In recognition of its tremendous work and undying dedication to breast health awareness, TravelsinTaste.com asked our mixology expert, Emilio Tiburcio, to create a commemorative cocktail in honor of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  The result is: The Graceful Astia, named for Astia, a nonprofit that supports women entrepreneurs, develops women business leaders and assists women-led start-ups in securing funding.  The drink was presented by Astia last night at the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives at their Annual Awards Dinner when they honored Ambassador Nancy Brinker who founded the Susan G. Komen Foundation.   For more about the cocktail including the recipe, please click here.

Last night was a special night of luxury at the James Beard House - and who knows luxury better than Steve Wynn and the chefs at his Encore resort.  A Night of Encore was a tremendous success with a complete menu spanning the globe with each course prepared by one of the chefs at Encore.  And, of course, what is an elegant dinner without wine?  Wine Director Danielle Price created the exceptional pairing for each of the delectable dishes.

After making one’s way into the unobtrusive brownstone in New York City’s West Village neighborhood each guest was provided with their table number and shown the way to the cocktail party.  The way to the cocktail party was no ordinary path as it led directly through the kitchen where we could see Kim Canteenwalla of Society Cafe Encore, Rene Lenger of Switch Steak, Mark LoRusso of Botero, Theo Schoenegger of Sinatra, Jet Tila of Wazuzu and Frederic Robert Executive Pastry Chef of the Wynn resorts preparing their chosen dishes.  The behind the scenes view of this intimate kitchen was like watching the philharmonic practice - perfectly orchestrated with each chef completely focused.  The staff was gracious enough to let the guests watch for as long as they liked.  Once one passed through the kitchen the cocktail party was in full bloom both inside and outside on the patio. 

The evening started with a taste of Asia - and who better to provide that then Jet Tila, that’s for sure! His passed hor deourves included: Kobe Meatballs with Cucumber Kimchi and Teriyaki Glaze,  Chao Tom> Sugarcane Shrimp with Nuoc Mam; Shrimp Oshizushi with Spicy Tuna and Arare Crackers and Thai Beef and Microgreen Rolls all of which were paired with Domaine Zind Humbrecht, Pinot Gris, Alsace 2008.  Each creation was prettier than the next - and the perfect size for tasting.  We happily devoured them.

Next up it was time for Kim Canteenwalla to demonstrate his playful yet delicious creations with a “Bay Scallop Tasting” Watermelon and Lime Ceviche, Sweet Potato Puree, and Cauliflower-Pecorino Gratin. Consider this trio artwork on a plate as the colors and textures culminated in a dish almost too beautiful to eat. Price paired it with Seresin Estate, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough 2009. 

Theo Schoenegger followed with Risotto alIa Parmigiana con Tartufo Bianco d’Alba (White Alba Truffle Risotto with Parmigiano-Reggiano) which price paired with Castello di Ama, Chianti Classico, Tuscany 2006.  The chef personally shaved white truffles over each guest’s risotto and the overwhelming response was ‘can you make this for us for breakfast, lunch and dinner?’ 

Mark LoRusso prepared Crispy Wild Striped Bass with Kabocha Squash, Corn, and Curry Emulsion which Price paired with Remoissenet Pere & Fils, Gevrey-Chambertain, Burgundy 2007.  Fish with red wine you might ask?  Not only the perfect wine pairing, but the crispy skin bass basked in its glory of the curry emulsion…

Rene Lenger’s Roasted Sweetbreads and Braised Beef Cheeks with Root Vegetable Gratin, Shallot Marmalade, and Pinot Noir Reduction was paired with Waters, Colombia Valley Syrah, Walla Walla 2007 and was the last dish before dessert. Afraid of sweetbreads?  No need to be after this delicate, flavorful creation graces your palate you’ll be converted to a sweetbread lover.

Instead of the familiar chocolate, Frederic Robert outdid himself with a Citrus Macaron with Citrus Slices, Lime-Vanilla Sorbet, Lemon Curd Cream, and Blood Orange Sauce coupled with a glass of Feudi delia Medusa Aristeo, Passito 2005.  The perfect light ending to the most delicious tasting menu we’ve had in a while.  It was a leisurely trip around the world via cuisine - and one which you didn’t even need your passport for!

The evening ended with very satiated guests, a thank you to the chefs in the form of goodie bags filled with James Beard Foundation House Purveyors’ gifts, and a special surprise to the guests - a one night complimentary stay at Encore resort!  What a great gift - but how will we ever choose which restaurants to dine at?  Better extend our stay so we can savor each one’s delectable cuisine!  Vegas here we come!

