My Foodie Weekend in New York City

Being in New York City around the holidays is magical, especially during a snow storm. So when I went to NYC the other week for a wedding at the Pierre Hotel, I came in a couple days early to lots of touristy stuff, and eat my way all over the island!

I first night I arrived, it was frigid, but that did not stop my wife & I from strolling through times square on our way to Mario Batali's, Esca, on  43rd & 9th ave. Esca is known for its seafood, and it did not disappoint. The squid ink pasta with mint and chiles was seasoned perfectly and had that murky, deep sea flavor from the ink. The zuppa di pesce was full of big pieces of fish, monster clams and mussels, and the best I have ever had. The broth, consisting of homemade fish stock, was so flavorful, tangy, and rich, it tasted like all the best flavors of the ocean at once!

The next day we strolled down to SoHo, and in to Dominique Ansel Bakery. Although they sold out of Cronuts at 10am, I recently watched unique sweets on the cooking channel, and they featured some other delish looking delectables! I ordered the Magic Souffle and the Cotton Soft Cheesecake. Both did not disappoint, and Dominique was in the house.

Saturday, snow storm Electra hit NYC in a major way, but that did not stop me from waiting in line outside of Carnegie Deli for 30 minutes, and being rewarded with the best pastrami sandwich topped with chopped liver and egg salad I have ever consumed! The place is an institution, and even better than Katz's deli in my opinion. The pastrami was so tender, moist and flavorful, that I could have eaten 2 pounds of it! As if my monster sando was not enough, I topped it off with some wickedly good strawberry chessecake that left me full(and slightly nauseous) the rest of the day.

Check out this beautiful picture I tweeted from Central park during snow storm Electra. The Weather Channel retweeted it, and it was pure magic being there at that time.

Fun with Social Media & #Foodiechats

On Monday, I went to my first ever #Foodiechats live tweeting event. It was held at Chi-Town Eatery in Chicago's west loop. I usually avoid using my iPhone during dinner at a restaurant, but this was one time when it was strongly encouraged! Foodie Chats is an online social community of foodies from all over the world, and every Monday night they all tweet together and answer questions posted from #Foodiechats on twitter.

A large crowd of Foodies turned out and enjoyed some really tasty food( free!) from Chi-Town Eatery. The wings were fried and sauced perfectly, the mac & cheese was insanely creamy, and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert was a classy move! I did manage to pry myself from twitter to actually meet real people and speak real words w/o using a has tag! I met some really cool fellow foodies, and even won a sweet t-shirt in the raffle.

I was amazed at the number of people live tweeting with us from all over the world. I was replying to a girl in London, tweeting with someone in Portugal about sweets and dessert wine, and even got followers from Budapest and Spain. The Foodie community is large and in charge and only getting better. I will definitely be live tweeting every Monday night, and can't wait for the next #Foodiechats party, but until then, PUT YOUR SMART PHONE AWAY WHILE AT THE RESTAURANT!

Eataly Chicago opens, and I was there!

The day finally came, Eataly Chicago opened the doors to its 60,000 sq. foot Italian foodie paradise yesterday, and I was there to eat and drink my way through it! Simply put, the place is incredible. Any Italian food, ingredient, produce, etc you can imagine is there, and when you combine that with numerous restaurants, tasting stations, and wine by the glass while you shop, how can you go wrong?

I first headed to the gelato area and asked how it's possible they have soft serve gelato. They said after the the gelato is slowly churned, it's moved to a machine that whips it and gives it that light, soft serve texture, and oh man does it feel incredibly silky smooth on the tongue!

After having some sweet it was time to go upstairs where the real food action is. There are numerous tiny food stands with seats around them selling "Salumi & Cheese", "Fried bar", "Raw & Fish Bar". I stopped for some fritto misto and prosciutto di parma. Even though the fritto misto was $21, the seafood was incredibly fresh, tender, and flavorful.

The crowds and lines got bigger as the evening went on, but I still managed some Farro(winter wheat berry) with butternut squash cooked risotto style and some lentil soup, both were spot on tasty. A little tiramisu for dessert really hit the spot, even though it was $6 for a tiny amount.

