Hot Chocolate…sweet! (but it’s not!)

Today is a bitterly cold Sunday and we decided to try the hot chocolate at L.A. Burdick Shop & Cafe (www.burdickchocolate.com/stores-and-cafes-nyc.asp) with our friends Jackie and Dan.

It is not sweet.  It is rich and fully flavored with shaved chocolate – white, milk or dark – whisked into steamed milk and topped with foam.  Burdick Chocolate has sought out the best cocoa-growing regions in the world. I tried the Venezuelan which has a subtle nutty flavor with hints of roasted almonds and a little coffee. The acidity is moderate and the chocolate does not taste as strong as you might anticipate with a 72% cocoa content.

Dominican
Dark chocolate from the Dominican Republic single source plantation. Wonderful organic chocolate with sublime acidity.

Bolivian
Dark chocolate from Bolivia – mostly from wild cocoa. Notes of grapefruite with a beautiful floral note and elegant mouth feel.

Madagascan
64% chocolate with a very sharp fruity acidity with hints of citrus and vanilla. Medium body wih a long finish.

Ecuadorian
Very earthy robust chocolate that has hints of mint, spices, and coffee with an almost roasted flavor overall. The chocolate has a masculine, full-body character.

Don’t forget to try the pastries.  Here’s the address:  Café & Chocolate Shop, at 5 East 20th Street between 5th Avenue and Broadway.

They have iced hot chocolate too so keep this place on your go-to list all year long.

Enjoy,

the forks

Snout to Tail in Melbourne–Dinner at Josie Bones

Hello Foodies

Tour de Forks’ President Melissa Joachim is in her hometown of Melbourne this month and is iPhone-ing it in, i.e., some great restaurant reviews complete with pictures. Ahhh, vicarious dinning.

A pull on a pair of giant bronze pig trotters, and Melissa found herself inside Melbourne’s brand new Josie Bones Food and Beer, a snout-to-tail eatery with an impressive beer list. They vow to  “match food which will be seasonal, local, entire beast focused, cooked with beer where appropriate….” Proprietor and “head hog”  Chef Chris Bodenoch” would be the decider on the appropriateness – we presume.

Josie Bones is Chris’ baby and he has partnered with his fellow Masterchef contestant Julia Jenkins who must share his sense of humor.  A larger-than-life image of a skinless, headless rabbit – described as oddly erotic – adorns the bar.

But on to the food. Melissa squealed with delight over their signature dish of rolled pig’s head served with gribichem, a mayonnaise-style egg sauce, and crackling. JB offers a crackling du jour, lovely, lovely. She salivated over the grilled lambs tongues which she described as “crispy outside, soft and unctuous within.” Sides?  Eggplant wonderfully flavored with cumin. But the much anticipated black pudding mit green apples was disappointing in its blandness. Dare we say –offal?  We will. Obviously we are having a lot of fun with this.

On to the beer and an inventory which craft beer aficionados proclaim as awesome. The list boasts brews from Bavaria to Nigeria and includes an IPA from New York And of course lots of Aussie ales.

So all you porcine lovin’ crackling eatin’ bear drinkin’ foodies, enjoy!

Chris’s Blog – take a read  http://bit.ly/hI0rfZ

98 Smith Street, Collingwood Melbourne – No reservations.

The Forks

A Taste of Piemonte– for Wine Lovers

Piemonte for foodies and wine lovers – June 26-July 3. Hunt truffles, sip wine in baroque cafes …take a look http://bit.ly/ebQxN5

8 delicious days and 7 starry  nights in gorgeous Piemonte, one of Italy’s most important wine regions and home of the Slow Food movement. This guided tour is an uncommon epicurean adventure. Contact Cindy@cruisemasterstravel.com

Postcards From the Edge

Hello Foodies,

Vintage penny postcards are so romantic and I whiled away some time the other day, in a FlickR e-gallery of some gorgeous old scenes from Italy…

I waxed nostalgic wondering if sending postcards will become a thing of the past. But hold on….there’s an app for that. Postcard. So just whip out your iPhone and snap a pic of your handsome Italian guide next to the Colosseum or your Prosecco bubbling away on that sidewalk cafe table. The app transforms it into an actual “snail mail” postcard. You write your own message and input the addresses of all your friends and frenemies. (They will be sooo jealous.) And then, as the Brits say “ Bob’s your uncle.” Your missive is winging its way across the pond.

Cheap enough at a dollar or two and the service is provided by iTunes. Of course, it doesn’t include those lovely foreign stamps – pity – but it is all very cool.

All the Forks love to photograph food when traveling and share our pics so we will be all over this new app. Behold a penne postcard (tee-hee) I couldn’t resist.

We know of some delicious places in Italy to photograph – and eat – pasta. Call us – no iPhone required.

Connie

Vunderful Vander Bar!

