Le Fooding NYC 2012 Fail: Brooklyn Edition

Image courtesy of thepariskitchen.com 

Le Fooding, a French foodingguide in France, decided to bring their Campfire Session #2 to Brooklyn’s waterfront in Williamsburg. I attended last year’s Campfire Session in Manhattan and the very first NYC Le Fooding event in 2009 in Queens. Both events were special and wonderfully organized bringing talented chefs together in one space. Patrons were fed, entertained with music, and free to roam around a beautiful art space. Le Fooding was an event that I became a huge fan of. It was an event and organization that I believed in and was willing to invest in. They always donated a portion of their proceeds to charity (Action Against Hunger) and the vibe of the events were not for profit, but rather the celebration of food and positive environment it could create.

Last year’s first Campfire Session was an intimate affair. The number of tickets sold were minimal and the outdoor space it was held in felt like a backyard. There was more than enough food to go around. Patrons got seconds, even thirds, despite the strict ticket per serving allotted. The musical guest was popular Norwegian crooner Sondre Lerche. It was an amazing success. We ended the night with music, ginger ale and Jameson, and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream.

This year’s campfire promised musical guest Mos Def and five tastings which showcased the innovation of Brooklyn’s food scene. It was promising and had an air of coolness. After all, Brooklyn itself had developed a bit of a reputation. Artisanal, hipster, creative, new, and trendy are just a few words to describe the “Brooklyn” scene.

The event turned out very different from previous years. There was a strict guest list and the people manning the guest lists checking people in had no idea what they were doing. Each line had a different list and each entrance was left unmarked. Was one line VIP, for Mastercard users only, A-L, M-Z? The world will never know. We were just lucky to pass through the gates after receiving an apology for the process that took too long.

The event took place at the Williamsburg Flea Market. The bad thing was that the flea market stayed open while Campfire Session #2 was going on. It was confusing. Where we supposed to shop? The vendors looked bored and out of place. Food lines snaked by each tent and overall the event looked secondary to the flea and was cramped. Hosting Campfire Session #2 in the middle of the Williamsburg Flea gave Le Fooding less of an importance. It didn't feel special anymore and was more like a nighttime Smorgasburg, the daytime Saturday food festival held in this very same location.

Daniel Rose & Saul Bolton
Spring, France & Brooklyn Bangers, USA

As for the food, it was tiny and too much of the same. I guess Brooklyn is big on sausages because three out of the five plates I tried that night were sausage. One of the booths Mission Chinese ran out of tastings halfway through the event. I had to beg another booth to accept my Mission Chinese ticket for a plate of food. Thank you Brooklyn Bangers for being so understanding and delicious!

Choncho's Tacos

Mile End

Model Chrissy Teigen
I wish John Legend were there to fill in the musical act performance.

Grapefruit mousse by Pierre Herme

Aside from the food aspect, Campfire Session really prides itself on their musical guest. I was looking forward to Mos Def. Shortly after I bought my ticket online, I got an email saying Mos Def would not be there and Dave One of Chromeo would be filling in. My mistake was thinking that Dave One would show up with a keyboard and sing Momma’s Boy but he was without his other half. He stood there on stage and no one knew who he was. He should have had a banner or an announcement but had nothing and we were all waiting for something. Before we knew it the stage was being disassembled and we were being kicked out. We were all waiting for the main act but little did we realize we just witnessed it.

Dave One of Chromeo

I left hungry and feeling ripped off. I imagine this was the feeling people felt after Googa Mooga, an event I was totally satisfied with. Then again, I didn’t pay $250 for my Googa Mooga ticket. I was perfectly fine with waiting in line for an hour and spending $15 for Blue Ribbon fried chicken.

I doubt I will go to another Le Fooding event in the future. I’d save my time and sanity and just donate $15 to Action Against Hunger. Charity shouldn’t suffer out of mistakes, nor should my ears and stomach.  

Photo Credits: thepariskitchen.com, Roxwriting

Le Fooding

Pierre Herme

Brooklyn Bangers

Choncho's Tacos

Mile End
97A Hoyt Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217

     

Madame Tussauds- Celebrity Wax Figures in New York

Madame Tussaud

One thing I’ve always wanted to do but others found cheesy was to visit the Madame Tussauds wax museum. I remember watching a tv special on Madame Tussauds when I was a child. They carved a wax figure to look just like Olympic Figure Skater Michelle Kwan. It looked exactly like her! Very realistic and kind of creepy. You could look into the eyes of a Madame Tussauds wax figure and wonder if it will blink back at you. 

It is no secret that I am obsessed with celebrities. I like to document all my star sightings. After visiting the Madame Tussauds wax museum in New York I can honestly say that it is a really cool place and not cheesy at all!

The Manhattan museum is over 85,000 square feet, has multiple levels, and different rooms which groups wax figures. Interested in athletes? Musicians? Politicians? Bollywood actors? Comic book characters and superheroes? Madame Tussauds has it all and you are encouraged to take pictures and interact with the figures. I had a field day with this and felt like a celebrity myself rubbing elbows with life sized replicas of celebrities I read about in US Weekly and Yahoo news.

