Tonight, I had the honor of attending the James Beard Awards show as a guest of savorycities.com. The event is the “Oscars of the food world” and is a huge deal (Kim Cattrall and Bobby Flay were the hosts). Here are some pictures from the night:

Lots of different restaurants set up shop inside Lincoln Center and served special dishes to chefs from around the US.

There were two tables full of cheese (they were all delicious).

People were preparing pasta inside Lincoln Center!!

David Chang won Best Chef NYC, beating out stiff competition. His restaurant, Momofuku Ko, is incredibly difficult to get into (reservations are snatched up in a matter of SECONDS).

Tom Colicchio was nice enough to take a picture with me. Later on in the night, I was sitting in the backseat of a Lexus hybrid that was brought to the event (Lexus was a major sponsor). Two guys were sitting in the front seat and Tom sticks his head in the window and tells us to get the FUCK out of the car (it was HILARIOUS). The two guys were contestants on Top Chef, but I didn’t know their names (oops).

Chris and I had an amazing time and I can’t thank Chris and Jennifer from savorycities.com enough for their generosity!

If you’d like to read the liveblog from the event, check this out. You can also check out the AP writeup of the event, including quotes from Grant Achatz’s speech.

Back to reality :/

EDIT: Chris and Jennifer liveblogged the awards show here.

After a fun-filled Saturday afternoon at the Natural History Museum, Chris, David, and I headed to Artie’s Delicatessen for a quick bite to eat. We initially planned on eating at Cafe Lalo, but when we arrived, construction workers informed us that it had been closed for renovations since October and wouldn’t be opening for another week. Boo! Chris remembered going to Artie’s a while back and we were really hungry, so we decided to step in for a bite.

We were immediately seated and complimentary cole slaw and pickled vegetables were placed on our table so we’d have something to nibble on while deciding what to order:

Cole slaw:

Pickled vegetables:

In general, I’m not a fan of cole slaw (unless it’s on a pulled pork sandwich) and the cole slaw at Artie’s had too much mayonnaise and not enough taste. There were a variety of pickled vegetables, including red peppers, cucumbers (made into half sour pickles), and roma tomatoes. The half sours tasted like they had a lot of celery salt or some other interesting spice in it (I wasn’t a fan) but it was free, so can you really complain?

Chris ordered the cheeseburger (pretty standard for a deli):

Chris and I have had our fair share of burgers in the city (I’ll be posting a review about a new place we love) and I was surprised that the burger from Artie’s is actually cooked semi-decently for a diner. The bun was chewy but not to the point of being overwhelmed with burger grease but the meat tasted like it was a frozen patty. The fries weren’t good (I didn’t even finish them!)

I ordered the Pastrami:

I’m not a big fan of foods that are saturated with salt (seriously, who is) and this pastrami was just too freaking salty. Chris thought it’s better than Carnegie’s or Katz’s, which is saying a lot, right? I didn’t like the pastrami at either place (although I like the matzo ball soup from Carnegie’s).

David ordered the chopped liver sandwich:

It’s my first experience with chopped liver and it was surprisingly sweet with a creamy texture. A little over the top for me, but David liked it.

After we paid for our meal, we walked by the deli counter and bought a Cel-ray soda from Dr. Brown’s. It’s made with celery but extremely sweet and actually has more sugar than two cokes (that’s a LOT of sugar!). Artie’s is a cute deli that caters to a lot of families on the UWS, but there are so many to choose from in the city that I don’t think I’ll be back.

How to get to Artie’s Delicatessen:

Artie’s Delicatessen
2290 Broadway between 82nd and 83rd
New York, NY 10024
212-579-5959

Last night, Chris and I went to my holiday party at Tavern on the Green. We ate a lot of shrimp cocktail…seriously. Here’s a picture outside the restaurant:

I asked this guy to take a picture for us in front of the sign and that’s all we got. I don’t think he had any previous experience with a digital camera because he kept moving the camera around and tried to figure out what was going on.

After the holiday party, Chris and I walked to Lincoln Center to see the Christmas tree:

That area of the upper west side is really beautiful (around 66th and Broadway) and there are lots of trees that are wrapped in white lights. It’s not really crowded, either (well, unless there’s a show at Lincoln Center).

I think the tree’s even more beautiful than the one in Rockefeller:

I’m headed to North Carolina on Saturday for Christmas…and to play my brand new Wii! Happy holidays!

Zabar’s is a large grocery store on the Upper West Side that offers a ton of free samples ALL the time. Next door is a small shop serving sandwiches, soups, and frozen yogurts. Being a lover of frozen yogurts, I had to be adventurous and try out their plain yogurt when I trekked over to the Upper West Side though it was offered in a supermarket. My raspberry/plain yogurt mix:

It was actually really delicious! The raspberry wasn’t too sweet and the plain was really yummy. The yogurt reminded me of Bloomingdales’ Forty Carrots, which I love because it’s slightly tangy and smoother than Pinkberry’s. I would go there again if it wasn’t such a pain in the butt to get to the Upper West Side!

How to get to Zabar’s:

Zabar’s
2245 Broadway between 80th and 81st
New York, NY 10024
212-787-2000

One of the great things about New York City is that there’s always so FREE stuff to do. One free activity Chris and I have been meaning to do for the past couple of weeks is kayaking! Free kayaking is sponsored by the New York City Downtown Boathouse and is every Saturday and Sunday from 10-5 (but they usually CLOSE at 5, meaning the last kayaks go out around 4:30). You take them out for 20 minutes (although there’s no way to really monitor how long you’re out) and enjoy the water. Chris and I got into a double kayak and floated around, enjoying the views of New York and New Jersey:

People were getting swept away because they didn’t know that you have to row together (it’s all about teamwork!) Actually, these two girls got into a kayak and floated in the wrong direction right away. One of the volunteers had to go out in a kayak and rescue them!

The area that you can row around isn’t that large, but it’s a fun afternoon activity, especially if you have friends visiting. You can also volunteer by just showing up (it’s nothing formal) and helping out for the afternoon - another fun activity!