Hello Foodies,

We give a Tip of the Toque to NYC’s Vander Bar (in the Roosevelt Hotel on 45^th Street) not just for their latest menu item Teddy’s Haute Dog – a five-ounce kobe beef wiener served on a larger-than-life brioche bun – but for donating 10% of its $50.00 price tag to City Harvest – a special charity dedicated to feeding New York’s hungry. What’s on it for 50 bucks? Shaved foie gras and caramelized shallots and it comes with black-and-white truffle fries served with a caviar and saffron aioli. If you can’t make it down to the Vander Bar to indulge, you can donate to City Harvest online. ’tis the season.

Enjoy,

the Forks

Christmas in New York – Come to the Table-December 17-20, 2011

Hello Foodies,

We are happy to have partnered with Sur La Table (that fabulous foodie’s emporium) to create a series of uncommon epicurean adventures in New York City. The monthly A Taste of New York Packages will begin this December with a holiday pop.

Accommodations will be at the elegant 4 star Carlton Hotel, in the heart of the city’s hip Madison Square Park district and just steps from Union Square and its urban farmer’s market. The Square also features 100 boutiques in a European-style holiday market. Shop on!  

Limited to a n intimat e group of twelve, participants will also enjoy a guided walking and tasting tour of Manhattan’s storied Lower East Side, a special visit to the talk-of-the town Eataly and a hands-on cooking lesson at NYC’s landmark of Italian dining I Trulli Ristorante followed by a three course lunch. Other meals will include lunch at the iconic Katz’s Deli and a 5 course dinner at the Michelin star Restaurant Annisa. (Celebrity chef Anita Lo of Annisa shown above.) And there will be free time for theater, museums, holiday shopping and of course – more wonderful eating. We have loads oft restaurant recommendations for you and we will be pleased to assist with reservations. 

The 4 day/3night package is priced at $1,380.00 per person based on double occupancy. But hurry, hurry, December’s package must be booked by Friday, December 3^rd. To book, call Sur La Table at 866.292.3302. Click for a full itinerary….or shoot us an email at info@tourdeforks.com. Ask about additional dates for the Taste of New York weekends throughout 2011.

Enjoy,

the Forks

Designing Kitchens at MOMA

Hello Foodies,

New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) now hosts the Modern, one of the city’s finest restaurants, but its permanent collections say little about food. Think of Andy Warhol’s iconic Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962): you could almost taste a spoonful of that tomato soup, though that wasn’t Warhol’s point, was it?

But a new temporary exhibition, Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen on view through March 14, 2011, offers kitchen objects and fine art images by turns whimsical and serious, unified by fine design. The focus of the show is the “Frankfurt Kitchen,” a compact work space designed by Margarete (Grete) Schütte-Lihotzky for residents of the German city’s housing estates after World War I.

Enjoy,

the Forks

TDF Guide Makes "Top Ten Culinary Guides" in WSJ

Hello Foodies,

A long time friend and business colleague of the forks, Marieke Brugman, was just named one of the Top 10 Culinary Guides in the Wall Street Journal, Oct 8th, 2010. Marieke co-founded Howqua Dale, the most renowned gourmet retreat in Australia, but now devotes herself to escorting small culinary tours around the world. She takes small groups to Rajasthan for Tour de Forks. Congratulations, Marieke.

In this photo, Marieke is in Rajasthan with her right-hand man, Durga Singh, a Rajasthani prince.

If you want to know more about our tour to Rajasthan with Marieke, click here.

Cheers,

the Forks

What Makes the Most Important Meal of the Day Delicious?

Hello Foodies,

The answer is Maialino—Danny Meyer’s restaurant located in the Grammercy Park Hotel. The name means little pig, which is a feature of the Italian-themed breakfast. With Tour de Forks alum, Jackie Chasey, we shared Ricotta Pancakes with peach compote and maple syrup, the Porchetta al Uovo (pictured above) – a roast pork, ciabatta, and fried eggs, and Cacio e Pepe Strapazzato – scrambled eggs, pecorino, and black pepper. Our fave was the porchetta. The room has big bay windows that open out to Grammercy Park and the staff are friendly and knowledgeable about every dish on the menu. Since there were three of us, our waitress ordered three fried eggs for our porchetta and cut it into three pieces before we could think to ask. And we think of everything. Make your most important meal of the day delicious at Maialino, located at 2 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10010 (21st St.).

Enjoy,

Lisa

Mad For Fried Chicken!

Hello Foodies,

If you’re mad for fried chicken, we recommend crunching into Mad For Chicken! It’s a fun place located on the second floor of 314 5th Avenue between 31st/32nd streets. Don’t miss a mouthful of this crispy fried chicken!

Choose between two sauces: a delicate Soy Garlic or the unforgettable, Hot & Spicy. The chicken is fresh, organic and makes you happy! I’m still smiling three days later. Plus the music and the infused soju (a Korean distilled rice beverage) adds to the party atmosphere. The rosemary fries are not to be missed. There are other choices on the menu but it’s hard to get past that fried chicken!

Enjoy,

Lisa