Restaurant Review: Umami Burger

Tonight I checked out the new CA transplant, Umami Burger. Of course, they do not take reservations. We were a party of 3 and did not have to wait too long at 7pm on a Wednesday night (though one member of the party was there 15 min earlier to get our name on the list). After 7pm, there was a significant line forming. Anyway, we got hooked up with a sweet booth in the back and enjoyed our meal.

We decided to start with two orders of fries, one regular thin fries and one sweet potato. The regular fries were crispy and savory, and the sweet potato fries were very sweet. They were actually served with brown sugar on top which was interesting. I only wished they were served with some special dipping sauce too.

Now for the burgers. I went splitsies and tried half of the Classic Burger with shiitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, a Parmesan crisp, and Umami ketchup. The other half was of the Truffle Burger with house-made truffle cheese and truffle glaze. Both were really delicious. We got them medium rare and they came juicy, savory, flavorful, and just awesome. The Parmesan crisp on the Classic was a nice added touch. The Truffle Burger had cheese literally oozing out of it, but it was gooey and truffley and mmm so good. Also, the buns were nice and soft and had a cool "U" burned into the top. Nice branding opportunity.

Truffle Burger

"Umami" means savory, and all of our food was just that. I had heard so much excitement around this new, amazing burger spot, and it did not disappoint. I have had a lot of great burgers, and this is near the top of the list. I suggest you try!

Restaurant Review: The Meatball Shop

Tonight Jeremy and I gave the new UES location of The Meatball Shop a try. We have been to the West Village location and had a great experience, so naturally we were excited when we heard their biggest location yet would be opening just 3 short blocks away. Why not cap off a great Labor Day Weekend with a ball-rific dinner?

We had great service - did not have to wait at all, which was a big plus, and our food came very quickly. Everyone was super friendly. It's a fun place, and I especially like the laminated menus that allow you to use markers to check off what you want.

As for the food, we had 2 different orders of "naked balls," which is four meatballs served with your choice of sauce and a stick of focaccia bread. We got spicy pork balls with mushroom gravy sauce and chicken balls with pesto sauce. The balls are a nice size, not too dense, and very delicious. Even the chicken ball had tons of flavor. My favorite part was the pesto sauce. While it was a little oily, it had toasted pine nuts in it, so that was a nice touch.

For sides, we got the two daily specials - sweet corn and cherry tomato risotto and roasted squash with chili lemon butter. I was a little disappointed with both. I expected the risotto to be super creamy, but it wasn't. I mean it was fine, just not what I expected. And I really did not like the squash. The chili lemon butter gave it a weird kick, and I am pretty sure there were a few other spices like paprika or cumin that did not mix well and gave it an odd flavor.

From Top to Bottom:
Spicy Pork Balls with Mushroom Gravy Sauce
Sweet Corn and Cherry Tomato Risotto
Roasted Squash with Chili Lemon Butter
Chicken Balls with Pesto Sauce

For dessert, I had to try one of their famous ice cream sandwiches. Glad I did! They give you the option to mix and match the 2 cookies and the ice cream, so I went with snickerdoodle and honey vanilla cookies (daily special) and the brown sugar ice cream (daily special) in the middle. The snickerdoodle cookie was actually a bit hard, but the honey vanilla was super chewy and buttery-delicious. The brown sugar ice cream was sweet and it all came together well.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Will definitely be returning, especially to try some more of their daily specials, which vary by location. A cute, fun, casual, cheap spot! What more can you ask for?

Restaurant Review: Mission Chinese

Finally made it to Mission Chinese! Such a hole in the wall, which we all know means it's the best. This small, sort of dingy looking spot in the Lower East Side lived up to all of the hype (at least in my book). We had to wait about 45-60 minutes for a table at 6:30 on a Tuesday, but this was for a party of 5. We expected a wait, so this was fine and we just got a drink around the corner. They called us when our table was ready, which is so great for a restaurant to offer, so you don't have to stand around. When our time came, we were led down a narrow hallway to the back of the restaurant which had under 20 tables and a few seats at the bar. We were a little overwhelmed with the wide variety of options on the menu, but I was excited about some of the unusual offerings. The waiter was super helpful in finalizing our meal when we gave him our proposed rundown. And here it goes...

I think I have established I love pickled vegetables, so I suggested Tartine's Spicy Carrot Pickles. The carrots were sour and spicy and had a great crunch. A nice start to the meal and a good way to get some veggie representation on the table.

Tartine's Spicy Carrot Pickles

Next was Steamed Eggplant in Chili Bean Sauce. This was a fine dish, nothing crazy. The eggplant was soft and mushy and covered in the chili bean sauce which gave it a kick. Nice for just a taste.

