairing as well (if you have the means).

There are positives to the (slowly) changing weather. The fall turning to winter is prime truffle season. The Sea Grill is currently offering a $1000 white truffle tasting menu of eight dishes. If you can afford it, the price might well be worth a taste of this succulent “diamond of the kitchen.” The menu will be offered for another few weeks, highlighting the pungent aroma and umami flavorings so get it while you can. After that, the chefs will take on the black truffle and a whole new menu.

If the $1000 is too deep for your pockets do not despair. Other irresistible items appear on the menu at much more reasonable prices (entrées range $30-40). A small plates collection is also available (just under $70 per person) and if you’re up for a grand event, without being too opulent, a general tasting menu, which we had, is excellent (priced around $300 per person including wine pairings).

The menu changes according to season and the comfort foods currently offered are pure delight. We were lucky enough to attend at the height of white truffle season and with that, were offered the truffle in a small handful of our dishes.

Our most pleasant fare was a simple Kumamoto Oyster topped with Caspian caviar and served with a Moet Vintage 1999. We knew we were in the hands of the skilled and as we sipped our champagne and popped our oysters, we smiled at our good fortune. The oysters, imbued with the perfect amount of ocean water, offered a fresh, salty kick, an exciting contrast to the dry champagne.

Butter poached lobster tails were delightful. Sweet, smooth and full of unexpected flavor additions from the passion fruit glaze to the honey-like vanilla oil and the celery foam.

The stunner of the evening was the Okinawan sweet potato. A royal purple potato that is sweeter than the traditional sweet potato we are familiar with (and even more decadent when white truffle has been added)—This potato would make a stunning addition to any holiday meal.

Sea scallops, served atop a bed of white truffled mashed potatoes with truffle shavings on top arrived mid-meal. Hiding under a ceramic dome, the aroma of the truffles nearly knocked us down once revealed. Earthy, sweet and buttery, this dish simply melted in the mouth. I assure you, by this point, my courageous dining partner and I were stuffed to the gills, but with so much flavor and purity in each bite we had a difficult time not licking the plate clean (mind you, we were in public so we simply scraped it bare).

With the truffles out of sight and tucked into our bellies a long pause passed. Ah, it must be a break before dessert. Alas, a stronger red wine was presented and my loyal companion’s lips began to quiver. We looked at each other… meat?! Sure enough, a thimble-sized bone marrow soufflé accompanied by 28-day dry aged prime NY Strip was delivered. “I can eat no more!” I declared—after finishing off the deliciously fatty soufflé and half the steak.

We cowered in our chairs praying that dessert would soon arrive. As a fawn yellow bottle materialized we smiled at Lady Luck: a pleasantly thick and sweet Sautèrnes was offered with no less than two servings of cake, a key lime pie– the house specialty, a bowl of warm powdered Madeleines and an artist palate of homemade ice creams and sorbets. Of course, not wanting to offend we tasted all, dipping the final Madeleine in cappuccino for a grand finale.

I have left out a few dishes. The above mentioned were by far the standouts. Miniature cracker cones full of tuna tartar started our evening. Though good, they were missing a binding. A wild Alaskan black cod was nutty and delicious, but the accompanying muscles and sea scallops were overcooked. The steak and soufflé alone would have sufficed but were served with a pasta that even Sous Chef Fujinaga felt the need to defend.

Unfortunately, I have forgotten the name of most of the wines we were served after the champagne (I blame this on the steadfast waitstaff’s lightning refill ability that never left a glass nearing empty). A delicious Gamay from Fluerie, Burgundy accompanied our lobster. Rich and elegantly laced with dark cherry. There was a Pacific Northwest Cabernet with “Elixir” and Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man printed on the bottle that was full and robust. Each pairing suited its dish well, adding character to every bite.

While most families would not tote their children to such extravagance, Chef Edward Brown understands families enjoy a good holiday meal together. If little Susie and Mikey tire of looping the ice rink and decide to dine with Mommy and Daddy, Brown has established a children’s menu, perfect for the family’s Thanksgiving dinner which includes crispy cod fingers (rather, fish sticks).

