Firecracker Miso (Glass Noodles with Lime and Ginger Miso)

The banner advertising Yushi’s Firecracker Miso dish boldly proclaims, “miso like you’ve never had it before.” I would have to agree wholeheartedly; miso soup made with lime and ginger doesn’t taste like miso at all.

Details: 4 World Financial Centre 250 Vesey St NY 10280 (+1-212-945-3096)

Kobe Beef Picadillo Tacos with Black Beans, Avocado and Guindilla Pepper

From the vintage photographs projected onto the walls of the wood-paneled downstairs bar to the elevated third-story chef’s table, Alma de Cuba is yet another example of the Stephen Starr’s stunningly detail-oriented restaurant design. Replete with choice ingredients such as kobe beef, manchego cheese, and serrano ham, I am feeling more and more that making a trip to Cuba should be my New Year’s resolution.

Details: 1623 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19103-5402 (+1-215 988-1799)

Oatmeal Brûlée with Raisins and Cinammon

Having had fantastic experiences at every Stephen Starr restaurant I have visited, when my flight back from Miami included a stopover in Philadelphia, I leapt at the opportunity to sample the cuisine on his home turf.

Spacious, bustling without being hectic, and with a menu varied enough to satisfy the most demanding of brunch crowds, Parc is a loving homage to the beauty of the French brasserie. Comparisons with Keith McNally’s meatpacking district landmark Pastis are unavoidable, and although the Oatmeal Brûlée’s lack of crunchiness of crust somewhat disappointed, I am pleased to report that French in Philly takes the prize. Perhaps differing commercial rental rates are partially to blame, but one can’t help feeling vastly more at ease in a place where even at noon on a Sunday seating is immediate, service is efficient, and shouting across the table to be heard by one’s dining companions is unecessary.

Details: 227 S 18th St Philadelphia, PA 19103 (+1-215-545-2262)

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Feta Cheese and Basil

How often do you read a menu nowadays and feel like its written in a foreign language? What about heirloom? Like “family heirloom” you say? Sort of. Just as a family heirloom is a treasure passed down over generations, so too is an heirloom plant a fruit or vegetable from a historic, non-hybrid strain not used in current large-scale single-strain agriculture. Heirloom tomatoes are touted to have superior flavor and unusual coloration, the two traits which I suppose should justify their stunning price markup. The idea of preserving historic species is all very well and good, but often only the novel colors served to distinguish from your every day fresh commercial grade variety.

Details: 485 Brickell Avenue Miami, FL 33131 (+1-305-503-4400)

Photography by Willy Rojas exhibited by Villa del Arte Galleries

When The Supper Club’s Tamsin Lonsdale and Dara Levine invited me to a brunch discussion on art and design hosted by Design Miami‘s Amy Lau and Tronic Studio‘s Vivian Rosenthal, I thought why not? Timed to coincide with North America’s biggest contemporary art fair, Art Basel Miami Beach, here was the perfect opportunity for a weekend of aesthetic reflection, foodie indulgence, and of course the art of the party.

The sort of energy synthesized when half of New York flies south for five days of general misbehavior is difficult not to get excited about. Besides attending The Supper Club’s brunch at EOS Restaurant at the Viceroy, highlights included Love Contemporary, a hauntingly beautiful performance art piece by my new friend singer songwriter Alexa Wilding, David LaChapelle’s Art Deco “Happy New Year 1932” party, and unforgettably, The Box at Nikki Beach. 

Additionally, in-between gluttony and revelry, I did manage to take in a few of the art fairs. Although I hadn’t intended to leave South Beach with anything more than rose-colored memories, the Willy Rojas exhibition by Villa del Arte Galleries all but exploded off the wall as I rounded the corner at the Red Dot Art Fair. Whimsical, excruciatingly detailed photographs of everyday human activities made fantastic via a transposition of landscape to proportionally gargantuan fruits and vegetables, here was a point of view I found to be infinitely relateable. Evoking the wide-eyed wonder of such childhood favorites as James and the Giant Peach and Gulliver’s Travels, photographs like the piece I purchased entitled “Sunny Side Up“ quite simply make me smile.

Details: Red Dot Art Fair 2009, Wynwood Art District, 3011 NE Avenue at NW 31st St Miami, FL 33137

Brazilian Paella with Lobster, Giant Shrimp, Mussels, Octopus, Calamari, and Saffron-Coconut Basmati Rice

Like the hotel in which it is housed, Blue Door’s operating philosophy appears to be “throw in enough expensive ingredients and people will be too dazzled to noticed a serious lack of substance.” Perhaps it is unfair of me to judge a meal ordered just as the kitchen was about to close. However, not even the Lady Gaga tracks being blasted by the DJ in the lobby would have sufficed to distract me from the rice’s gluey consistency and the severely overcooked squid.

