New York, New York

Photo Courtesy of Ang Snaps

Dear New York, it's been really, really nice to meet you. 

Life is full of fun contradictions sometimes, like going from shovelling manure compost in your muddy rubber boots one day, to drinking cocktails in your best dress at a swanky New York party the next day. Not that I would trade that gorgeous composted manure ("my precious" as Farmer Tom calls it in his best Smeagul voice) for all the cocktails in the world, but last night was the Saveur Magazine Best Food Blog Awards soirée and I decided to get my ass down to the Big Apple and live it up for a couple days. After all, I've been working hard on the farm and spending an evening mingling with the crème de la crème of the food blogging community is not something to pass up. The amazing team at Saveur Magazine put on a stellar awards night including an array of mouthwatering hors d'oeuvres created by Sensi Executive Chef Royden Ellamar and his team who came down from Las Vegas for the event. The morsels of delight included: 

• Shime Cobia, Wild Ramp, and Olive Escabeche
• Smoked Skuna Salmon and Everything Wonton
• Tartar-ki Roll
• Sweetbread and Morel Pot Sticker
• Foie Gras Dumpling in Pho Broth
• Banh Beo (Vietnamese steamed rice flour cake)

Photo courtesy of Ang Snaps

Photo Courtesty of Ang Snaps

Yum. Yum. Ya-ummm.

One of the highlights of the evening (other than the exciting draw for a Bellagio trip to Las Vegas which was won by the very deserving Lottie and Doof, winner of the best overall cooking blog) was receiving ginormous razor-sharp cleavers with the names of our blogs engraved into them. Thankfully, Saveur is shipping them to us (could have been awkward scene at the airport!)

What an honour it was to meet all these fabulous fellow bloggers!



If you haven't checked out this year's Saveur awards finalists and winners, you should do so (click here) because they are all incredibly talented and creative! Here I am goofing off with the lovely Jen Che from Tiny Urban Kitchen who made this super fun video about learning to make hand-pulled noodles.

Photo courtesy of Ang Snaps

Today I was a wee bit hungover from all of last night's irresistible cocktails, so my day of sight-seeing was somewhat less ambitious than I had planned... but I did manage lunch at ABC Kitchen, which came highly recommended by Saveur's Helen Rosner. 

ABC Kitchen with Jean-Georges is the winner of the James Beard Foundation award for best new restaurant of 2011. It offers a seasonal menu that is locally sourced, organic and GMO-free (yay!!), celebrating sustainability, artistry, and global diversity. Chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichtenl and Daniel Kluger offer an impeccable menu that is fresh and bursting with flavour. I had the raw kale salad with lemon, serranos, and mint (for my own take on raw kale salad, click here) followed by a spice-encrusted monkfish served with green pea puree and carrot vinaigrette, which were exquisite. I haven't had fish that good since I was in my host mom's kitchen in Tunisia! The mint and spices took me right down memory lane. 

So farewell dear New York. It was fun and my belly is happy. I enjoyed your vibrant, contagious energy. There is such a sense of purpose and accomplishment in this city that just being here for 2 days, I feel like I might have absorbed by osmosis a little bit of that New Yorker ambition to think big and pursue your wildest dreams with passion and determination. So New York, let's do it all again soon, shall we?