Where You Can Find Me These Days

Things I Ate In New York: A Tumblr

I've started a new Tumblr to chronicle my journey through the culinary delights of New York City... my home for the summer (and maybe for longer!). Now that taking pictures of food is "a thing" (which as you know, loyal readers, I've been doing since 2007), and attention spans (including mine) are shorter, I'll be doing most of my food blogging over there now, save anything that requires more of an explanation, rant, or exultation (which will be here). Hop on over via the link above and follow me to get all the latest updates!

 

Sunday Dinner at Next: Sicily

Four days ago my friend Jake texted me: "Hey. Want to go to NEXT Sicily on Sunday? I have a table for 4." I was in the middle of studying for final exams, which will close out my first year of business school. Exams that run from Monday through Wednesday of this week. As in, tomorrow morning. "Sure!" I texted back. "Why not?" This, my friends, is the life of a B-School student at its best.

It was just over a year ago when I went to Next for the first time, for the exquisite Paris 1906. Since then, Dave Beran and his team have taken diners to Thailand, Childhood, and elBulli. But from those explorations of the whimsical, Sicily takes it back home to the warm, hearty food and wine the namesake island-dwelling Italians have enjoyed for centuries. It was Sunday dinner at the table of our collective Sicilian mother, or in this case, father. Good thing we dressed up and combed our hair.

Below are my pictures and some commentary. Here's the official promotional video. Enjoy!

The plateware.
(We wondered if Next sold its plateware after every menu finishes - our waiter commented however that they simply keep it in storage, or sometimes source to Alinea. Sounds like a missed opportunity to me... I would totally shop the Next used plateware catalog. Once I have a full time job again, of course.)

 Hand written note from the team.

 Antipasti:

Caponata (cooked vegetable salad, base of eggplant)

 Arancine (fried rice balls coated with breadcrumbs, with lamb center)

 Panelle (chickpea fritters)

  Carciofi Alle Barace (grilled artichokes) - One of my favorites! The smokiness stays on your hands.

Bucatini con Bottarga (handmade pasta with cured roe in a butter sauce)

Gemelli con le Sarde

Pesce Spada con di Ceci (swordfish with garlic and mint, on mint pesto)

Side of more chickpeas two ways and delicious broccoli-type vegetable

Spalla di Maiale Brasato (6+ hours roasted and braised pork shoulder with ragu)

Vegetables with fried zucchini flower (side to pork shoulder)

Granita di Arance Rosse (blood orange granita - excellent and delightfully sweet palate cleanser)

Cassata (traditional cake)

Dolci:

Canolli, Ravioli Fritti, Cubatta di Giugiulena

The Cellar: Small Plates Come to Evanston

Last Friday, I trudged through the snow with a few girlfriends to check out one of Evanston's new additions to the gourmet dining scene: The Cellar.

The more casual sister of the elegant Stained Glass (which I have yet to visit), The Cellar did not disappoint. Iterating on the small plates trend with great success, the diverse American and European menu was perfect for sharing and grazing with a few friends and glasses of wine. Each of us ordered 2-3 dishes, and left completely satiated - wishing only that we'd left room for dessert. I'm sure that before the snow melts we'll be back to sample some of the sweets.

Star dishes of the night included:

• The French Onion Soup (the classic - perfect for a snowy night)
• Acorn Squash Ravioli (candy-stripe beets, caramelized walnuts, brown sage butter)
• Butter & Salt Flight (Parmigiano Reggiano butter with fleur de sel/Goats milk butter with Himalayan pink salt/Truffle butter with truffle sea salt)
• Baked Truffle Mac & Cheese (Gruyere, cheddar, orecchiette pasta, yum, yum, yum)

Can you taste the cheesy goodness? It's every bit as good as it looks... (via Clover Eats)