Speak Easy NYC

I've been in the city now for about two months, and I have eaten at some pretty amazing places. I have also explored the bar scene with some of my culinary school classmates, and they are equally as amazing. New York has a wide range of bars from dusty dive bars to classy speak easy establishments. Here are a few speak easy bars I've experienced and would definitely recommend:

1) Please Don't Tell: Located in the east village, Please Don't Tell (aka PDT) is a speak easy bar that is very hidden. You enter through the hotdog restaurant next door called Crif Dogs. Once you've had a dog or two, you can enter a small, vintage phone booth and pick up the phone. Someone will answer and if you're lucky (or have a reservation) the opposite side of the phone booth will open and you can enter PDT. It is a small bar with dim lighting and amazing drinks. This is one of my favorite bars in NYC, and it's about time I go back!

2) Mulberry Project: Mulberry Project is on Mulberry St in Little Italy and you would never recognize the bar if you're just walking by. The only way to identify it is a bright red door leading down to a basement. Once you enter though, it's a quaint speak easy bar. The waiter will ask you what flavor profiles you like and what liquor you prefer, and the bar tender whips you up a drink! The drinks are a little on the pricey side, but it's a fun speak easy bar to experience if you're into hidden bars in the city.

3) Fig 19: Fig 19 is another speak easy that is rather hidden. You enter through an art gallery in the lower east side. Then at the back of the gallery, you walk through a door and are transported to a speak easy bar. The drinks are unique and very delicious, and the environment is very chill. Behind PDT, I would have to place Fig 19 as one of my favorite bars in NYC.

Here are a couple other bars I've ventured to in the city with my foodie friends:

1) Home Sweet Home: Home Sweet Home is a basement bar right below Fig 19, and it really does feel like a bar back in Kentucky called Redmons. There's people crammed in every nook and cranny, loud live music and people dancing. This bar is a lot of fun if you're looking for a younger crowd and cheaper drinks. If you don't mind being pushed around, it's the perfect spot for a Friday night out on the town.

2) Isola Trattoria and Crudo Bar: Isola is located in SoHo at the Mondrian Hotel on Crosby. I first fell in love with this establishment when I stayed at the Mondrian last spring. Now I love to go back and get a cocktail and a little bite to eat. The bar is absolutely stunning. It looks like a greenhouse just plopped in the middle of the city. It's a perfect place if you're looking for great drinks and maybe even a celebrity sighting or two (I've seen Rita Ora and John Turturro).

3) Toad Hall: Toad Hall is located in SoHo only a few blocks from ICC, and it's the culinary school hangout. Every Friday after a long week of classes, students pack up their tool kits and knife bags and head over to Toads and get a cold beer and discuss their burnt croutons and underdone creme puffs. Toad Hall is very much a dive bar in that it's a small room with a few tables, one bar with liquor from years past, and a pool table shoved in the back. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely perfect for us "rough-around-the-edges" cooks.

The Incredible, Edible Egg

A recent lesson we had in Level 2 was an introduction to eggs. Prepping for this lesson, I thought it was going to be a pretty easy day. How hard can scrambled eggs be? However, learning about eggs and how to prepare them was very interesting and challenging at times. I'm happy to say that I now know how make some traditional French egg dishes.

We first made a basque-style omelet. It is not a traditional rolled omelet that most Americans are used to. It is rather flat and filled with peppers and onions. To prepare this omelet, you cook it on medium heat until it has set, then with a swift flick of the wrist, you flip it over so the other side can cook evenly. You then finish it off in the oven, and top it with additional peppers and onions to serve. It was a delicious and easy way to prepare an omelet.

Basque-Style Omelet

The second egg dish we made was baked eggs with cream. This dish is very classical French where you put one egg, cream, parsley and seasoning in a ramekin and bake it, resulting in a custardy egg dish that is rich a decadent. I honestly didn't think I was going to like it because I imagined runny yolk, runny white and runny cream...way too slimy for my palette. But it was actually delicious! Culinary school has really pushed me to try new things and open my food horizons, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Baked Eggs with Cream

We then moved on to the rolled omelet. When Chef V demonstrated how to make this dish, it seemed pretty easy! Just a quick scramble in the pan, letting the egg ever so slightly set up. Then a simple fold of each side, and a colorless, perfectly cooked omelet slides onto the plate. However, after a few attempts of my own, I realized it wasn't so easy. If the pan is too hot, the omelet will get color (brown) and the inside will still be too underdone. But if the heat is too low, the eggs won't set fast enough and it will still color before you have time to fold it over. After about four or five omelets, I finally had one omelet worth presenting. All I can say is the traditional French omelet is harder than you think, but well worth the time (and frustration). 

The Rolled Omelet (excuse the dirty plate, this wasn't my first attempt!)

