Dark Dining Projects - blindfolded dinner at Camaje bistro in Greenwich Village, NYC, New York

Last week, I was invited to a blindfolded dinner organized by the Dark Dining Projects at Camaje, a bistro located in Greenwich Village, serving French-American cuisine. 

Dark Dining Projects started in 2005 from the imagination of Dana Salisbury, a New York City based artist / choreographer. She stepped down in September of this year, being replaced by Amy Baumgarten who was hosting this event, helped by Breanna Gimble.
The principle seems simple: you eat while wearing a blindfold, adjusting it so you do not see any light. Well, the only moment during the event where you could see the light is if you go to the bathroom. You would then raise your hand and somebody would guide you to the bathroom, holding your hand and moving them to make you understand which direction your body should follow. Once the door is closed, you can then decide to remove the blindfold or not. When you are done, you put it back, knock at the door, and they bring you back to your table.

Not only it forces you to trust the Chef for the food you are going to eat, but also the wait staff who will not only serve you but also help. I think that lots of people are freaked out that there will be something weird or disgusting in their food, so imagine when you cannot see! It is also a way to heighten your senses; don't we say that we first eat with our eyes? 

So we put those blindfolds outside the restaurant, before entering, and were guided inside by the organizers. I cannot imagine what people in the street were thinking when they saw this line of blindfolded people (in fact, I can imagine...). If you look in the mirror in the photo above, on the left, you can see people being seated with one hand on the shoulder of the person preceding them. And yes, the photos in this post have been taken blindly, so to speak, by myself and Jodi for the one above. I later discovered that taking photos blindfolded would also prove to be a challenge!

So, as I mentioned previously, we put the blindfolds before entering the restaurant and, as the windows were covered by thick drapes, I only discovered how the place was when looking at the photos (by the way, did you notice the guy on the left of the photo above?). However, when seated, I tried to imagine the space, listening to the people around us and   thus placing tables in my mind. Coincidently, our neighbors, Valerie and Joe, lived few blocks from us and we spent the evening chatting together.

The event was not just about the food and at some point, we could feel some movements, objects or hands on us, adding a bit more to the mystery. 

We started off with a hot towel for our hands.

Then they served us a glass of wine.

Il Forno Hell's Kitchen in NYC, New York

Couple of weeks ago, we wanted to have dinner at L'Ybane, close to Times Square, but the place was so packed that we decided to try Il Forno  Hell's Kitchen, an Italian restaurant that opened recently. 

When we arrived, the place was packed. And then, after 8pm, it was empty. The explanation: early diners eager to find a place to eat before their show.

The place has an interesting decor: you get the impression you are eating at a terrace of a restaurant in the middle of a village in Italy. Pretty well done!

Their menu proposes pretty common Italian dishes, such as pasta, risotto and pizette, that are small pizzas, enough for one person. Of course, that does not prevent you from sharing...

We decided to start with the warm caprese salad that was served with burrata instead of the usual mozzarella. 

Besides of the burrata, it was composed of cherry tomatoes and arugula, and dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was good, fresh and creamy, but not worth the $14 price tag considering the quantity they served.

Pinche Taqueria in NYC, New York

Recently, we ate at Pinche Taqueria, a Mexican restaurant located few steps from Union Square. It all started in 1973 in Tijuana and now, they have three locations in NYC: 14th, Mott street and Lafayette street. 

It is like most of the fast casual food places: you order at the counter, they give you a number and then bring the food to your table.

Their menu has the standard Mexican dishes: tacos, quesadillas, burritos, tamale, tortas and for the healthiest of us, salads.

We decided to start with guacamole and chips.

The guacamole was delicious and fresh, worth the $4. 29 we paid for compared to Tacombi a la Fonda Nolita that was quite expensive. The chips were good, but I do not think they make them.

Jodi got a black bean taco:

Cooking class at Cook & Go Culinary Studio in Chelsea, NYC, New York

I was recently invited for a cooking class with bloggers at Cook & Go Culinary Studio located in Chelsea. 

Cook & Go started few years ago in France, more precisely in Lyon that is the capital of Gastronomy there. Their classes target people who are not professional or advanced cooks and want to learn simple recipes in a relaxed atmosphere. You come, cook and then go with the food you just made so your friends and family can try! 

