Welcome Back Taste of LIC 2014

It's officially June, which is exciting in itself because summer's coming, but also because we get to celebrate the the best of the LIC food scene through the Taste of LIC.  Organized by the Chocolate Theater, the Taste of LIC is one of my favorite Queens tasting events, with the best eateries in LIC, Astoria, Sunnyside, Woodside and the surrounding area, showcasing their finest.  It's also the place where new restaurants come to preview as well as tried and true places showcase new seasonal bites. Needless to say, it's an all around fantastic gathering that gets the community together and where people show off their LIC pride!

Each year, the event seems to get bigger and bigger, bursting with restaurants, specialty food purveyors and talented entrepreneurs.  Below are just some of the establishments I'm personally excited to see, but they're all really fabulous.

51st Bakery and Cafe
Alewife
Alobar
Antidote Chocolate
Bear
Casa Enrique
M.Wells
Mar's Oyster Bar
Rest-au-Rant
Sweetleaf

Here's a full list of participants as well as the essential event details:

Taste of LIC, Tuesday, June 3rd
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Gantry State Park, 49th Avenue & Center Blvd, LIC

Purchase your tickets here

Stand-Outs at Queens Tech Bash – Arrogant Swine, Bear, Ice and Vice

Last week, Meg and I attended the Queens Tech Bash, a fabulous event at MOMA PS1, which was organized by the Coalition for Queens. Holding a mission to “foster the Queens tech ecosystem,” I learned a great deal about the amazing tech companies springing up right in LIC and about the talented people behind them.

Loving the creative setting of this event, which was held in the MOMA PS1 performance dome, I was happy to see a few of Queens’ culinary influencers there—serving up delicious food and drink to the participants and honorees. Amongst them were hogmaster, Tyson Ho of the Arrogant Swine; Natasha and Alex of Bear Restaurant; Lisa and Alex of LIC Market; Paul and Ken of Ice and Vice as well as the awesome guys behind the Korilla BBQ truck.

I enjoyed everything I ate that night, and appreciated the diversity in cuisine. 

Arrogant Swine – Indulging in whole hog BBQ just about a month ago at my friend Adam’s pig soiree, I couldn’t wait to do it all over again with Tyson’s version. The beauty of Tyson’s offering is that he makes use of the whole hog and mixes all the different cuts into one plate. The result is a rich, moist plate of pork goodness that just coats your insides with love.

Bear – Since the amazing press Bear has been getting lately (Chef Natasha was featured on Food Network’s Chopped, the NY Daily News, Village Voice, Edible Queens, the Fancy Food Show and more!), it was fun to see these guys in action. Offering a little bite of Ukrainian flavor, Chef Natasha composed a pretty plate of deviled eggs, cured meat and a toasted dark bread cracker.

LIC Market – Loving the healthy spin Lisa and Alex brought with their heirloom radish salad, it was nice to see some local freshness on a plate. Thinly sliced, colorful pieces of radish adorned each plate and were bound together with a creamy, smoked trout dressing.

Korilla BBQ – Really excited to find out these guys were here, I immediately went to find the truck and get myself a Korean taco. Since I’ve already had several meat variations of this dish, I opted for the spicy tofu instead and wasn’t sorry. The tofu held its own and was strongly supported by the spicy hot sauce, crunchy veggies such as carrots, cilantro and squash. It was the most substantial plate of the night and made me pleasantly full.

Ice and Vice – We couldn’t resist capping the night off with something sweet and moseyed on over to the Ice and Vice cart, which is a charming little push cart filled with creamy goodness. Featuring three ice cream flavors, including the pumpkin seed, Coffeed, and goat cheese ice cream, I tried a sampling of each one. The goat cheese and the Coffeed were my faves (in that order), the former having a little bit of tang but not in an overpowering way.

We had a great time at this event, and it was awesome to see the many talented people of LIC collaborating and celebrating each other. I look forward to supporting the Coalition for Queens and its tech community efforts in the future. A big congrats to all the honorees that night including Elias Roman from Songza, Marleen Vogelaar from Shapeways, and Dion Ridley from CreativeWorx.

The 8th Annual Taste of LIC is Coming

One of my favorite, local summer tasting events is the upcoming Taste of LIC.  I look forward to this event each year, as I relish in getting a flavor (and sometimes a sneak peek) of a number of local culinary stand-outs from LIC, Astoria and the neighboring area.  

It's a lot of fun to not only find your trusty staples here such as Tournesol, Manducatis Rustica, and Vesta, but also newcomers such as S. Prime Steakhouse, Casa Enrique, Van Alst Kitchen and others.