Eataly Chicago is truly a one of a kind place, and I will have to go back multiple times to fully appreciate and discover everything it has to offer.

What Food Shows I am Watching Now

I have been watching the Food Network for 15 years now, and it is safe to say they have hit their stride and are rocking out some seriously good programming these days. But it's one of their sister channels, The Cooking Channel, that has me hooked on some of the most entertaining and engaging food shows out there right now. Don't get me wrong, we all love food competition and reality shows, but it's nice to actually watch cooking shows, and see people share their recipes, and that is what Cooking Channel does, it's like MTV before they stopped playing music videos!

Cooking Channel has exposed me to some awesome food personalities like, Nadia G's Bithin' Kitchen, Chuck Hughes Eats the street, and Eden Grinshpan's Log On & Eat.

You will never, repeat ever, see a cooking show like Bitchin' Kitchen. Not only is Nadia G talented in the kitchen, but her humor is dark, twisted, and seriously addictive. She has a background in comedy, and decided to combine that with her love of food. Once you watch one episode, I dare you to not watch another one. Voodoo dolls, a shirtless meathead, an Israeli spice "agent", and a fetish for high heels are just some of the stuff that make this one of the best shows on food TV these days!

I first discovered Eden Grinshpan on her Cooking Channel show Eden Eats, where she stayed up for 24 hours and check out ethnic restaurants in a particular city. Her new show, Log On & Eat, is seriously entertaining bc it combines social media with hardcore foodies. She travels all around the country and meets up with food bloggers and other social media mavens. Whether it's a drag queen chef, a death metal blogger, or NYC pizza fanatics, it's all about the food baby!

Eden's show is on Tuesday nights, and Bitchin Kitchen is inbetween seasons now. Both shows air on the Cooking Channel.

New Episode of Flavor City from Tuscany is out!

I just released the latest Flavor City from Tuscany on my YouTube channel. This is my favorite episode yet as there is no shortage of culinary inspiration in Italy! Everything I tasted in Tuscany, mainly in the Chianti region, was so simple and so flavorful, and that is the essence of Italian food. I spent some time on a second generation wine and olive oil estate, just soaking up the beauty and my fair share of Chianti wine! I also got an in depth tour of how the extra virgin olive oil process works, and man does that make me appreciate this golden elixir from the gods even more!

Let me know what you think, and please share your stories from Italy, I would love to hear them!

For a better quality video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGmXtJ6XYEs&feature=c4-overview&list=UUnq1w-56tAvMdDup-CL6Vtg

What's in my wallet & how it saves me money on travel.

I want to continue to share with you what credit cards I am using that enable me to book both domestic and international flight for just a few bucks(can't escape the tax man!). Part of the reason I am able to make Flavor City, and travel all around, is because I have been taking advantage of credit card bonus miles since 2005. I used to watch travel shows and think, " man that looks nice, but it probably costs a fortune", and guess what..it does! The good news is, when you eliminate the airfare and hotel cost, you can live like a VIP without breaking the bank, and thus allowing you to experience new cultures and eat the most fantastic foods all over the world. 

British Airways Visa Card: I have over 300,000 miles on BA thanks to the fact that they have one of the most lucrative sign up bonuses in the business, 100,000 points! BA flies all over the world, but one of the aspects I love most, is that they are part of the one world alliance, and I can book American Air flights using my BA points. So my round trip ticket to NYC in December for a friends wedding only cost 15,000 BA miles to book on AA. The current signup bonus gives you 50,000 points after the first purchase, but then you have to charge $10,000 the first year to get 25,000 more. Check it out.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/credit-cards/public/en_us

Southwest Visa Card: Southwest has 4 credit cards, all offering 50,000 miles, in their family, and I have them all! Southwest makes it very easy to book any flight using points, and they are usually my go to for booking domestic flights. I would recommend signing up for one of the personal and business cards the same day, as only one credit check will be done. Check the cards out here.

http://www.southwest.com/html/rapidrewards/partners/credit-cards/southwest-airlines-rapid-rewards-cards/index.html

Travelling using points & miles. What's in my wallet now

This week I am going to cover just how valuable airline miles and hotel points can be. The mere fact that I have not paid for an international airline ticket since 2005, flown first and business class, and saved thousands of dollars puts a new meaning on the word valuable! It can be time consuming to keep track of all the best credit card and bank account offers out there, but if you follow some of my advice, you will be well on your way to maximizing everyday purchases. There are also full time bloggers who make it easy for you to stay up to date on these offers.