The place is big and can host up to 80 people. Of course, there is no way that 80 people can cook at the same time or in that case it will have to be uncooked dishes like some we made. Interestingly, some companies are organizing events there: good idea for team building sessions.

Our teacher (and Chef), Christine, made the experience very relaxed, with no pressure, providing useful tips.

Each of us had its own space setup.

And I was ready to start! Au menu were:

• Purses filled with pear, brie and raspberry.
• Tuscan White Bean Crostini.
• Apricot Chicken.
• Cakes filled with dates.
• S'mores shooters.

The recipes below were courtesy of Cook & Go. 

The first dish was Purses filled with pear, brie and raspberry. 

Cakes at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York

On a Saturday afternoon, while walking near Bryant Park, we saw the new location of Lady M, a pastry shop many of my friends recommended. We decided to get some lunch and come back there for desserts. As we say in French: "chose promise, chose due" (I believe that in English, it is "A promise is a debt that we may not forget"). So, after a brunch at Barbes, a Moroccan restaurant located on the East side, we went back!

The place was packed for sure, but we were able to find a table in this tiny location. It was all white, probably to have the colors of the cakes pop. 

It was hard to choose what we wanted to eat, because there were so many mouth watering cakes! For instance, they have a Mont Blanc cake made with crème de marrons (chestnut cream) or a gâteau au chocolat (chocolate cake). We decided to go with their signature cake: Lady M Mille Crêpe:

They have it in different flavors: vanilla (our choice), green tea (quite few tables around us ordered it) or crème de marrons.

AOC - L'Aile Ou la Cuisse in NYC, New York

AOC means L'Aile Ou la Cuisse in French (the wing or thigh) and does not refer at all to the French wine certification (Appellation d'Origine Controllee). It has been a while since I wanted to try this restaurant, probably because I realized that I do not go that often to French restaurants...

So we decided to go there before seeing a documentary downtown. When we arrived, they sat us in the back, in what I consider a large room, with a bar and a TV screen showing some European soccer. You may think it is an insignificant detail, but you will understand at the end of this post why it is not!

So the place has two dining rooms, one in the back and one in the front, plus a garden that must be nice during warmer days.

The Chef crafted a menu that is for the most part French, with classics such as poulet roti (roasted chicken), croque Monsieur or salade Niçoise. 

We ordered our food and it took forever to come, the staff more interested by the soccer game than taking care of us. The bread basket took also forever to come and I noticed that some of the bread was slightly burnt.

I am always suspicious with warm baguette, because we use to heat it when it was stale to make it better.

So, after waiting for quite some time, our food comes. Jodi ordered the croque Monsieur:

It started well as it has lots of cheese and a nice amount of ham. It was good, but barely warm, making us think that it sat there.

On my side, I ordered the merguez sandwich:

Dinner at Fushimi in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York

In the past weeks, I have been discovering Brooklyn's dining scene and I have to admit that there are quite few gems there! The last one I discovered is Fushimi, a Japanese restaurant located in Bay Ridge, where we were invited for dinner. Fushimi has two meanings: first it is the name of a city in Japan; second, it means "Clear water" in Japanese.

They have three locations: Bay Ridge and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, as well as Staten Island where they serve the same menu, an Asian fusion of Japanese, Korean, Thai, French and American cuisine, crafted by Executive Chef Chul Kee Ko.

Chef Chul Kee Ko has an impressive resume: born in Seoul Korea, his mom owned a popular Japanese restaurant, where Chef Ko helped in the kitchen at age 14. Then he went to the French Culinary Institute, before working for Jean Georges and Buddha Bar in Washington DC. The training in the latter allowed him to spend two months at the Buddha Bar in Paris. 

The restaurant is surprising: from outside, it looks like a club with the blue lights. Then, when you enter, the first room is dominated by the red and blue fluorescent bar, giving a lounge-y feel to the place. But it is not just a bar area, there are tables and booths were people can dine. I counted three more dining room, making this place quite big.

In the main dining room, you can sit at the counter, observing the Chef prepare the food, next to a small seafood display.

In the back is a cellar containing an impressive collection of sake.

