Gothamist loves food. Be it tearing into BBQ ribs (with Jeffrey Steingarten!) or a classy meal at Blue Hill, we enjoy the ritual of eating as well as eating itself. So when Joseph DeSalazar emailed us a few months ago, it was kismet.
Joseph DeSalazar, like so many intrepid and ambitious New Yorkers, has a day job as well as a sideline hobby that he works on in his spare time. His paying job is as an account supervisor at a top advertising agency, but the passion is for cooking and food. Joseph has worked in the kitchens of Eleven Madison Park and Cafe Boulud to learn more about the rigors of cooking for an audience, as well as has held wine tastings for his friends. But wine tastings seemed too formal and didn't have the focus on food Joseph wanted. Restaurants tasting menus do sometimes offering wine tastings that pair courses, but for a young New Yorker, that might require a small loan, as Joseph puts it - not to mention friends intrepid enough to take loans out as well.
Thus, bringeth foodie. As Joseph tells us, "I wanted to create something that filled this void. A fun, casual, affordable food and wine tasting event where people could sit with a group of friends, meet new people with similar interests, and have a high quality food and wine pairing experience that was affordable." Joseph spends a couple weeks developing his menu, and then invites around 40-50 fellow foodies to enjoy a 6 course food-and-wine pairing menu every two months. Locations change from event to event, but the same meticulous attention and care to the experience is given at each. foodie has been word of mouth of late, and Gothamist was fortunate enough to be invited to his fourth foodie last month.
On a balmy August night, Gothamist headed down to the East Village, eager with anticipation for the evening to come. This foodie was held in an apartment/gallery that had previously been a Jewish dance hall (Gothamist, oddly enough, had attended a party there a few years back), tables dotting the space, set with personalized menus and wine lists.
Joseph was in the kitchen, prepping with his small staff and overseeing dishes at various stages of readiness. The blackout, just a few days prior, had affected some of his ability to get certain products ("I bought every single piece of corn at Gristede's," Joseph told us), but the menu was essentinally in tact, with minor substitutions here and there. His cooking is based on classic French and Italian techniques, but also have more modern twists.
Gothamist mingled a bit with other foodies but we got settled in when Joseph came out to discuss the menu a bit. Then the feast began.
First course:
The watermelon and tuna was an interesting combination, very light and refreshing. The figs were delicious, reminding Gothamist that we don't eat fresh figs enough.
Second course:
The crab was incredibly sweet and fresh - and there was a fair amount. (foodie course portions are smaller, so one can make it through six courses, but flavor is at full force.) Again, the watermelon added a nice refreshing touch. The Riesling, though, was a find - we'd definitely would like to try it again.
Third course:
Decadence! Velvety soup that sparkled with the corn's sweetness, a piece of foie gras on top, biscuit that we dipped into the soup...mmm...
Fourth course:
Our favorite course of the evening: The hake was perfectly poached (and poaching can be very difficult) - tender, flavorful, and tasted like the ocean (versus being fishy). The merguez was a robust counterpoint, and this merlot really grew on us - delicious and spicy.
Fifth course:
The lime added an interesting and welcome zing to the poultry, well matched with the hearty potatoes inside.
Sixth course:
A perfect finish to a lovely meal - light, pleasant and didn't overwhelm us.
Thoroughly impressed (and full) with Joseph's efforts, Gothamist learned that while his dream may be to some day run his own kitchen, Joseph is simply interested in bringing his of love food and wine to more people, wanting to encourage them to approach food with open eyes and excitement, through foodie. As Joseph's enthusiasm is infectious, it would hard for anyone not to be more interested in food, and coupled with his incredible dedication, we feel lucky to have had the chance to enjoy foodie. Thanks, Joseph, for a wonderful evening. We can't wait until the next one!
Joseph's next foodie will be in late October. foodie is $95 per person, for a six course meal, including wine at each course.
For more information, e-mail: foodieny@hotmail.com
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Isn't the term "Foodie" used to describe some one who is has fetishes using food in masturbation?
Thanks for sullying my post with that comment, dude!
Hah, I have no idea. I just know about plushie.
If Google is to be believed, then, no.
Sex columinst Dan Savage used the term in one of his articles.