Currently I have six points/miles credit cards open, and they have earned me over 300,000 points in the last six months. Now before you worry about "ruining" your credit score by opening and eventually closing cards, you must know that I have had a 750 credit score and excellent credit history. The only time your credit score will take a minor hit, is when you close a card and your score goes down about 6 points for a couple months, then right back up. This is why I close a few cards at one time, usually when the annual fee is about to be charged. So instead of getting the 6 point hit on each card, I only get hit for 6 points once.

With all of that out of the way, I will unveil the two credit cards in my wallet I am currently earning sweet bonuses on.

American Express Starwood Business Card: Starwood is by far my favorite hotel brand, with Le Meridien, The W, St. Regis, and their luxury properties all included. Right now, Amex is offering 25,000 star points after you spend $5000 in the first 6 months. Just to give you an idea of what that can get you, you can book a nice 4 star Sheraton in times square for 12,000, or the 5 star Hotel Danieli in Venice for 15,000. Starwood also gives you the option of using both points and cash, which I always choose because it save me some of my precious points, and is a great deal. This Amex card does offer 30,000 bonus star points once in a while, so if you are not in a hurry, I would wait fr the better off.
https://www304.americanexpress.com/credit-card/carousel-landing/starwood-preferred-guest?ccsgeep=28000&openeep=43213&psboth=CCSG_Google_PA_SPG_Broad&ti=0

Chase Ink Business Bold: This is one of my favorite cards because you can transfer Chase ultimate reward points to any number of airline and hotel partners. Currently Ink has two cards, the bold and plus, and each will give you 50,000 ultimate reward points after spending $5000 in the first 3 months. I plan of transferring some of those points to United to book my annual ski trip in Aspen, a ticket that would normally cost $800 round trip from O'hare. If you are a fan of the Park Hyatt( who isn't!), you can redeem 44,000 ultimate reward points for two free nights at any Park Hyatt in the world, a potential $1600 value!
https://applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=F5QS&CELL=6H8X&AFFID=xDpEzOEw4a4-1LZR.f9oc_n5lqrs6tmJuQ&pvid=F517191842&jp_cmp=cc/289065/aff/3-10002010/na

New Red Wine From One of My Favs..Apothic

If you have never tried Apothic Wine, from California, what are you waiting for! It is one of my favorite under $10 bottles of wines out there, especially the red blend. So when I got an email the other day announcing the "Apothic Dark" I was very intrigued, and once I read that I was invited to a tasting party Saturday before the wine goes on sale, I was down right giddy!

The event is at the Old Town School of Music and is open to the public. It looks like they are tying it in with a live story telling event, so maybe some dark wine and scary stories in honor of Halloween?

I have met the master wine maker from Apothic, and the guy is not only much younger than you would think, but he knows he grapes. If you are looking for a great table red wine, definitely try out Apothic.

Here is info on the event: http://themoth.org/events/event/fall-from-grace-the-moth-in-chicago

Making Ribs & Dry Rubs

I am going to one last BBQ tomorrow in Chicago before winter jackets and hats are needed! I have some beautiful Berkshire baby back ribs that I got from Allen Brothers. I plan on making a homemade BBQ sauce with chipotle, orange, and honey, so I wanted a dry rub to compliment those flavors.


Here is the recipe I just came up for a Smoked Ancho dry rub. It has sweet, heat, and some flavors that really pop out. Check out the color and fat content of these rubs, going to fall of the bone!

2 tablespoons ancho chile powder 
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ cup soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt

New Flavor City from Tuscany Almost Ready

My creative team is putting the finishing touches on a brand new FlavCity from Tuscany. After two incredible weeks in August,  I already want to go back! I was blown away by the beautiful vistas, the mountainous terrain, and the insanely tasty food. Literally every dish I had in Tuscany was pure perfection, and the fact that prices were very reasonable(even after the euro conversion) made my wallet very happy!

