NYC Tastes

The Javits Center was transformed into a food empire last week by the Specialty Food Association's Summer Fancy Food Show; a three day extravaganza of 2,600 exhibitors showcasing 200,000 specialty food products.  It's absolutely impossible to try every single item, but I did my very best. MilkBoy was the big winner this year taking home three Sofie awards. Their milk chocolate with crunchy caramel & sea salt won gold followed by roasted almond and white chocolate with blue potato chips.  I'm a big fan of any kind of chocolate laced with salt, so I found myself at this booth every single day. I'm also a huge fan of butter, so the folks over at  Epicurean Butter  pretty much stole my heart with their thick, creamy varietals like Chili Lime, Black Truffle and Roasted Garlic & Herb. Barcoop Bevy  took home a Sofie award in the Top Innovations category for their Cucumber Mojtio cocktail mix. Along with Sauces 'n Love  for their incredib...

Thursday in Copenhagen was a big day.  All of my NYC friends had finally arrived, the city was bustling with amazing brewers to kick off the Copenhagen Beer Celebration and we had a fabulous birthday lunch booked at Noma for our friend Steve. Noma is run by René Redzepi, a 36 year old Danish chef who currently has two Michelen stars and has kept Noma ranked as The Best Restaurant in the World four out of the last five years. Rene is all about New Nordic cooking and the tasting menu he unleashed upon us that afternoon was a prime example of foraging at it's finest.  The meal begins with an array of "Snacks"... Red Currant and lavender verbena Nordic Coconut with quince and cabbage soup Moss and Cep- Reindeer Moss seasoned with mushrooms and served with juniper creme fraiche Elm leaves and yeast Surf and Turf Tarts- flowers from the land, seaweed crust from the sea Caramelized Milk and Cod Fish Liver ...