Pinky Finger Up had the honor to cover Grant Street Settlement Taste of LES.
Grand St. Settlement expands opportunities for low-income families and individuals by providing culturally relevant services that support community-building, advocacy, self-determination and an enriched quality of life.
Since it’s founding in 1916, Grand St. Settlement has offered a continuum of innovative programs ranging from early childhood and youth development to community support for adults and seniors. We were happy to support. Some of our favorite bites came from Pearl & Ash and Seoul Chicken. Take a look at the pics and support the Lower East Side restaurant scene.
– Pinky Finger Up
MACONDO TAPERIA tuna crudo
ANTIBES BISTRO cauliflower mousse with mushrooms
GG’S costra nostra
MEATBALL SHOP beef meatball
Pearl and Ash Lamb with Mint Ramps
MEZETTO beet tartar
Paulaner Sausage
RUSS & DAUGHTERS flourless chocolate cake with creme and roasted cashews
BALVANERA pate de campo
GEMMA yellow tomato gazpacho and seared big eye tuna
THELMA house smoked trout salad
PROHIBITION BAKERY pretzels and beer and old fashion cupcakes
IL LABORATORIO DEL GELATO gelato sorbet
NORTHERN SPY FOOD sour cream panna cotta with rhubarb marmalade and orange granola
MAHARLIKA chicken laing
SCAPIRO’S chopped liver crostini with deviled egg
BLACK TREE brown butter apple bread pudding
PALA artisinal pizza
LOUIE AND CHAN short rib pastrami
Yerba Buena Short Rib Arepa
THE COMFORT jewbano sandwich with katz pastrami
HECHO EN DUMBO tostada with gulf shrimp
FREEMAN’s beet burger with uni special sauce
MOSCOW 57 blini
The Wren Smoked Chicken Liver Mousse
L’APICIO confit pancetta
Pies N Thighs Homemade Buttermilk Biscuit with Cream Cheese and pepper jelly
Flinders Lane Pork Sausage Roll
PORSENA white almond gazpacho
Root and Bone Drunken Deviled Eggs
CATA castle valley corn chip with pimento cheese and scallions
SCHILLER’S LIQUOR BAR reuben croquette
DBDG Kitchen and Bar Lemongrass Panna Cotta
STANTON SOCIAL cobb salad bite with brussels sprouts
Galli Rice Balls
VESELKA potato perogi with sauerkraut
CHARRUA chorizo over toast
Seoul Chicken Cold Fried Chicken Slider
FUNG TU vegetarian curry pot pie
TINY’S GIANT SANDWICH SHOP grilled cheese
MACONDO TAPERIA LATINA taquito de costillas
Lucky Rice is a festival that celebrates Asian Cuisine – sounds like my type of event. Although Pinky Finger Up did not receive a proper invite we managed to make a quick appearance at the Luxurious Mandarin Oriental. There was a host of new and well known asian restaurants representing. Of course there was match, sake, duck and my first taste of grasshopper – to my surprise, it was one tasty and crispy bite!
– Pinky Finger Up
Qi Kaow Tung Nah Tuhng: Crispy Rice Crackers with Traditional Dipping Sauce
Bricolage Beef on Beef: Vietnamese Beef Carpaccio on Beef Tendon Chip
The Black Ant Cod Tempura, Som Tum Slaw Taco
Chalait Wagashi: Matcha White Chocolate Bark with Matcha Shot
Tuome Crispy Deviled Egg with Chili
The Black Ant Moo Krob Taco: Crispy Pork Belly, Chicharron, Pickled Cucumbers, Carrots, Cilantro, and Nam-Prik Pao BBQ
Spice Market Calamansi Cream Puff
The Black Ant Cotton Candy Wrapped Grasshopper
2 Duck Goose Eight Treasures Roast Duck
Macao Trading Co. African Spiced Lamb Meatballs with Red Curry Sauce and Snow Pea Slaw
Open Blue Cured Open Blue Cobia with Green Curry, Potatoes, and Yuzukosho Broth
Maharlika Chicken Laing with Cassava Chips and Soy Bean Chips: Fresh Taro Root Leaves, Coconut Milk, Bagoong (Shrimp Paste), Ginger, and Chilies
As April approaches, Matcha Madness is still in full effect. For those who don’t know Matcha is finely milled green tea powder. It seems like match is appearing in everything nowadays from hot beverages, cookies, cakes, an of course Cronuts. Dominique’s March flavor was match with golden pineapple. The result was a delightful 7.
