On Monday, February 29, the Meatpacking District hosted a “Battle of the Breakfasts” from the area’s hottest brunch restaurants.
Philippe Chow, a couture Chinese restaurant on the Upper East Side, is an interesting concept in itself. After all, ask any Chinese person and they will tell you that you should never pay expensively for good traditional Chinese food. So how does Philippe compare to the more traditional, if less fancy restaurants of China Town?
Philippe Chow, once the head chef of Mr. Chow (which was opened by Michael Chow, no relation) took a chance and opened his own Chinese restaurant on the Upper East Side. The restaurant is in motifs of black and white with dim mood lighting and three rooms available–a bar, dining room, and private room. It’s also interesting to note that though this is a Chinese restaurant, there is no part of the decor that hints to that heritage save for some black bamboo in the windows. In fact, the style of the place is a little reminiscent of a high class version of an American restaurant in the 60’s. The servers are in white coat tails, and the service is fast and attentive.
But let’s move on to what’s really at stake here: the food. The food, I can safely say, is good. And it should be if the patrons are paying 3 times more than they would for a traditional Chinese meal. The good news is that Philippe’s is authentic, and the drinks are creative and tasty, albeit a little pricey–almost $20 per cocktail. For entrees, we sampled three: lettuce wraps with shrimp, garlic scallops with bell peppers, and of course, the creme de la creme of any Chinese restaurant, the Peking duck ($75).
The Peking Duck was brought out and sliced in front of you, which was nice to see. It came with plum duck sauce, thin flour wraps, and green onions, customary of any Chinese place that serves Peking Duck. The duck itself was great, cooked the perfect amount, and really the only thing I had that night that was almost worth its price. This Upper East Side eatery is catered to a particular clientele for sure, but let me just share a secret with you: the food at Philippe is no different than the food you can get in Chinatown for $15. So whether you go uptown to Philippe’s or order in depends on how you wish to experience this amazing cuisine!
This is a review of Michelin star-rated Per Se, part of Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. It is located in New York City, USA. This review was originally written December 2014 with modifications made in January 2016.
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With chefs like Masaharu Morimoto and Jim Abbey preparing the food, you know something great is in store.
The 1920s came alive this weekend at the 10th annual Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island.
World-renowned journalist, executive producer and narrator, Katie Couric together with Stephanie Soechtig (director) and Laurie David (executive producer) all attended the New York premiere of their new documentary “Fed Up” on May 6, 2014. They brought many influencers to the MoMA. The evening was presented by Aloha.
It’s been almost 30 years since the obesity epidemic started in this country, and if Americans continue on this path, we may just eat ourselves to death. “Fed Up” is more than just a film, but a movement with a powerful message. The film goes beyond the conversation of the effects of fast food, but weighs heavily in on the actual miscreants behind the contagion, and how the food industry has knowingly used these secret weapons to manipulate what we eat for private profit and special interests.
Ninety-two minutes of video diaries, interviews and some undisclosed legislative doctrines was enough to enlist a brilliant army, and remove every sugary, starched, and processed food item out of your pantry. Sugar is equated to a drug six times more addictive than cocaine, a poison to the liver, and a major ingredient to most American food regimens. We have been bamboozled, misled, taken for complete imbeciles. The film says that instead of strategizing on how to handle issues overseas, we ought to be planning the war against our own food industry right here in the US.
With kids as a target, this generation of Americans will face more sicknesses and die younger than our parents, while the food industry just gets richer and richer. There is a whole business behind the fattening of America, even down to the marketing of diet products, the funding of food health research programs by these corporations, and a product placement system in line to entice further bad eating behaviors.
Notables who attended last night’s screening included Jodi Applegate, Jon Cryer, Yaya Dacosta, Claire Danes, Shep Gordon, Adrien Grenier, Dorothy Hamilton, Bridget Moynahan, Arizona Muse, Norah O’Donnell, Suze Orman, Chuck Scarborough, Mary Alice Stephenson, Susan Ungaro and Naomi Wolf. Afterwards guests headed to Venus over Manhattan for a sugar free supper. The menu was inspired by Laurie David’s cookbook entitled “The Family Cooks.”
Catering was done by Mary Giuliani Catering & Events. Light bites included chicken sausage with caramelized onions on cheesy grit cakes, black bean burgers topped with guacamole with wweet potato fries, miso-glazed black cod lettuce wraps, whole grain quesadillas with crunchy cabbage, quinoa cakes with green Goddess aioli, salmon cakes with cucumber yogurt sauce, kale sesame seed salad summer rolls and for dessert guests enjoyed mini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and mini almond cake.
In theaters this Friday May 9, “Fed Up” is an important source to uncovering the facts surrounding our food intake. Tell a friend to tell a friend until the truth is bigger than this widespread.
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