New York's Fall Foodie Fest

New York is amazing in the fall. There's the start of the opera and theater season. Bryant Park is awash with fashion shows and designers. The air is crisp and redolent with with aromas of new restaurants. The Big Apple is baking - with interesting ideas and foods for Autumn 2011.

This was the main piece in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. Every year this section features a preview of new eateries opening up. Like the papers' movie and theater previews it always features the most interesting along with opinions on what will be the most successful. There are several restaurants that are predicted to succeed. Korean is big and there are a number of Korean places opening up. This is due in part to a historical TV show running in the country that features a 15th Century chef. There is intrigue and traditional recipes both are appealing to the country's young people. What this translates into is a wave of fresh new chefs opening up new places in the metro area. It also means a new spin on Seoul food. Other restaurants such as Alison 18 is a reinvention of the great romantic restaurant owned by Alison Price Becker . A plus for it is that it will feature also breakfast, something many city eateries do not offer

Others include the unusual Danish restaurant called Aamanns/Copenhagen. This will bring in all sorts of people from foodies to trendsetters to try this rare slice of Scandinavia. A new French restaurant,La Promenade des Anglais is joining New York's long list of French bistros. The chef, Alain Allegretti is bringing the food of his native Nice here. Kutschers, that longtime Catskill fave is starting a second restaurant in Tribeca. Here people can enjoy Borscht Belt classics such as matzoh ball soup and Romanian tenderloin. There is also an updated version of gefilte fish that will look more like a French quenelle than just fish on a dish .It will also be made with pike or whitefish instead of the traditional carp.

Manhattan is agog with different tastes this season.This is the perfect time to not only see the city but also experience some of the great chefs and new eateries . Try them for to celebrate autumn in New York.

Want Pure and Natural? Try Vegan Essentials

Years ago it was hard getting all natural food.You usually had to go to out of the way health food stores or scour your supermarket aisles Then came the Internet and with it search engine and goo s all natural food sites. One is Vegan Essentials which offers cruelty free and mostly all organic foods . You can get everything from breakfasts to snacks to party foods here.



Vegan Essentials is a great place for any vegetarian along with animal rights activist. here you can get tasty soy based main dishes like faux chicken nuggets and pulled pork . They taste like the real thing and are lifesavers when cooking for an all vegan household. There are even "chicken soup mixes that taste like the real thing with soy bits filling in for the bird. You can even buy fake soy meat loaf and fish flavored fingers too if you're craving them.Another plus is that Vegan Essentials also has some good cheese products as well as ethnic foods. They have a wide range of Indian and Mexican, perfect for vegans craving variety.



The site also offers some yummy sweets too. Here I found Sweet Money cookies as well as the Liz Lovely ones I wrote about yesterday. VE also offers some tasty all natural doughnuts and best of all that Midwestern treat Kringle! Theirs is rich and buttery , surprising, because it is dairy free (I don't know how they do it)! The site sells all natural gum and chocolate too! I think on my next visit , I'll order the all natural gumballs from Dylan and Delaney along with reordering these fantastic after dinner mints called Summerdown Pure Mints. These are bitter chocolate with a refreshing all natural mint added to them.


Vegan Essentials is perfect if you're looking for all natural, cruelty free foods. It's also good if you;re thinking of converting over to a healthier lifestyle. the food is still yummy whether it's a main meal or a snack. Visit them today and check out their other cool products too!

Tacos With An Asian Twist

Today's Dining section of the New York Times had an excellent article on fusion foods.it may not be what everyone expects but it's gaining in popularity.It's Korean tacos, a blend of spicy Pacific Rim flair with traditional Mexican. Another surprise is that people all over the US are craving them.

Korean tacos were more or less born when the two ethnic groups worked together. Korean store owners would hire Mexican workers and the two ate lunch at the same time. When the rice ran out then Korean bosses grabbed tacos as away to hold the meal together. Also Roy choi a founder of the Kogi trucks that brings the Kor=Mex fare is also responsible. He was able to enable the food to hit all kinds of neighborhoods. It's not just in California but Midwestern cities like Indianapolis where Mid America is embracing it heartily.

The article, written by John T. Edge describes what's in the taco. The flavor may be a bit intense for some foodies.It's the spicy but tasty barbecued beef bolgoki with the fiery hot cabbage slaw kimchee. Unlike the regular fixings which have soothing guacamole and cooling sour cream, there are bean sprouts, onions and scallions and salsa - a nod to the original taco. I like tacos and love the mild and peppery blend of flavors. I don't know about the Korean one though. A milder version may be good. The article even says there's to be Korean pizza waiting in the wings.Now that I'd like to try.

The taco may be as Mexican as the Mayans and serapes yet now there is a new twist. Korean tacos are the ultimate fusion food. It's a nod to Asia while still maintaining its' Meso American roots.