Jamie and I just got back from our inspirational trip to the concrete jungle or urban paradise, whichever makes you feel best.
Since the majority of Jamie's culinary career was spent in New York we decided to pay a visit to his old gastro grounds.
First stop. DBGB, Daniel's newest addition which he tastefully put in the old CBGB spot in the Bowery. The walls are made entirely of etched glass with witty food related quotes that help pass the time while you wait for your brunch and cocktails. Being the lady at the table I decided to get what was called the Piggy; a confit burger cooked a beautiful mid-rare, jalapeno mayo with a dollop of pulled pork. I can honestly say it's in the top 10 best items ever to enter my mouth. I wish I had a picture, but all we took was a coaster. Jamie followed suite with a burger called the Frenchy, but he liked mine better!
Prune was on the agenda for dinner, which we had been highly anticipating; with it's unusual menu that gave you only 5 or 6 options for each course (we love simple!)we started with the bone marrow. Coming out on a plate were 3 large bones standing up filled with roasted marrow, this would be the highlight of our meal. The marrow was prepared properly and with so much flavor we could have made a meal out of it.
For my entree I went with the braised chicken in a vinegar sauce that looked exciting, but after a few moments I decided I had been deceived and not only was the chicken awkward to try and slice into but became very difficult to eat. Jamie on the other hand chose well and had the beef pot-au-feu which was cooked splendidly with a succulent flavor. Needless to say I was stealing bites from across the table bitching about my poor bird.
The restaurant itself was so adorable with under 30 seats, eclectic adornments and old wooden tables and chairs. The hype on Prune is a bit more than what it produces as far as the food goes and no one said anything about the service... The host was friendly and tried to be as accommodating as possible, the bartender was the same, offering up a couple drinks while we waited for our table and then there is our server who could have cared less about checking on us, getting our beverages or even coming by the table which is all fine because by that time we were already a bit schnokered on pimms (Jamie's new favorite drink!).
All in all we were glad we had the experience.
Let's talk about Laconde Verde, Andrew Carmelinis new restaurant. Andrew is a chef and friend of Jamie's that he worked with for quite a few years in NYC at Cafe Boulud and highly admires.
Nail hit on head! The first thing I did when we got there was hit the ladies room, it's a small personal test that I perform which tells me much about the restaurant.
Let me tell you, superficial as it may be, there is something about walking into a bathroom stall and seeing the toilet paper folded; you know the triangle of comfort that lets you know you need not hover. Marble everything, aromatherapy in the air and not a soul in sight; this girl was in heaven!!! Moving on...
Lighting was perfect, acoustics perfect, service was on point and the dress code; to quote Andrew verbadem: " A shirt and something on your bottom." Hows that for tact!
Not only did we have a second order of steak tartare, we had 3 mouth watering appetizers 2 entrees and a trio of desserts that could have fed a small tribe. Even being lactose intolerant nothing was stopping me from hazelnut ice cream draped in caramel! We walked out high on food, wine and tartare, an immaculate experience if I may say so myself.
I'm going to tell you about this secret mixology bar that we visited which created some of the most unique flavors I have ever had the pleasure of sipping. We were led by a friend of ours through a yakatori restaurant to a door which I thought would lead us to a restroom, only to be introduced to Angel Cher. This was one of the major highlights of the trip! Seriously, if you don't know it's there, you'll never hear or find out about it; but we did...
Imagine ginger infused vodka, fresh lemon, ginger shards and some magic; atleast thats how jamie is still referring to it. I had a rosemary infused peace of heaven which ignited every sense I had and calmed me like a drug. The bartenders didnt speak much to you and moved with pure intent as they carefully mixed each liquid with perfect proportion. In one word, ecstacy. We intend on paying tribute to this moment in our time at the Fatty Proper!
The last thing I want to share with you all is Chinatown; not just where you label whores buy knock offs:). Chinatown for us was not only a photographers eden but the smells, foodies you know what I'm talking about. The smell of ramen, phoa, fresh fish, dumplings, chicken, roast pork, noodle carts, and some aromas that can only be identified as ancient chinese secret. If you have seen any of our pictures you know we were in the midst of fish market heaven. I'd like to say we were brave enough to have tryed everything, but thats not even possible in a 24 hour time span. Jamie and I both agreed that it wouldnt be a terrible exsistance to wake up to those aromas on a daily basis.
Prepare yourselves folks, we have full intention of bringing all the charms of big city culinary utopia to the Queen City!
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