Robert's Steakhouse - X-Rated N.Y. Strips !

For certain offerings, living just somewhere in the US is not good enough. You have to be in New York City to encounter this type of enlightenment's. Though I must warn you; This post maybe leaning slightly towards the male audience, it may also be misunderstood as chauvinistic and it is most certainly dedicated strictly to the to the hardcore carnivores amongst us. If you picture a guy, a real guy that likes steak--lots of steak--and also does not shy away from taking a peak at nice female curves every now and then, well then you are looking at the target group for Robert's Steakhouse in NYC which actually is part of a gentlemen strip club. The Penthouse Executive Club is most probably one of the few venues on this planet where a man (and/or woman) can enjoy the epicurean pleasures of a great steak whilst admiring beautiful female nakedness. No, no do not dismiss this so easily. This is not one of these dark places where it is all about the ladies and the menu is more of an excuse to pass as a gastronomic establishment instead of just an adult entertainment place. On this one I'm backed by people as serious as Jeffrey Steingarten. He is a well known culinary critic and columnist for the likes of Vogue magazine and Slate and has written books like "The Man Who Ate Everything" and more recently "It Must've Been Something I Ate". He commented after his night out at the strip club; "The best steak dinner in town--the meat could not have been more flavorful, tender or juicy, and grilled to that precise point of perfection between rare and medium rare-while a beautiful young dancer just eight feet away moved with energy and originality". If that is not enough to make this a serious dinner option yet, how about Alex Witchel that wrote for the NY Times;"One of the clubs biggest hits is its steakhouse, where customers can carefully enjoy aged beef prepared by noted chef Adam Perry Lang. His steaks--on the plate-- are exquisite and packed with flavor." The Penthouse Club even won the 2004's TIME OUT NY Award for Best Indoor Scenery and Robert's Steakhouse was nominated Best Steakhouse in NYC. Located on the club's posh mezzanine level, Robert's Steakhouse's features a truly top-rated cuisine by Chef Adam Perry Lang and offers its patrons a 2,000-bottle wine cellar. Amongst the meat options are dry-aged premium steaks cut to order and also Kobe beef. And like in any other great steakhouses, they offer all the classic appetizers and beautiful side dishes that we all come to love. I hope that you ladies are not too mad, that I turned hubby onto this dinner venue, but after all this maybe just what was needed to bring you along for the experience!

A Lifelong Passion - The Hunt For The Perfect Burger !

No matter how gourmet you are - the hunt for a simple but perfect burger is something that will never really leave you. A perfect burger is the epitome of comfort, grab food. Like that first draw on an ice cold beer, when you are really, really thirsty that first bite into a perfect burger can be simply divine. We all know that feeling, when taste, temperature, liquid grease and perfect soft texture with just a hint of crunch come together perfectly to what amounts nothing less than a gourgasm in your mouth. If you ever experienced that feeling you will never be able to go passed a burger joint and not ask yourself whether or not this could be the place where it could happen again. But we all know that chasing that perfect burger moment can be very frustrating. Many times we order and wait with that anticipation of the moment only to be disappointed again and again. Nothing more simple than a burger and yet nothing harder to find than a perfect burger. One city that always awakes my instinct to hunt for that perfect burger - and lets be honest, the city that holds those secret places where you can find that perfect bite, is New York. I have pointed you towards several great burgers that you can find in N.Y. Today I will tell you about the The Shack- Shack of all Shacks !There burgers are bits of heaven reincarnated as divine combinations of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. There is absolutely no nutritional balance here in any way but they taste awesome. For all of you that are mad at the world and try to get away from it all by numbing yourself with alcohol or illegal substances - try this burgers instead. Your worries will be gone and you will enjoy instant happiness. Happy lipids to all of you. And if you have the chance and abut 30 minutes to stand in line for one of these puppies - do yourself the favor!

2007 - The Worlds Best Restaurants !

