A Taste of Tribeca

My friend and I trekked downtown to Tribeca to sample some of the best food the neighborhood has to offer at the Taste of Tribeca food festival. We had a deliciously wonderful time--but it was no place for children, even as there were scads of them. The streets were packed with visitors who had purchased tickets to the event and we all had to navigate around babies in high-end strollers outfitted like mini-vans and little kids strolling past on scooters. Still, it was of little matter: everything was a ball.

Nobu and Pepolino sold out immediately but we carefully considered our road map to check out the other participants (close to 100!) as we made our way through and chose wisely to sample some of the small plates that the bustling chefs prepared during the gloriously bright and sunny afternoon.

Seasonal ramps from Telepan Local were first up for us, with asparagus, wild garlic, lemon ricotta and sorrel.

Two pieces of seared foie gras "sushi" from Daruma-Ya were pretty great and we chugged thirst-quenching lemonade from Dirty Bird To Go while we waited in line (fortunately we were first for the new batch) for truly scrumptious buttermilk-dipped chicken nuggets that everybody was clamoring for, and rightly so.

The fantastic jazzy blues quartet rocked the pavement...!

Alaskan King house-cured salmon from Landmarc was perfection, served in a considerate vessel with pickled onions and creme fraiche with mustard seeds; the aroma of sherried shrimp and crab meat with shallots stuffed into homemade tortellini led us to Acappella restaurant's stand; divine deviled eggs from The Butterfly fluttered about; crispy shrimp from Megu filled a temaki handroll; Bouley tickled our taste buds with Japanese a root vegetable kuzu chip topped with an aligot whipped potato and cheese preparation topped with black truffle pate, alongside a raspberry cherry amaretto white chocolate mousse; and classic Apple Brown Betty from Bubby's Pie Co. finished us off--well almost, because we went for a apple and lemon popsicle from Ward III as well. 

Taste of Tribeca was quite tasty indeed! Thanks Bayer Public Relations for the invite!

Pete's Dish - March 14

Tablao (pictured), a tapas restaurant in Tribeca recently opened, is helmed by Spanish industry vets Frank Castro (former GM of Son Cubano) and his father, Executive Chef Francisco Castro (Toledo). Look for Montaditos, or tapas “mounted” on toasted bread, with such tempties as Chorizo y Huevo (chorizo and fried quail eggs) or little bites like Solomillo, filet mignon sautéed with cherry peppers in Rioja red wine. Traditional entrees such as Paella, and house specialties such as Pollo Tablao, grilled chicken breast with jumbo shrimp are available as well. There are also live Flamenco shows twice a week! Tablao is located at 361 Greenwich St, 212-334-4043, TablaoNYC.com.  

In other Tribeca news, celebrate the 20th Annual Taste of Tribeca on Saturday, May 17, 2014 from 11:30am to 3pm. The outdoor culinary festival features local flavors from folks in downtown Manhattan. Look for mainstays Bouley, Tribeca Grill and Walker’s in attendance and other newcomers. In addition to restaurant tastings, there will be a special VIP section, live entertainment, wine tastings and scads of other fun things. All proceeds will ensure the continuation of arts and enrichment programs at local public schools, PS 150 and PS 234. Visit TasteOfTribeca.org for tickets and more info, follow the event: @TasteofTribeca #tasteoftribeca #tot2014. So raise a glass and toast Taste of Tribeca—and naturally, bring your eatin’ pants!

Custom Fuel Pizza & Salads opened last month in Harlem, backed by sporty players former Knicks men John Starks and Anthony Mason, Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim, and CNN news correspondent Chris Cuomo. Jeremy Wladis of New York’s The Restaurant Group (A.G. Kitchen, Amigos, Good Enough to Eat) and Zach Current, founder of North Carolina based Fuel Pizza man the court as well. Start with a white, whole wheat, or gluten free 7x13 inch crust, choose any sauce, cheese and up to four toppings from 40 choices, including burrata cheese, grilled artichoke, and farm egg from locally sourced ingredients and other purveyors. Then into the oven it goes and comes back out in about 90 seconds! Other suggested pizzas include basil and artichoke and BBQ chicken options. In addition to the New York City location, Custom Fuel has two locations in Washington, D.C. Custom Fuel Pizza & Salads is located at 2288 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, 646-524-5636, CustomFuelPizza.com.

Drunken Munkey NYC (pictured) on the Upper East Side just launched brunch! The coolly vintage craft cocktail bar with a full Indian kitchen offers new prix-fixe menu that includes Kedgeree which consists of Basmati rice, smoked salmon, eggs, butter and cream and the Munkey Masala Omlette with chillies and cilantro. Each meal includes your choice of coffee or tea but at EveningsWithPeter.com, we suggest washing it down with a Munkey Bloody Mary with fresh tomato juice and crispy okra or the Royal Enfield Sidecar with D'usse VSOP cognac, Combier, lemon juice and burnt orange. Drunken Munkey NYC is located at 338 E. 92nd St, (btwn 1st/2nd Aves), 646-998-4600, DrunkenMunkeyNYC.com