Everyone knows I am an Extra Virgin Olive Oil fanatic, and there was no shortage of fresh, peppery, earthy EVVO in Tuscany. I interviewed second generation olive growers and learned about every step of the oil making process. Of course no trip to Tuscany would be complete without indulging in the famous Chianti Classico, and indulge I did! In the name of research, I drank as much Chianti as I needed to learn all about the famous sangiovese grape.

I then retreated to the seaside town of Anzio(one hour west of Rome), and decided to cook right on the beach and feed all my pizano's! I took all the inspiration from Tuscany and created a Bruschetta alla Tuscano, with all those flavors of Tuscany that I will never forget!

Here are some photos from our shoot on the beach. The locals were looking at us like we were crazy, but once they tried my bruschetta, it was like I was one of the family!

Getting Ready for Food Network's NYCWFF

One of the top wine & food fests in the country is Food Network's Wine & Food in New York. Flavor City was lucky enough to get an all access press pass for the event, and will be hitting up all the hot parties and getting interviews with food celebrities. So if you don't have tickets to this sold out event, I've got you covered! http://www.nycwff.org/

In my continuing effort to make travel more affordable for everyone via credit card points and miles, I want to share how I just booked my round-trip ticket to NYC for free. I will be flying outbound on American for only 7,500 miles, and returning on Southwest for 14,000 miles.

Outbound: Thanks to to stockpile of British Airways points, I can take advantage of their partnership with AA to book a one way ticket for way less than it would be if I went through AA directly(12,500 points). That is because B.A. using distance to figure how much they charge for reward tickets, so always using B.A. for domestic travel on AA. Here is the current offer for 50,000 B.A. bonus points with Chase
https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/ba/50AFWaffiliates?AFFID=xDpEzOEw4a4-_IaF8aH1_tj1beieTOJBSw&pvid=F516562912&jp_cmp=cc/296439/aff/3-10002045/na

Inbound: I also have a stockpile of Southwest Rapid Reward points due to the fact they have 5 credit cards in their family, each offering up to 50,000 bonus miles. Even though 14,000 for a one-way flight is not the best deal, it balances out after the great deal on my outbound flight. Here is the link to some of the 50,000 bonus point Chase rapid reward credit cards:
https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/southwest/2ffaffiliate?CELL=6H8X&AFFID=xDpEzOEw4a4-O4h3aO0z5E.pNoQWymvKCA&pvid=F516562987&jp_cmp=cc/296508/aff/3-10002012/na

Recap of Chicago Gourmet Hamburger Hop & Fest

It was a prime burger throwdown at Millennium park on Friday night, as the kickoff party to Chicago Gourmet pitted 15 of Chicago's best chefs competing for top burger honors. The event was sponsored by Chicago's very own Allen Brothers, and each chef could choose their own blend of meats and fat ratios to craft their burgers.

Food Network's Jeff Mauro(The Sandwich King) went with a prime 100% chuck grind, 80/20 fat ratio, to craft his crunch cherry pepper griddle burger(a mouthful just to say!). Rockit Bar & Grill's Chef Amanda Downing went with a prime chuck blend to complete her classic Rockit burger with melted brie.

The judges of the Hamburger Hop consisted of some heavy hitters. Graham Elliot, of Chicago and "Master Chef" fame, joined world renowned Chef Hubert Keller and creator of Blue Moon Brewing Keith Villa.

Having tasted every burger offered that night, I knew the judges had a difficult decision, but after the votes were tallied, Scott Walton of Howells & Hood won for his burger topped with kimchi and carrot bacon(mind blown!) Jeff Mauro won the peoples choice award for his burger, and for the record, that was my favorite burger of the night!

I also spent some time at the fest on Saturday drinking some wine, eating some delish samples from area restaurants and attending seminars and demos with local area chefs that were hosted by Bon Appetit's Adam Rapport and Andrew Knowlton.

Below are some pictures, and stay tuned this week for my video recap of the Hamburger Hop featuring interviews with all the talent listed above!

