Q & A With SHO's Shaun Hergatt
Shaun Hergatt is either brave or crazy. This Australian chef dared open SHO amidst the economic recession, in the heart of Wall Street nonetheless. While critics were busy declaring fine dining dead, he defied the odds, receiving a Michelin star and two stars from the New York Times. Hergatt’s Financial District eatery is still going strong, due in large part to his, innovative French-Asian cooking. “When you fuse the techniques and creaminess found in French cooking to the Asian flavor profile, you get a fusion that just works on the palette,” Hergatt explains. But he readily admits a soft spot for comfort food. When he’s craving Southeast Asian on his night off, Hergatt dines out at Nha Trang (one of our favorites, too) located in Chinatown. Single/Married/Divorced? Married What was your first job in food and what did you learn? When I was 17, I did a four-year apprenticeship at a...
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Q & A With Park Avenue Chef Kevin Lasko
Chef Kevin Lasko’s career trajectory is proof that anything is possible in the kitchen. Lasko has come a long way from working as a short order cook at the Jersey Shore to working for Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the Mercer Kitchen in just a few years. “I didn’t even know who Jean-Georges was when I first started,” Lasko admits. “But the food was just so much better than anything I had ever seen.” Lasko is now the executive chef at the uber-seasonal Park Avenue restaurant, planning a new, seasonally-driven menu four times a year. “That’s the biggest challenge,” Lasko said. “Trying to figure out the next season’s menu and developing new dishes when there are no products available from the next season.” While it may be a bit of a challenge, Lasko will soon get to plan for his favorite incarnation:...
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Q & A with Porter House's & C-CAP Honoree Michael Lomonaco
Chef Michael Lomonaco, a veteran of the New York restaurant scene, helped pioneer New American cooking in this country. He commanded the kitchen at the 21 Club and Windows on the World until 9/11. Nowadays, Lomonaco is the chef/owner of Porter House, a classic American steakhouse, located in the Time Warner Center. More importantly, chef Lomonaco’s accomplishments aren’t confined to the kitchen. He’s also been a mentor with the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), which awards culinary schools scholarships to high school students and helps them get jobs in the industry. This year, C-CAP is honoring Lomonaco for generous contributions to the program for the past twenty years. The reception will take place at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers this Wednesday, February 16th, with appetizers prepared by some of New York’s best chefs, including Michael White, Marcus Samuelsson and Dan Barber. How...
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Q & A with Chef Alain Allegretti
Chef Alain Allegretti may have been named Eater’s sexiest chef, but he’s much more than just a pretty face. The French ex-pat debuted on the New York dining scene more than 10 years ago as the co-executive chef at Le Cirque and followed that gig up with his own eponymous restaurant, Allegretti. It was there New Yorkers fell in love with his Provencal cooking, particularly his fish soup. Sadly, the restaurant closed and Alain Allegretti was a chef without a kitchen. He returns to the restaurant world at La Petite Maison, an offshoot of a famous restaurant in southern France. Seeing as Allegretti grew up in Nice, he was the perfect candidate to oversee the kitchen at their first, stateside outpost. “I was essentially tailor-made for LPM,” Allegretti says. Let’s hope they can break the curse of the 54th...
Read MoreQ & A With Turks & Frogs' Osman Cakir
Osman Cakir had no intentions of becoming a restaurateur. He began his career as an antique collector. One day, he decided to transform his West Village shop into what maybe believe was New York’s first wine bar, Turks & Frogs. Cakir designed every inch of the Turks and Frogs in the West Village and Tribeca, as well as the interior of his newly opened cocktail bar, Orient Express. This gorgeous spot in the West Village, outfitted with bronze luggage racks and wood paneling, is modeled after the European train of the same name. Cakir is currently developing a Turks & Frogs wine label, made with Turkish grapes, of course. He’s so passionate about bringing good Turkish wine to American that he calls it “a cultural mission.” Until his wines debut, you can sample Turkish wines or cocktails called, The...
Read MorePeanut Butter & Jelly Cocktail
Happy National Peanut Butter Day! This is even better than my birthday. Yes, really. Peanut butter, especially the chunky type, might just be my favorite food. Oh, the velvety texture, the crazy crunch, and the intoxicating roasted peanut butter perfume. I have absolutely no control around anything laced with peanut butter (Le Vain’s chocolate peanut butter chip cookies come to mind), but I’ve never had a peanut butter and jelly cocktail until now! PB & J CocktailCreated By Gianfranco (Tippling Bros.) Ingredients 1.5 oz Flor de Caña 7 yr rum .5 oz Lustau Palo Cortado Vides .25 oz Strawberry jam .25 oz Peanut syrup* (recipe below) *1 Egg white 1 banana PreparationShake all ingredients in a shaker without ice, then add ice and shake vigorously again.Strain into a chilled cocktail glass that is rimmed with minced salted-peanuts. For the...