Even though Madame Tussauds is from London, the New York location is special because it pays tribute to all the famous New Yorkers: Broadway stars, Al Roker and Matt Lauer, Woody Allen, and more!

Here are some pictures of wax figures I encountered during my visit:

Brangelina

Rupaul

Al Roker and Matt Lauer

Michelle Kwan

Captain America

Justin Timberlake

Stay tuned for pictures of my Halloween photoshoot at Madame Tussauds!

Madame Tussauds
234 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036

Hollywood, Queens

Movie and television filming happen quite frequently in New York City. Every now and then, aside from Silvercup Studios, Hollywood makes its way over to Queens. Last year, I blogged about the filming of The Amazing Spider-Man in Woodside. In February, Hollywood returned to Woodside and I took my friend on a wild goosechase searching for Justin Timberlake. The former boy band member is set to star in Inside Llewyn Davis, a film about musicians and friends of Bob Dylan. John Goodman, Timberlake, and Carey Mulligan are co-starring. Unfortunately, the orange street permits turned out to be a tease and our night ended up at the local pub Saints and Sinners for their $2 sliders.

Justin where were you?

Typical sign you see when a filming takes over. Picture courtesy of @Andresakademia

This week I noticed the movie permits again. My Fried Vijay was in town and chose Jackson Heights as a backdrop. On my morning commute to work, I ended up walking past the set. They had set up shop right in front of Jackson Diner. Pretty exciting!

Up and early 8 AM

German actor Moritz Bleibtreu getting his turban adjusted.

Photography Credits: Andres Sanchez, Roxwriting

Le Fooding- Let's do it again.

I attended New York's first Le Fooding d'Amour event in 2009. The party was held in front of MoMA PS1 in Long Island City. Set in the middle of MOS' afterparty, Le Fooding was not only an visual success, but first and foremost tasteful. Graphic images were projected on to the walls and the long lines for the chef's plates were worth the wait. 100% of the $30 admission fee was donated to Action Against Hunger.

Fast forward to Le Fooding's third event in NYC, Campfire Session #01. The number of tasting tables, donation to Action Against Hunger, and tickets available were decreased. The price of the event went up and a concert element was added. I was in. The musical value was enough for me and $15 would be donated to charity. I believe it was a fair price to pay. If anything, it was definitely a bargain. The ticket granted 3 plates (we may or may not have got extra ribs), 3 drinks (we may or may not have got extra drinks), 2 musical acts, ice cream (we may or may not have got extra scoops), and a dj party by DFA all set in the mysterious and romantic Elizabeth Street Garden. I've walked by Elizabeth Street Garden many times at night. Once, I watched through the gates as a wedding reception took place. It felt nice and exclusive to finally be on the other side of the fence.

Overall, I found Le Fooding Campfire Session #01 to be a smashing success. It was a small and intimate event where we were able to mingle with the chefs and have a clear audio of the music. Wylie Dufresne of WD~50 was really friendly and may I just declare that I am smitten with Norwegian crooner Sondre Lerche? He was amazing acoustic and incredibly down to Earth.

Let us relive Le Fooding in pictures.

Elizabeth Street Garden

Root Beer Ribs (AndrewAndrew, Wylie Dufresne WD~50)

Sasha Petraske (Milk & Honey) making Irish Bucks

Irish Buck and Westside (Richard Boccato Dutch Kills)

Square ice cubes and candied ginger for the win!

Beef and Chive Salad (James Murphy DFA + Inaki Aizpitarte Le Chateaubriand)

Sock-It-To-Fried Chicken 
(Muhsinah The Golden Girl + Dante Gonzales Dante Fried Chicken)

Hanni El Khatib

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream and Jameson Whiskey break

Sondre Lerche

DFA DJs

In memory of DJ Mehdi

Notes

-The root beer ribs were fall off the bone good. Marinated in root beer, they reminded me of Filipino family recipes where we put 7-Up on our meat for flavor and tenderization. The cherry kombu relish was a nice addition.

-I am not a big alcoholic drinker but I did enjoy two Irish Bucks. I loved the sharpness of the ginger and the Jameson went down smooth. The Westside was also nice and for the classic cocktail of Jameson and ginger ale or plain on the rocks it was a tad bit too strong for me. Definitely one for the drinkers. They were quite generous on the Jameson.

-The beef and chive salad was my favorite dish of the night. The beef was cooked perfectly, still bloody, just how I like it. The chive salad was a burst of flavor and texture. I really enjoyed the crunchy bits of coriander.

-The fried chicken plate was my southern beauty. The chicken was actually a piece of boneless chicken breast. It was juicy and had a crispy coating. They squeezed spicy apricot sauce over it and served it with cheddar grits and a coconut honey biscuit. The plate also had an endive with black-eyed pea hummus. This dish was the substantial side filler of the night. That was a good thing. After all of this, I would say one would have been full.