                                        The Winning Burger by Howells & Hood

Getting Ready For the Hamburger Hop at Millennium Park

This weekend is the Chicago Gourmet fest sponsored by Bon Appetit.I will be covering the kickoff party, The Hamburger Hop by Allen Brothers. It boasts some of Chicago's best chefs duking it out to see whose burger reigns supreme! Food Network's Jeff Mauro(The Sandwich King), Rick Gresh and many other chefs will be using Allen Brothers prime meats to make some of the best burgers around. The hardest part is finding room to try all 15 burgers(and beer)!

Graham Elliot will be one of the judges, I will be sure to make all the rounds and ask all those burning burger questions. Hope to see some of you guys throughout the weekend!

For more info on the event:
https://www.eventbrite.com/event/2552641018

Recap of live Cooking Demo & NBC appearance

Thanks to everyone who braved the rain and joined me for my all day cooking demo at the Lakeview East Festival of Arts on Sunday. Even though the weather was not ideal, we still had large crowds who were rewarded with lots of food, drinks, and giveaways! I featured some of the recipes from current episodes of FlavCity, and invited some area restaurants to join me and show how they make some of their signature dishes. Chrissy Camba of Top Chef fame rocked the house to a standing room only crowd, and showed us a spaghetti squash dish that was dynamite! Every demo had delish samples including guacamole and margaritas from Revolucion Steakhouse, Steak tacos from D.S. Tequila, and chocolate espresso waffles from Waffles. Of course I treated everyone to prime grilled steaks from Alleen Brothers, bruschetta alla Toscana, and tomato gazpacho. The feedback was really positive and I had a blast!

I went on NBC 5 Chicago last week to promote the event, and here is my interview along with some pictures from the cooking demo:

 

With Chrissy Camba of Top Chef fame

How Miles & Points Saved Me Thousands On My Trip To Europe Last Month

Last month, I spent three weeks in Italy, Austria, and Bulgaria on vacation and filming FlavCity episodes. As usual, I used miles to book my plane ticket and avoid a hefty peak summer airline ticket! I was able to fly inbound economy and outbound business class, and here is how I did it.

Chicago to Rome: I used 30,000 American Airline miles to fly economy. I booked this ticket well in advance bc this is a popular summer route. I have a nice stock pile of AA miles thanks to the lucrative sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles I got for the personal and business credit cards earlier in the year.

Sofia, Bulgaria to Chicago: I used 50,000 United miles to book a business class ticket using their star alliance partner, Lufthansa, , and boy was that a treat after three weeks of hustle and bustle! United is a transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards, and thanks to a my Ink Bold card, I have lots of these points!

Here are the links to the credit card info:
https://www.chase.com/online/business-credit-cards/ink-bold.htm
I applied for both the personal and business Bold cards, and was approved for both, So that's 100,000 points!

http://www.aa.com/pubcontent/en_US/disclaimers/BP-PLATHV.jsp
While the offer for an American Airlines card is not as good as the 75,000 sign up offer I got a few months back, it's still a nice chunk of miles. I would keep an eye open for a better offer if you're not in a hurry.

As always, these are cards that I am going to use use for everyday expenses anyways, so why not maximize the value I get from them. I understand people are wary of opening accounts but I have been doing for years, and my credit report is very high. I always cancel cards together, bc your credit report will take a minor, temporary hit.

FlavCity Interview on NBC 5 Chicago

Yesterday, I did a taped interview on NBC Chicago to promote the Lakeview East festival of arts & my cooking demo on Sept. 15th. It was short and brief, but always nice to get more experience in front of the camera..any press is good press..right!?

The interview will air tomorrow, Sept. 12th, on the noon news. It also re-airs on the Saturday morning.

Don't forget to come join me this Sunday for my live cooking demo at the fest. There will be lots of yummy samples, area restaurants, and even Top Chef contestant, Chrissy Camba, will join me for a demo!

http://lakevieweastfestivalofthearts.com/cooking-demonstration/

Live Cooking Demo in Chicago this Sunday, the 15th!