We made a few other egg dishes such as traditional scrambled eggs and poached eggs with a hollandaise sauce. It was a busy day going through countless crates of eggs. But by 3:00pm, we all had a better appreciation of the incredible, edible egg!

One Down, Five to Go!

This past week I completed Level 1 of cooking school and started my second! I knew this program would fly by, but this is just crazy. I feel like just yesterday I was moving to the city and starting my culinary journey. I'm praying it slows down, but I'm not keeping my hopes up because I'm having the time of my life.

For our final in Level 1, we had to complete a comprehensive written test, as well as a practical where we actually cooked for a grade. This was the first time we were going to be given a letter grade for our own, individual cooking and boy, was I nervous. We had to cut up a carrot julienne, a turnip jardiniere, a onion ciseler and emincer, and a shallot ciseler, all in 20 minutes. After that we had to clean an artichoke in 15 minutes and cut two potatoes into eight cocottes (little footballs) in 15 minutes. Finally, we had to make tomato fondue (which is basically a tomato sauce) in 30 minutes. All of the tasks were not challenging, it was just the time constraints that were making me so anxious.

Leading up to the practical I practiced as much as I could in my apartment. However, once I got to school that morning, my nerves got the best of me. About 10 seconds after Chef V said "you may begin" on our first task, I sliced right into my thumb with my chef's knife. I knew it was just a little cut, but it was deep enough that I definitely needed a bandaid. I quickly wrapped up my thumb, took a deep breath and continued on. I shouldn't have been so nervous because I ended up doing fine. I was so happy to see that all my classmates were also doing great, and we all could pass and move on to Level 2 together as a class!

Now that we are in Level 2, I'm excited to learn more culinary techniques and also some pastry techniques. We also are going to have a lesson on wine and food costing. I'm ready to dive in, here's goes nothing!

Discovering a New, Local Ingredient: Whipped Honey

I recently started writing for The Hot Plate, the International Culinary Center's blog, and my second post is up. It's about using a new, local ingredient I found at the Union Square Greenmarket. The Farm to Table program I'm in at ICC has sparked my interest in finding unique ingredients that I can use in recipes from class. Read the blog and see how my culinary adventure turned out!

Click Here: Discovering a New, Local Ingredient: Whipped Honey

Holiday Eats with my Mama

This past week, my mom came to town! We had a blast exploring the city, celebrating the New Year, and catching up over wine and food. So of course we decided to eat at some new places, specifically ones in Midtown and Downtown. Here are some of the great restaurants we ventured to:

1) Union Square Cafe (21 E 16th St, New York 10003): On Saturday we headed to Union Square to check out the greenmarket, as well as have brunch at the Union Square Cafe. The Cafe is very well known around the city (even my chef instructor worked in the kitchen at one point), so we had to pay a visit. The rather large restaurant is filled with smaller rooms and antique decorations, making the atmosphere warm and cozy. The service is beyond amazing. Never once did I ask for anything other than what I planned on eating! Oh and the food...delicious. My mom and I shared an apple and walnut salad, light-as-air ricotta gnocchi, and a lobster omelet. Everything we tasted was cooked beautifully and seasoned perfectly. Now that we've had brunch, we're dying to experience dinner, so we'll definitely be back.

The lobster omelet and a side of warm spinach and fingerling potatoes, at Union Square Cafe 

2) Saleya (65 W Broadway, New York 10007): After a day of running around NYC, we wanted to have dinner at a restaurant close to my apartment. My mom had read about a small, Mediterranean style restaurant called Saleya, so we gave it a try. Turns out, it was great! The restaurant is a small, all-glass store front nestled in Tribeca. As we walked in, we immediately sat down and order a glass a wine. For food, we shared a flat bread pizza, then we both had a bowl of soup. The food was really delicious and the service was efficient and friendly. If you're looking for a quick but great bite to eat downtown, definitely check out Saleya.

The flatbread pizza and salad with chickpeas and red onion, at Saleya

3)Kitchenette (156 Chambers St, New York 10007): After a long day of class at the International Culinary Center, I was hungry and ready to have dinner with my mom, so we ventured to a small restaurant in Tribeca called Kitchenette. The owner of Kitchenette actually graduated from ICC, so I was excited to try her food. When you walk into the restaurant, you immediately feel like you've been transported to a 50's diner. There is glass deli case filled with cakes and pies, and behind it rests an old fashioned milkshake blender. The menu also replicates diner classics and down-home cooking. I had a classic BLT, as well as garlic rosemary fries. My diet coke was even served in a mason jar. The menu also had chicken and waffles, mama's meatloaf, and classic cheeseburgers. Kitchenette was a perfect taste of home on a chilly New York night.