Brats
Dogs & Wieners
362 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 646.350.2557

Hours: Tue-Sat, 8am-2am; Sun & Mon, 8am-midnight (open from 5pm-midnight & not open on Sundays for the first couple of weeks)

Chef/Owner: Daniel Angerer
Partner: Lori Mason
Designer: Garrett Singer
NOW OPEN
http://www.bratsnyc.com

On Saturday 25th, Daniel Angerer and partner Lori Mason of Klee Brasserie opened Brats, a restaurant serving handcrafted sausages in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Inspired by the sausage stands throughout his native Austria, chef Angerer creates various sausage preparations influenced by global cuisines.

Brats’ sausages are categorized by three styles: classic, designer and gourmet. Classic sausages such as Bratwurst - pork, Swiss cheese and candied apple mustard - are made with ingredients typical of Eastern European fare, while designer sausages feature unexpected elements and include the Dragon Wiener, a pig sausage served with red kimchee and spicy sriracha mustard, and the Westy Seafood Dog made with sustainable West Coast shrimp. Gourmet sausages use high-end ingredients such as Akaushi beef, from a Japanese wagyu breed of cattle. Refreshing salads and savory snacks supplement sausage cravings, and creative, house-made milkshakes like the Milkaholic, made with sheep, goat and cow milk and a touch of honey, round out the menu.  Those with a sweet tooth can opt for cakes such as cheesecake with chocolate cookie crumbs, tres leches and choco & coffee bar.

The beverage list features reasonably priced wine, beer and sake, and Angerer and Mason have created specific pairings for the variety of sausages on the menu.  The sake selection, which includes on-tap pours, is a reflection of Angerer’s affinity for Japanese culture.

Designed by Garrett Singer (Klee Brasserie, Soho Park, Hill Country), Brats features mustard-colored walls and red bar stools, a playful nod to the sausage-focused menu. Guests order at the counter and can unwind with a drink at the bar or at a table in the intimate 24-seat restaurant. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, take-out service is also available.  With Brats, Angerer and Mason bring a fun, new spot to the Chelsea neighborhood, with original takes on approachable dishes inspired by Angerer’s diverse culinary background.

Please note this is the CUT OF THE WEEK menu only, to view the full listing, complete with dinner menu, please click here. Join Charlie Palmer Steak each night and discover their 

CUT OF THE WEEK
prix fixe menu

Each week Chef Steve Blandino hand selects a unique cut of beef paired with seasonal ingredients and presents it with a “BOTTOM LESS GLASS OF WINE PAIRINGS”
 

Menu and Wine Pairings
September 28^th to October 2nd

FIRST COURSE
Composed Salad
Baby Arugula * Julienne of Fall Apples
Oregon Blue Cheese * Hazelnut  Vinaigrette
Nuschese Pinot Grigio Veneto
Italy 2008

MAIN COURSE
Medallions of Filet Mignon
Truffled Celery Root * Syrah Reduction
Navarro Correas Syrah Mendoza
Argentina 2008

SIDES
served family style
Honey Glazed Root Vegetables
Three Cheese Gnocchi

DESSERT
Toasted Hazelnut Torte
Autumn Maple Sauce

$48 per person

*Please note that these are the most recent Special Event menus from the restaurants featured on TravelsinTaste.com.  The restaurants featured at TravelsinTaste.com may have changed their personnel, menu, pricing, decor, hours of operation, etc., since our last visit. The competitive and creative nature of the fine dining scene virtually assures that changes will occur on a frequent basis in order to make diners happier, meals more pleasurable and visits more frequent. Given their frequent fluctuations, most restaurants welcome inquiries about their current hours, menu and more.

FIRST Food & Bar provides a great spot for football fans with multiple televisions and great food and drink specials

 Specials run throughout the season during Monday night games

WHO:
FIRST Food & Bar, the hip eatery located inside The Shoppes at The Palazzo

WHAT:
After kicking off the football season with the Las Vegas Locomotives, FIRST Food & Bar continues to offer fans a place to call home during the football season.

Monday night games feature half off the restaurant’s signature Famous Lollipop Buffalo Wings, The Original Mini Burgers and pizzas including Grilled Grandma’s Style (with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella and basil), Grandpa’s Pizza (just like Grandma’s Style but with pepperoni) or Little Johnny’s (with meatballs). Drink specials include 2-for-1 draft beers. Specials run for the duration of the game.

On Sundays, FIRST Food & Bar will open its bar area early at 10 a.m. for game viewing. Food service begins at 10:30 a.m.

WHEN:
Each Monday night throughout the football season.

WHERE:
FIRST Food & Bar
Inside The Shoppes at the Palazzo
3327 Las Vegas Blvd. South #2812
Second floor; access next to Barneys New York
Additional entrance from the Las Vegas Strip

Ommegang Brewery celebrates the autumn harvest season with a beer and steak dinner at Michael Jordan’s The Steak House N.Y.C. for a night of brews, views and spectacular beef.
 

