Eating In New York- Part One MOMA and not drinking after flying.

New York, New York




me at Moma

Nine hundred dollar return fairs to New York tempted my husband and I to take a week off work and head over to the Big Apple. I have never really wanted to go to America, border security made me panicky and the long haul flight and massive time difference, well, made me sleepy. But I figured New York is the type of place you have to go to at least once in your life, and I was willing to give it a go.

We arrived in New York just after 5 at night and by 7 we were sitting in a bistro on Madison Avenue eating a steak with a very large gin and tonic. I will never have a gin and tonic after a twenty-two hour flight again, I nearly feel asleep at the restaurant.Not even a fat and iron laden steak and frites could pull me back from the land of nod. We quickly paid the bill and headed a back to the hotel, the plush beaux arts Carlton on Madison Avenue, luckily only a few doors away. The hotel was another bargain, which we snagged for a dirt cheap rate.

In fact everything was pretty dirt cheap in New York- until you added the various city taxes and 20% customary tip. I was quite happy to pay the tip though, service was a lot better in New York. Waiters certainly knew their stuff.
“Would you like more bread Madame? Or perhaps some more water?”
“Yes to both please” (big grin)
New York, home to the bread basket. I devoured so many complimentary bread baskets that if I were ordering them in Australia I would be out of pocket by a hundred dollars.

There are plenty of bargains to be found in New York. On our second day we headed over to MOMA (11 West 53 Street New York, NY 10019). Friday nights are free, and a great time to go to the gallery, it attracts some very, ah, interesting characters. We saw a couple dressed head to toe orange, including orange faces, and a few arte-y types complete with paint splattered smocks, no doubt fresh from their studio in Soho.

The bar downstairs is fantastic, the adjoining restaurant, The Modern, is Michelin starred and looks over the MOMA forecourt with its dominant works of sculpture and cool landscaped gardens The interiors inside the Bar are slick and stylish, low leather couches are perfect for after work drinks and the bar which runs from one side of the room to the other is backed with shelves of liqueurs and wines. A table of stockbrokers sat at the adjoining table, drinking Coronas and talking big. How very New York!

We tried the Tarte flambée, an Alsatian pizza style dish oozing with smoky bacon cheese and onion. It’s a stock standard on The Modern menu, recommended by the waitress, and washed down with a crisp German Riesling it goes down a treat. Keeping with the wintry theme, we order the German sausages with oh so good sauerkraut. A sharp Dijon is the perfect accompaniment. There’s a bread basket too, so if I really wanted too I could have made a snag sandwich. How very Australian! Frufru

Miss Dior Cherie- My Inspiration

Floral. Romantinc. Pink. These are the words that describe my all time favorite perfume, Miss Dior Cherie. I have tried others, Missoni with the aroma of chocolate, Romance with the tang of Gardenia but Miss Dior Cherie is the only one that settles on my skin and makes me feel truly fresh. In homage to Miss Dior Cherie, I designed this pretty little headpiece. It’s pink. It’s fresh and I sprayed a little Miss Dior over it (like lacquer) just for good measure.

Pretty pink vintage flowers and pale pink netting shaped into a bow (á la the glass bow on the perfume bottle)

I was thrilled recently to stumble across a marketing campaign by Macys Department Store in which famous chefs design foods to go alongside some of the worlds best loved perfumes. Miss Dior happens to be one of them. For anyone who has ever had a whiff of Miss Dior Cherie will appreciate Chef Johnny Luzzini’s creation of Lemon Poppyseed Cake with Strawberries and Jasmine Cream. You can check out the to-die-for recipe here. I can just imagine biting through the tangy vanilla of the poppyseed cake, then tasting the sweetness of the strawberries and the tartness of lemon, and finally the sharp fragrance of jasmine lingering on your tongue. Three of the four recipe use strawberries, which makes perfect sense as Miss Dior reminds me strawberry ice-cream eaten on a hot day in high summer with Jasmine and rose hanging in the air.

