Set amid the backdrop of the historic 69th
Armory on Lexington Avenue, Choice Eats:
the Village Voices Fourth Annual Tasting
event allowed some 1700 guests to sample the
cuisines of 6 continents – and if Antarctica
had a culinary heritage – they would have
included that too. Featuring food from over
35 nations, including Vietnamese, Italian,
Uzbekistani, Brazilian, Cambodian, Russian,
Tunisian, and Cajun/Creole among many
others, Choice Eats stands out as a food
event that highlights the hidden gems of New
York City’s diverse culinary landscape.
Initiated by respected Village Voice food
critic Robert Sietsema, author of”
Food Lovers Guide to the Best Ethnic
Eating in New York
”,
the food fest featured the top dishes from
over 68 restaurants from all around the city
– and the ‘burbs. You would have to spend
weeks on buses and subways to sample all of
these eateries and here they were all under
one roof but Sietsema who has a passion for
uncovering the best ethnic eats in every
nook and cranny has done it all for you. All
of the participating restaurants were
personally selected and invited by the
critic himself from the literally hundreds
he has written about. Can’t get much better
validation than that!
Well not exactly all under one roof. This
year in a nod to the increase of specialty
food trucks cruising the city’s most
populous areas, Sietsema and his team
created a new category Choice Streets and
had a mini-fleet of trucks lined up on
Lexington Avenue in front of the massive
Armory. It was great for the folks on line –
many of whom had been there for hours – as
they were able to sample tasty treats –
falafel & smoothies form The Taim Mobile;
Belgian waffles topped with anything from
Mascarpone & berries to Maple sausage &
gray; Korean rib eye from Korilla BBQ;
specialty drinks & frozen yogurt from Joy
Ride surprises and braised pork from Kimchee
Taco probably the only food truck owned by a
Masters of Hospitality management grad from
Cornell – entrepreneur Phillip Lee.
No greasy hot dogs in dirty water here! The
success of these mobile restaurants is not
surprising given the busyness of New Yorkers
and the economy. Not everyone can dine
leisurely at “21” – or afford it!
Inside the cavernous Main Hall, hungry
foodies armed with their floor plan maps,
dashed to their favorite spots first before
starting to experiment with new dishes. One
of the most heavily trafficked booths was
that of Lia Sanfilippo and Selene
Martinez’ 5 and Diamond Restaurant, the
jewel in the crown of Harlem’s burgeoning
restaurant scene located on Frederick
Douglass Boulevard the strip the New York
Times just christened “the new Restaurant
Row”. 5 and Diamond (called that as the site
was an old 5 & 10) chef David Martinez
was dishing up exquisite Mussels Escobeche
that had all the foodies and one well known
food critic clamoring for seconds.
The Valencia, Spain born David, a French
Culinary Institute grad who honed his
culinary skills in the kitchens of Bouley
and Aureole and in the private homes of
several famed Hamptonites (his
confidentiality agreements prevent
disclosing – but he told us and we were
impressed). Harlem is now our destination
since we learned that a short ride from
midtown on the M4 bus will get us there in a
jiff! His contemporary American fare based
on seasons and locally sourced products has
a lovely Mediterranean flair. He is
certainly a rising star on the dining scene.
The fact that by 8 pm they had exhausted
their supply of thousands of mussels is
testament to his expertise.
Right next door to 5 and Diamond as Spain is
to Portugal, Louis Novre and his
family who have operated Sol-Mar in Newark
for some 40 years were serving up Portuguese
Chorizo the famous spicy Iberian sausage
which they marinated in Grappa – what a
kick.
On to Australia to chat with The Sun Burnt
Calf owner Tim Harris who in his best
Crocodile Dundee accent told us the origins
of the Upper West Side restaurant’s name –
too sad to go into here. As we dried our
eyes, we tucked into his chef’s succulent
spiced lamb sliders. The “Bet you can’t eat
just one” kind. We’ll never go back to
ground beef again.
Well maybe not ever, as we headed over to
the king of meatballs, Brooklyn’s justly
praised Motorino. There manager Carlo
Jerardi the staff were plopping classic
red sauced fist- sized meatballs on the
plates of the faithful lined up some thirty
deep.