The time is almost upon us. I will be cooking and hosting a live demo at the Lakeview East Festival of Arts on Sept. 15th from 11am-4pm. I will be cooking tasty recipes and be joined on stage by some of the areas top restaurants. Bar Pastoral's , Chrissy Cambra, of Top Chef fame, will be joining me at 2:15pm. There will be lots of free samples and maybe even some margaritas from our friends at Revolucion steakhouse!

Here is the fest info. Please come on out and join me for some good times!

http://lakevieweastfestivalofthearts.com/cooking-demonstration/

Cooking Demo, Hamburger Hop, & More!

It's great to be back in Chicago after a 3 week trip in Italy, Vienna, and Bulgaria. Italy continues to amaze me with the food, cities, and beauty every time I go there. Vienna was full of schnitzel, brats, and beer..and some pretty nice museums(I can only take so much of that though!) This was my fourth trip to Bulgaria, and the cuisine is so similar to Greek and Jewish cuisine, there is nothing not to like!

September 15th, I will be be cooking and hosting an all day demo at the east lakeview festival of arts in Chicago at 3300 N. Broadway st. As a resident of the neighborhood, I am thrilled to participate in this event, and what makes it even more special, is my wife will be one of the artists displaying her oil on canvas work at the fest! So please come on down and check it out! http://lakevieweastfestivalofthearts.com/

Later in the month is the Chicago Gourmet food fest at Millennium Park. I will be covering the kickoff party, The Hamburger Hop, and the event is sponsored by Chicago's very own Allen Brothers. Some of the Chicago's best chefs will once again square off to see whose burger reigns supreme.

Here are a couple pics from a food fest I came across in Vienna.

Road Trip..Tuscany!

Just returned back to the west coast of Italy after a six day road trip. I started in Chianti, and tasted some darn tasty chianti classico and some really spicy, earthy extra virgin olive oil. Every single meal I had in Tuscany was beyond tasty. The vineyards and vistas are beautiful, but I was surprised how mountainous the region was, windy roads and post wine tastings don't mix well!

The final night in wine country I ate at the butcher of Panzano's steakhouse, Officina della Bisteca. A five course, carnivore lovers dream, paired wine homemade wine, local veggies, and local EVOO. If you have not heard of Dario Checchino, you need to youtube him, he is a character!  

 More stories and pics coming soon!

My appearance on WGN & upcoming projects

Last Friday was a very exciting day for me, as it was my first live cooking demo on TV. I was on WGN Midday news promoting some of my summer grilling recipes The segment was 4:30 minutes, so I had to make sure to fit in all three recipes. As soon as we went live, my nerves subsided and I was really having a good time with the host, Dina Bair. I definitely began to talk a little fast when I saw the producer doing the "wrap it" signal during my third recipe, but was very happy with how it turned out.

In September, I will be hosting an all day cooking demo with local chefs at the East Lakeview Artfest. I will also be covering the Chicago Gourmet hamburger hop presented by Allen Brothers & Bon Appetit.

Lots of great events coming up and new episodes of Flavor City in the works!

FlavCity on WGN

http://lakevieweastfestivalofthearts.com/

Brand New Episode & my TV appearance

Hot from the editing room, is a brand spankin' new episode of FlavCity! I kick off grilling season with some mouth watering prime steaks from Allen Brothers. From wet & dry aging, to learning more about prime meat, I grill up some seriously good eats, and take a road trip to interview the president of Allen Brothers. Alongside the cornucopia of meat, is a grilled sweet potato and corn salad, almost every ingredient is grilled. Hey, it is national grilling month after all!

T-Minus 2 days until I make my TV debut on WGN Midday news at 11:45am. Tune in this Friday, July 19th. Lots of grilling, grub, and good times.

FlavCity is making it's TV debut!

I am very excited to announce that I will be appearing on WGN's midday news July 19th during the midday fix segment. I will be doing a live cooking segment outdoors to celebrate national grilling month, and even be giving away some Prime grilling packages from Allen Brothers to some lucky twitter followers! More details coming soon.

My 2 week trip to Italy is fast approaching, and I am setting up all the locations I want to shoot. If anyone has any great recommendations in Tuscany I would love to hear them!