Many Top Chefs, foodies and restaurant critics regard Spain's Ferran Adria as the best cook on the planet, a man who deconstructs food while playing with your mind and palate. I happen to agree with this call. For the second consecutive year, Chef Adria's restaurant, El Bulli, on the Costa Brava coast in Spain, has been named the world's best by Britain's fanous Restaurant Magazine. Apart from deconstruction cooking, Adria has been credited with creating what is known as the molecular gastronomy culinary - things like foam or espuma and apple caviar etc.. His tortilla espangola is no ordinary Spanish omelet. Instead of blending the three main ingredients — eggs, potatoes and onions — each is cooked separately and turned into a potato foam, onion puree and a sabayon sauce of sorts made with egg-white. The dish is put back together in layers, sprinkled with crumbs of deep-fried potatoes and served as merely a mouthful in a sherry glass. While it's debatable that the Best 50 list is "the most credible indicator of the best places to eat on Earth" and "stimulates fervent debate and sometimes controversy", as the magazine's website says, there are no surprises in the top 10 list. Before you think of flying out to Spain to dine at Adria's 50-seat restaurant — open only for dinner, April to September at about $450 per head — they are booked out until June 2008. But then again; This year you find 3 options in Spain in the top 10 spots. I guess it is Spain all the way at this point!

WORLD'S BEST 10 RESTAURANTS

1 El Bulli Spain

2 The Fat Duck England

3 Pierre Gagnaire France

4 The French Laundry United States

5 Tetsuya's Australia

6 Bras France

7 Mugaritz Spain

8 Le Louis XV Monaco

9 Per Se United States

10 Arzak Spain

Alinea - A Name To Be Reckon With !

I know that it is early in the year and I should not be busy with the "Best Of" just now. Nevertheless I cannot resist the temptation to introduce to you what I consider "The Most Exciting" restaurant in America at the time! Please note the name Alinea. Owner and Chef Grant Achatz is receiving worldwide attention for his hyper modern, emotional approach to dining. Alinea is a true restaurant of the new millennium, with a crisp modern approach to cooking and an incredible amount of care that goes into presentation and pleasing all the senses.


Born in Michigan in 1974, Grant Achatz grew up in the restaurant industry, literally, his parents and grandparents being restaurateurs. Naturally curious and always driven, he could be found in the kitchen by his twelfth birthday and over the coming years spent most of his free time there, learning the basics and developing the skills that would allow him to become one of the foremost innovators in the field. Early on he realized he wanted to be a chef, and upon graduating from high school immediately enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America.


Excelling at the C.I.A., Achatz graduated and ascended the culinary ladder at several prestigious restaurants, including the acclaimed French Laundry in the Napa Valley. Working closely with Gourmet Brother and Top Chef Thomas Keller, Achatz thrived in this highly creative and dedicated environment, and after two years became sous chef to Keller. After four years at the French Laundry, Achatz chose to broaden his knowledge and worked as an assistant winemaker at La Jota Vineyards. In 2001, he accepted the Executive Chef position at the four-star restaurant Trio in Evanston, Illinois.


Achatz flourished at Trio, garnering accolades including being named the “Rising Star Chef in America,” James Beard Foundation, 2003 and one of ten “Best New Chefs in America,” Food & Wine, 2002. Under Achatz’ lead, Trio received four stars from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago magazine and garnered five stars from the celebrated Mobil Travel Guide in 2004. Known by now in culinary circles as one of the top promoters in the forward-thinking movement, Achatz realized a lifelong dream by opening Alinea in Chicago in May 2005. The restaurant received extraordinary attention from day one, and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as the Best New Restaurant in America that same year.


This restaurant under this young and exciting Chef is a true upgrade for Chicago and that is a grand statement for a city that has so many culinary gifts already. It is time for all of us to acknowledge his name and to start pay attention to Achatz. When in Chicago you definitely need to try this place!

The New Havana Club Of Miami - High Above The City !

