The first table I approached was A Voce Madison where Chef Kevin Garcia offered up Etruscan farro salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh herbs in a red wine vinaigrette and smoked duck breast with cherries and pistachios. I actually got the run down from the chef himself, which was cool (and unusual at these types of events). The farro salad was good as a side dish and fresh tasting, but not overwhelmingly amazing that I needed to finish it. The smoked duck breast was tasty and I liked the combo of cherries and pistachios, but it was hard to eat without putting it down and cutting it up (and there were no knives provided at this table). I think at this kind of event, it's important to consider how the food is being consumed, like most people only have one hand free and it's often hard to find a table to post up at.
The next table was The Hurricane Steak and Sushi that had a cool smoking jug of a cocktail called Dark & Stormy made with ginger beer, Gosling's, and kalamansi. This was probably my favorite drink of the night. The chef, Craig Koketsu, also offered a chili lobster roll which was quite enjoyable and plentiful. I don't think I've ever had a lobster roll I didn't like, and this was no exception. I have to admit I was surprised to have liked this table as much as I did considering my one time experience dining there about a year ago was just eh. I know they are known for their cocktails, so it was not surprising that showed this off.
SD26 was next with Matteo Bergamini, the Executive Chef, serving Pappa col Pomodoro and roasted rosemary scented porchetta served with country bread. The Pappa col Pomodoro is a super chunky tomato and basil soup with Tuscan bread chunks in it. This was very good with fresh tomatoes, and not served too hot which was important considering the heat. The porchetta was fine. Really nothing special, except it was served with a scrumptious piece of crispy skin that I only let myself take one bite of (serious self control, thank you very much).
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So, obviously I was excited to see what NoMad had to offer, considering the unbelievable meal I had there about a year ago, and they did not let me down. Their roasted corn salad with smoked tomato and basil topped with corn foam was unreal. I know what you're thinking, corn was the best thing you ate all night? Yes, yes it was. It was just so crispy and savory and the foam provided a nice textural balance. I probably could have had five of these, but I held off since I was only on the sixth station. However I did scrape the bottom of the cup for every last kernel. YUM.
The next station was from Maialino. Their team included Executive Chef Nicholas Anderer, Pastry Chef Rachel Binder, and Chef de Cuisine Jason Pfeifer. They served up housemade bresaola with parmasean, arugula, and mustard vinaigrette and then olive oil cupcakes with marscapone and fresh blackberries. I was underwhelmed by the bresaola, it was basically a rolled up piece of cured meat. Not saying I hate that, but compared to the other offerings, I think they could have stepped it up. However, the cupcakes were full sized, moist, not too sweet, and well balanced. I actually ended up splitting one with the random guy I met at the high tables that were placed around the area, and we both agreed they were very good.
Blue Smoke was up next. Executive Chef Kenny Callaghan presented pork belly "PB&J" which was braised heritage pork belly with jalapeno jelly and peanut sauce. I loved this. I thought it was a cute concept and the flavors came together really well. The jelly was slightly sweet, but with a kick from the jalapeno. The pork was tender and delicious. They also served mini chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, but I did not try them.
The next table was my Portland favorite, Stumptown Coffee Roasters! While I should have been downing the many boozy cocktail options, I decided to break for a fantastic iced coffee. Love this place.
Next is another table I couldn't wait to check out - Eleven Madison Park. You might remember that I recently had an extravagant meal here, and was excited to see that the Pastry Chef, Angela Pinkerton, was actually there serving up sassafras floats with roasted banana ice cream. I said hello (not knowing who she was) and mentioned that I just dined at EMP and she asked if I liked the ice cream when I was there. I said, in fact I LOVED the ice cream and described why. The way she was smiling and nodding tipped me off and I realized it was her. Pretty cool to be able to express to her directly that I was a fan. Anyways, the float was awesome, of course, and super refreshing on this extremely hot day. Two thumbs up and my favorite dessert of the night (unfortunately my photo does not do it justice).