I have to email him, I am closet foodie as well (just adding to the Savage fire if you will) and need an excuse to get out and have great food with other food lovers. Bad thing about being a musician and having mostly musician friends- people tend to stick to the cheap/takeout classics.
Decadent
wow! this is fantastic. sign me up.
hmm cute boy in that pic with the blonde curly hair. Food and cute boys - im all for that!
i'm afraid of figs. i love all the...paperwork--invite, menu, etc. the whole thing looks incredibly charming. i'd eat at his restaurant!
looks so awesome. i thought i was kind of fun and cool (and a great foodie gal!) but i never score invitations to things like this! now i have a complex.
sophie - don't have a complex - that's why I included the email so people can find out more!
Can Foodie come to LA? This looks amazing.
Enh. Looks like an uptight bat mitzvah.
A six course food and wine bat mitzvah? Then bring it on! I've enjoyed a number of events and people's company only because of the food.
But this wasn't uptight - it was fun. We chatted with the fashiony people sitting at our table and drank a lot of wine.
What a great idea for a Bat Mitzvah (or a wedding)! Advantages over the traditional wedding/Bat Mitzvah meal:
a) numerous breaks in between so there's time for dancing and toasts,
b) plenty of wine so everyone gets appropriately tipsy,
c) no need for waiters to "chicken or fish?" everyone - if there's a course you don't like, wait for the next one,
d) acually good food.
If only we knew someone becoming Bat Mitzvah and/or getting married soon that we could influence into doing this.
In other related "foodie" news, I just treked from my midtown west office to Daisy May's- a longer hike than I expected but worth every step.
Had the Texas beef sammy- so tasty, accented with a few crisp sweet pickles and what was damn near the tastiest, single onion curl. The roll did not hold up to the test (I could not wait to get back to work to eat it, it smelled and looked too good) definetly the best brisket sammy I've had outside of texas. Sides, the creamed spinach- you can really taste the cream and what appears to be a hint of parm.. The beans, smokey, firm and just the right sort of sweet.
Worth a trek.
Oh my god, I need to make a BBQ run to Daisy Mae's STAT.
well, as a gothamist friend i was lucky enough to partake of this delicious meal, and it is every bit as yummy as it looks. maybe one day i'll be able to parlay my foodie passions into something as grand as this. would anyone go for a vietnamese foodie night? ;-)
How about a splinter group...."Drinkie"?
Just curious: What's your policy on editorial freebies and such? When someone invites you to an event like this and pays your way, it can color your impressions. Just curious if Gothamist pays its way for events like this or not?
We're not an actual new organization, so we're slowly developing our own thoughts about how to handle various events. I don't know that this is really a review - it's more of a feature.
Most events we've been paying for (night of Law & Order, pretty much all things involving us eating anything), although with more people reading the site, we have gotten more invitations and things to take a look at. There are some events/books/music/films/etc. we actively search out, because we're genuinely interested in them. A lot of posts grow out of a trip to dinner, which can cause some of our dining companions embarrassment because I'll take out a camera and start photographing...
I put these to you, Bat Mitzvah planner:
- Is crab Kosher if its toes are peeky? Think DeSalazar would substitute krab?
- If corn in fact lactates, as the soup implies, must we forego the corned figs?
- Can one really have a serious discussion of figs without broaching the subject of figgy pudding? (itself, of course, Parve)
GOthamist should write for IronChef. So eloquent, so detailed one can practically taste the food in one's mouth just by reading.
Interesting.
Needs better photography. Definitely needs a better cook:
Peach, sprouts, corn and watermelon used at least twice on the same menu! The horror!
Corn Milk and Foie Gras soup - Yum!
Like the roast pots inside the quail, but what's with the chia pet presentation (which he JUST used on the Hake!)? In fact all the presentations look weak. and, this is supposed to be grilled whole quail, but it's bone-in? I just don't think so.
The avocado on the Peekytoe salad looks pre-masticated, and I see no peach. And the presentation is accented by? Drizzled boring oil - THE SAME THING HE JUST DID on the watermelon/fig app.
Weak colors - white on white with beige accents and white sauce.
Merguez and Hake?
How about letting that Peach sorbet set in the freezer for 3 hours before serving, bucko. And, he obviously ran out of mint, so decided to garnish dessert with... Italian Parsley? Sheesh, and I thought I was creatively challenged.
Damn white people.