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MADRICO's Test Kitchen

Where MADRICO serves up crazy dishes...BAM!

Culinary Genius..

So when I dined at the original Momofuku a long time ago, I knew that I had eaten somewhere special.  The food was excellent and the sake tasted great.  Who would have guess that he would have been the culinary genius that he is today..I did.  I have a lot of respect for Chef Dave Chang, for 3 reasons: 1) He shares the same name as a good friend of mine, 2) He's giving asian chefs a great name, much like his less known predicessors, Alex Lee and Souta Khun (spelling?).  Both are very talented chefs, but didn't reach the same plateau or were ahead of their times to do so. 3) His meshing of flavors are  excellent.

 All I can say is congratz Chef Dave Chang and I wish you much more success.

 

http://events.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/dining/reviews/07rest.html?ref=dining 

Posted May 7, 2008 by madrico | Add a comment | Share It

Filed under: Alex Lee Asian Chefs Chef Dave Chang Momofuku

Bar Q Restaurant in NYC...

So, in the next couple of weeks, Anito Lo's new restaurant will be opening, Bar Q Restaurant.  It will be a restaurant specializing in contemporary asian foods, with a raw bar and some outdoor seating.  This is Anita's second restaurant, while doing some consulting for Drew Nierport's Rickshaw, which as opened other restaurants in NYC and still owning Annisa.  Annisa, brought Anita Lo to the limelight after winning Best Chef in NYC for Food and Wine in 2001.

 Anita, is a close and dear friend and I am excited about her new venture.  I am invited to her soft opening and I look forward to trying out her tasty delights.  Please look for my next blog, where I will discuss and describe my experience.

Posted Apr 1, 2008 by madrico | Add a comment | Share It

Filed under: Anita Lo Annisa asian cuisine Bar Q Restaurant Best Chef for Food and Wine Drew Nierport Food and Wine nyc Rickshaw

I love Wednesdays..most of the time :)

It's Wednesday and the NY Times posts up it's weekly restaurant reviews as usual, but this week's review kinda intrigued me.  This chef sounds like he cooks much like i did back in the day.  Mixing up classical with contemporary, making "Clasemporary", and I look forward to eating here one day soon.  Not to mention the pre fixe sounds like a real bargain.

 

Here's the article if your interested:

http://events.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/dining/reviews/20rest.html?pagewanted=1&ref=dining 

Posted Feb 20, 2008 by madrico | Add a comment | Share It

Filed under: Dovetail John Fraser nyc Upper West Side Vera Tong

NY Times list of top restaurants 2007

This is awesome, Momofuku Ssam is number 1 in NYC's restaurant scene.  This is so exciting to see and I am truly a fan of Dave's ramen.  Brilliant!

 

Here's the article if you wish to read it.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/dining/26ybox1.html?_r=1&ref=dining&oref=slogin

Posted Feb 13, 2008 by madrico | Add a comment | Share It

Filed under: 2007 NY Times Top Restaurants Dave Chang Momofuku

Chocolate Show - NYC

These are the things that make me appreciate NYC as a food mecca.  http://www.chocolateshow.com/

I'm getting tickets and am preparing for the rush of all sugar rushes.  I'll let you guys know how it turns out. 

Posted Nov 5, 2007 by madrico | 1 Comment | Share It

Filed under: choclate show chocolate exibitions food shows nyc

Trattoria extraordinaire!!!

I've gone to this restaurant a few times over the past few years and I believe in this and still stand by it, Al di la is amazing!!  This restaurant is awesome and still hasn't skipped a beat despite being such a popular spot in Park Slope, Brooklyn.  I have not had a bad meal yet, though the menu doesn't change too much, like I noticed a couple of new dishes since my last visit and was very tempted to try one of them, but I couldn't forego the opportunity to miss out on the best tripe in NYC.  The flavors are so delightful and so rustic that you can't go wrong.  The waiter also mentioned an appetizer special, which was right up my girlfriend's alley, being a vegetarian and all, but I didn't think it would be all impressive.   I was completely wrong because it was well seasoned, everything tasted excellent together and it jumped off the palette beautifully with the Prosecco - Italian Sparkling wine, that I ordered.  For my entree I had ordered a glass of Sangiovese to go with my Calf's liver and it was so tastey together.  My girlfriend ordered the Swiss chard ricotta gnocci with sage brown butter with a glass of Nero d'Avola and it worked beautifully. 

The only draw back to this restaurant is that it doesn't take reservations, which I guess Maggie Gyllenhaal found out because she was turned away because there were no tables available at the time.  So if you go there when it opens, you're pretty much guarenteed to get a table without a wait, which is what I did on Sunday evening.

Posted Oct 22, 2007 by madrico | Add a comment | Share It

Filed under: A di la gnocci italian cuisine nero d'avola prosecco sangiovese trattoria tripe

Charleston, South Carolina

Sorry All,

I've been really busy and haven't had time to make a new blog until now.  I just recently went and spent time in Charleston, South Carolina for the first time and it was fun.  I didn't enjoy the heat so much, but I did enjoy the food.  I ate at 2 nice restaurants, but only recommend 1 for the value to food ratio.

