Big Apple Life

A collection of posts on Life in the Big Apple along with interviews with foodie friends

Carolyn O’Neil

Last week I had lunch at Rouge Tomate in New York City with this week's guest foodie, Carolyn O'Neil, who  told me about her latest cookbook (Southern Living Slim Down South Cookbook: Eating well and living healthy in the land of biscuits and bacon) and the work she'd doing as a nutrition advisor for a new site offering "just the facts" from various experts (www.bestfoodfacts.org). This is one busy gal. You may recognize her face, as Carolyn reported on food and travel at CNN for nearly 20 years. She currently writes a weekly column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Healthy Eating Out,” contributes to WebMD as a nutrition expert and appears [...]

By |2017-09-03T12:58:47-04:00December 10th, 2013|Foodie Interviews|0 Comments
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Charlie Trotter, in memory

Bonnie: I got the news that Charlie Trotter was found dead in his apartment in Chicago on my phone while sitting at a Wüsthof luncheon at the Beard House. I — like the rest of the culinary world — was shocked. Charlie was only 54. Charlie and I actually bonded not only over food, but over gymnastics, too. When we met in the early 90s and Charlie discovered the mutual talent of our youth, he put his hands on the rug, his feet in the air and began walking across the floor at the Fancy Food Show reception. He looked at me and expected me to do that same. Thank goodness [...]

By |2017-09-03T12:58:39-04:00November 8th, 2013|Foodie Interviews|0 Comments
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NoLA’s Michael Stoltzfus at City Grit, NYC

Led by Executive Chef and Owner, Michael Stoltzfus, Coquette’s culinary team will be prepare a “Fall in New Orleans” themed dinner on November 14th at City Grit (38 Prince, between Mott and Mulberry, New York City) Chef Stoltzfus — who was nominated for a 2013 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the South as well as Food & Wine Magazine’s People’s Best Chef in both 2012 and 2013— will create a multi-course experience that includes: a New Orleans root vegetable salad with cashew butter, satsuma vinaigrette and olive praline; butternut squash cavatelli with fried chicken and maple syrup; suckling pig and for dessert apple cardamom snowball and sweet potato [...]

By |2017-08-31T14:10:59-04:00November 6th, 2013|Rambling, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Kevin Zraly

As Wine Director, Kevin Zraly was preparing for the October 2001 25th anniversary celebration of Windows on the World along with the opening of their new wine cellar. Because of the construction at that time, there was limited service for breakfast and lunch; Kevin stayed at his home upstate on September 11. "I'm trying to carry on a legacy," he explained. "We still call it the Windows on the World wine school for a reason, the book is still called Windows on the World Complete Wine Course for a reason. We want to keep the name out there. You know it, I know it but I was talking to a [...]

By |2017-09-03T13:03:40-04:00October 27th, 2013|Foodie Interviews|0 Comments
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Steve Dolinsky

Steve Dolinsky  has won an amazing 12 James Beard Awards for his TV and radio work. Yes, he's that good. He's also in great company as Alan Richman's writing in GQ received 14 while Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group won an unprecedented 25 James Beard Awards ! Steve still reports stories each week for ABC 7 (Chicago), The Chicago Tribune, The Globe & Mail (Canada) and writes for The Chicago Tribune, The Globe & Mail (Canada).  Stay tuned to his website for details of at food tour he'll be conducting in New Orleans in March 2014, one that AAA Group Travel is organizing with him. I caught up with [...]

By |2017-09-04T19:40:19-04:00October 13th, 2013|Foodie Interviews|0 Comments
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Casting for Food Network Star in NYC

Interested in becoming a host of your own cooking show?  Food Network Star is holding open casting looking for "those with a captivating personality who believe they’re at the top of the culinary game and want to inspire a Food Network audience through their passion for food and cooking." Open casting calls in New York City, October 7, San Antonio, October 14, San Francisco, October 19, Providence, October 26, Los Angeles, November 2, New Orleans, November 12 and Chicago, November 16. If you can't attend you can alternately submit a 3-minute home video. For more details about the casting call and to download an application click here. - guest contributor

By |2017-08-31T16:19:20-04:00October 1st, 2013|Other happenings, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Katherine Alford

Food Network addicts are familiar with the faces in front of the cameras, but there's lots of hidden talent behind the scenes. Katherine Alford, this week's Guest Foodie, joined Food Network in 2000. She was recently promoted to senior vice president (SVP) of Culinary, overseeing the busy Test Kitchens, developing recipes for Food Network Magazine, cookbooks, network shows, promotional initiatives, and both FoodNetwork.com and CookingChannel.com. In addition Katherine, oversees their airport and sports stadium restaurants, product line at Kohl’s, events and their wine Entwine. This is some busy lady! Katherine did, though, find the time to respond to our fun questions. What follows are her responses: Which food product or [...]