Flavor City Teams up with a Chicago Icon

I am very excited to announce that Flavor City has teamed up with Allen Brothers to create new cooking and educational videos. As a long time fan/customer of Allen Brothers, I can say this is the best prime beef I have ever tasted and the same meat served at top steakhouses all over the country. I have been shooting footage with the master butchers, in the aging rooms(dry aging is a fascinating process), and even with the president of the company. You will learn so much about what exactly prime meat is, and the aging process, just like I did.

The first video is up on www.allenbrothers.com, and we are finishing the second one now.

Please let me know if you have any special requests or questions.

City Farms Dinner w/ Barefoot Wine

The other night, I had the opportunity to attend a very unquie wine dinner at City Farm Chicago. An urban farm in the Gold Coast. I had driven by this place many times, but to walk through the farm and see all the incredible produce they are growing there was fascinating. We then had a four course meal with ingredients picked from the far that morning, right in the middle of the farm at a long community table, it doesn't get much more farm to table that that!

Barefoot wines was sponsoring the event, and has honored Chicago's own, Ken Dunn, for his urban farm and resource center work. The food was fantastic, and the ambiance was unbeatable.

Poutine, Maple Syrup, and Great People, I Love Montreal!

The week in Montreal is coming to an end and its fair to say this city has really impressed me. It has all the charm of old Europe w/o leaving America, insanely good food, clean, and people so friendly it's almost scary..what's there not to like!?!?

The culinary scene here is off the chart, and the seafood does not get much better than what they have here. The best examples of this was at Chuck Hughes 2 restaurants, Garde Manger & La Bremner. Of course, when in Montreal I had to seek out some top notch poutine.

Old Quebec city was one of the most authentic old towns I have been to, and is like taking a trip back in time!

More to come soon, we shoot lots of good footage here for an ep. Of FlavCity.

Putting on the finishing touches & off to Montreal

We shot the last scene for the latest FlavCity the other day. A bunch of my friends came over for the big party scene of the grilling prime meat episode. Needless to say everyone left happy and with a belly full of good eats. We are editing the ep. now, and it should be out in the next couple weeks.

We are off to Montreal tomorrow to shoot another FlavCity! It will be nice to get back to traveling after doing a couple of Chicago episodes. The food scene there is supposed to be fabulous. We'll also do a day trip to Quebec city.

If you have any recommendations let me know! Au Revior!

 

New Episode Alert! Backyard BBQ

We started shooting a new episode of FlavCity last week. We are continuing the Allen Brothers series with a Prime Backyard BBQ featuring wet & dry aged meat. You're going to learn all about the aging process from someone who has a little more experience than I do, and my friends are coming over to see which method of aging tickles their taste buds the most.

The horrible weather lately has delayed our shooting, which has pissed of my hungry friends the most, but we will wrap shooting ASAP, and get this video out for your viewing pleasure. If you have any requests for the next episode let me know! 

New Episode from The Windy City

The latest episode of Flavor City just came out! I am taking a break from travel, and exploring my hometown of Chicago in search of inspiration for the ultimate Soup & Sandwich. First, I headed over to Allen Brothers, in the historic Stockyard District of Chicago. They are one of the only independent, prime  meat purveyors left in the entire country, and you can find their meat at top steakhouses around the country. They hooked me up with some prime, aged skirt steak. Then I headed over to one of my favorite sandwich shops for some bread worthy of my sandwich. Banh Mi & Co. is a Vietnamese shop on the Northside, they have some tasty sandwiches, and use the perfect baguette, thanks to the french influence in Vietnam. Banh Mi & Pho have gotten really popular over the last couple years, and there's a good reason why..there dang tasty!


Equipped with some prime meat and baguette, I headed back to the kitchen to create a grilled skirt steak sammy with spicy sriracha mayo and a heirloom tomato gazpacho, definitely not your everyday soup & sandwich!


Check out the episode & recipe, and let me know what you think!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN8PcgnT6Mc

 

Skirt Steak Sandwich

 

The Best of Chicago

It's been an exciting week in Chicago for Flavor City. We filmed on location at one of the best meat companies in the country, Allen Brothers. Watching the master butchers and learning about the "Prime" meat difference was fascinating. We also went to Banh Mi & Co, and tasted some delish Vietnamese sandwiches & Pho.

