Friday, February 27, 2015

Lavo Thursdays

Last night was a bit of a blur.

My friend (and roomie!) finished the Bar Exam yesterday so very appropriately sent out a group text message calling the troops to celebrate.

Heels and tiny dresses were thrown on and we headed out to dance at Lavo.
















Wednesday, February 4, 2015

#Streetbird Pop-Up with Marcus Samuelsson

You have to be quick in NYC. Quick because there's so much going on but quick ALSO because there are so many people constantly battling you to get to all those things going on.

And you, my friend, want to be first in line.

Spontaneity is key for granting you access to all that New York has to offer and I am so proud to say that the people I surround myself with are (usually) willing to drop what they're doing to go on an adventure.

Yesterday a little birdie told me that Marcus Samuelsson, of Red Rooster Harlem, was popping up in a tiny Mexican restaurant a few blocks away from my hood. 

I did a little research (thank you Gothamist and EaterNY) and learned that the extremely accomplished chef and restaurateur is planning a new project called Streetbird Rotisserie and was planning to use the pop-up to test recipes on a very willing, very hungry crowd of New Yorkers. 


Even more intriguing? Everything I read said the dinner was "donation-based."

FREE DINNER?! I'M THERE.

My fingers flew over my iPhone keyboard as I extended the invitation to friends who I thought might want to potentially wait for a very long time in very cold weather for what I told myself would be very delicious (and very free) chicken. Within half an hour I snagged two bites on my fishing line and was out the door walking to El Maguey Y La Tuna to meet my friends on East Houston Street. 

The pop-up opened at 7pm and by the time Sheetal and I arrived a little after 8pm, the line was probably 30 people long. Karri and Giancarlos soon joined us and we skipped excitedly to the back and took our spots, ready to brave the wait all in the name of free poultry.

The doorman/bouncer stood at the front, stone-faced, slowly opening the door for the few lucky enough to fit inside, then shutting it intently behind them while sizing up the rest of the waiting crowd shivering in the snow. 


All we could do was press our noses against the windows and imagine ourselves getting to the front of the line and being permitted to enter the bustling, happy FREE CHICKEN EATING PARTY inside.


Every few minutes, a member of the restaurant team would walk through the crowd outside, offering hot tea to everyone in line. The tea was lovely and certainly did help stave off the chill. Unfortunately, my toes weren't the ones drinking the tea and, despite my hopping from one foot to the other, froze up pretty quickly. 

"Keep thinking about delicious, warm, FREE chicken," I told myself, and pressed my nose back to the window. 


Forty-five minutes passed and finally we were at the head of the line and two minutes later we were in! We were greeted by excited waitresses who shuffled us to our tiny table in the far back corner. We were immediately offered drinks - wine, red stripe, rum, or margaritas, and my eyes lit up as I patted myself on the back for being so smart.

"Guys," I whispered, "the drinks are probably not free! That's where they get ya!!!"

We clarified with the waitress who said no, in fact, EVERYTHING was free and if we thought the food was good at the end of the meal, we could make a donation to show our support. 

We picked our beverages and just barely contained ourselves from pounding our fists on the table and yelling "Food Waiter Waiter Waiter Food Waiter Waiterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"




Mr. Samuelsson himself made sure to pass by every table and thank everyone personally for coming out. He was extremely sweet and it's always lovely to see people truly appreciate their fan base.


The restaurant was buzzing with energy. Chatter filled the air as waitresses doled out dish after dish of chicken excellence to hungry tables.



Drinks came out with the first course.



A soup made of black beans, chicken broth, sweet potato, and braised collard greens. 




The broth was extremely silky and the no-spoons-allowed gave it a playful character. We happily slurped up every drop.


Also on the table were Taiwanese Pickled Cucumbers.


They were soft but crunchy, tangy yet sweet. If they sold these by the barrel I would take home the whole thing!