Aside from it being a good way to taste great local food, it's always fun to come out and mix and mingle with local business owners, as well as to meet old and new friends.  The whole thing is one big (well-organized) party.  Here are the details and how you can score your tickets.

8th Annual Taste of LIC
Tuesday, June 4th from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. - general admission
$50 per person - purchase your tickets

Please find a list of participating restaurants, food & beverage partners.
I can't wait to see you there!

NY Taste is Back at a New Venue

Those of you who've been to your fair share of tasting events know that they're a lot of fun, giving you access to some of the City's crem della crem restaurants that aren't always the easiest to get into and aren't always the most wallet friendly.  I really love New York Taste in particular, as it's a great conglomeration of New York's best, often giving me ideas of where to go throughout the year and really judging for myself whether the hype of a certain new restaurant is worth it.

This year's event on Monday, November 5th (from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.) is particularly exciting, as it's being hosted in a new venue the historic Waterfront, which was built in 1891, providing a blend of history and modernity.

I was also excited to see the impressive list of restaurants that will be featured at this year's event.  Here's a sampling, but you can check them all out on NY Taste's site.
  * A Voce * Aldea * Benoit * Bistro La Promenade * BLT Fish * Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns * Bobo * Booker and Dax at Momofuku Ssam * Brushstroke * Clover Club * Corton * Crave Fishbar * Ed’s Chowder House * FP Patisserie * Hill Country * La Silhouette * Le Bernardin * Le Cirque * Lincoln * Morimoto * NoMad Restaurant * Osteria Morini * Porter House New York * Recette * Red Rooster Harlem * Rouge Tomate * SHO Shaun Hergatt * Telepan * Tertulia * William Greenberg Desserts * Wong *

I hope this little preview, as well as my pictures from past events have whet your appetite.

You can purchase your tickets here, for which a portion of the proceeds go to City Harvest, to help fight hunger.

Taste of LIC is Around the Corner

Image by The Chocolate Factory

I'm pleased to tell you that one of my favorite tasting events is back again next week, which is the Taste of LIC.    Not just another typical tasting frenzy, this one combines the deliciousness of over 50 restaurants, bars and cafes in and around LIC (a lot are from Astoria too!).

It's always a highlight for me, as it's very well organized and I enjoy learning about new exciting local eats, as sometimes restaurants unveil new dishes or sometimes even exclusive eats prepared just for the event.  

An added element just this year is the Malu ice cream competition that has been going on for some time.  The two finalists, who have devised tantalizing new flavors such as Shiraz Rocky Road and Pear Belle Helene, and the winner will be unveiled at the event.  You'll also be able to taste these goodies at the Malu table, which totally rocks.

Even though I'm looking forward to checking out all the exhibitors, the ones I'm pumped to check out in particular include:

Alewife
Alobar
Antidote
Casa Enrique
Chimney Cake
M.Wells Dinette
Malu
MitchMallows
Slovak-Czech Varieties

The fun starts on Tuesday, June 5th at 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. 
Buy your tickets here!

Hope to see you there, and if you see me, don't be shy and please say hi!

Foundation Rwanda's Food + Fotos Feeds & Inspires

Tonight I was fortunate enough to attend a fabulous food & photography benefit, hosted by Foundation Rwanda.  Having the opportunity to see what this was all about during their first event just two years ago, year three proved to be just as fruitful and inspiring.  I say inspiring because of its honorable cause of raising money and providing support to the women and children affected by the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Aside from all the delectable food, I'm about to describe, I must say a few words on behalf of why this charity was founded by Jules Shell and Jonathan Torgovnik.  Touched by the stories of the women of Rwanda, Torgovnik came to know while on a photography project, he was inspired to take action and help those women raped during the genocide and in turn, their children.  To date, the foundation has sponsored up to 830 children, providing them with education and a better quality of life.  I encourage you to find out more this honorable foundation, and to get involved.

But now on to the details of this fabulous benefit and of course the excellent food.  Boasting 12 elegant tasting tables, spanning from well-known tapas restaurants such as Tia Pol, to the artisanal Italian trio, L'artusi, dell'anima and Anfora, to the fresh Patron margarita tasting station, the event had it all.  I especially loved the fun mixology elements of the evening and got a kick out of the Patron juicer station, in which you can get your own lemon/lime juicer engraved with anything you wanted.  
Aside from all that fun, here are my food standouts:

Char No. 4's Chopped Pork Shoulder Sandwich - Being my favorite dish of the night, I went back for seconds.  Everything from the pillowy-light bun to the perfectly tender pork, flavored with mustard barbecue sauce, was spot on and worked beautifully together.  Although I wasn't familiar with this restaurant before, it sure piqued my interest to try it soon and test their other dishes.

dell'anima's Roasted Red Pepper Soup - Judging by the quickness with which they were replenishing their tasting plates, I gathered this was a popular dish.  It sure was an interesting way to go, as sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to work a tasting event.  The flavors in the soup were deeply developed - aside from its earthy contents, the accouterments on top, including almonds, yogurt and parmesan were just the icing on the proverbial cake.   Oh...I mean soup.

