Foodie Interviews | Bite of the Best

The Best of the Best Dining

Bet you thought with that title, this would be about a new Zagat survey. Not! "Opinionated About Fine Dining Survey 2008: The 100 Best Restaurants of North American & Europe" is a copycat of those popular guides. This guide's written by Steven Plotnicki. It's his list of best of the best places to dine culled from a survey of only 600 respondents from around the world. To be fair, Tim and Nina began their eponymous guides in a similar fashion, that is, surveying their friends. Is this $6.95 survey worth it? Not really, unless you're a world traveler who likes boasting rights. In fact, each person I've showed the guide [...]

By Bonnie Tandy Leblang|2017-08-31T16:21:04-04:00March 21st, 2008|Foodie Interviews, xyz misc|0 Comments

Azul Restaurant, Mediterranean + Asian = Innovation
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Azul Restaurant, Mediterranean + Asian = Innovation

Foodie Interviews, Other happenings, USA Restaurants

Azul Restaurant, Mediterranean + Asian = Innovation

While in Miami last week for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, I slipped across the causeway for a sampling of the creative cuisine of Clay Conley (a Todd English protégé) at Azul at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. Fine dining with service the way it should be - there when you need it, but not hovering. Don't let his boyish charm fool you, Clay Conley's mature talent comes through in each of his unpretentious dishes where he adds an Asian twist to Mediterranean flavors. Two of my favorite combinations included a delicate braised veal shank ravioli with caramelized onions, Parmesan cheese and black truffle butter. I opted to top [...]

By Bonnie Tandy Leblang|2017-09-01T16:48:49-04:00March 3rd, 2008|Foodie Interviews, Other happenings, USA Restaurants|0 Comments

Pity It’s Not Scratch and Sniff! Introducing TasteBook

CondéNet (the internet unit of Condé Nast) has invested in TasteBook, a startup that binds recipes culled from its cooking site, Epicurious.com, into a personalized hardcover book. Imagine creating your very own cookbook to keep or give as a gift this holiday season. Or, how about a one-of-a-kind truly personal present for a bride-to-be? Using TasteBook's print-on-demand tools, you can choose from over 25,000 online recipes and also upload your own. Organize, group into collections, store and create a unique cookbook. Add your kitchen tips or helpful hints to any recipe. Producing one with 100 recipes costs $34.95.

By Bonnie Tandy Leblang|2017-08-31T16:21:07-04:00October 29th, 2007|Foodie Interviews, xyz misc|0 Comments

Star Gazing: New Michelin Guides

Not surprisingly, Per Se, Le Bernardin and Jean Georges each kept their three Michelin stars in the just released New York City guide (October 10, $16.95). New Manhattan star holders include Blue Hill, Anthos, and L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon (in the Four Seasons), each with one star, and Gordon Ramsay at The London with two stars. In addition, two new Michelin Guides to U.S. destinations go on sale this fall—Los Angeles (November 14, $14.95) and Las Vegas (November 16, $12.95). The updated San Francisco guide will be available soon (October 24, $16.95). The Michelins differ from the more populist Zagat series because inclusion and ratings of restaurants and hotels are [...]

By Bonnie Tandy Leblang|2017-08-31T16:21:07-04:00October 9th, 2007|Foodie Interviews, xyz misc|0 Comments