– Pinky Finger Up
Matcha / Golden Pineapple
There is a new king of brisket here in NY. The Pinky Finger Up team had the pleasure of joining Jimmy (Carbone) and the Food Karma Projects crew. Meatlovers flocked to Irondale in Brooklyn for hours of libations and some of the best brisket. Fifteen fierce competitors went head to head with the leanest and fattest samples of brisket. Some of the competitors represented some of the top bbq houses and deli in the city, while one came all the way from Detroit. When the smoke cleared there was only room for one winner: Hometwon Bar-B-Que and hands down my favorite of the night. Juicy and tender perfection.
Hey Billy, we are coming soon with an empty stomach!
-Pinky Finger Up
HILL COUNTY brisket kirby pickle
MORGANS lean brisket
FLETCHERS bulgogi
DINOSAUR BBQ
beef brisket terrine le rivage
FOOD NETWORK
BEN’s BEST
HOMETOWN BBQ
SLOWS
KIMCHI
No. 43
PIG GUY
EAST VILLAGE
WANDERING QUE
When I think of landmark New York, I think of the Village Voice Newspaper. I could always remember going to the section to see the upcoming live shows and yes, even the back page personals. These days, VV has been putting together some superb food events. From the food truck to the beer festivals, VV is always in top form. There main food party is the Village Voice Choice Eats. Due to an emergency, I was unable to attend but I sent some of my hungry team members. It’s unfortunate that I always seem to miss this event as it always takes place around SXSW. The great thing about this tasting is that you get to experience food from different parts of the world and not only the elite Manhattan eateries – you can actually taste something from Uzbekistan. Check out what we ate and if it looks good go visit the restaurant.
The night’s favorites were the duck and faro boudin by King Be and the skewered grilled beef tongue with romesco and lemon crouton from The Gourbals. For those who have a sweet tooth, Ample Hills Creamery was serving Snap ‘Mallow Pop which tasted like a rice crispy treat – straight crack!
– Pinky Finger Up
Coppelia Torrejas de Oliva
Commerce Winter Vegetable Fricassee
Deleware and Hudson Sour Braised Shortrib
Wilma Jean Fried Bologna
Box Kite NYC Bail Seeifreddo
Thai Rock Thai Dumpling
The East Pole Braised Heritage Goat Sndwich
Untamed Sandwich The Hot Goldie Sandwich
Casa Del Chicha
Huertas Tortilla de Garbanzos y Morcilla
Fort Deviance Deviled Egg
Juliette Spicy Florida Rock Shrimp Slider
Red Hook Lobster Pound Downeast Bisque
Edi & The Wolf Chicken Schnitzel
John Brown Smokehouse Pecan Smoked Pastami Reuben Sliders
Xe May Sandwich Vermicelli Salad
Deleware and Hudson Sour Braised Beef Short Rib
Recette Grilled Kingfish, Jicama Squash Salad Parsnip and Black Garlic Puree
Spicy Pot Tea Smoked Ribs
Nomad sea urchin panna apple chives
Queens Comfort Steak Au Poive Mac & Cheese
Boomwich Dr. Cubano Slider
The Gorbals Skewered Grilled Beef TONGUE
Meatball Shoppe Pizza Ball
Fletchers BK BBQ Tri Tip Pastrami
I had the honor to be an invited guest to the 25th anniversary of the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-Cap) last week. C-CAP, is a national non-profit that works with public schools to prepare undeserved high school students for college and career opportunities in the restaurant and hospitality industry. For the record, the Pinkyfingerup crew love the kids and hope they keep feeding us till we’re old and grey. The founder and chairman of C-CAP, Richard Grausman, has a career spanning over forty years as a teacher and writer. This year’s honorees included businessman Dick Parsons and restaurateur Alexander Smalls.
Now for the food. The event style is a walk-around tasting. There was forty-three restaurants participating in this years tasting . A good portion of chefs involved were C-Cap alumni. Out of the forty-three participating restaurants, I managed to sample forty-one. Some of my personal favorites came from, Marc Forgione, Sea Grill and Juni. Enjoy the pics and if you see something you like go there and eat it.