Details: The Delano Hotel, 1685 Collins Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33139 (+1-305-672-2000)

Shrimp Har Gau, Steamed Mushroom and Water Chestnut Dumpling, Shrimp and Chive Dumpling, Scallop and Black Truffle Har Gau with Truffle Emulsion

If I could translate my ideal self into a a building, I would want to be Miami’s The Setai. Immaculate. Elegant. Serene. These were the relaxing adjectives that most immediately came to mind as I lounged by the black-tiled reflecting pool while listening to soothing jazz standards performed live.

As usual, Asian-inspired décor and menus set my heart afflutter, and setting eyes upon the dimsum selection was reason enough for ecstasy. Although breathtakingly expensive, a perfect perfumed bite of Scallop and Black Truffle Har Gau was the ideal way  to kick off a weekend of satiation, South Beach-style.  

Details: The Setai, 101 20th Street Miami Beach, FL 33139-1903 (+1-305) 520-6500)

Twice-Cooked Chicken with Ginger Garlic Relish, Shiitake Mushrooms, and Star Anise Broth

Like the aesthetically pleasing Public, Double Crown is a product of the progressive design firm AvroKO, inspired by “the culinary dualities arising from the British Empire’s forays into [Asia].” Old-fashioned ceiling fans, exposed brick, and a sandalwood-scented subterranean passage leading to the most generously sized NYC restaurant bathrooms I’ve ever seen, all inspire longing for sultry Southeast Asia.

When dining out I hardly ever order chicken, however after recently reading a most beautiful description of the preparation of Twice-Cooked Chicken in Fuchsia Dunlop‘s wonderful food and travel memoir, Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China, I was eager to taste that which I had imagined. Half-cooked through boiling and subsequently fried to finish, this dish maintains a satisfying crispiness in the skin, which encases flesh most fragrant, tender, and juicy. One mouthful of what this sort of dish is really supposed to taste like and Panda Express’ Kung Pao Chicken will be a distant and slightly unpleasant memory never to be revisited.  

Details: 316 Bowery (at Bleecker) New York, NY 10012 (+1-212-254-0350)

Rose Petal-Infused Aloe Vera Jelly

To dovetail means “to join together harmoniously,” and harmonious is certainly a most appropriate adjective to describe the delicate flavors experienced at this cosy French-inspired New American UWS enclave. From the Brussel Sprouts Leaves with Cauliflower, Manchego, and Serrano Ham to the Salt Baked Onion with Perigord Truffles and Hazlenuts, course after course excited, refreshed, and most importantly, delighted the taste buds. All-in-all, exactly the sort of outcome one would wish for in an unexpected Sunday evening dinner invitation.   

Again and again I am pleasantly surprised by the depth and breadth of the New York restaurant scene. Seemingly every other block is home to the sort of restaurant that would be the talk of the town in any other city, but what I’ve been wondering is, who pays for it all? While places like Morimoto, MASA, and Momofuku Ko have star power such that $85+ tasting menus do not seem out of place, are there really enough serious (and well-off) foodies in NYC that a relatively lesser-known (but in my opinion equally excellent) haute cuisine restaurants like Dovetail and Aldea can survive? 

Chef John Fraser’s reaction to the phone call I placed announcing that my companion and I had both become slightly ill following our meal suggests that competition is cuthroat indeed. Profuse apologies were made, credit card charges reversed, and an open invitation for a complimentary follow-up dinner was issued. Although I was not looking for a refund whatsoever, enjoyed the food very much, and had only called up as a warning in case any other diners had been affected, this swift and sincere action really impressed me. As a friend of mine like to say, “most of the time people just want to feel like they are being taken seriously.” As much as I have seen this principle neglected across a wide spectrum of restaurants, an important thing to remember is that at heart this is a business based on service.

For the sort of great treatment that shouldn’t be so unusual, try a Sunday Suppa on the Upper West Side.

Details: 103 W 77th St (at Columbus) New York, NY 10024-6909 (+1-212-362-3800)

Turkey Dinner

Although I am not an American by nationality, I have spent a great portion of my adult life in the US. Out of all the opportunities for cultural assimilation, celebrating Thanksgiving is by far my favorite. I love it that families drop everything, gather, and reflect on the things they are grateful for. And besides, what better holiday for a foodie to favor than one that is entirely centered around the cooking and eating of an outrageously enormous meal?

While most of us are far away from blood relatives, the expat community in London is a family unto itelf, and the mother of us all is my friend Vicky, who this year generously volunteered her time and her home for a truly massive undertaking: Thanksgiving for Thirty! Despite space and facilities constraints, in true “shabby chic” fashion, we made it work. Extra tables were aquired from the hotel down the road through the charming persistance of the lovely Kate, seating was on a BYO basis, and a dearth of oven space forced us to farm out baking and roasting duties all over South Kensington. In the end, somehow not one but two turkeys were carved, kosher and regular gravy was offered, and despite buffet-style service, the food that eventually ended up on my plate not only had all the traditional trappings, but was also hot. Amidst toasts and cheers, the steady sounds of cutting and chewing were a direct reflection of the enjoyment of a polyglot bunch comprised of English, French, Canadian, Dutch, South African, Singaporean, and of course Americans.

Too cook is to show love and to eat is to appreciate. Dearest Vicky, thank you for loving us. We really appreciate it.