August 31, 2010
Denise Simmons, Corporate Chef

Continuing with my adventures in NYC…..

So, we finished Saturday night, after hitting three incredible restaurants, with a trip to the Empire State Building.  I’ve been there many times, but never at night to see the city lights of Manhattan.  It is a truly awe inspiring sight, one that I recommend for all!

We slept in a bit on Sunday, then hit the Fancy Food Show.  This was my first trip to that particular show, so was a bit overwhelmed at the sheer volume of fancy foods to see.  After a few aisles, it was clear that olive oil, savory & spicy chocolates, and cheese were represented in abundance.  There were a few more interesting booths as well…I got to see a cashew in it’s shell for the first time, and was introduced to a few great new vegan & gluten free products.  All in all, a very worthwhile, interesting show.

August 16, 2010
Denise Simmons, Corporate Chef

Ok, so last post I talked about how wonderful Buchon Bakery is.  This post I want to talk about the next restaurant we enjoyed while in Manhattan.

After leaving Buchon, we hit Má Pêche (same chef as Momofuku, David Chang).  It’s a Vietnamese-French fusion restaurant in mid town.  Ironically, I didn’t know anything about Má Pêche when I ate there, but since returning from NY, I’ve randomly come across quite a few blog posts & reviews of the restaurant.  The common theme of the reviews is that you go once & it’s excellent, the next time-not so much.  I happened to have that experience all in one visit!  The Bánh Mi was terrible-the bread was soggy, the ‘three terrine’ was more under-flavored Spam…the ‘cilantro, daikon’ seemed to be soggy shredded carrots with a little vinegar.  Put simply, the sandwich was just lacking all the way around.