Join Ommegang Brewmaster Phil Leinhart as he introduces his newest limited edition brew - the Cup o’Kyndnes Scotch Ale - and Chef Michael Vignola as he pairs the brewery’s renowned Belgian-style artisanal beers with steakhouse favorites.  Vignola uses the beers as an element in his cuisine as well with cheddar beer soup and Scotch ale ice cream.  Taste through the beers along with the seasonal menu, while learning about the beer-making process and the method behind the picks and pairings.

MenuCheddar Beer Soup
Caraway Crisp
Ommegang Abbey Ale
~~~
Foie Gras Torchon
Roasted Grapes, Local Honey, Rare Vos Gastrique
Ommegang Rare Vos
~~~
Porcini Crusted Venison Loin
Juniper, Parsnips, Grilled Porcini, Black Kale
Ommegang Hennepin
~~~
Dry Aged New York Strip
Shallots, Turnips, Glazed Carrots, Black Garlic Jus
Ommegang Three Philosophers
~~~
Pecan Pie
Scotch Ale Ice Cream and Salted Butterscotch
Ommegang Cup O Kyndnes
~~~

$75 per person (plus tax and gratuity)
Friday, October 1 at 6:30 PM
�
For reservations please contact Heather Lopez, 646-453-5798 or hlopez@theglaziergroup.com

2010 Harvest in the Square
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Enter at 16th Street & Union Square West
Union Square Park, Manhattan

General Admission 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM
VIP (Early) Admission at 6:00 PM

Tuesday, September 21st is the 15th Annual Harvest in the Square, a festive celebration of community and cuisine, and New York’s premier food and wine tasting event.

Harvest in the Square features chefs from the hottest and most popular restaurants in the Union Square District as they prepare signature dishes using fresh farm produce from our very own Union Square Greenmarket. Microbrews and wines from New York State and across the globe are carefully paired with each dish, so bring your appetite for a night of unforgettable food, fun, music and more under the fall foliage in Union Square Park!

Harvest in the Square is presented by the Union Square Partnership, a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization and proceeds from the event benefit the organization’s ongoing beautification and maintenance efforts in Union Square Park. Contributions are tax-deductible with the exception of $50 per ticket. Attendees must provide a valid form of ID for wine or beer service.

TICKET INFORMATION
General Admission tickets for 7:30 PM are $125. VIP tickets are $400 and include early admission, mingling with special guests, hors d’oeuvres and champagne toast.  Visit http://harvest2010.charityhappenings.org/ to purchase tickets.

PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS:
ABC Kitchen
Aldea
Aleo
Almond
Angelo & Maxie’s Steakhouse
Back Forty
Baked by Melissa*
Bar Stuzzichini
Big Daddy’s
Black Duck
BLT Fish
BLT Prime
Blue Smoke
Blue Water Grill
Bocca
Casa Mono & Bar Jamón
Chat ‘n Chew
Chipotle*
Cibar Lounge at The Inn at Irving Place
City Crab & Seafood Company
craft
Dévi
Dos Caminos Park
Duke’s
Galaxy Global Eatery
Gramercy Tavern
Havana Central
Hill Country Barbecue Market
Hill Country Chicken
ilili
Junoon
Kellari Parea
Knickerbocker Bar & Grill
L.A. Burdick Chocolate
L’EXPRESS
Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon at The Inn at Irving Place
Maxie’s Grill
Millesime
Nanoosh Mediterranean Hummus Bar*
National Arts Club
Nuela
OLiVES NY
Pipa Tapas Y Mas
Primehouse New York
Pure Food & Wine
Republic
Rosa Mexicano
Side Bar*
Stand 4
Steak Frites
Strip House NYC
SushiSamba Park
Tamarind
Tarallucci e Vino
T.G.I. Friday’s
The Coffee Shop
The House
The Pump
Tocqueville
Union Square Ballroom
Union Square Cafe
Vintage Irving
‘wichcraft
Wildwood Barbeque

When you’re in Las Vegas, “indulge” is the operative word. To keep from overindulging, however, during our most recent trip to the Strip we spoke with our resident mixology expert, multi-award-winning mixologist Emilio “Energy” Tiburcio of Fusion Mixology Bar at the Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino, who we challenged with creating a contradiction of sorts: a healthy cocktail. Although we never thought we’d use them in the same sentence, Tiburcio proved to us with his healthy creation that the words “healthy” and “cocktail” are better bedfellows than you might expect. Never mind what your doctor thinks — we doubt he’d consider this “healthy” — if you’re looking to dial down your guilt factor with a drink that’s at least a little bit nutritious, try this recipe that’s as rich in vitamins as it is in alcohol. And if you’re really committed to healthy living, you can always order it as a virgin!

Click here to read about Tiburcio’s amazing creation - The “Beet”ing Heart…

It seems that food-on-the-go no longer has to be a greasy burger or an over-sized hot dog from a small, dark food court. Now, places like Eataly in New York are popping up and foodies can enjoy gourmet food from the Rolls-Royce’s of takeout.