By the time Miami’s brand-new Havana Club opened a few months ago, 700 of its 800 membership slots already had been filled. The renovated space at the Miami City Club on the 55th floor of the Wachovia Financial Center provides an elegant venue for entertaining or conducting business while enjoying a real smoke. Members pay an initiation fee of $5,000 and monthly dues of $300. In full view of Biscayne Bay, less than 200 miles from the heart of Havana itself and towering high above the city, Miami's leaders come together in one of the most recognized spaces in town - the top floor of the 55-story Wachovia Financial Center. But the Havana Club at the Miami City Club is more than a social club; it is an intimate meeting ground for corporate and community leaders and a place where business is conducted in style. The atmosphere is the result of over five million dollars in renovations and improvements. Noteworthy advances for the Club’s space includes a brand new, state-of-the-art induction kitchen, high-speed wireless Internet access, and a state-of-the-art air purification system. The entire interior has been newly designed to reflect the sophisticated, comfortable Miami lifestyle with exquisite woods, fabrics, furnishings and fixtures. Like nowhere else in Miami – the Havana Club has taken dining to its highest level. Savory breakfast, lunch and dinner menus will be created by internationally renowned culinary personality, Chef Douglas Sisk. Known for the delectable selections at the Sardine Factory in Monterey, California, Chef Sisk is infusing the Havana Club menu with local flavors and irresistible tastes. Then, while you dine, breathtaking 55th-floor views of the ocean, Biscayne Bay, the Everglades and downtown Miami, will satisfy your hunger for Miami’s most exceptional dining experience. And they feature the best non-Cuban cigar menu that I have ever seen! They are worth your visit.

Over-The-Top - Menu Items For Big Spenders !

Most of the time we report to you about the best of the best regardless of what the charges for these things may be. Off course when things are very nice or extremely good, they naturally tend to cost more. But then there are the over-the-top menu items. We do not withhold them from you. Consider, the $1,000 breakfast frittata served by Norma’s, a breakfast joint at Le Parker Meridien in New York, or the $100 cheesesteak served at the Philadelphia steak house Barclay Prime. Harry’s Steak & Café, in New York tempts its guest with $14.50 Kobe beef hot dog. You can find some of the same over in England. Gordon Ramsay introduced a $185 white truffle pizza at his London restaurant Maze. Chef Spencer Burge added to the menu at Fence Gate Inn in Burnley, Lancashire, England, a $15,000 steak-and-mushroom pie served with a sauce made from 1982 Château Mouton-Rothschild. Norma’s $100 version of the frittata features an ounce of Kazakhstan sevruga caviar whilst the $1,000 version features several ounces of the same caviar. And then there is my Gourmet Brother Daniel Boulud. He offers you a $29 burger sandwich which showcases a patty stuffed with black truffles, foie gras, and beef short rib meat that has been marinated in red wine for 18 hours. His best seller is the Royale burger, which includes seven additional grams of sliced black truffles, which increase the price to as much as $70. The Super Royale, contains 15 grams of black truffles and costs as much as $120. Boulud’s burgers are served with French fries that arrive in a paper cone tucked in a silver cup. And despite Boulud’s protestations, the waitstaff will pair the Royale with a Coca-Cola if requested. Should you seek an appropriate nightcap after dining on a Royale, the lobby lounge of the Algonquin Hotel next door serves a $10,000 martini, which is poured into a glass that contains a diamond. Hey, just make you aware of the choices out there!

Barclay Prime
215.732.7560
www.starr-restaurant.com

DB Bistro Moderne
212.391.2400
www.danielnyc.com

Harry’s Steak & Café
212.785.9200
www.harrysnyc.com

Norma’s
212.708.7460
parkermeridien.com

The Latest For Dinner Parties - Dinner In The Sky !

