Mercedes-Benz Dinner at James Beard House/ Taqueria

At the end of October Mercedes-Benz sponsored a four-course dinner for 50 VIP guests at the James Beard House in New York City.  Chefs and cooks from ABC Kitchen, Eleven Madison Park, Restaurant August, and Locanda Verde all teamed up to create one spectacular course each for one very high end meal.

Bring on the red carpet

This was my first time inside the famous James Beard House.  James Beard was an influential American chef and food writer who passed away in 1985.  The James Beard Foundation was named in his honor, which annually recognizes and praises chefs and food writers across the country.  Peter Kump, a former student of James and founder of the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), purchased the brownstone home of the late James Beard and preserved it as a gathering place for the general public to enjoy the artistry and talents of established and emerging chefs.

Not having much prep work, and having a car waiting for us outside, Chef Dan Kluger, I, and Minh, one of the chefs from 11 Madison Park took a field trip to buy staff meal for everyone.  We traveled to the lower east side to Taqueria, a favorite taco restaurant of Chef Kluger.  Taqueria has a lot of style and is real deal Mexican, even listing a photo on the wall of everything they don't offer that is stereotypical.  It's "crema fresca", not sour cream, get it right.

Taken from Yelp.com

Eataly: La Pizza

"It's every chef's wet dream."

A culinary mecca in the heart of NYC.  Eataly is the largest Italian food and wine marketplace in the world, housing 50,000 square feet of artisanal products, in a former toy building in the heart of the Flatiron district.

Brought to you by the Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich group, Eataly is a site to be seen.  If you're a self-proclaimed foodie, walking through this culinary phenomenon will leave you in nothing short of awe and amazement.

Five different restaurants.  Nine different vendors.  Walls upon walls and endless aisles of fresh cheeses, breads, farm-fresh produce, dried pastas, olive oils, wine, cookbooks, specialty meats, fresh seafood, coffee, gelato, and so forth.  If you haven't walked through Eataly yet, now is the time.

Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business

Arguably the biggest restauranteur in New York City and possibly the country, Danny Meyer's name is synonomous with hospitality.  He is the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes such New York restaurant institutions as Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Shake Shack, North End Grill, Untitled, Maialino, Blue Smoke, Union Square Events, Cafe 2, Terrace 5, and his business "school" Hospitality Quotient. 

"Virtually nothing else is important as how one is made to feel in a business transaction.  Hospitality exists when you feel the other person is on your side.  The converse is just as true.  Hospitality is present when something happens for you.  It is absent when something happens to you.  These two simple propositions - for and to - express it all." 

Bon Appetit Presents "Feast or Fashion"

Where the food and fashion worlds collide.

Chef Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen

At the tail end of NYC's premier fashion week, Bon Appetit magazine invited Chef Dan Kluger and the crew of ABC Kitchen to cook in the beautiful, high-tech home of fashion designer Lela Rose.  The goal here was to feed 50 of Lela's high end guests, one of which included Chef Mario Batali, a multi-course, "pull out all stops" type of sit-down dinner.  Dinner challenge accepted.

As chefs and cooks we are always wary of cooking at off-site events.  You never know what you're walking into.  Never know how big the space is, what type of cooking equipment will be on hand, how demanding guests are, etc.  We are taken out of our comfort zones where we know our kitchens like the back of our hands, where proper cooking temperatures and timing are key.  Luckily, we did not run into any major challenges at this event, and that is more so due in part to Lela Rose's home.

Four stories set inside a swanky Soho building, which included a living room displayed to the street, of which the floor electronically lifts up to act as a runway.  A dessert table which lowered from the ceiling.  A stainless steel kitchen equipped with all major cooking appliances, an eight-burner stove, and an elevator which dropped down to subsequent levels including a hidden linen area.  Finish it off with a kid's playroom which was the size of most NY apartments, and a suede-laced hidden drinking room in the basement and you have yourself a home that would make anyone jealous.

Tacos el Idolo Food Truck

After my visit to Tacos el Bronco a few weeks ago in Brooklyn, my mouth has been watering for more tasty, authentic tacos in NY.  Located just two blocks from the West Village location of Gray's Papaya, I couldn't help but try out the tacos from the Food Truck of Tacos el Idolo.

Even though I've never been to the West Coast (I'll make it there in November, pick your jaw back up!), and hardly remember my last visit to Texas, people from those areas constantly say that authentic Mexican food in NYC does not measure up.  Honestly, that makes me upset.  NYC is known as a food mecca, and the fact that I can't find something really authentic here pisses me off.  With that being said, I can't wait to try out the Mexican food in California when I make it out there later this year.

That being said, I guess I'll settle for what I think are some great places here.  Tacos El Idolo is based out of Corona, Queens, and has about three to four food trucks parked around NY.  What really drew me to try them out was their meat selection.  Along with the usual carnitas, beef, chicken, spicy pork, and salty beef, they also offer tongue, tripe, ear, and even goat meat.  You know I'm always on the lookout for offal cuts.  Tacos El Idolo did not disappoint.