Eataly is essentially a fancy Italian grocery store with individual departments that offer quick bites. Diners can find almost anything in the culinary emporium dreamt up by Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Eataly founder Oscar Farinetti. Choices include pastry, bread, a butcher, a fishery, pasta, cheese, gelato, paninis, and coffee-just to name a few. The 50,000-square-foot space also includes Manzo, a fine-dining Italian steakhouse, a year-round rooftop beer garden, a cooking school, an in-house travel agency, and a retail section for Italian specialty items.

Also in New York is the new food court on the lower concourse level of the Plaza Hotel. Chef Todd English created the food court to resemble European food halls and diners can get everything from their morning coffee to lunch and an evening glass of wine. The 5,400-square-foot space occupies about 20 percent of the Plaza’s lower level and features 80 seats for dining plus various cooking stations and a retail section where fresh, packaged foods are sold. The food court’s main attraction is the seafood counter, grill, and raw bar, which is intended to mirror the hotel’s former Oyster Bar. But with other stations devoted to tea, coffee, chocolates, cheeses, breads, pastries, meats, pizza, wine, sushi and burgers-to name a few-diners have no lack of options at this gourmet food court.

Eataly
200 5th Ave
New York, NY
(646) 398-5100
Hours: market: 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. (Daily)
Lavazza Gran Bar: 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. (Daily)
Restaurants: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. (Daily)

The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English
Plaza Hotel
1 West 59th Street
New York, NY
(212) 986-9260
Hours: 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. (Sun. - Thurs.)
7 a.m. - 10 p.m. (Fri. - Sat.)

Foie gras (pronounced fwah grah) is the fattened liver of a duck or goose that is produced as a result of a special feeding process. The high-end food item is a velvety and meaty pate which is typically cooked and served cold as a paté or terrine , but in recent years foie gras has taken on some unusual pairings.

1. Foie Gras Custard Brulee
Sage
Aria Resort and Casino
3730 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV
(877) 230-2742

Hours: 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. (Mon. - Sat.)

At Sage Chef Shawn McClain delivers a combination of sweet and savory with the immensely popular Foie Gras Custard Brulee. The dessert is a custard infused with fresh foie gras and topped with cocoa nibs, moro blood orange and salted brioche.

2. Foie Gras Ice Cream Sandwich
Humphrey Slocombe
2790 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA
(415) 550-6971

Hours: 12 p.m. - 9 p.m. (Daily)

At the creative San Francisco ice cream Shop, Humphrey Slocombe, foie gras is actually an ice cream flavor. The ice cream parlor pairs the foie gras ice cream with housemade ginger snaps to make ice cream sandwiches that have mouths watering and waiting for the occasional batch to be announced via twitter.

3. Foie Gras Martini
Andre’s
3770 Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV
(702) 798-7151

Hours: Opens at 5:30 p.m. (Tues. - Sun.)

At Andre’s it seemed that it wasn’t enough to have foie gras on the dinner menu. The restaurant also boasted one very unusual foie gras infused cocktail. The unique drink was made of roasted foie gras, whole vanilla bean, honey, André’s signature vodka and topped with shaved truffles.  The restaurant is now closed, but can be reserved for private events.

4. Foie Gras Macaron
Pierre Herme
72, rue Bonaparte
75006 PARIS
+33 (1) 43 54 47 77

Hours: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. (Mon. - Sun.)
               10 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. (Sat.)

Pierre Herme
185, rue de Vaugirard
75015 PARIS
 +33 (1) 47 83 89 96

Hours: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. (Tues. - Wed.)
               10 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. (Thurs. - Sat.)
               10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (Sun.)

Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave.
New York, NY
(212) 889-0905

Hours: Lunch: 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. (Mon. - Fri.)
               Dinner: 5:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. (Mon. - Sat.)

The noteworthy Parisian pastry chef Pierre Herme has made countless flavors  of this delicate dessert, but perhaps one of the most interesting is the foie gras flavored macaron. This unique macaron is filled with a combination of foie gras and smooth milk chocolate. Since Pierre Herme first introduced the flavor in 2006 others have played with the concept of a foie gras flavored macaron. In March of 2010, Eleven Madison Park served a foie gras macaron with apple mango chutney in the middle as an amuse-bouche.