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.