Belgium is a place where dramatic food is served. Many people think that the world Capitol of the high dinning is Paris but they do under estimate Belgium and its Capitol Brussels. Some of the most exciting meals in my life definitely happened in the country of Belgium. Now they go crazy over there and add a hole lot of extra excitement to their food. Dinner In The Sky takes place at a table suspended at a height of 150 feet by a team of professionals. Benji Fun is the worldwide leader for this type of activities. Dinner in the Sky is available for a session of 8 hours. It can be divided or personalised accorded to the client’s wishes. Dinner in the Sky seats 22 people around the table at every session and three in the middle (chef, waiter, etc.) Dinner In The Sky is organized anywhere the crane can be safely parked.So there you have the next new, over the top party and dinner idea. Let us know how it went.

Bangkok - Epicurean Masters of the World !

You may have heard about this, but just in case you did not, here is what went down at the eccentric Hotel Lebua at Bangkok's State Tower in Thailand last Saturday, February the 10th. The Bangkok State Tower is currently the largest building in Asia and thus command stunning views. The event is branded as the "Epicurean Masters Of The World" and this one happens to be the second edition already. Six three Michelin Star awarded Chefs congregated under one roof creating a culinary extravaganza never before seen in Thailand and rarely experienced anywhere else in the world. The concept is fairly simple; the finest Chefs, the finest food, the finest wines and spirits shall help to ensure Bangkok's reputation as one the worlds most fascinating culinary destinations. The wine paring was conducted by the worlds renowned wine merchants Berry Bros & Rudd of London, England.
The Grand Finally was an evening of utter decadence - a remarkable 1,000,000 Bath ($25,000) per person gourmet gala dinner, prepared by only 3 star Michelin Chefs. With pride I introduce you to the original menu, as it was served including the wine paring and the preparing Chef:

Creme Brulee of Foie Gras with Tonga Beans
prepared by Chef Alain Soliveres, Restaurant Taillevent / Paris
paired with a 1990 Louis Roederer Cristal

Tartar of Kobe Beef with Imperial Beluga Caviar and Belon Oysters
prepared by Chef Antoine Westermann, Restaurant Le Buerehiesel / Strasbourg
paired with a 1995 Krug Clos du Mesnil

Mousseline of Ecrevisse a Pattes Rouges with a Morel Mushroom Infusion
prepared by Chef Alain Soliveres, Restaurant Taillevent / Paris
paired with a 2000 Corton Charlemange, Domaine Jean Francoise Coche-Dury

Tarte Fine of Divers Scallops with Black Perigord Truffles
prepared by Chef Antoine Westermann, Restaurant Le Buerehiesel / Strasbourg
paired with a 1996 Le Montrachet, Domaine de la Romanee Conti

Britanny Lobster "Osso Bucco"
prepared by Chef Jean-Michel Lorain, Restaurant La Cote Saint-Jacques / Burgundy
paired with a 1985 Romanee-Conti, Domaine de la Romanee Conti

White, Alba Truffles Risotto "Enoteca Pinchiorri"
prepared by Chef Annie Feolde, Restaurant Enoteca Pinchiorri, Florence
paired with a 1961 Chateau Palmer

Saddle of Lamb "Leonel"
prepared by Chef Marc Meneau, Restaurant L'Esperance a Vezelay / Burgundy
paired with a 1959 Chateau Mouton Rothschild

Sorbet "Dom Perignon"

Supreme of Pigeon en Croute with Black Perigord Truffles
prepared by Chef Heinz Winkler, Restaurant Residenz / Aschau
paired with a 1961 Chateau Haut-Brion

Selection of Fine Cheeses
paired with a 1955 Chateau Latour

Imperial Gingerbread Pyramid with Caramel au Beurre Salee Ice Cream
prepared by Chef Jean-Michel Lorain, Restaurant La Cote Saint-Jacques / Burgundy
paired with a 1967 Chateau d'Yquem

Coffee served with Les Mignardises

Many of those who attended Saturday night's culinary extravaganza hailed it as the meal of a lifetime. High-rolling food lovers flew in from the United States, Europe, the Middle East and other parts of Asia to claim their seat of the 40 covers-only dinner. As guests entered the dinner, held at the hotel's rooftop restaurant on the 65th floor overlooking Bangkok, attendants bowed and scattered rose petals at their feet. Men wore tuxedos and women were dripping in diamonds. The guests included Fortune 500 executives, a casino owner from Macao and a Taiwanese hotel owner. The guests sipped their way through what I consider nothing less than legendary vintage wines. Berry Bros. & Rudd, the British wine merchants that procured and shipped about six bottles of each wine for the dinner.