Read MoreQ & A with RBC NYC's Director Cora Lambert
New York’s not typically late in the game to anything. But places like Seattle and Portland were setting trends in coffee before us. Finally, New Yorkers are taking their coffee more seriously than ever. There’s options far beyond Starbuck’s nowadays, like Stumptown, Intelligentsia and Cafe Grumpy. But for hard-core coffee fanatics, none quite compare to RBC NYC in Tribeca, or more specifically, to its Slayer an$ 18,000 custom made espresso machine. This high-tech piece of equipment needs a skilled operator, which is where Cora Lambert comes in. Lambert, the coffee director at RBC NYC, oversees the art of stellar coffee here. She controls the brewing pressure of the Slayer to alter drinks’ flavor and body. To coffee drinkers, that’s a big responsibility. One of her most popular creations is the Vietnamese coffee, which is made with both sweetened...
Read MoreColicchio & Son's Caramelized Gingerbread
By Pastry Chef Stephen Collucci (Serves 12) Ingredients 3/4 cup molasses 3 eggs 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup oil 2 cups all-purpose flour 11/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup water Procedure 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Whisk molasses, egg, and sugar together in a bowl. Add oil and mix to combine. 3. Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and slowly add to the wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until thoroughly combined. 4. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake 30 minutes. 5. Slice and serve with creme fraiche ice cream or spread with cream cheese. 6. The batter can also be poured into a greased muffin tin and baked for...
Read MoreQ & A with Locanda Verde's Josh Nadel
Locanda Verde is a lovable restaurant for many reasons, like lamb meatball sliders, fire-roasted garlic chicken, outstanding desserts and a terrific and extremely affordable wine list. While most people associate Locanda Verde with chef Andrew Carmellini, Beverage Director Josh Nadel also has a lot to do with the restaurant’s success. Though he may not look it, Nadel’s practically a veteran in the New York restaurant scene. He earned praise as a sommelier at both Cru and Veritas before joining Andrew Carmellini at Locanda Verde in the Greenwich Hotel. To think, he had no formal training whatsoever. Instead, he taught himself traveling through Italy and on the job, quickly becoming one of the best sommeliers in the country. (I’ve personally discovered some of my new favorites at dinner at Locanda, like the Rivolta Falanghina 2008. The menu also features some...
Read MoreBar 44's Martha Washington's Rum Punch
Ingredients 15 oz Fresh Lemon Juice 15 oz Fresh Orange Juice 15 oz Spiced Simple Syrup 15 oz Flor de Cana 4yr Rum 20 oz Appleton 12yr Extra Rum 10 oz Orange Curacao Nutmeg Preparation Present punch bowl with ice to the guest. Add all ingredients to Parisian shakers with two small tins worth of crushed ice. Shake till ice dissipates. Then deliver to table and pour. Finish with full lemon and half orange wheels and fresh grated nutmeg. Address: The Royalton Hotel, 44 West 44th St., btwn 5th & 6th Aves. Phone:...
Read MoreQ & A with Chef Seamus Mullen
Chef Seamus Mullen played a crucial role in the tapas trend that hit New York, back in 2006. After all, it was Mullen who ran the kitchen at Boqueria, where he served classic Spanish tapas with a distinctly seasonal twist. Having recently left his executive chef post at Boqueria, Mullen is now a free agent, and this may just be his break out moment. While he’s well known for flare for Spanish food, he’s also well versed in cuisines from all over the map, including Indian. In fact, he spent time in Tabla’s kitchen with Floyd Cardoz and he’s crafted a Mediterranean-inspired menu for Crudo. This Thursday, October 21st through the 23rd, Mullen will be cooking at The Feast, a 1920s-inspired pop-up restaurant. “I am really intrigued by the 1920s,” Mullen explains. “I think of it as a golden...
Read MoreQ&A with Po's Steven Crane
It’s not easy to open a restaurant in New York, and it’s even harder to keep it open after the newness has worn off. But Po has managed to not only survive the New York dining scene, but also thrive and even get better with age. After two decades, Po is still going strong, which has a lot to do with its owner, Steven Crane. When Po first opened, Crane was partnered with chef Mario Batali, who also helmed the kitchen. Though Batali’s no longer in the picture, the restaurant is still going strong. Crane has managed to keep Po relevant with its phenomenally fresh pastas, seasonal menu and commitment to neighborhood purveyors. But Crane started out as a dish washer in the Jersey Shore in the 1970’s. He worked in California waiting tables for several years, then moved...
Read MoreQ & A with Aquavit's Marcus Jenmark
Aquavit Chef Marcus Jenmark says he wants to be, “the ambassador of Scandinavian food in New York.” He’s already off to a great start. After traveling the world showcasing Swedish ingredients and cooking techniques as part of a venture called Culinary Sweden, the former hockey player got a job as a chef for the Swedish Consulate in Manhattan. And now he’s on an even bigger stage, Aquavit, where Chef Marcus Samuelsson first broke out on the city’s culinary scene. Since taking over as head chef this year, Chef Jenmark has reinvented Aquavit’s menu by introducing more traditional Scandinavian fare. His cooking his classic, yet imaginative, like bone marrow-crusted lobster, Berkshire pork loin with sweet corn creme, summer succotash and poached fig in a foie gras broth. Single/Married/Divorced? Married, and we’re expecting a little one any day now!What did you...
