Where to Eat

I’m a sucker for good year end list (aren’t we all?). I’ve thoroughly waded through many of the music lists and now I’ve got my sights set on…FOOD!

My new years resolution is not to lose weight or eat healthier but to visit as many restaurants as I can on Adam Platt’s Top 101 list and Sam Sifton’s Top 10 new joints of 2011 list. Here’s a slideshow.

The Times’ $25 and Under crew also made their own Top 10 list.

Started the year with the Franks’ Prime Meats, which was amazing and heavily meat-focused. Our spread included roasted marrow bones, lamb stew, sauerkraut with pork belly, beef tongue and sausages (!)…gut-busting, cold weather eatin’ at its finest.

NY Mag's Adam Platt listed his top 101 NYC restaurants to visit

Zac Brown Band Fills Stomachs, Stadiums

It was only a matter of time before it was time for my first Eat & Greet as a member of the ZBB team – it’s a rite of passage.

Cookie, the band’s enormous, glistening trailer/mobile kitchen was parked last Saturday outside the Meadowlands, back doors flayed open, with the aromas of Chef Rusty’s beef tenderloin, fresh baked bread, and chocolate peanut butter biscuit pudding wafting outwards.

Cookie

What struck me most, though, was not the smorgasbord of southern grub, but the casual interaction between the band and the select group of lucky fans. Had I not known what they looked like, I could never have picked the band out of the crowd chowing down at one of the long tables.

Zac, Clay, Chris, Coy, John, and Jimmy completely blended in with their fans, carrying on conversations over savory mouthfuls as if they were just a group of mostly-bearded guys who like country music.

ZBB thinks about touring differently. It’s not just important to them that they put on a killer show (though, indeed, they do), but that every fan feels like they’re getting the ultimate experience… because they are. From taking the time to shake every single fan’s hand to the belt-busting array of home cooking, to the hardest-hitting set this side of arena rock, ZBB created a space where nothing was as important as their fans.

And it was delicious.

The Menu:

Heirloom tomato salad with smoked corn, edamame, pickled cucumbers and moonshine vinaigrette
Fresh bread with agave fig butter
Braised Brussels sprouts with country ham and red-eye gravy
Wild mushroom and snap pea spoon polenta with smoked gouda
Grilled cauliflower, broccoli and okra with a saffron chardonnay butter
Beef tenderloin with Zac’s Georgia clay rub
Pork tenderloin with “Zac’s Love Sauce”
Chocolate peanut butter biscuit pudding
Zac’s famous cole slaw

ZBB rocking the Meadowlands

Lunch With Peter Himmelman

Peter Himmelman was in NYC this week to promote his new album ‘The Mystery & The Hum‘ (an album that Nick Loss-Eaton and I think is a masterclass in songwriting – listen to “This Lifeboat’s On Fire“) and after a visit to Sirius/XM, Peter and I agreed that lunch was in order.

Peter adheres to a strict Kosher diet and has an iPhone app that locates the closest Kosher restaurants with directions and a menu!  We went to the unassuming Taam Tov on 47th Street, a bustling Buhkaran Kosher restaurant tucked away on the third floor of a  slightly shabby building – it turned out to be incredible, with a very interesting menu of specialties from what is now Uzbekistan and the surrounding region.  We were both gushing about how great the food was for the rest of the day.  Another reason to love NYC – stumble into a seemingly off-the-radar Kosher/Uzbek restaurant in midtown and have a great meal…

Peter had Kharcho – a soup with beef, vegetables and garnished with cilantro.  He also ordered Baba Ganosh that came with a massive round of a traditional bread called Lepeshka.  The bread was excellent: a crusty shell with a fluffy center and covered with flame-licked sesame seeds.

I had Shawarma and it was great – filled with yogurt and lamb and set on top of a pile of crispy fries.

Here’s Peter telling the waiter how much he loves his soup:

the spread:

The Best Recipe from a Magazine EVER

At Shore Fire, I’m tasked with keeping an eye on many of the women’s magazines that offer delicious recipes every month: Woman’s Day, Family Circle, Woman’s World, Redbook, etc. I also have the joy of working with the restaurateur-turned-GRAMMY-winning artist Zac Brown who also just released a gorgeous cookbook of his own (Southern Ground – avail at: http://bit.ly/SGCookbook1) and has revived my interest in food magazines as well.
What I’m getting at is I have my finger on the pulse of kitchens across the country – which I LOVE. In fact, when not at Shore Fire or at a show I’m cooking my heart out at home.

So, as the summer season near (and the grill is almost ready to be fired up), I wanted to share one of the best recipes I’ve come across in a magazine in quite some time. Thanks to the Deen Bros. and their first issue for bringing what my fiance calls “MexiFish Salad” to the table.

This photo came from The Mom Chef but mine looked very similar.

Fresh Corn Salad with Pan-Seared Mexican-Style Red Snapper and the Creamy Lime-Cumin Dressing (Deen Bros.)Makes 2 servings

1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small onion, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rings
3/4 cup fresh corn kernels
2 red snapper fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3/4 cup chopped tomato
6 cups torn romaine lettuce
Creamy Lime-Cumin Dressing (recipe follows)

1 In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic powder, and pepper; sprinkle over corn, onion, and fish.

2 In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion to skillet; cook for 1 minute. Add corn; cook for 1 minute. Remove from pan. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add fish; cook for 3 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove from pan; cut into 1-inch pieces. Divide onion, corn, fish, tomato, and lettuce between 2 plates. Serve with Creamy Lime-Cumin Dressing.

Creamy Lime-Cumin Dressing

Makes about 11⁄2 cups
**Note: I made half this amount and there was still twice more than an human could possibly need.

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon sugar

1 In a small bowl, combine sour cream, milk, lime zest, lime juice, salt, cumin, chili powder, and sugar. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.