I dined on a Tuesday night and found mostly a business crowd with a few solo diners and cheerful groups scattered throughout but would expect more couples on weekends. The setting is pure romance, especially if a window seat with a view of the Rockafeller Center Christmas tree is obtained.

The Sea Grill is highly recommended, just try not to bust the bank.

The Sea Grill is located at Rockefeller Center
19 West 49th Street, lower level
New York City
212.332.7610

There are restaurants now attempting to change the mundane. Many of us have been to these establishments already. It is when we are presented with a plate of food, and even if we “know” what we ordered, must let out an excited “what’s this?!” Tasting and the event of eating comes to the forefront. Diners sit and begin to contemplate the ingredients, textures, tastes, presentation, fellow diner’s meals and the event is made a spectacle, lasting hours and is a pure joy. Simply, it is Food Art.

For me, the “wow” experiences often revolve around a vegetarian (or vegan) restaurant’s ability to impress (though these establishments are not exclusively vegetarian– think WD-50 in New York City– I find more often they are). It is in these establishments where I might order a common mushroom dish, only to be impressed that I have never tasted a dish quite like it—What is in it? How did they do it? Is yours like this too?

A recent night out brought me to The Plant in DUMBO (the acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) in Brooklyn, NY. It is a raw food establishment that offers cooking courses, Friday night prix fixe dinners and has their Blue/Green café and juice bar locations scattered around the tri-state area.

The challenge: to fill my skeptical carnivorous dining partner up so no late-night stop at the taco stand down the street would be necessary.

The Plant offers special Friday night raw dinners in their sleek DUMBO headquarters. (The Blue/Green juice bars offer a more casual luncheon experience.) I was told that “raw is anything prepared under 118 degrees which is the designated degree below which foods that are cooked retain all their nutrients.” A great concept, so how did they perform?

The prix fix begins at 8pm and as diners filtered in they were greeted with wine, coconut milk or water. In the bare white-walled-and-full-windowed room, no pictures marked a place on the wall and nothing was left to the imagination—the view of the Manhattan Bridge into lower Manhattan was enough of a photograph. Going with the raw theme, the kitchen, more a prep area, was open for viewing. Cooks and their preps were seen arranging our meals for the communal meal . . . Communal?

The Plant makes use of their space. Marble-topped prep tables used during their Saturday cooking courses get pushed together, forming two large dining areas (my only qualm was my long legs did not fit under the high topped tables once seated in my stool and I was forced to sit far back or sideways throughout the meal). The communal dining experience allowed banter at your side and across the table as well optimal viewing of the meal in progress (including the visual and audio reactions of fellow diners). More often than not, it was excited raised eyebrows from men and women alike when the food arrived.

The first dish was a “Jack-o-Lantern” served with a “Blood and Guts-tini”– it was their Halloween meal. The -tini was a deliciously fresh blend of pomegranate, orange and persimmon pulp. So refreshing that when asked for seconds the crew at The Plant was happy to oblige. The Jack-o-Lantern, a creamy tomato and fennel soup with ricotta (served in a hollowed out pumpkin) tasted more like pizza (though the apple dumpling was a succulent surprise). We could not decide whether this was possibly because tomato paste was used, if the ricotta blended with tomato gave this flavor or the fact that 118 degrees is in fact not very hot and the soup was served at room temperature, lending itself to a cold pizza.

The “Crawlies” were a delicious tower of red lobster mushrooms and truffled cashew puree served between inventive black sesame webs. Cracking through the sesame webs I felt black widow spiders would scramble across the plate. The lobster mushrooms were fabulously juicy and the truffled cashew puree bordered on a butter addiction.

“Shadow of a Black Cat” was next, described as a pumpkin and wild mushroom risotto with a creamy sage sauce. Overall a slight disappointment if you are used to truly creamy risottos. This one arrived slightly dry though the sage sauce was a glowing addition.