Staying on the Italian line, the next visit
was to see the folks from Greenwich Village
Italian wine bar Gottino where Chef Angel
Guaman with the help of two jauntily
bow-tied staffers Jeremy Mustakas and
Martin Markaj was serving walnut
pesto and big chunks of aged parmigiano
Reggiano
Down the row, we spied Resto owner
Christian Pappanicholas and his talented
chef/partner Bobby Hellen. The pair
who now how to cook every part of a pig from
tail to snout have been packing them in at
their Murray Hill shrine to all things
porcine. They were serving up chopped pig
and folks were drooling and dribbling the
tasty juices and washing it all down with
the pints of free Stella Artois Beer. Just
as famous as his French-ified pork dishes,
Hellen is famed for his Belgian Hangover
Pasta – pasta with ham chunks, Gruyere
cheese and coarse black pepper. Their Sunday
Night Suppers are legendary and each week
they take on another slice of Europe. We
hear they may soon be opening a retail
outlet where you can get the marvelous meats
and charcuterie they serve up nightly.
Just a short stroll away – not a plane ride
– you’re in Norway, Land of the Lingonberry
for a stop at Smorgas Chef where the
pleasant staff served up heaping plates of
Swedish Meatballs, mashed potatoes with a
dollop of Lingonberry, dilled cucumber salad
and housed cured gravlax roll-ups. The
perfect accompaniment was UV Vodka, the
award winning new organic spirit from
Phillips Distilling which made one feel as
if they had really traveled to the land of
frosty slopes and sexy blonds.
The brainchild of
Norwegian chef and entrepreneur Morten
Sohlberg Smorgas
Chef has two outposts in the Wall Street
area and one in Greenwich Village but it is
its outpost at the famed Scandinavia House
that seals its authenticity for serious
foodies.
But it wasn’t all about food. Spirits played
an important role in the evening which was a
no children/ 21 or over event. Most fun
sighting – and tasting - of the evening was
Howard Jackowitz with his “Wines That
Rock”. Yes, like
Woodstock Chardonnay 2008 or The Rolling
Stones Forty Licks Merlot 2007. How about a
glass of Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the
Moon Cabernet Sauvignon 2006?
These and other wines come from the creative
genius of winemaker Mark Beaman who
blasts the music all day. Seriously, the
Mendocino wines drew great praise from lofty
Wine Enthusiast. Maybe it was the labels
which replicate classic rock album covers
that won them over. Nonetheless the wines
are superior- indeed rockin’.
The smoothest nightcap of all was at the
Sidney Frank Importing Company
Sidney Frank Importing Co. a leader in
ultra-premium spirits. The company’s
Corporate Mixologist (now that’s a real job)
Todd Richman aided by restaurateur
Joann Spiegel were pouring he loveliest
spirit of all, Michael Collins Irish Whiskey
which only last week received top honors and
accolades at the 2011 San Francisco Spirits
Competition for its 10 year old Single Malt.
Not only did the newly introduced Single
Malt win a Double Gold medal, but swept the
category and earned the title of “Best Irish
Whiskey”.
You couldn’t leave without even more
temptation in the Lobby exiting guests were
treated to a dessert-aholics dream with a
dizzying array of treats to satisfy every
sweet tooth in the city. Laying on their
fiercest cupcakes, cookie, brownies, cakes
and pies were Alice’s tea Cup, Babycakes,
Baked, Bee Desserts & café, The Blue Stove,
Dallas Bros,. Coffee, Del Posto, Fatty Crab,
Liddabit Sweets, Robicelli’s Whimsy & Spice
and Madame Rose.
69 restaurants, 15 bakers, 5 food trucks, 15
breweries, 10 wine & spirits vendors and for
a pittance!
With ticket prices as low as $35, Choice
Eats is the bargain of the year and best of
all it benefits one of our favorite causes.
This year’s charitable partner of Choice
Eats was Slow Food NYC, the local chapter of
a national association that is part of an
international movement. Slow Food USA, with
over 200 chapters in the USA, is dedicated
to achieving a good, clean, and fair food
system, where good means food that is real
and culturally rooted, clean means food that
is produced sustainably and humanely, and
fair means that those who produce our food
are treated fairly and that everyone has
access to good, clean food.
.