I checked out the Junoon table next, which had their team of Executive Chef Vikas Khanna, Culinary Creative Director Aliya LeeKong, and Chef de Cuisine Adin Langille. They served up watermelon shooters made with kaffir lime, ginger, and green chili basil seeds as well as octopus chaat made with confit octopus, kachumber salad and tamarind chutney. I did not try the watermelon shooter, but the octopus was awesome. Perfectly cooked and great flavor from the confit. One of the top dishes I tried.
I stopped by a tequila table on my way to the other side of the park to try a special cocktail that was made with grapefruit and had a smokey flavor. Very nice.
I noticed this other side of the park was not nearly filled with the caliber of restaurants that I had just visited, however I clearly had to check it all out. It is important to note that I am pretty full at this point and had to be really selective with what I was going for.
First I saw Hill Country Chicken. Executive Chef Elizabeth Karmel and Executive Pitmaster Charles Grund Jr. were serving Hill Country chicken classic drumettes with pimento cheese grits and mini sour cream coffee cake. I had to pass on the drumettes since they were so fried and heavy. The coffee cakes were individually wrapped, so I grabbed one for a later time.
Right next door was Hill Country Barbecue (with the same team), offering post-oak smoked brisket and cool as a cucumber salad. Now I have had the Hill Country brisket before and thoroughly enjoyed it, however this brisket was dry and very flavorful. The cucumbers were also just plain and not exciting. I took one bite and moved on.
Manzanilla is a place I have been wanting to try, and they had Chef Dani Garcia serving up steamed up brioche buns with pulled oxtail, mushroom, and kale. They were topped with an oxtail mayo made from oxtail reduction. He also presented a creamy Spanish vanilla rice pudding. The brioche bun was super soft, kind of like a steamed pork bun, and the pulled oxtail was good. The oxtail mayo was very interesting, however the blob on top was too much and sort of took over the whole thing. The rice pudding was super creamy and really delicious. I am intrigued and still would like to try this spot at another time.
I have been to the Boqueria in Soho, so I figured they would have something good to try. Executive Chef Marc Vidal served grilled baby squid with romensco sauce, fava beans, mint, and frisee. Separately, there was watermelon gazpacho with mint. I liked the squid, as I normally love a good grilled squid, and the gazpacho was wonderful too. Refreshing and even had a slight kick.
Ilili Restaurant brought out a large team with Executive Chef Philippe Masoud, Pastry Chef Matthew O'Haver, Chef de Cuisine Brandon Hicks, and Chef de Cuisine John Shim. They turned out lamb belly with octopus and salsa verde on country bread. They also had a Lebanese cookie with mulberry fluff topped with pistachio fudge. The lamb belly was served on this huge piece of bread and was so difficult to eat. Since I was nearing bursting status, I gave up and tried the cookie instead. Loved this. Such an interesting blend of flavors with the tarty mulberry fluff and the sweet thick pistachio fudge. I could only manage two bites though since I still had a few more stations to hit up.
I have actually never heard of The Cannibal, but Executive Chef Francis Derby put put two nice plates together of lamb and aged goat cheese sausage with snap peas and a pate with special mustard. The pate was fine, but nothing to write home about. The lamb sausage, however, was super tasty. It was pretty greasy so I only took a bite, but the snap peas created a nice balance.
Towards the end of my loop was L&W Oyster Co. with Chef Jason Weiner and Chef de Cuisine David Belknap. I tried their Montauk pearl oysters with cucumber-sake granita. Very good and refreshing.
My stomach was pretty much at max capacity at this point so I decided this was a good time to call it quits. If you're thinking "holy crap this girl can eat," well that's not untrue, but know that I mostly tasted everything I described rather than devouring the entire dish. Anyways, overall, it was a great experience. So many fantastic restaurants were represented (many I have been to, but some I will now keep in mind for future visits) along with their Executive Chefs which was really cool. Major themes of the night - watermelon, gazpacho, cucumber, and quinoa! Thank god most stations were smart about providing only refreshing food and drink since the heat was a major issue. Also, they had some nice musical entertainment.
A pleasant evening all around and I'm so happy I was able to partake in this event!
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