By far the most delightfully imaginative dish was “Under a White Sheet.” Arugula with herbed goat cheese, carmelized shallots, “roasted” tomato and lemon-thyme foam. Served under a ghostly cover with a devilish smile, the ingredients in this dish were a great display. Peppery arugula, earthy goat cheese and sweet shallots exploded with flavor while the lemon-thyme foam offered a delicate cleanse for the final and most important dish, dessert.

Appropriately named “Trick or Treat,” the dessert was the only dish that resembled a meaty cousin. An aside: I am tired of vegetarian restaurants serving up “pork” chops and “chicken” fingers and would much rather delight in the pure essence of a dish that demonstrates unique flavors than eat imitations– eating imitations just leaves me wanting the real thing. With that being said, the “eggs and bacon” served, though they were a perfect representation of the real thing, were totally unique. The “bacon” was caramel strips perfect for sopping up the coconut creme anglaise (the albumen or egg whites). The usual creamy “yolk” remained sweet and delicious disguised as poached mango carpaccio. Even though I craved some real bacon with this dish, I couldn’t help but be delighted in this creation.

I left happy and full. Even though every course was not necessarily a winner, the dining experience was pure spectacle. The skeptical dining partner? Though he did glance forlornly at the taco stand, he did enjoy the uniqueness of the meal.

If you are already a raw, vegan or vegetarian diner, this is definitely a restaurant to check out. If you’re a meat-eater looking for a fun and unusual dining experience The Plant is worth the trip, though may not satisfy one who believes a meal is not complete without meat.

The Plant

25 Jay Street; Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dinners are Friday at 8pm and generally last about 3 hours.
Raw cooking classes are offered on Saturday.
More information about The Plant and their Blue/Green Juice Bars can be found at www.theplantindumbo.com. Or, check out their blog: www.theplantindumbo.blogspot.com

Batali shuffled his neon orange clogs over to Besh, pushing me aside, so the two could embrace. I was just about to compliment Besh on the New Orleans Table event I was now attending and his Trout Pontchartrain (sautéed and served with a brown butter hollandaise). Instead, images of Batali on his Vespa with Besh grasping his waistline flickered into my mind and all attempt at conversation was lost (recent sightings dish up Batali and Rachael Ray zipping around New York City on the Vespa as well).

The event, The New Orleans Table, sponsored by Paul McIlhenny (aka Mr. Tabasco) and The Southern Foodways Alliance, was an Iron Chef showdown of New Orleans food in its own right, held October 12 in New York City. Present and cooking for the cause were Zak Pelaccio (who hosted the event at his 5 Ninth restaurant), and the above mentioned Besh (who would dish up his own as well as the specialties of Gail and Anthony Uglesich and Leah Chase). Mr. Batali, not cooking, dropped in to say hello and quickly bowed out.

The event was held to honor and remember classic New Orleans food and drink. To return and recollect and featured New Orleans Eats, An Oral History Project*. All were welcome to participate and record their New Orleans food stories, be it their first Jambalaya to their last Po’ Boy, to be archived for later use. In between buttery bites of Barbecue Oysters (Ugleshich), thick Gumbo Z’Herbs with Filé and topped with Slow Roasted Pork (Leah Chase) and the savory Shrimp and Pork Belly Gumbo with Organic Grits (Pelaccio), it was difficult to get a word in with anyone, microphone or human.

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the displaced of New Orleans are finally making their way back home. While they do, they are leaving a memorable trail for us, southerners and non- to appreciate and learn from. Many are happy to return the favor– the glowing Alice Waters was present, offering me her wisdom on The Edible Schoolyard project. Rumor has it she is providing knowledge to a similar New Orleans project to ensure the culinary traditions of southern cooking are where they belong, with the locals.

In between sips of Sazeracs and the pleasantly sweet Ramos Gin Fizzes I made new friends and wished the night would never end– And it hasn’t necessarily. For all those lucky golden babies, it’s heading westward to San Francisco on November 29th. If you can’t make it out to California, the Southern Foodways Alliance is happy to record your food memory, just give them a visit.

*To participate in the Oral History Project, go to The Southern Foodways Alliance and follow links and phone numbers to be a part of history and offer up your own stories.