Rock Restauraunt Hunter Valley

Rock Restaurant in the Hunter Valley has just been awarded with a second Chefs Hat in the 2009 Good Food Guide, and it’s not hard to see why. The restaurant which forms part of the Pooles Rock Winery is situated on a hill overlooking the vines, when we arrive the sun is starting to set and the vines are bathed in a gorgeous orange hue. Our waitress talks us through the menu which features 12 dishes which can be ordered in tasting, entree or main size. There is also an option of a ten course degustation menu, but we decide to make our own choices. Going with my mother was a bad idea, somewhere in the waters of her womb my tastes in food were forged...unfortunately they are exactly the same as hers, and surprise surprise we decide to order the same thing, with one exception, I order a tasting of the scallop tortellini with Riesling sauce and porcini. Its lovely, three little mouthfuls of scallopy goodness with a rich Riesling sauce.

Next is a plate of crab stuffed zucchini flowers which have been lightly fried. This dish puts the scallop to shame, this is how good it is. The crispy flower is filled with perfectly cooked crab, it’s simple and delicious, nicely offset with the crisp asparagus spears served to the side. After devouring the house sourdough roll with French butter we are ready for round three. A modern twist on "rack of lamb" arrives "de-racked" and crumbed with herbs served with ox tomatoes and a brown jus. The simplicity of this dish lets the quality of the lamb shine through, pink and succulent.

Finishing the lamb off with gusto, we feel brave enough to order 2 tasting palates of deserts each, this was not a good idea, as you can see from the below pictures. Whilst the sour cherry ice cream served on brioche type bread with a cherry flavoured blancmange was light fruity and a perfect dish to follow from the lamb, the rich chocolate tart with crème de menthe cream was far too rich for our tastes, especially after such a large meal

My mother fails to finish it, I feel obliged to finish it, not knowing that making its way from the kitchen was a petit fours plate of pineapple tapioca and lemon sorbet served in shot glasses and a spoon of chocolate mousse(albeit more milky than the tart). I finish all four off, mum being too full.

The food at Rock isn’t cheap, but the quality of the ingredients and presentation is wonderful, be prepared to pay at least $260 for two. Having devoured to much good food, we take a turn near the vines before driving back to the hotel feeling content of having eaten far too much. Rock Restaurant 576 Debeyers Road, Pokolbin. Frufru

Leaves and Fishes- Hunter Valley

My mother and I had a weekend sojourn in the Hunter Valley last weekend. We are BIG eaters and wanted to sample as much as the region had to offer.
Arriving at lunch time on Thursday with my Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 in hand, we headed just up the road from our hotel to Leaves and Fishes, a delightful little "boathouse restaurant". Set amongst balmy trees, the restaurant is perched on a pond, a big veranda decorated with tasteful raj inspired furniture and vases filled with country roses which make you feel like you are dining down the Mississippi. There is a touch of Creole in the air. The menu focuses mainly on seafood, you can order a big bucket of shellfish to share with fresh bread, but having just one too many prawns over Christmas we settle on sharing a plate of lightly fried calamari washed down by a refreshing glass of crown lager. The calamari is lightly dusted with turmeric and curry powder and served with an avocado, tomatoes and curry salsa. An unusual combination, but it works well. Next we try the scallops served in shell with leek, and fried hock. This is lovely. The fat slices of salty hock, complement the creaminess of the scallop, the tang from the leeks makes a refreshing palate cleanser. I wish I took some pictures of the food and the restaurant; it truly was a lovely place. You can find Leaves and Fishes at 737 Lovedale Rd, Lovedale. Frufru

I have been very lazy over Christmas, with my blog, with my etsy, basically with everything. That would probably account for the fact I have packed on 4 kg! Yikes. Anyway, I estimate I burnt three million kilojoules on Christmas day running around cooking and cleaning (Christmas was at my house). As I had a NO PRESENT RULE this year, I decided to treat myself to a few presents of my own...check out these pretty little tea cups I bought from Tea 2 ($18 each). I'm so happy with them I have been using them as a backdrop for my etsy items.

Wedding Photos

My Tim and I.

(http://www.lucyleonardi.com/)

For my friends, both near and far I have uploaded some more shots from my wedding. It was a really beautiful day, which is quite surprising considering Sydney’s weather is becoming as unpredictable as Melbourne weather! I am really lucky to have found someone as wonderful as Tim so young, I hope it shines through in these pictures. (Lucy Leonardi was or photographer, and as you can see, she was tops! See http://www.lucyleonardi.com/ )
Frufru