Then came the Crispy Pig Ears with Old Bay seasoning and country ham powder. These were AWESOME. Everyone at the table looked at me a little funny when I suggested it, but we went with it, and thank god. The waiter assured me these weren't TOO Old Bay-y, because I am not the biggest fan of the seasoning, but can tolerate it. For those that are not familiar, Old Bay is found a lot in the Mid-Atlantic region and served with fresh crab or on french fries (among other things). Anyway, these pig ears were fried to perfection, super crispy, seasoned well and totally addicting. I had to remind myself to leave some for the others.

Next were the Griddled Lamb Meatballs with seven spice, toasted nori, Worcestershire sauce and served with potatoes. It came with 4 meatballs (we actually thought there were more, but potatoes were mistaken for balls) that were moist, savory, and complimented by the nori (type of seaweed). A nice appetizer.

Then came the Thrice Cooked Bacon. This is apparently a popular dish, and I can see why. A total indulgence, but great to share. The bacon was served with Shanghainese rice cakes, tofu skin, bitter melon, and chili oil. This was SPICY. They warn you on the menu, and they did not lie. You can push away some of the chili flakes to ease the fire, but it most definitely has a kick. As we were all trying our first bites, we forgot what the round white things were. They had this kind of weird soft chewy texture that lead your mind in a few different directions. We were all chewing thinking "well, this could definitely be something weird but I am trying to be open-minded...." but then the waiter reminded us that they were rice cakes. This revelation completely changed our mind set and made the texture totally acceptable and even good! Funny how that works. The bacon was unreal, but I probably don't even need to tell you that.

Top Left - Crispy Pig Ears
Top Right - Griddled Lamb Meatballs
Bottom - Thrice Cooked Bacon

The next round of food started with the Egg Egg Noodles. These egg noodles came with a soft hen egg, ginger, scallion, and black vinegar. You crack open the egg and release the goodness, and mix it all up. This was a mild noodle dish, which was needed as many of our other dishes were spicy. I love a good runny egg all over my food, so that was plus, and this was just plain tasty. And yes that is cilantro you see below, but don't worry, I was able to dig around it. 

Egg Egg Noodles

Then out came the Broccoli Beef Brisket with smoked oyster sauce. This was super tender brisket, a little fatty, and the smoked oyster sauce provided so much salty/smokey flavor (however they probably could have laid off a little on the sauce). The broccoli on top I think may have actually been broccolini, but either way it was very green, crisp, and crunchy. Great textural contrast.

Broccoli Beef Brisket (photo credit: Alicia Dreher)

Overall, this place rocked. So casual, fun, cheap (surprisingly so), and DELICIOUS. I will absolutely be back and I have already picked out everything else I want to try....

Restaurant Review: Sen NYC

I went to Sen NYC with two of my besties to celebrate a special birthday (aren't they all special?). We had some decent food, however, the service was bad and I would consider this place overpriced.

Service:
To start, the waiter brought us edamame though we did not order it. He told us to keep it anyway which was nice, but then forgot to take it off the bill. So we had to remind him of that. That was when we finally got the bill. The waiter went very MIA after we got our food. I think it took about 30 minutes for him to come back after he cleared dessert to ask if we wanted the check. The only upside to that was I had a wonderful time catching up with my girls.

Food:
We ordered several dishes and split between the 3 of us. We started with edamame (as forementioned, on the house), which was actually really good. Probably the most flavorful and well cooked edamame I have had, and salted just right.

Edamame

Next was the Tuna Tartare, with takuan pickle, shallot, cured quail egg, crispy wonton, and spicy yuzo dressing. This was delicious too, but such a small portion. Not what I was expecting for $16. However, it had a nice textural balance and the quail egg made such a difference in flavor.

Tuna Tartare (sorry for the poor quality photo)

Then came 2 rolls, the Hot Tuna (tuna with three spiced chili sauce) and another specialty roll that is slipping my mind. They were both good rolls, but clearly not too memorable! I always think that all sushi is good, because if it's bad, then it's BAD. So I mean, yea it was good sushi with nice fresh ingredients.

Also, we got the Cahan Rice Pot. This included garlic fried rice, a slow cooked egg that you could break open and mix in, shaved green onion, and sesame seeds. This was a great dish that complimented our other dishes well. This was a bit more substantial and I always like egg mixed in, so that was a plus. I would definitely order this again.

Last was the Harami Garlic Skewer. This came with 3 skewers of wagyu skirt steak and crisped garlic chips on top. The steak was very tasty but a little chewy. However, that is basically the definition of skirt steak, so in other words it was exactly what you might expect. There was a nice garlic flavor and the chips were in fact crispy.