4)Colicchio & Sons (85 10th Ave, New York 10011): For New Year's Eve, my mom and I decided we wanted to have a nice dinner to ring in the new year. We had been to Colicchio & Sons to have drinks, but never to eat. After a little searching, we found that the restaurant was having a four course NYE meal, and we quickly made reservations. The restaurant is located on the west side right by Chelsea Market (aka foodie paradise). When we walked in, we were greeted with a warm welcome and taken to our seats. The ceiling was covered with balloons and there was champagne waiting for us. The service was impeccable; we had over five different individuals waiting on us and each was well informed and professional. And the food, just amazing. Each course had about four different items to pick from, and along with the four courses, we got a few extra bites. All in all, Tom Colicchio knocked it out of the park, and my mom and I had a full belly as 2013 came to a close.

Hamachi with orange and jalapeño, at Colicchio & Sons

 

The warm chocolate tart, deconstructed key lime pie, and assortment of chocolates, at Colicchio & Sons

2014: A New Year and New Opportunities

Happy new year my foodie followers!

I hope you all had a great holiday and are excited to enter a new year with endless opportunities and adventures. 2013 was an amazing year for me; I graduated from UK and moved to NYC to start culinary school. I have so many reasons to be thankful, and I cannot wait to see what this year brings!

Since my last post, I've learned a crazy amount at school. To start, we learned all about fish, both round and flat fish. Round fish have eyes on the side of their head, they swim vertically, and they contain two filets (ex. trout and bass). Flat fish have eyes on the top of their head, they swim horizontally, and they contain four filets (ex. halibut and flounder). We also learned how to identify a fresh fish when buying whole fish at the market.  They should have convex eyes that are clear and not cloudy, shiny scales, brightly colored gills that are red and full of blood, a clean odor that doesn't smell "fishy", and believe it or not...a tight anus. I guess I'm immature because I broke out laughing in the middle of class, but it's true! Now you all know what to look for when shopping for fresh fish.

Anyways, learning to filet a fish was really exciting for me because it was our first real time butchering a protein. At first, I was a little worried about gutting it and cutting into the flesh, but after a few slices, I really enjoyed it. With the fish we filleted, we made Poisson en Papillote (fish baked in parchment paper) and Filet de Truite a La Grenobloise (Sauteed Trout with a butter and lemon sauce).  Both were delicious and packed with flavor, solidifying my love for fish.

After we learned about fish, we had a full lesson on shellfish (ex. scallops, mussels, lobsters, shrimp, etc.). Prior to starting culinary school, I had many nightmares about shellfish day. I had heard some terrible stories about the many ways to "take care of" lobsters, so I was nervous to say the least when I saw a tub of live lobsters the second I walked into the Level 1 kitchen. The easiest way to kill a lobster would be to toss it into a pot of boiling water, but this is actually a slow and painful death for the creature and consequently, completely inhumane. Though it is hard to wrap your head around,  the most humane way to do it is to make a swift cut through the lobster's head.  I was very nervous to take care of my lobster. I honestly didn't even want to pick it up! But after a little coaxing from my partner and chef instructor, the lobster was taken down and cooking away.

We paired the lobster with a Sauce Americaine (tomato, brandy and tarragon). The sauce is decadent and luscious, and goes perfectly with the delicate lobster. We also made a mussel dish with white wine, shallots and parsley. We finished the day by searing some scallops and serving them with a parsley coulis. I was happy the busy day was over, and even more happy to have conquered my lobster fears.

Lobster with Sauce Americaine and Rice Pilaf

After spending a few days on fish, we moved on to poultry. We learned to truss and quarter a chicken. We also made two dishes with chicken; Chicken Chasseur and Chicken Poached in a Mediterranean-Style Broth. We also learned about duck and other game birds (ex. quail). Quartering a duck is very similar to quartering a chicken. One of the most interesting things I learned about quartering poultry is that the very first thing to do is remove the wishbone. Every Thanksgiving at the end of the meal, my dad would remove the wishbone from what was left of the turkey, and my brother and I would fight over it to see who could pull apart the larger half. Learning that it needs to be removed first was new information to me, but it makes complete senses. When taking down a bird, the wishbone just gets in the way when removing the breast. Taking it out is very easy and great help in quartering a bird all together.

Pan Roasted Quail with Rice-Sausage Stuffing and a Gaufrette Potato Basket

The past few lessons about various proteins have been extremely informative because I really didn't know much about filleting a fish and taking down a chicken. In the next few days, we are taking on beef, pork and lamb, which will stretch my butchering knowledge even further.

I cannot believe I'm already approaching the end of Level 1. I'm having so much fun, I don't want it to end! Hopefully the rest of my culinary school experience will slow down, so I can enjoy school and the city even more.