Life In Da Burbs

I'm back in the suburbs of NY this time.  I have to say, it fits me.  It's been a while since I last posted something so I'll be tinkering around getting acclimated to the features and will post something delicious soon.  Stay tuned. In the meantime, feast on this.  Chicken Paillard over Fries at Bryant Park Grill.

Perse - Highly Recommended ($$$$) 10 Columbus Circle (4th Floor Time Warner Building) New York, NY To be honest, I have been trying to avoid this place because the thought of dishing out close to 4 hundred dollars a head on a meal was just out of the question. But a good friend flew in from Japan on business and wanted to see us the other night. He had contacted J around 5pm asking her if we could all have dinner that night. In addition, he's quite the gourmand and asked if anyone was serving White Truffles yet. Now (global) recession or not, places that serve fresh white truffles aren't really hurting for business. They actually are doing quite well. But these are only a handful of restaurants frequented by the wealthy. (The rest of us proletarians must save up a few months to literally taste the rich life) So after calling Daniel, Le Cirque, Four Seasons, Le Bernardin, Jean Georges, I got the same reply, "I'm sorry sir, we are fully booked tonight." It was now 5...

・「酒ソムリエ」とはどのようなことをする仕事なのでしょうか？ ワインと同様に酒も酒のみで楽しむだけでなく、料理と一緒に楽しむものだと考えます。 そのため酒のソムリエは、酒についての知識に加えて、それぞれに酒に合った料理を提案することが仕事です。   ・「酒ソムリエ」になるには、どうしたら良いのでしょうか。試験や期間など。 酒のソムリエになるための学校や協会は存在しますが、特別に決まったライセンスがあるわけではありません。 私は特に酒蔵や杜氏の酒造りに対する哲学や酒蔵で利用される酒の原材料や作り方について勉強しました。 また習うより慣れろという諺にもあるように、たくさんの酒を比較しながら試飲しました。     ・アメリカ国内（特にトライステートエリア）では、どのような日本酒が人気なのでしょうか。 ５年前はにごりと吟醸酒が人気でしたが、現在は”山廃”や”生もと”（仕込みのタイプ）が人気です。     ・ニューヨーク・エリアで飲めるカオさんお薦めの日本酒。 ”獺祭”という山口県の酒蔵で作られた純米吟醸酒がお勧めです。甘味と酸味のバランスが非常に良く、アニスの香りがほのかにする獺祭は、日本料理と西洋料理の両方に非常に合うと考えます。   また石川県、車多酒造の天狗舞 山廃もお勧めです。この酒は山廃仕込みなので、発酵期間が通常の酒は２−３週間であるのに対し６週間を要します。発酵期間が長いため酒の味も強くなり、ステーキやジビエなどのメインディッシュに良く合います。     ・アメリカでの美味しい日本酒の飲み方。 最近 10 年間の日本酒は芳醇な香り（ブーケやアロマティック）が特徴で、白ワイン用のグラスで香りを楽しみながら飲みます。   ・アメリカ人のお客さんが多く訪れる、日本食レストランのオーナーやウェイターへのアドバイス。 シェフのお勧め料理にもっとも合う日本酒を自信を持って勧めてください。     ・台湾出身であるカオさんが、「酒ソムリエ」になったきっかけ。 私は台湾生まれアメ...

NYC: Sake Hana Sake Class 4 March 28, 2009 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Sake Class 4 "Rice, Water, Yeast and Mold. Undiluted Sake, Unfiltered Sake, Uncharcoaled Sake" Date & time : March 28th, 6:00pm - 7:30pm $65(include tax, tips) by George Kao (Mutual Trading) For more information or to register, please email: unihandroll@hotmail.com or stop by Sake Hana. Sake Hana 212-327-0582 265 East 78th Street (Between 2nd and 3rd Ave)

NY TIMES : French Cuisine, Exalted by Chefs as a World Heritage Treasure (Warning : Long Post) THEIR battlefield is filled, they know, with hidden land mines and cunning enemies. Owen Franken for The New York Times BOOSTER Guy Savoy wants to preserve culinary traditions. So around a half-dozen French chefs and culinary experts from the ad hoc "French Mission for Food Heritage and Cultures" are preparing for war with weapons they know best. They ate and drank their way through a three-hour strategy session recently to help their country face the daunting task before it: to persuade the United Nations to declare French gastronomy a world treasure. The designation gives a global imprimatur — and global promotion and protection — to the finest cultural expressions around the world. So by the time the roasted figs, the wine-macerated prunes, the chocolate mousse and the Earl Grey sorbet arrived in the private dining room of Guy Savoy , a chef with three Michelin stars, ...

A must go place. Perfect for those late nights when you are stumbling home and need that comfort food to soak up the copious amounts of alcohol you just injested. St. Marks btw 1st and Ave A Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile