A Million Kudos To Foodbuzz

Foodbuzz had a really splendid event last night celebrating their one millionth food post. It took place at the David Burke Townhouse in Manhattan and it was an opportunity to meet up with lots of new, and old, blogging buddies.

The Foodbuzz folks were so welcoming and happy to see all of us food bloggers. I just loved seeing Managing Editor, Ryan. Foodbuzz now has over TWO THOUSAND food blogs in their online community. And there were a lot there last night.

I saw lovely Michelle, who tasted each item with great seriousness and from whom I expect a detailed report on everything from the hamachi to the butterscotch panna cotta. It was fun meeting Diana, Soap and Chocolate and Sarah, Tales of Expansion. Someone figured out the best spot in the hallway by the kitchen to grab the trays as they came out, so Michelle and I installed ourselves there.

Other wonderful encounters were with the VERY professional, yet friendly staff.

Servers Juan

and Angelo

did superb jobs in tight quarters. Chef de Cuisine Sylvain Delpique’s food was delicious and beautifully presented. His French accent didn’t hurt either. I took quite a shine to sous chef Heinrihs.

His turkey, beef and salmon were perfectly cooked (mine were, anyway) and served with aplomb. Michelle made friends with him too.

The food. It was WONDERFUL and displayed really beautifully. The passed hors d’oeuvres included lobster dumplings, smoked salmon, chicken and foie gras dumplings and sweet chili shrimp in pineapple. The hot things were hot, the cold were cold and I wish I could relive the whole thing or at least have brought a giant Tupperware. Folks, looking at the following list of foods, will be seriously jealous that they weren’t there.

Let me try to identify the food:

Top row from left: scallops with ginger, smoked fish, hamachi, scallops and sushi, sushi

2^nd row from left: lemons, assorted shellfish, truffle pineapple sauce for shellfish, chicken and foie gras dumplings (I think), beef

3^rd row from left: salmon and turkey breast, sweet chili shrimp in pineapple, lychee martinis, apple tarts, butterscotch panna cotta

4^th row from left: dark and white chocolate cheesecakes on a stick, red velvets cakes, grapefruit and crème fraiche gelée, pecan and cinnamon buns, cream filled doughnuts

Standout dishes –

All the passed dumplings were over-the-top great. The fried ones were hot and crunchy. The steamed ones were perfectly balanced and flavored. The hamachi was firm and pink, served simply in spoons with cress, watermelon and rice wine vinegar (perhaps). My turkey (presented personally to me by Heinrihs) was perfectly just-cooked and moist. The beef was so tender and cut into tiny squares by the souschef.

The sweets – the lollipop cheesecakes were ingenious. The one bite size was perfect considering their richness. The chocolate nutella milkshake probably could have been the star of the evening, if not for its place in a huge cast of excellent desserts…with the winning dessert still to come. The butterscotch panna cotta was so pretty and smooth and only a bit too sweet. The grapefruit gelées were gorgeous and refreshing. And lastly, call them cream-filled doughnuts or call them beignets, just call ME whenever they’re served. They were SUPERB and the showstopper of the evening.

I can only hope that my fellow Foodbuzzers weren’t too put off as I rammed my way to the second of two bars when I heard lychee martinis were being served. Lychee liqueur is my favorite thing now, since I had those so-easy-drink-many-of cocktails in Palm Springs at Roy's. Interestingly, here they used lychee juice, not the liqueur.

Here’s the recipe from Alain, the bartender:

2 shots Svedka vodka

1 shot Ceres Lychee Juice

splash of simple syrup

splash of triple sec

The other bar included lychee as a garnish and thyme leaves in the mix, which I tried later. The thyme was a wonderful addition.