We then returned to our kitchens with some top quality meat, and some great sandwich bread, and made my version of a soup & sandwich..a grilled skirt steak sandwich with spicy sriracha mayo & heirloom tomato gazpacho soup.

The episode will be out next week, and we're putting the finishing touches on our Rome episode also.

Tequila Tasting & New Episode

On Thursday, I was invited to a Don Julio Tequila Tasting Lunch at Sable Kitchen. The master distiller, Enrique de Colsa, presented the story of Don Julio in front of a small group of us, and described the entire process of making the tequila, which I found fascinating. The añejo, 1942, and Don Julio 70 were some of the best tequilas I've had.

I can't say the same about the food at Sable Kitchen. They seemed to have a hard time paring the food with the tequila, and the veggie burgers and flat bread pizzas were pretty weak dishes.

We are filming a new episode of Flavor City this week, and going on location to one of Chicago's iconic food companies. I will leave you guessing for now, but I promise you won't be disappointed!

With Enrique de Colsa and Dessi

Tasting Flight of Don Julio Tequila - Blanco, Añejo, Don Julio 70

Chicago restaurants, points update, & a new episode coming

Food: I had dinner at Untitled in Chicago the other day, and while I really like the decor, and prohibition era cocktails, the food menu is overpriced & overrated. Charging $15 for small plates is just absurd, but not as absurd as the amount of salt they put on every dish, especially the bison burger! I am increasing disturbed at this growing trend of small plates with not so small prices.

Travel: If you have some Amex reward points lying around, there is currently a 35% bonus transfer to British. That is not the best deal, but much better than the standard 1:1, and I do have 100,000 points thanks to a sign-up bonus from the platinum card. B.A. is also a thrifty way to book American  Air miles for less miles since B.A. is distance based. So, I only used 15,000 B.A. points to book my Chicago-Montreal tix in June, instead of 25,000 if I did it directly on AA.com.

New Episode Alert: We are currently working on editing our next FlavCity episode. from Rome! Easily one of my favorite cities in the world, and I got the chance to cook at a relatives house in the waterfront town of Anzio!

Castillo San Angelo, Rome

Flavor City in Los Angeles

The latest episode of Flavor City is out. We hit up sunny LA and eat some incredible sushi, and do some not so incredible surfing...WIPEOUT! Here is a recap of our trip.

Flight: I actually paid for my ORD-LAX tickets, but before you get disappointed, I was able to get $200 off thanks to my Amex Platinum Card. I got this card back in January, thanks to the heads up from ThePointsGuy and was rewarded with 100,000 points! I was more than happy to pay the annual fee of $450 because the bonus points were huge and the card has many benefits. One such benefit was a statement credit up to $200 for any AA purchase (baggage, lounge, on-board snack), including the purchase of gift cards. So, I bought a $200 gift card and viola, a $200 credit was on my next statement.

Accommodation: For the first time, I tried www.airbnb.com and was very happy with the outcome. For $89 per night, I had my own room at an upscale condo right near the beach in Santa Monica. A great value, and I saved some hotel points for next time!

LA Food: I was really blown away by the quality of the seafood, especially the sushi, and the Asian fusion food. This was some of the best sushi I've had outside of Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo..if you've never had a sushi breakfast there you're missing out! One place that was local, and had great prices was Tsukiji Sushi Sen in Santa Monica. I'm sure you can find more expensive sushi that might be a little better, but the quality, size, and price was unbeatable.

For Asian fusion you must try A-Frame in Culver City. The flavors are off the charts and so is the creativity. Roy Choi, of top chef fame, knows what he is doing, and DO NOT miss the lychee granita for dessert..you will never want an ice cream sundae again!

Here's the full episode, back in Chicago I create an LA inspired dish: Miso Marinated Cod with Braised Bok Choy and Coconut Cashew Jasmine Rice.

Miso Marinated Cod with Braised Bok Choy and Coconut Cashew Jasmine Rice