I took a great trip down to NYC for some restaurant research and staff meetings this past week. Quite a whirlwind of activity as I only had about 36 hours in the city but got quite a lot done. I met with a good friend of mine, Adam, who was in town from the Bay Area and is officially on board as the sous chef for the restaurant. He has spent the last 2+ years working at Oliveto, a great restaurant in Oakland with impeccably sourced ingredients. We're really psyched to have him on our team at Cook & Brown. We spent the first night trekking all over Manhattan and stopped at Resto for a chicory salad with poached egg and crispy pig's ear, moules frites with saffron and chorizo and a couple Belgian beers. We also sat at the bar at Balthazar and had some drinks and finally ended the night at Fatty Crab for some Malaysian food (great as usual). Pork belly and watermelon salad, assorted pickles, charred squid salad, chicken wings, kang kong belacan (really spicy chinese water spinach) as well some nice wine (gewurztraminer and scheurebe). In the morning we enjoyed some bagels and smoked fish (lox, whitefish and sturgeon) from Zabar's and once again hit the streets. Perused through cookbooks at Kitchen Arts & Letters, checked out some fish markets in Chinatown and went to a bunch of restaurant supply stores in the Bowery. I also picked up some fantastic wines at a great little Italian wine boutique on Clinton St. called De-Vino. Awesome selection of small producer, esoteric Italian wines. In the evening I met up with my aunt and we went to a gorgeous Japanese restaurant called EN and had a spectacular tasting menu paired with craft sake and shochu (Japanese distilled liquor similar to high quality Gin or Vodka). I ended the trip with a visit to the Union Square Greenmarket to pick up supplies for an intimate catered event the next evening. The market was really great, full of berries, summer squash, herbs, greens, a wide variety of alliums and some small early season tomatoes.
The party could not have gone better (well maybe 5 degrees warmer would have been nice) but the sun was out and the grill was hot. Here's the menu:
Shrimp Ceviche with Fresh Corn Cakes
Cilantro, Champagne Mango, Aji Amarillo
~ Drusian Rose “Mari” NV ~
Vietnamese Summer Rolls
Charred Pork, Pickled Vegetables, Herb Salad
~ Bruno De Conciliis “Selim” Brut NV ~
Steamed Cape Littlenecks with Grilled Bread & Rouille
Smokey Bacon, Rainbow Chard, Purslane
~ Campi Flegrei Falanghina 2007 ~
A Study of Grilled Prime Steaks
Ratatouille Gratinee, Salsa Verde, Blue Cheese Butter
~ Bruno De Conciliis “Donnaluna” Aglianico 2005 ~
Strawberry Granita
Red Wine Syrup, Black Pepper, Crème Fraiche
In addition to the menu we offered fresh watermelon and meyer lemon-ade as an apertif as well as sour cherry preserves (from my mom's sour cherry tree) and whipped lemon curd with some small shortcakes to take home for breakfast in the morning. Guests got to sit out on the patio and enjoy a nice summer evening on the Cape. The party was an interactive dinner/cooking class set up in the style of a cooking show. As we cooked they got to watch and ask questions as each new menu item was prepared. Along with Jenny (who is 9 months pregnant, I have to add), my good friend and bread maestro Vance helped with all of the cooking (he also provided fresh bread for the party, delicious).
Onto a little restaurant info. We seem to really be moving forward at this point. We've handed in credit information and should be giving some investor info next week. After that I think we'll begin sit down meetings and hopefully get down to business. Until next time, Cheers!
Nemo
The menu looks wicked awesome dude!! lol Really it is midnight I am full from dinner and it is still making me hungry. I can't wait to fly out for dinner!
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