Balthazar, Spring Street NY Review

I came here with my girlfriend and her friend about a year ago and we decided to go back. Coincidentally, my girlfriend and I came back again (only this time with a different friend) a few weeks ago. Balthazar was the first restaurant I have been to that served French style cuisine. We actually stumbled upon this place by accident in visiting a friend who worked on Spring Street. The first time we went there we got lucky and were sat at the cramped bar booth. But this time around I was more intelligent and reserved for three a couple of Saturdays ago.

Onto the restaurant..

First Time Foie Gras Torchon

School is really coming down on me but luckily, I am on spring break. That means...plenty of cooking, eating and just having fun. I recently picked up some Foie Gras cubes from the Wine Library in Springfield NJ and decided to have some fun with it. I love this place because they usually have some rare items, particularly

Experimenting with French Macarons

Hello all,

It has been a couple of days since I last posted due to a Calculus II & physics exam that I needed to study for (after all, I am no professional pastry chef). Anyway, for the last couple of years I have been trying to make French Macarons to no avail. Aesthetically on the outside, everything was there. What really mattered to me was what was on the inside. So for the last couple of days, I have been experimenting. Here is what I came up with:

Experiment

I used Not so humble pie's recipe about 1/4 of the way down and modified it.
Here is a picture of the ingredients I used:

100g confectioner's sugar, 50g egg white, 15g granulated sugar, 60g almond flour

I started by using a food processor to finely blend the almond flour and the confectioner's sugar.

News: Can't Get Into Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare? Try BLANCA

As many of you man know, The Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare is not only a Michelin 3 star restaurant but is also one of New York's best. Chef Cesar Ramirez is a magic maker (which is why you can't take pictures while you dine). Now I haven't been here myself (definitely on the to do list) but my brother who is a chef informed me about a small place that is also housed in Brooklyn.

It's called Blanca NYC or Blanca Brooklyn. From what I have read and from the pictures I have seen today, the set up is like Brooklyn Fare: about 18 seats engulfing the kitchen where you see the chef in action within a sleek atmosphere.

Check this review out that the New York Times did and see for yourself.

What I am here to tell you is this. As of now, February, they are booked. This is probably in part due to Valentine's Day which is tomorrow and all the follow up dinners that lucky husbands and boyfriends have promised their significant others.

The good news is that March is right around the corner and that they are taking reservations at March 1st. They open at 9 am so go for it! If I happen to be lucky enough to make it there one of these days, I will review it :-)

For now, check out Blanca Brooklyn for their updates/ phone number. Price is about $180 no tax / gratuity included. I'd definitely do this.

Good luck!

CCK

Eleven Madison Park

Hello fellow bloggers!

So I went to Eleven Madison Park for my birthday. It was this past summer in August with my cousin and his girlfriend. I figured that even though it was in the summer, the allure of the 3 star rating should still hold true if one or all of you reading this decide to give it a go....even though you may all be thinking, "Well, its the middle of February."