-I've always been a fan of Van Leeuwen ice cream. We got to try all four flavors: Roasted Banana, Salted Caramel with Makers Mark, Michel Cluizel Chocolate, and Red Currant.

-DJ Mehdi from Paris was supposed to dj Le Fooding but passed away in a tragic accident a few days prior. At the end of the night, everyone signed a banner in honor of him.


Le Fooding

Action Against Hunger

Elizabeth Street Garden/Gallery
226 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Celebrity Sightings: They're Real People Too.

Jason Derulo                                              Anne Hathaway

It's amazing who you see when you keep your eyes open. I have a tendency to let celebrities go unrecognized but lately I've been doing good and spotting them.

-Jason Derulo was walking down 5th Avenue with two of his homeboys. His friends were dressed much nicer than him in suit vests. Jason was blinged out and pretty casual in nice jeans. The three of them were pretty low key but their dress made them stand out. No one bothered with them, just one foreign tourist who took a picture with Jason with her cell phone. Jason actually looked lost on 5th Avenue. He kept looking around and actually he didn't look very interested in the stores. I wondered if he would have felt more comfortable on 34th Street at a Foot Locker.

-Anne Hathaway was holding on to the subway pole on the L train. A flamboyant gay guy exited at Bedford, turned around, and gave her an Academy Award speech, "Thank you. Thank you so much for the work you do. You do such beautiful work. I am such a fan of yours, etc." I was listening to my iPod and was a little confused as to what was going on. At first I thought she was some sort of MAC cosmetic artist since she was dressed in all black. I looked at her face and recognized her. I WAS TAKING THE TRAIN WITH ANNE HATHAWAY! I debated asking to take a picture with her or taking a picture of her but I decided to leave her alone. She looked uncomfortable with the attention and tried to deflect it. She was with her boyfriend and then they preceded to canoodle on the train. I went back to sleep. When I got off at the Lorimer stop, they got off as well. I think the boyfriend lives in Brooklyn. We parted ways at the turn style. Everyone's reaction to this sighting is, "She takes the subway?!" Yes. She's just like you and me.

On Location: Life, Camera, Action!

"Mr. Big, you are one good looking man."
"Mr. Schuester, why yes. Yes I am."

Two weeks ago I had some pretty good celebrity sightings on my walks after work. The first one was Chris Noth, Mr. Big himself, on the corner of 47th and 8th Avenue. He was with his fiance and son. I am looking forward to watching him in The Championship Season. The play ends this month. The second one was Matthew Morrison, a.k.a. Mr. Shuester, filming Glee outside the Belasco Theater on 44th and Avenue of Americas. I did not have my camera on me both times. 

The Amazing Spider-Man or "Fiona's Tale" is filming in Woodside, Queens. Since Woodside is about a 10 minute walk over from where I live, I decided to check it out and see if I could catch a glimpse of Emma Stone, Martin Sheen, or Sally Field. The movie has a whole new cast along with a new director. I'm not familiar with the other actors and was quite disappointed there would be no Toby sighting.

If you have ever watched the filming of a movie on location, you would know that it is actually quite boring. There are a lot of lights, people waiting around, and a whole lot of nothing going on. Filming can last for hours and they will do the same scene over and over again. I once watched Uma Thurman and Minnie Driver walk back and forth across a street repeatedly pushing a stroller for 45 minutes while filming Motherhood. I could not hear anything either. Sidewalks get blocked off and long-neckers are forced to watch from afar.

The filming of Spider-Man 4 was no different. A crowd stood across the street from the Woodside post office on 61st and Roosevelt watching and waiting patiently for anything to happen. Two production assistants did their best to control and contain the crowd. They asked that everyone follow these few simple rules:

1. No flash photography.
2. No video taking.
3. When the director yells, "Action!" please be quiet. 

    When he yells, "Cut!" talking may resume.
4. Please be respectful.

We waited while the cast filmed in the alley between the buildings. They had actually blocked the area off with two dark cloths for privacy. 

Production Assistant telling us not to be alarmed by the simulated gun shots.
 I gather a fight scene was being filmed behind the curtains.

The crew was so bored. Filming was scheduled until 3 AM.

Hair! Costumes! Makeup!

I left to carry on with my evening. On my way I walked by the trailers where they do hair and makeup. I also passed by the director's trailer and a few others which looked like storage for props and what not. It felt a little surreal that I had walked on to a movie set in my own backyard. In reality, it was just another day in New York.

The Amazing Spider-Man

Celebrity Sighting: Padma Lakshmi

Saturday, 3/19/11

Spotted: Padma Lakshmi with her baby and nanny at the 10th annual Architectural Digest Home Design Show. She is strikingly beautiful in person and her baby is really cute. This celebrity sighting makes up for missing Katie Couric who practically bumped heads (literally) with my friend minutes before and me not recognizing Mark Ruffalo who walked right past me and stared at my face in the East Village.