 1.  McGrady's - a small, elegant restaurant in the heart of Charleston, serving up contemporary American faire with influences of French cooking (in my opinion).  My meal here was good and I was impressed with the level of cooking, but I didn't think the value (price) matched the food appropriately.  The wine list was very pricey and so was the food.  My service wasn't up to snuff if you weigh in the final tab.  Maybe, I'm used to NYC service and if you eat at a fine dining restaurant, then you should receive fine dining service even if you're in the south.  I can deal with a greeting of "Hey ya'll!", but I can't deal with Waffle House wait style, not that there is anything wrong with that, but it's out of context with the prices I'm paying.

2. FIG -  Which I wasn't aware was an acronym for "Food Is Good" and it holds true here.  I enjoyed this restaurant very much and the food was well paired, flavored well, and not overly priced for what you get.  The service was professional, nice and attentive. I was thoroughly impressed.  I highly suggest the Sweatbread Raviolis.  They really rocked my world!!  Delicate pillows of sweetbreads in a truffle butter sauce.

Now one might think that I'm comparing apples to oranges by the sounds of it, but I really am not; I'm comparing my experience, the food, and the quality of service.  So if you weren't able to tell from this post, I highly recommend FIG if you're ever in Charleston, South Carolina.

Posted Sep 21, 2007 by madrico | 1 Comment | Share It

Filed under: Charleston South Carolina FIG McGrady's sweetbreads truffles

Rock solid!!

Hello,

Ok, so last night was this season's final episode and the winner was Rock.  I'd have to say, I had a feeling he was going to win it once Jen got kicked off instead of Rock.  Rock was definitely determined through every episode to win it, so I'm glad it paid off for him.

 Bonnie's fatal mistakes was trusting Melissa on apps and not seriously double checking her work.  Julia's attitude didn't help much either, but what can you do in that type of a situation.  It was obvious that the girls didn't trust the boys and vice versa.  Grats Rock!!!

 I still can't believe that the winner gets a salary of 250,000 a year and profit sharing.  Makes me want to audition for the show.

 ~madrico

Posted Aug 14, 2007 by madrico | 2 Comments | Share It

Filed under: cooking shows Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen Reality T.V. Season Finale T.V. Shows

Up in Blue Smoke..

Hello,

So this past Sunday, it was suggested to me that I check out Blue Smoke and being a fan of BBQ, I welcomed the idea with open arms.  I went for lunch/brunch, which they do offer; limited but they do offer a brunch menu.  Not sure how it is in other cities, but NYC is a big brunch city and I love it. Since there wasn't much BBQ on the brunch menu, I went for the Rib sampler.  I wanted the full experience of their selection of ribs.

 I have to say the ribs were great for ribs, but I also learned something, and that is, I like St. Louis style ribs the best.  Give it to me tender and saucy I say.  I know that the sauce is on the side and you can add as much as you want, but I don't think I am a fan of the spice rubs.  I got some Texas style ribs in the sampler and it sounded great with salt, black pepper, brown sugar, and paprika, but I didn't feel them so much as I liked the flavor of the St. Louis ribs.

But before the rib fest I described with a great side of mac and cheese, we started with fresh BBQ chips with blue cheese and bacon dip.  Man, talk about heaven, especially if you had a bit too much to drink the night before.  I thoroughly enjoyed what I ate there and if you'rein the mood for BBQ, in NYC, and around 27th street and Lexington avenue, stop by and enjoy some ribs and some sultry jazz with a modern dive like atmosphere.

 

~madrico 

Posted Jul 23, 2007 by madrico | Add a comment | Share It

Filed under: bacon BBQ Blue Cheese Blue Smoke Danny Meyer jazz mac and cheese ribs St. Louis

Vive la France..

Bon jour,

Today is Bastille Day, the day of French Independence and a day to celebrate great things in French culture like food, wine, cheese, and dance.  In NYC on Sunday, the annual street fair commenced in grand fashion, bringing great traditional foods like crepes, baguettes with country pate and gerkins, regional wines of France and great French pastries.

Numerous restaurants also came to celebrate their heritage like Payard, Bec Fin (not to be confused with La Bec Fin) and Bouchon. Payard had a glorious selection of fine pastries, along with other savory delights for those who didn't have a sweet tooth on a warm summer day.

Walking inside the street fair, as packed as it was, you could hear beautiful conversations with the tones of the French accent or in language itself.  Reminds me of Paris and makes me appreciate the great city of NY and there is really no place like it, except maybe Paris.

 

Au revoir,

~madrico 

Posted Jul 16, 2007 by madrico | 2 Comments | Share It

Filed under: Bastille Day Bouchon crepes France French Independence Day paris Payard

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