By |2017-09-03T13:06:09-04:00October 1st, 2013|Foodie Interviews|0 Comments
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Mollie Katzen

Mollie Katzen is a happy home cook, better know as the cookbook author who changed the way we eat — at least according to Health magazine. Mollie — who has over over six million books in print — is best known as the author-illustrator of the vegetarian classics, Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. She's also an  inductee of the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame. Her newest book — published yesterday — is The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2013). "I'm very excited about my new book," said Mollie. "It's my biggest book yet (275 recipes, 500 pages) and it reflects [...]

By |2017-09-04T15:56:35-04:00September 17th, 2013|Foodie Interviews|0 Comments
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The 10th Annual A Second Helping of Life, NYC

More than two dozen of NYC's top female chefs will serve savory and sweet dishes at the Tenth Anniversary "A Second Helping of Life" benefit on Monday, September 23, 6 p.m., at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers. Chef Amanda Freitag of Food Network's "Chopped" and Cooking Channel's series "Unique Eats" will serve as Executive Chef and author and restaurant critic Ruth Reichl (will serve as host at this fundraiser to support SHARE, a non-profit organization that offers free peer support to women with breast or ovarian cancer, their families and friends. Activities include a tasting reception and live and silent auctions. A Second Helping of Life is an annual fall [...]

By |2017-09-03T08:00:36-04:00September 14th, 2013|Other happenings|0 Comments
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Patricia Cobe

This week's Guest Foodie is an experienced foodie. She's coauthored cookbooks (The Kosher Gourmet and The American Heart Association Kids’ Cookbook), been the Executive Editor of Mr. Food’s EasyCooking and has contributed to Ladies’ Home Journal, Women’s Day, Good Housekeeping and other consumer magazines. Today, she's Senior Editor of Restaurant Business, a trade publication for the restaurant industry. She's currently asking chefs and restaurateurs to name their favorite restaurant dishes (other than their own!) from the last year for Restaurant Business's annual Clean Plate Awards issue. Their fun responses from last October's issue…range from Andrew Carmellini's (Locanda Verde, The Dutch, Lafayette) marinated grilled octopus at Mandolin, Miami, to Jose Garces [...]

By |2017-09-04T15:40:36-04:00September 3rd, 2013|Foodie Interviews|0 Comments
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Metropolitan Washington D.C. Restaurant Week August 2013

Metropolitan Washington D.C. Restaurant Week runs through Monday, August 19 to Sunday, August 25, 2013, featuring hundreds of participating restaurants and offering lunches for $20.13 and dinners for $35.13.  For additional information or a listing of participating restaurants, click here. 

By |2017-08-31T16:19:21-04:00August 19th, 2013|Other happenings, USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Sancerre… yes, Rouge

"A red Sancerre?" I said somewhat bewildered. Until that moment, Sancerre was Sauvignon Blanc, I hadn't a clue that Sancerre Rouge even existed! I learned about the Loire Valley red through a chilled bottle of Lucien Crochet: La Croix du Roy, an elegant light-bodied, bright but earthy, Pinot Noir at dinner at Montmartre. The sommelier had kept the wine at 50 F, making it much more drinkable with the French foods. Interestingly, I also drank Pinot Noir chilled while dining with master sommelier Fred Dexheimer early this summer. "Chill ... and the natural beauty comes out," Fred explained. We were at Artisinal, where Fred — spokesperson for Pays d'Oc IGP [...]

By |2017-09-02T16:06:21-04:00August 18th, 2013|Food & Drinks, Rambling|0 Comments
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Devour Downtown (IN) Restaurant Week August to September 2013

Devour (IN) Downtown Restaurant Week runs through Monday, August 19 to Sunday, September 1, 2013, featuring a variety of participating restuarants and offering 3-course meals at a valued price.  For additional information or a listing of participating restaurants, click here.

By |2017-08-31T16:19:21-04:00August 16th, 2013|Other happenings, USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Amelia Saltsman

Earlier this year when visiting Santa Monica (CA) farmers' market, I kept my eyes peeled for my friend Amelia Saltsman, author of the Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook thinking it would be serendipitous to run into her while there. Fortuitous it was. I spotted her giving a private tour to a group who had "purchased" her services at a silent auction. That market tour was so successful that Amelia decided to start doing them for the general public. If you're planning to be in the Santa Monica area and are interested in getting additional information on that click here. We recently caught up with Amelia and posed our Guest Foodie [...]