Fatty' Cue's East Coast Oysters - It was so exciting to me to see these giant, juicy looking oysters, packed with briny goodness.  What gave them that "Fatty" signature style was the smoked tomato sangrita, which was your cocktail sauce raised to the nth level.  Needless to say, I went back for seconds.

Gramercy Tavern's Chocolate Pecan and Coconut Cake - Remembering Chef Nancy Olson's bodacious monkey bread at Taste of the Nation, I was excited to try her take on German Chocolate Cake.  To say I wasn't disappointed would be an understatement, as each layer was thought out carefully, consisting of chocolate ganache, pecan and coconut cake.  It was gooey, rich and all things wonderful.  I just loved how the top maintained its chiseled look, giving it poise and elegance.

I'd love to thank the organizers of this event for inviting me out tonight.  It was an honor celebrating with you, and I hope this year leads to more good things for Foundation Rwanda.  Cheers to that!

New York Taste is Back!

New York Taste is back again this year, with another rich offering of culinary pleasures all under one roof.  I gladly attended and covered the event last year, and this year I'm psyched to do it again.  An impressive tasting event, showcasing some of the best culinary talent in NYC and the opportunity to mix and mingle with the chefs themselves, it's really special.  But before you immerse yourself in this food fantasy, I'd like to offer you my top 10 personal tips for making your night at New York Taste a tad more successful:

Foodista's top 10 tips for getting the most out of New York Taste:

1.  Arrive early and beat all the hungry crowds - that means, arrive as soon as you are allowed to.
2.  Do a quick walk through of the entire room before you grab food - that way, you'll know what's out there and what you want most.
3.  Avoid desserts until the end - there will be plenty left and they're best enjoyed if not mixed with savory dishes.
4.  Try more unusual restaurants you've never heard of.  Chances are they'll be less crowded and the food just as (if not more) delicious than some of the hyped up all-stars.
5.  Strike up a conversation with the head chef who's often at his/her table.  When else will you get that chance? Ask for their personal food favorites and recommendations.
6.  Take lots of pics.  Don't be shy to take pics of the food and your favorite chefs.  They love the attention.   
7.  Don't forget to drink - mostly water to keep yourself hydrated and to cleanse your palate after all the different food combos you'll have that night.
8.  Make new friends - mix and mingle with your fellow attendees.  Chances are you'll have a lot in common since they're all foodies, like you.
9.  Eat Slow - although it'll be hard not to eat each dish quickly in order to move on to the next best thing, don't be tempted and enjoy your food slowly, savoring each bite.
10.  Stop when it's time - when your belly has had enough, you'll know.  Don't be afraid to take a break (the food will still be there when you come back) or to stop altogether.  You don't want to walk out of feeling stuffed like a sausage.

And here are all the important details you'll need to know about this event:

New York Taste
Monday, November 1st from 6:00 (VIP) to 9:00 p.m.
Skylight Studios - 275 Hudson Street (at Dominick Street)

Chefs Attending: Andrew Carmellini (Locanda Verde), Anita Lo (Annisa), George Mendes (Aldea), Marcus Samuelsson (Red Rooster), Masaharu Morimoto (Morimoto)

Tastings By: Aldea, Annisa, Aquavit, August, BLT Fish, Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Buddakan NYC, Colicchio & Sons, Convivio, DANIEL, Dovetail, EN Japanese Brasserie, Fulton, Graffiti, Hill Country Chicken, I Trulli, james, Kefi, Kittichai, La Biblioteca, La Fonda del Sol, Lani Kai, Le Bernadin, Locanda Verde, Millesime, Morimoto, Park Avenue Autumn Pegu Club, Porter House New York, Quattro Gastronomia Italiana, Recette, Red Rooster Harlem, Riverpark, SHO Shaun Hergatt, Telepan Restaurant, The Meatball Shop, Wallsé, Zengo

A portion of the evening's proceeds will be donated to City Harvest, to help fight hunger.

Get your tickets here.