Sushi Rolls, Cahan Rice Pot, and Harami Garlic Skewer

Last was the green tea ice cream (no photo). A favorite flavor of mine, and this did not disappoint. We split one scoop and that's all we needed. It was rich, creamy, and tasted authentic and homemade.

Overall, I probably would not return. There are so many other places for Japanese food and Sen NYC did not offer anything above and beyond, including service.

Restaurant Review: Red Farm

I was meeting a friend in the West Village around 8:00 on Friday night, so I decided to take this opportunity to get a table at RedFarm with Jeremy. Typically there is always a huge crowd lingering outside of the restaurant waiting anxiously for a table, however I got there around 6:45 and was seated immediately. By 7 pm, every table was filled. I didn't realize that there is a downstairs seating area that has a separate entrance, but that is where we were taken. The place has rustic decor with some small tables, but mainly a large communal table in the center of the room. Service was good, and we received our food quickly.

We both started with a beer, me with the Sixpoint Sweet Action, and Jeremy with the Peak Organic IPA. Both were good and nice compliment to the food we ordered. Speaking of food...

We chose 4 dishes to split: Shu Mai Shooters, Katz's Pastrami Egg Roll, Pac Man Shrimp Dumplings, and Wide Rice Noodles with BBQ'd Roast Duck.

The Shu Mai Shooters were presented nicely with 4 double shot glasses containing carrot and ginger bisque with a scallop and squid dumpling sitting on top. The shu mai was delicious and did not have an overpowering fishy taste. It was also just the right amount of salty. The carrot and ginger bisque was VERY gingery. I think I am just sensitive to ginger, because Jeremy was sucking these down. I did like this dish overall because it was actually two things that complimented each other well.

Shu Mai Shooters

Katz's Pastrami Egg Roll was as amazing as it sounds. It was the pastrami of all pastrami stuffed inside an egg roll and deep fried, and served with honey mustard. It was served warm and super crispy on the outside, yet not at all greasy. This dish is just the best idea ever. You must order it.

Katz's Pastrami Egg Roll

The Pac Man Shrimp Dumplings must be their top seller by far. Every single party at the communal table ordered this, and the same waitress brought them all out with her memorized shpeel describing the dish. She was Ms. Pac Man. Anyways, this dish was totally adorable. There was a piece of fried sweet potato shaped like Pac Man directed towards 4 dumpling "ghosts." Each dumpling was made with shrimp, but each one was different in that one also had bamboo, one also had lobster, and I forget the other two. But they were all good. A dumpling is a dumpling you know? Some are better than others, and these count as the better ones. But it's hard for me to tell you why. The fried sweet potato was awesome because anything fried pretty much is. And it was sitting in a dollop of mushed avocado which provided a nice flavor and textural compliment. This was a good dish overall, but I think it is more about how fun and creative the idea behind it is than the actual food.

Pac Man Shrimp Dumplings

Against the recommendation of our waitress, our "entree" was the Wide Rice Noodles with BBQ'd Roast Duck. She suggested we get something from the entree section as the noodles are made to compliment the entree dishes, but honestly this all was plenty of food for us. We both really liked this one. The roast duck was laid on top in slices, with super savory and crispy skin and juicy, tender meat underneath. There was a layer of fat, which normally I hate, but this was really very delicious duck. The noodles were in a brown sauce and had probably an entire red onion with it. This would be my only complaint, the abundance of red onion. While it was cooked onion, it was still a bit overpowering. I think the noodle to red onion ratio was 1:1.

Wide Rice Noodles with BBQ'd Roast Duck

We opted out of dessert because we had to run, but overall we had a nice experience. While the restaurant has a nice ambiance, and has a fun, playful menu that is very delicious, it is a bit pricey for what it is. While way less glamorous, it is hard to pay $100 knowing you can go to Prosperity Dumpling and for just $2.50, receive 10 super tasty, authentic dumplings. Just sayin.

Restaurant Review: Manzanilla

After tasting some of Dani Garcia's delicious food at Celebrate Flatiron Chefs! two weeks ago, I was excited to try it out with three of my girlfriends. The space is quite large, so it did not feel busy though it was not as if it was dead. We sat in a booth next to the window looking out at 26th street, and the bar separated our table from the main dining room. This was great because the volume was low and we were able to converse with no problem. Service was fine. Nothing to rave about, but nothing to complain about either. The waitress was nice and answered all of our questions and made a few recommendations. After making a few difficult choices (everything on the menu looks great), we decided on 4 tapas dishes, the paella, and a side. The paella takes about 40 minutes, so it worked out well to start with the tapas and have the paella as our main course.