By |2017-09-04T19:44:22-04:00August 5th, 2013|Foodie Interviews|0 Comments
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Michael Romano

Six months after Micheal Romano joined Union Square Cafe (USC) as Executive Chef  The New York Times elevated the restaurant to three stars. Since then, Michael has earned many other accolades, including James Beard awards for “Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America” and “Best Chef: New York,” and Food & Wine magazine’s “Best New Chef in America.” Under his leadership, USC received the #1 ranking on the Zagat Survey Most Popular list an unprecedented nine times. Today he's busy developing cold-pressed vegetable and fruit juices for Union Square Hospitality Group's latest venture Creative Juice, with five locations in New York City and one in Greenwich, CT. Bite of [...]

By |2017-09-04T15:59:49-04:00July 22nd, 2013|Foodie Interviews|0 Comments
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Valley Food Lovers’ Festival, Hudson Valley, NY

On July 19-20, the 3rd Annual Hudson Valley Food Lover's' Festival is holding two fundraising events at Columbia County's Copake Country Club. The first event, "Hootenanny" Farm Fresh Dinner on July 19, 6-11 pm will include a Hudson Valley cheese course and golf cart drive-in movie. The goal of the second event, "Friends of the Farmer" Festival July 20th, 11 am-6 pm is to raise funds for the Farm On! Foundation and Camp Farm On!, which educates students about having careers involving the local food system. For more information click here.

By |2017-09-03T08:11:15-04:00July 10th, 2013|Other happenings, USA|0 Comments
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Floor Mats Comparison: to Bite or Not to Bite?

I waited until I got my book club friends settled in before I sat down on one chair and put my feet up on another. Every bone and muscle in my body hurt. “Are you okay?” “The tile floor did me in!”  I responded, having been standing for a couple hours prepping for the gathering. Before discussing the book, advice immediately turned to soft floor mats to cushion the hard floor and reduce achy joints. After that discussion, I decided to compare some of what’s available. I contacted a couple companies for samples to find out whether floor mats are worth the cost. Or as we ask at BiteoftheBest.com, to [...]

By |2017-09-04T17:37:22-04:00July 9th, 2013|Kitchen Counter, Drawer and More, Rambling|1 Comment
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Share Our Strength: Autumn Harvest Dinner, NYC

Tickets are now available for Gramercy Tavern’s annual Autumn Harvest Dinner, taking place Monday, September 30th at the restaurant (42 East 20th Street New York City). It's the 20th anniversary benefiting Share Our Strength. The stellar line-up of chefs includes Linton Hopkins (Restaurant Eugene) Stephanie Izard (Girl & The Goat) Marc Vetri (Vetri, Osteria, Amis, Alla Spina) Mindy Segal (Hot Chocolate) The event will include a Champagne & hors d’oeuvres reception, a five-course dinner prepared by the chefs, extraordinary wines paired by celebrated sommeliers, as well as a luxury silent and live auction. For more information or to purchase tickets, please click here. 

By |2017-09-03T08:11:24-04:00July 5th, 2013|Other happenings|0 Comments
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A Feast to Benefit Cancer Research, Bridgehampton, NY

Chef Todd English and friends present a “Feast” to Benefit Cancer Research on July 27 from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at the home of Maria and Kenneth Fishel in Bridgehampton, New York. The 9th Annual “A Hamptons Happening,” — an evening of food, drink, music, dancing and an impressive auction— benefits the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF).  Founded in 1976, the SWCRF is a pioneer in cancer research, focusing on uncovering the causes of cancer and reprogramming cancer cells. In addition to honoring celebrity Chef English, the event also honors fashion legend Ruth Finley, creator of the well-known Fashion Calendar. WCBS-TV News Anchor Chris Wragge is the evening’s emcee. [...]

By |2017-08-31T14:10:59-04:00July 3rd, 2013|Other happenings, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Bruce Aidells

You may recognize Bruce Aidells' jovial face from his TV appearances, magazine articles or from packages of Aidells Sausage, sold in supermarkets. Bruce left that company more than a decade ago and is now working with heritage pork purveyors to develop artisan products. I first met Bruce in the 80s when editing his award-winning classic cookbook Hot Links and Country Flavors. That book, with Denis Kelly, received the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Julia Child award for best single subject cookbook in 1991. Bruce has also penned ten other cookbooks (four of which have received cookbook award nominations), with his most current The Great Meat Cookbook: Everything You Need [...]

By |2017-09-04T19:45:35-04:00June 25th, 2013|Foodie Interviews|0 Comments
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