– Pinkyfingerup
The Cecil/ Curry crusted cod, kimchi rice porridge gaunciale , fish sauce caramel
Chadwicks/ White Water Mussels with Salami Crumbs
Dirty French/ Chicken and Crepes
AltaMarea Group Hazelnut Paris Best
Batard/Coffee and Milk Kardinal
Benoit/ Warm egg custard, green asparagus, sea urchin
Union Square Cafe/ Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake, Fennel seed sable Blood Oranges, Kumquat Confit
Maysville/Charcoal Grilled Sweet Potato
Nobu 57/Nobu Umami Wings
Red Rooster/Chicken Tack Tack
Betony/ Beets , Horseradish and goats milk
Loi Estiatorio/Salmon Tatare with chives , shallots, lemon and horseradish with yogurt dill sauce in phyllo cup
Lexington Brass/ Beet Cured Salmon Ceviche, Pickle Mango Puree, Black Sushi Rice Chip
Sarabeth/Banana Cream Trifle
Catch/ Hit Me Cake
Porter House/Prime rib au jus
Michaels/ Duck Confit Tacos
Asiate/Truffled Yukon Gold Potato
Shun Lee Palace/ Peking Duck
Le Cirque/ Blue Crab Simplisse
Sea Grill/ Can build your own Chirashi Sushi
Barbuto/ Farro salad with fennel,olive meyer lemon and almond
Clement/ Saffron chirashi with fluke
La Marina/Crispy Arepa Braised beef short rib, lime scented sour cream, creamy avocado, cilantro
Felidia/Tuna Semi Carpaccio
Marc Forgione/ Meyer Lemon Cheesecake
Juni/ Charred squash,smoked trout maple
SD26/Soft quail egg filled ravioli with truffled butter
Mailino/Cured beef tongue, parmigiano,mustard and argula
Wayfarer/Cured Salmon cucumber jalapeño apple vinaigrette.
Talde/Pretzel Pork & Chive dumplings with Tahini Mustard
Almond/ Moroccan style lamb meatballs with salsa verde and ricotta salata
Vinegar Hill House/Braised pork, sunflower hummus,apple&fennel chutney , sourdough naan, curried sunflower bark and herbs
Blue Hills/Coppa with farm eggs and squash
Telepan/ House made kielbasa with sauerkraut and apple compote
Dos Caminos, Plantain Empanadas
Mintons/ Sweet potato creme brûlée, sweet tea molasses pickled raisins candied pecans
Daniel/Pheasant Terrine
Extra Virgin/Escabeche
Maya/ Tlayuda Adobo shrimp, crispy tortilla, spicy bean puree,chopped lettuce,pico de gallo, cojija cheese and crema
The StarChefs crew sure knows how to throw a party. This years edition of the Rising Stars New York was a fun filled night of tasty nights.The 2015 Rising Stars award ceremony was held in the spacious Altman Building in New York. Some of New York’s top fresh face chefs and bartenders were on hand showcasing some amazing bites and sips from their menu. My favorite bite of the night was from Bryce Shuman of Betony. Uncle Boons, Boulud Sud and Nomad Bar were some of my other top choices. After the event, everyone straddled up and rolled on over to Toro for the after party . Great job Starchefs, and we are look forward to the 10th annual International Chefs Congress taking place October.
-Pinky Finger Up
The Snack’r Candy Bar
Beet, Apple, Wakame and and Crispy Yogurt
Sea Scallop and Yuzu Zest
Lamb , Coffee, Lemon and Black Olive
Almond Joy Ice Cream Cake
Valrhona Milk Chocolate, Lovage and Oats
Carrot Pavlova, Cream Cheese Mousse , Carrot Granita Coconut Sorbet and Cilantro
Uni Chicharron, Cucumber Relish and Habanero Puree
Flavors of Gin Venison ,Juniper and Fennel
Foie Gras Tart with Kumquat
Selfie: Lillet Rose, Campari, ,Bonal Gentiane Quina, Raspberry and Sparkling Wine
Marinated Fluke, Squid, Cured Seaweed and Kombu
Massaman Curry and Beef Ribs
Kona Kampachi, Cherries, and Chile-Hibiscus
The Shaman La Diablada Pisco, Gentiane Aperitif, Pineapple,Lime and Cinnamon
Quail Eggs, Focaccia, and trumpet mushroom
Hawaij-spiced Scallops and Cauliflower
Last week, I attended an extraordinary culinary experience at Basketball City. The event was put together by one of the finest charitable organizations in the city. Although I had to use some old-school Brooklyn style tactics to get in, the event was one for the books. With over 70 restaurants participating, it was wall to wall of delightful bites. The venue also was set up with a dessert bar, an auction, a few mixologist, a scotch whiskey station and a cigar corner. Not only it was a fun event but the charity raised over a million dollars to help feed hunger. PINKYFINGERUP
BBQ BRISKET with JALAPEÑO, MUSTARD CREMA and Pickled APPLE
SPICE-BRAISED SHORT RIB with BEEF HEART with COCONUT and FLATBREAD
STEAK TARTARE with GOCHUJANG and MUSTARD SEEDS
NORTH CAROLINA RED SHRIMP with RED RICE, GREEN PAPAYA SALAD, GINGER RED WINE SAUCE
Pinky Finger Up 