First out was the famous Montaditos de Rabo de Toro, which is the steamed brioche buns with pulled oxtail, mushrooms, and kale. I tried these at Celebrate Flatiron Chefs! and the ones there were about triple the size as at the restaurant, but equally delicious. The waitress suggested we get two orders because one came with two buns and there were four of us, so we did. This was probably the favorite of the table. The bun is so soft and slightly sweet and the oxtail is tender and savory. This time, since they were smaller versions (like sliders), the oxtail aioli on top was just the right amount.

Montaditos de Rabo de Toro

At about the same time, the Pulpo Con Pipirrana came out. This is octopus salad with cherry tomatoes, apples, oranges, red pepper vinaigrette, and smoke pimenton oil. I love a good octopus salad, and this was just that. I loved how each piece was piled with fruit and tomato and the vinaigrette and smoke pimenton oil were drizzled on. I really appreciated the smokey flavor from the pimenton oil, which is made from paprika. I think it balanced the dish without being overwhelming. This was just a light, fresh, colorful dish and I would definitely order it again.

Pulpo Con Pipirrana

Also at the same time came the Croquetas de Sepia, which is squid ink and cuttlefish croquettes with citrus aioli. These were little fried balls with squid ink stained rice inside and had a little chunk of cuttlefish in the middle. These were extremely rich, but also very salty. It was pretty heavy, even for being small, because of the crispy fried exterior. The aioli was fine, but not memorable. I liked these, but I am not sure I would order them again. Also, we all got black tongues immediately after eating it, very cute.

Croquetas de Sepia

Inside of Croquetas de Sepia

The next tapas dish to come out was the Berenjenas Y Broccolini Frito. This was another table favorite, with roasted eggplant, crispy broccolini, honey, and herb yogurt dressing. It came with two strips of incredibly soft eggplant that was sweet, almost caramelized tasting. The broccolini was roasted until very crispy and brittle and savory. It reminded me of baking kale in the oven, but way better. The two textures balanced each other very well. My only complaint is that I wish there was more eggplant.

Berenjenas Y Broccolini Frito

Now for the main event, Paella de Bogavante. This paella came out in a huge pan with crispy, golden brown rice sticking to the bottom (but not so much that we couldn't scoop it out), and a huge grilled lobster laying across it. There was crispy broccolini, like from the eggplant dish, on top which was great. I could eat an entire plate of that broccolini. So we knew that the paella was also supposed to have cuttlefish and shrimp in it, but we really had to dig to find it. They were chopped up into very small pieces and mixed in with the rice. I guess we were expecting paella with the seafood all still in their shells, or at least whole, so this was different. Once I dug out the rest of the seafood I was a happy camper. This was a really great dish to share.

Paella de Bogavante

The waitress had suggested we get a side of veggies to go with the paella so we went with Calabacines de Verano Salteados. This is sauteed summer squash with crispy onions, cumin, and mint. I liked the mint with this, it really added something refreshing. I also like the crispy onions as a textural component. This dish was otherwise nothing special.

Calabacines de Verano Salteados

Overall, we had a delightful meal. There was nothing that we didn't like, but I would say that the brioche buns and the eggplant dishes were my personal favorite. Will definitely be returning!

Review: Celebrate Flatiron Chefs!

I got VERY lucky to have snagged a last minute ticket to Madison Square Park's annual summertime food and drink tasting event, Celebrate Flatiron Chefs! This grand foodie event features dishes from top restaurants in Flatiron. I braved the 95 degree heat and tried a little bit of almost everything. And here it goes...

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.

Next up was La Mar Cebicheria. Executive Chef Victoriano Lopez was offering Cebiche Classico and Quinoa Causa. The Cebiche Classico was made of sashimi grade Long Island fluke in a classic leche de tigre with red onion, habenero, Pervuvian corn and yams. The Quinoa Causa was made of peruvian Quinoa salad over yellow potato causa, avocado, cherry tomatoes, aji amarillo dressing, basil, and balsamic reduction. The fluke was very tasty, fresh, and marinated well, however the fish was served as large chunks which is kind of weird for this kind of dish. The quinoa was fine, but not too memorable.

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).

Hello friend.

Hanjan was next, which I was excited for since this place has been on my list for a bit. Hooni Kim, the Chef, served soft tofu with perilla vinaigrette and salmon sashimi with spicy chojang salad. I really did not care for the tofu. It was way too soft and texturally it just was not working for me. However the sashimi was awesome and they provided a nice sized portion. Super fresh and paired well with the salad. I am still intrigued to try more at the restaurant, but definitely not of the tofu.

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!