NYC BABY!!!

OK, well, I was only there for about 3-4 days 2 weeks ago and let me tell you, it was fabulous!!!!!!!!! First night, we settled into the Waldorf Astoria (OBama and McCain were there too). My new associate Blake (who just recently left Smith and Wollensky's) strolled around the village and dined at a wonderful little placed called Extra Virgin. I had the hanger steak with shiitake mushrooms and a lovely pinot noir. Blake had the lamb. Then, we headed to Spice Market where we met all 6 chefs. Scott Popovic, corporate chef for Certified Angus Beef headed the dinner for James Beard that was held on Friday, the 17th. They had 7 courses planned all incorporating beef since it was sponsered by Certified Angus Beef, while celebrating their 30th anniversary as a company. We had drinks there which were pretty fabulous, my favorite was there ginger margarita. I like ginger, if it's fresh and muddled properly.

Ok, 2nd night that we were there, Blake and I attended Wine Spectator's annual California Experience Wine Tasting held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. It was 4 hours of tasting the best wines out of Napa and Sonoma!! Some major highlights for me were Gemstone Yountville 2005, which was a rare heritage clones of Cabernet, Merlot and Petit Verdot. It had raspberry and plum notes that were just delightful. The Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Special Selection 2006 was incredibly smooth and well-balanced. One wine that stuck out because of it's vintage and bold taste was the Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello 1978. That was the first time I've gotten to try a 30 year old Cab. Very fabulous. By the end of the tasting, my associate and I were a little tipsy, so it was time to take off and meet up with Manny at the Waldorf, to help transfer the food that was prepped (most of the prep work was done in the Waldorf's huge kitchen) to James Beard House. It was raining and cold outside, but we managed to get everything in the vans.

Wake up call: 7am. on Friday morning. We (the chefs and the corporate peeps from Certified Angus Beef) meet in the lobby of our hotel and head to Pastis in the Village for Breakfast (I had the eggs benedict, yum!), then off to tour DeBragga and Spitler, one of the oldest and biggest meats/poultry/specialities provider in New York. Marc Sarrazin, our tour guide and president of the company is a 3rd generation butcher. He was charming, insightful and a very down to earth guy. We got to see where they dry-age their meat (this is where some of the best chefs in the world get their beef from, cough, Tom Colicchio, cough), hang their pigs and cut their products. We even got to see them vacuum seal and finish the last stages of the process. I particularly loved the fashionable booties and hairnets that completed my outfit.

After tour, nap, then Central Park.

Then, the James Beard Dinner. I head to the house, arrive and immedietely start tasting wine that was provided by the lovely people at Hess Collection out of Napa. The next few hours was me hauling my buns up and down the four floors from the boardroom to the kitchen, where I took lots of pictures of the chefs plating, then running back upstairs to pour wine for DeBragga's table (aaawwh! Pressure!), to back in the kitchen to pour wine and open beers for the chefs. I was gopher extraordinare. And I loved every minute!!!

Ok, to my favorite part, Pegu Club. Oh, Pegu, my mecca. The cocktail list was sooooooo good. My absolute favorite was the Pisco Punch. Pisco, fresh juices, shaken, served on the rocks in a old champagne looking glass. Of course, they would never give you the recipes, but the flavor profiles were amazing. We sit down, and Chef Popovic tells me that since Mixology is my department, I will be ordering drinks for all the chefs. Wtf?! No, problem. I ordered him a Pegu Club Cocktail, I ordered Maggie (Intertnational Account Manager for CAB) an Earl Grey Martini. I ordered Chef Cedric (from the famed Waldorf) a Pisco Punch and then I eventually just ordered the whole drink menu. Now, my intent was to steal a copy of famous drink menu, but as I looked around at the staff, that was not possible. One of my favorites, only for it's unique and admorable tastes was the "Red Pepper, Red Pepper" which consisted of Tequila, peppers, and fresh juices. And of course, garnished with a mini-red pepper. The whole time we imbibed at Pegu, my ego kept telling me, "I could work here." The night rolled on, and like Vegas, what happened there, stays there, but we all had a ball. I would like to formally thank the chefs and all the people at Certified Angus Beef for a wonderful experience and adventure. It was a trip to NY that I will never forget. I also hope to be back at the lovely James Beard House in the near future.

Salut!