NYC Tastes

This was a crazy and amazing year filled with lots of great food, friends and travel.  It began in January with a fantastic trip to San Diego with my parents.  They learned more about beer on that trip than they probably ever cared to know hitting up spots like Alpine, Ballast Point  and Societe Brewing .  Then Mr. T and I spent a few days in Florida  before embarking on an absolutely incredible trip to Copenhagen  and Brussels  with our close friends and certainly the best beer festival of my life the  Copenhagen Beer Celebration .  Add in a few trips to Buffalo,   Vermont  and Nashville  and I would say we've been pretty busy.  But in the end it's always NYC that holds the biggest spot in my heart.  This year the food was better than ever and with new breweries like  Third Rail  and  Other Half  joining the leagues of Peekskill, Kane and Barrier there's never been a better tim...

Just a short train ride from the city sits Jean George's newest venture, a casual but elegant farm to table restaurant nestled in the pretty little town of Pound Ridge.  The atmosphere was reminiscent of ABC Kitchen and  Blue Hill Stone Barns with it's wide open dining area and exposed wooden beams overhead. We dined at brunch and the menu had a variety of dishes that sounded wonderful; Sweet Pea Soup with Parmesan Foam, Asparagus Salad with Wild Mushroom and House made Ricotta with Strawberry Compote.  We finally decided to share the Gulf Shrimp Salad with Mesclun to begin. These shrimp were just beautiful; plump and buttery with fresh slices of ripe avocado and a warm truffle and champagne vinaigrette that was leagues above any dressing I've ever tasted.  I was absolutely in love with this salad.   For entrees a Grilled Yellowfin Tuna Burger on a big fluffy roll with Miso Mayonnaise, Shiso and Yuzu Pickles.   The frenc...