Next up was Chicken Tack Tack. "Tack Tack," we learned, is Swedish for "Thank You." Samuelsson grew up in Sweden and the country's influence could be seen all throughout our meal. 

It was interesting because in the loud restaurant it also sounded like she was saying Chicken Taco which was completely plausible as it looked very much like a taco....#confusing.

The tortilla is hand made from Ethiopian teff flour. It was then filled with Chicken Mole, Chicken Liver Piri Piri Sauce, what seemed to be pickled onions, some lettuce, and cilantro! The flavor was exquisite. And it was BIG! A small enough tortilla, yes, but piled high with meat and sauce and flavor. 

We very seriously discussed the differing flavor profiles....


and picked up another round of drinks from the bar before the next course!



The main dish, Streetbird Over Noodles and Greens, was the only dish of the night to come on a shared platter. 


The 1/2 chicken was served sliced and crispy over lo-mein-esque noodles that tasted faintly like peanut sauce. Bok Choy and Long Greens, which was emphasized are very different from Green Beans, filled the plate. 

Not one to waste time, I dug in!



The meat fell easily right off the bone and the skin crunched and crackled with juices. The vegetables tasted like pretty standard sauteed greens although the Ethiopian chile did give it a definite flavor punch. The noodles were good, not out of your mind good, but good. The hints of peanut-sauce were an added welcome.

I've mentioned this before about sharing food but I'll say it again. It's dangerous.

Everyone politely avoids eye contact while inwardly cursing you as they stab their fork left and right trying to get the best mouthfuls. Before you knew it, we had abandoned forks and were taking turns licking the plate clean!



Up until now the Chicken Tack Tack (Taco) was the clear leader in tasty magnificence. We had agreed unanimously on its excellence as we finished our round of rum punch. 

But, as in all good stories, there was a plot twist. 

The dessert.


Our smiling waitress whisked the dessert plates in front of us and we were floored.

Maybe it was because the colors of the pastry matched the colors of the plates.

Maybe it was because when we lifted that pastry to our lips, our mouths dropped to the actual floor in unison.



It was called the "Sweet Dog" because it looked so uncannily like a hot dog....but sweet. Our waitress explained to us that it closely resembled the Swedish dessert, "Semla," a marzipan and whipped cream filled sweet roll served most commonly during Lent. 

Which is strange because most people in America give up dessert for Lent and I can't imagine having this around being that encouraging for them...

The Streetbird Sweet Dog (Semla) is essentially a brioche bun filled with almond marzipan, whipped cream, raspberry cream, powdered sugar, and chocolate shavings.

It might have been one of the top 5 desserts I've ever tasted.


It was just so beautiful! GZ couldn't even resist its daintiness and had to pull out his phone to insta.


We finished our Sweet Dogs and just looked at each other perfectly content. There was no doubting which dish had won our hearts. Streetbird, I will be back to order ONLY Sweet Dogs for my entire meal. I kid you not.

As our plates cleared another waitress came around with a large bucket stressing that while the food and the experience was free, any donations based on whether or not we liked the food would obviously be welcome.


We tipped (OF COURSE) and began to pack up, (not-so) casually asking if we could have seconds of the Sweet Dog and pretty much getting made fun of in the doorway....

But that's another story.

People, Streetbird was amazing. The vibe they created was perfect and the dishes were stunning. Keep your eyes on this one because, like Red Rooster, Marcus Samuelsson is headed for success with his Rotisserie project. There's no website for the restaurant yet but check back on Marcus' personal chef website for any details regarding the opening.

And if you don't have anyone to go with and you want to check it out, INVITE ME!!! I'll be there in a second.

Seriously.

P.S. - While we weren't able to try any of El Maguey Y La Tuna's signature dishes as the Red Rooster/Streetbird team had very clearly taken over the entire restaurant, the space looked really great and further research has shown that the Mexican food might be pretty decent! Check out their website here. I've added it to my list of places to check out and will update with a full report as soon as I am able.