The New Old - Nose To Tail Eating !

There is a new movement in the food world that evolves around a very old concept; cooking and eating the whole beast. Instead of just serving up the top cuts, like the loins, the chops and the tenderloins, these new kids on the block are going back to the ways it used to be on the farms. The butcher came out and a pig was selected and butchered on the spot and within the next few days all parts of that pig (nose to tail) was artfully turned into great food. Some meat and inerts were served fresh, some of the parts were cured, smoked, pickled, salted or turned into sausages. In the process we rediscover that many of the parts that used to end up in the gutter can actually be turned into some of the best plates you'll ever have. One of the pioneer in this field is my Gourmet Brother Fergus Henderson that together with Trevor Gulliver opened ST. JOHN in London in 1994. Situated in a former smokehouse, around the corner from London's Smithfield Market they have developed one of the most unique eateries in London. You will go through a special experience, eating the most remarkable cuts that you wont find anywhere else. The food is phenomenal and the whole atmosphere between the place itself and the food is almost a culinary catharsis in a wonderful way. When in London - a must try!
26 St John Street, London
+44 (0) 20 7251 0848

Most people believe that the best Speck, Bacon and Pancetta actually comes from the pig's belly. Whilst it is true that most of these products are made from pork belly, one of the best bacon type cut is called Guanciale (gwan-CHA-leh) - that actually comes from the pork jowl or, to put it more delicately, pig cheek. Guanciale is always cured and never smoked. It is an amazingly good tasting bacon, that will turn your spaghetti carbonara into a true sensation. Try Guanciale cold cut style or pan seared with a good bread, or add some of it cubed and seared to your scrambled eggs in the morning and you wont want to go back to that other stuff. Guanciale is hard to find. Call my Gourmet Brother Marc Buzzio of New York's Salumeria Biellese and he will ship it to you!
Salumeria Biellese
212-736-7376

Maybe you wish to get in on this Nose To Tail cooking and try something that you never done before. How about some slow roasted pork belly Fergus Henderson style. It is a simple recipe and a simple process with a great result.

4 lb piece pork belly
1/3 cup whiskey
2 medium onions cut in 1/2-inch-thick rings
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2/3 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves
1 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup cider (or beer)
2 teaspoons salt
8 whole cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

Remove the skin from the pork belly. In a baking dish marinate the pork belly in the whiskey for at least 4 hours up to one day. Occasionally turning the pork belly over, keep it covered and chilled.
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 300°F.
Spread onion rings in an even layer in a large ovenproof roasting pan and sprinkle with garlic and half of sage leaves. Pour in the chicken broth and arrange pork belly, fat-side up, on onions (discard marinade). Pour cider or beer over the pork belly. Finely chop remaining sage leaves and mix with salt, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon in a small cup. Sprinkle pork belly with the mixture.
Cover tightly with foil and roast, basting occasionally, until pork is very tender, about 3 hours.
Remove foil from pork and sprinkle brown sugar over pork. Increase oven temperature to 400°F and roast pork until glazed and golden, about 20 minutes more. Transfer pork to cleaned cutting board, reserving onions in pan (discard cloves), and let stand 20 minutes before serving.
Transfer onions with a slotted spoon to a serving dish and keep warm, covered. Add vinegar to liquid in roasting pan and boil on stove top until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Pour reduced pan juices into a measuring cup and skim off fat. Cut pork belly lengthwise into 3/4-inch-thick slices, then halve each slice crosswise. Serve with onions and pan juices.