2008 Plate by Plate Benefit was held here. Volunteered from 5pm-close. Tickets were $150 and all proceeds went to Voice Your Vote. This event is held annually by Project by Project, a group of volunteers dedicated to helping causes in the Asian community. Job duties included, removing trash from stand up tables, emptying trash cans, grabbing drinks for the chefs, helping out the chefs however we can (more plates, forks, etc).
Here's the verdict:
(I will denote the standouts with an asterisk)
-Baking by Design - Chambord soaked raspberries & white chocolate mousse - very nice use of fondant in their displays, but too bad their dessert didn't deliver for me
-Wine Cellar Sorbets - Champagne, Rose, Sangria, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Port, Sake, Pinot Noir - cab is the best, hands down, then riesling
-Ilili - Sweetbreads w/ garlic whip, lamb ribs - lamb was very good, sweetbreads just OK
*South Gate [Kerry Heffernan] - Roast breast of Capon with basquaise peppers and coriander emulsion - a capon is a rooster whose reproductive organs were removed at a young age, OUCH, less testosterone is better tasting chicken, i liked it, well done
-Riingo [Jimmy Lappalainen] - miso cured salmon with daikon and pea shoots - good but generic, didn't wow me, salmon was tataki style
-One if By Land, Two If By Sea [Craig Hopson] - Smoked salmon, avocado tapenade, caviar and fried shallots - cutesy in display, mushy in consistency but very flavorful
*Morimoto [Masaharu Morimoto] - Foie gras chawan mushi, fresh wasabi, soy sauce - amazing, we got sous chef Chris plenty of beers to keep his focus
-Highline/Tong Thai Brasserie [Peter Pitakwong] - Braised beef short ribs w/ northern 'hin-ley' curry, watermelon pickles and 2hr poached egg - not as tender as i would like, very complex curry though
-Icon [Michael Wurster] - Chicken Lollipops with maytag blue cheese, hot sauce and micro celery - quality blue, lolli was ok, nothing special
-Thalassa [Ralpheal Abrahante] - Diver sea scallops cured in EVOO over caviar mousse - tender scallops, nothing too memorable
-Fleur de Sel [Cyril Renaud] - Brittany buckwheat crepe and Raspberry chocolate tart - crepe had ikura on top, strange twist, tart was just OK
-Hudson Yards Catering [Robb Garceau] - Braised berkshire pork cannelloni with cashews, leeks and apple-smoked bacon jus - wasn't crazy about this, tons of leftovers at the end, tasted quite generic
*Peacock Alley [Cedric Tovar] - Grilled pork belly skewer with espresso yuzu caramel - this was AMAZING!, melt in your mouth goodness, tasted like butter, PURE CRACK!
-Elettaria [Akhtar Nawab] - Marinated calamari w/ cranberry beans, pickled cauliflower, ginger-carrot vinaigrette - not sure if i like beans w/ calamari, just OK
*Kyotofu [Pauline Balboa] - coconut macaroon, black sesame macaroon w/ red bean filling, chocolate macaroon, chocolate cake w/ vanilla cream and green mochi on top - i esp liked the black sesame/red bean combo, lethal!
-EN [Yasuhiro Honma]- Chicken tsukune - served cold, it was tasty, but would have preffered it hot i think
-French Culinary Institute [Nils Noren] - tuna bite - all display, nothing to write home about
-Blue Smoke [Ken Callaghan] - rib - not as tender as I would have liked, smoky in flavor though, average
-Cakeman Raven [Raven Dennis III] - acapulco cake, red velvet cupcake w/ pineapple cream cheese - this cream cheese was CRACKTACULAR!, cake part was OK, well done
-Chanterelle [Kate Zuckerman] - Maple star anise creme caramel w/ huckleberries - licorice and caramel? kinda like a creme brulee minus the blowtorch, very complex but i don't like those two ingredients so i'm biased
-Bouley [David Bouley] - shrimp in black truffle sauce w/ baby bok choy, hearts of palm - black truffle sauce was great, quite decadent, shrimp was high quality
*Matsuri [Tadashi Ono] - duck breast w/ andalusian pasta w/ wasabi sauce - so good, reminded me of one of the few dishes that Ko did well
-Persimmon [Youngsun Lee] - marinated eggplant - served cold, just OK
-Red Egg [Mei Kun Chen] - Ají De Gallina spicy shredded chicken served with rice and potatoes - looks like curry with deep yellow color but tastes like bland shredded chicken
*Grom - Fiordilatte & Menta w/ whole milk & mint, Lampone w/ raspberry pulp, Bacio inspired by traditional turin gianduja cream w/ hazulnut chips - bacio was amazing, chocolate w/ hazelnut combo was to die for, tasted bits of nuts in this, very rich!
-Trois Pommes Patisserie [Emily Isaacs] - PB sandwich cookies, just OK
-GuS - all their regular flavors plus, new soda in a can
-Quady Winery - tried their black muscat wine at the end, very good
-Honest Beverages - must take a pic to get a bottle campaign, very good, not too sweet
-P.I.N.K./Kirin/Leblon/Tiger Beer - couldn't drink on the job
-Ito En - sencha shots are amazing here
-Smart Water - uh..water
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