I started the evening with a yuzu citron martini:

It was made of yuzu sake, citron (lemon) vodka, PunZone organic liqueur (vodka). It was good with a nice citrus-y taste, but clearly not something I would sip like milk...

The first two dishes were from their New Year's eve menu. It started with Four Senses of Lobster:

They took 1 1/2 lb lobster and prepared it 4 ways.

Tiradito that is similar to a ceviche, where slices of the lobster tail were topped with caviar and a spicy vinaigrette.

Sushi made with the claw meat, some homemade lobster oil, some sea salt, and of course some rice. This was to be eaten with soy sauce and wasabi.

Lobster salad: First was a brush of pesto on which the salad was placed. it was composed of asparagus,  snap peas, cherry tomatoes, crunchy cauliflower (tri-color - I can recall purple, green) and a carrot confit (the carrot is cooked 3 hours at low temperature in olive oil).

The sauce was an orange vinaigrette. The lobster was topped with a Meyer lemon and pineapple jam that gave a nice acidity to the meat.

Special Roll made with different types of lobster meat, rice, avocado and mango, topped with a sweet aioli.

The presentation of the dish was beautiful and the creativity of the Chef being undeniable. It was like a progression of flavors, some the simplest to the more complex flavors. My favorite was the sushi, then the tiradito / ceviche and then the salad, each of them being delicate and elegant. However, I did not like the roll, whether it was the texture or the taste, the lobster being a bit lost.

The second dish was the Black Garlic Magic of Seafood:

Another beautiful dish, very colorful. It was like a tartare of lobster, lump crab meat and seared scallops, topped with black garlic and put together with a creamy aioli that let the seafood shine. It was accompanied with a brunoise of vegetables that added a nice crunch to the dish (carrots, French beans, cauliflower). This was another successful dish. Definitely, the black garlic was intriguing. It is aged for 6 months and has a soft texture and a more subtle taste that definitely did not overpower the dish.

Then came the rack of lamb:

Another fantastic presentation and a great dish! The lamb was seared in 7 spices and brushed with Dijon mustard that created a nice coating. Then it was slow cooked to obtain a meat cooked medium and heavenly juicy. It came with haricot verts and crispy mashed potatoessimply made with yukon potatoes, butter, salt and pepper, a perfect side for the lamb.

After the succulent lamb dish, came the filet mignon:

Chef Ko poured a sauce similar to the one you can find in shabu shabu, made with a port wine reduction, shallots, beef stock and butter. 

It came with a roasted shishito pepper, a pan seared oyster mushroom (did not really like it), panko crusted mash potatoes (delicious and crunchy), a roasted cherry tomato and one of the best sweet potato purées I ever had (there is crème fraîche in it!). But the best part was the filet mignon. I typically never order meat when not in a steakhouse; but, to my surprise, this was very good! The meat was tender, deliciously seared and topped with some kosher salt. Although juicy, it paired perfectly with the sauce that has a nice sweetness. The meat was cooked medium to medium rare, and even Jodi who likes her steak well done loved it!

At that point, I am not sure I could eat more. But then, they brought us some desserts...The first one was a warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream (perfect to cut the sweetness and bitterness of the chocolate).

We cut it in the middle and observed the chocolate oozing from the center. It was fantastic!

Then, we had a trio of crème brûlée:

The flavors were: vanilla.

Green tea

Coffee.

I thought that it was a great idea to offer a crème brûlée tasting and it was the perfect quantity as it was not too big and not too thick. The custards were perfectly set, not too sweet and the caramelized top was very good. My favorite was the vanilla, then coffee, then green tea (that was not bitter by the way).

The last dessert was a panna cotta made with Greek yogurt and topped with a yuzu citrus gelée. 

This was my least favorite dessert: I did not like the texture of the panna cotta and the yuzu citrus gelée taste was too pronounced.

This was definitely an unexpected dinner at Fushimi: the food was fabulous, taste wise and presentation, showcasing the creativity of Chef Ko. This is not your typical Japanese restaurant. However, if you want a more straight forward Japanese dish, they have that also on their menu! Whether you live or not in Bay Ridge, Fushimi is worth the trip...

Enjoy (I did)!

 

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!