Read MoreQ & A with Tiella's Peppe Castellano
If you’re from the Boston area, you’re probably familiar with Gran Gusto’s terrifically thin-crusted pizzas. Peppe Castellano not only made a name for himself with his pizzas, but also his flair for seafood. But if you come to New York peddling pizzas, they better be exceptional. “In New York, it’s the war of the pizza,” says Chef Pepe Castellano. Instead of pizza, Castellano is focusing on Neopolitan cooking, minus the trademark pizzas, at Tiella, his new restaurant located on the Upper East Side. Instead of pizza, you’ll find stracciatella with truffles, spinach flan with a sweet gorgonzola sauce, and butternut squash risotto with shrimp and mint. While most chefs are buying local Castellano imports 80% of his ingredients from Italy. Single/Married/Divorced Engaged. What did you want to be when you grew up? I always wanted to be a chef. ...
Read MoreQ & A with Calexico's Jesse Vendley
If you’re serious about Mexican, you’re probably familiar with the Calexico Cart. If you’re not, you’re missing out. Their carne asada could bring you to your knees. But the food isn’t 100% Mexican. Jesse Vendley dubs it, “a hybrid cuisine influenced by Mexican cuisine and American barbecue.” The Calexico Cart, run by Jesse Vendley and his two brothers, is the result of Jesse’s craving for home and Calexico-style Mexican cooking. This Southern California native loves carne asada the way most New Yorkers love pizza, but he couldn’t find a worthy version when he first moved to New York City 15 years ago. So Vendley perfected his grandmother’s recipe by using premium cuts of meats and boldly flavored marinades and launched the Calexico Cart with his brothers, Dave and Brian, in 2006. His efforts paid off. In the past four...
Read MoreQ & A With Lure's Josh Capon
How many great seafood restaurants have bragging rights to a terrific burger? Lure Fishbar does and Chef Josh Capon has a lot to do it. His burger won the people’s choice award at last year’s New York Wine and Food Festival. In fact, this fall, restaurateur John McDonald and Josh Capon are teaming up again to open a burger bar called Burger and Barrel in Soho, which will serve small steaks and chicken paillard. Pretty impressive for a guy who used to cook chicken parm for his fraternity brothers at University of Maryland. Capon has proved himself a versatile chef, as talented with seafood as he is with meat. Capon trained under Charlie Palmer at Aureole and David Burke, who he credits as his mentor. “David Burke taught me how to have fun with food,” he explains. His...
Read MoreQ & A with Four and Twenty Blackbirds’ Melissa and Emily Elsen
The sisters behind Brooklyn’s favorite pie shop, Four and Twenty Blackbirds, have baking in their genes. While growing up in South Dakota, Melissa and Emily Elsen learned the craft from their Grandma Liz, who baked all the pies for their family’s restaurant in South Dakota. She taught the Elsen sisters the importance of using seasonal, fresh fruit and the secrets to a phenomenal crust. Our favorites are the caramel apple pie with a thick, sea-salt studded crust and pear ginger pie. Brooklyn may be thousands of miles from South Dakota, but the Elsen sisters kept their grandmother’s lessons close when they began running a pie business out of their Crown Heights apartment. They opened their shop this past year and got immediate praise from the New York Times for their take on this classic American dessert. Melissa and Emily’s pies feature the freshest fruits of each season...
Read MoreQ & A with Annisa's Anita Lo
Opening your own restaurant is a daunting task in and of itself, but Anita Lo had to open Annisa twice. Last year, a fire destroyed her thriving West Village eatery. And just a few months earlier, she closed Bar-Q, another one of her restaurants. Instead of calling it a day, she started over again and rebuilt Annisa from the ground up. She and her partner even hired a feng shui consultant to clear the “bad energy” in the space. Second time around, Annisa’s just as successful and beloved by New Yorkers. She’s revived her now-classic, foie gras soup dumplings and miso-marinated sable in a bonito broth and added seasonal newcomers, like softshell crabs with summer squash, lardo and sea urchin. Following her appearance on Top Chef Masters, she says she’s still suffering from “Post-Traumatic Top Chef disorder” and next...
Read MoreIl Matto's Clamato Mary
Ingredients 1 1/2 ounce of gin 3 ounces of clam juice 1/2 ounce of worcestisher sauce a splash of lemon juice salt pepper fresh thyme PreparationIn a mixing bar glass, add all of the ingredients, ice, and stir. Garnish with thyme. Il MattoAddress: 281 Church St., btwn. Frankln & Avenue of the AmericasPhone:...
Read MoreThe Local Store's Spicy Corn on the Cob
Corn on the Cob with Spicy Lime ButterBy Richele Ingredients 4 good sized firm ears of corn from the greenmarket. (Don’t husk them when you buy them as this will make them taste starchy sooner. It’s better to take your chances with a few undevoloped kernels.) 1/4 cup of butter 1 lime cayenne pepper salt PreparationHusk your corn at home and put all four cobs in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. For the butter, mix about 1/4 cup butter with the juice and zest of 1 lime and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne. Get some good sea salt and sprinkle it over the cob to your preference. The Local StoreAddress: 316 49th Street, btwn 1st & 2nd Aves.Phone:...
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