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At the Drawing Center:
Ferran Adrià: Notes on Creativity
Main Gallery, The Lab
Opening Reception: Friday, January 24, 6-8pm
No RSVP needed
New York - Join us on Friday, January 24 from 6-8pm for the opening reception of Ferran Adrià: Notes on Creativityand Deborah Grant: Christ You Know it Ain't Easy!!. No RSVP is required.
In the Main Gallery and The Lab, Ferran Adrià: Notes on Creativity is the first major museum exhibition to focus on the visualization and drawing practices of master chef Ferran Adrià. The exhibition will emphasize the role of drawing in Adrià’s quest to understand creativity. His complex body of work positions the medium as both a philosophical tool—used to organize and convey knowledge, meaning, and signification-—as well as a physical object—used to synthesize over twenty years of innovation in the kitchen.
RIP Grays Papaya 6th ave / 8th St
A twelve table restaurant with a five year waiting list in upstate New York that I've never heard of: Damon Baehrel
Formerly known as the Basement Bistro and now simply called Damon Baehrel, the 12-table restaurant has a five-year waiting list. Patrons have come from 48 countries, and celebrities such as Jerry Seinfeld and Martha Stewart regularly visit. The Obamas reportedly requested a table in 2011, but Baehrel, who prefers to keep his guest list private, won’t confirm or deny this. He doesn’t have to worry about loudmouthed waiters, either: “You’ve probably realized I work completely alone here,” Baehrel says each night before service begins. “I’m the chef, the waiter, the grower, the forager, the gardener, the cheesemaker, the cured-meat maker, and, as I will explain, everything comes from this 12-acre property.”
more for the incredible shrinking bag files. the pint of pesto salad i bought from fresh direct felt smaller than usual in my manly mitts last time i bought it. thats cuz a pint now is officially 13 oz! that extra handful of shells must be killing their bottom line. and then just now the bag of pita chips i bought seemed a wee bit petite. shrunk from a size 8 to a size 7.3. i must assume they are just looking out for my figure.
rosewater tapioca
So, yeah....Due to another complete lapse of fiscal responsibility..(do not read this as regret however) I made a reservation at Atera for last night. I of course had heard many remarkaable things about this Portland,--right?- chefs "cooking", some from this very blog...!
Totally cool hidden (sort of) entrance....I guess idea is like going into a enclosed forest cove type thing, def keeping with forage-y food theme...Liked that. Also liked lively music vibe, good for situation that could get too hushed and precious. Went first to lower level lounge...sort of mega VIP post apocalypse bunker. Could live there if had to I guess. Had what proved to be an effecting (today that is) cocktail drink to start. After went with recomended sparkling Huet Vouvray...cool. First blizzard of dishes, small nutty (as in kooky) things come out...Crunchy Beer foam w caviar, Pickled beet w little greens, wrapped in bees wax new one on me..great tho. And so...yeah keeps on coming...Little lobster roll...etc...Only item that was not too engaging was Razor clam, garlic and almond...just too much like pile of nuts...Kind of was hoping for the other Razor clam dish I read about...the tromp loi...(sp?) clam painted to look like a shell you can eat. I fact I dont think we had many, if any, of those fool the eye-- "oh, you cant eat that, looks like a pile of mossy dirt and rocks"---Noma kind of things Id heard about. However there were plenty of dishes with flavors and textures that put me in the positon of feeling like, "yeah, basically this is like crawling on the ground in the woods and chewing"....Reminded me of going to controversial LA sushi place "Hump" years ago when they flayed a live ell and served it right away, was wiggling on plate I believe...Idea struck me that this how a bear eats in a stream. So here at Atera too it seems that the ambition for highly refined food these days is to replicate how to eat like an animal...But for more money. Sure Im not first person to make this comparison...but. Im happy to pay, when can. Lamb thing was awesome, supper slow cooked, like raw almost, Hake fish item fantastic...too many to list dude...! And then to keep my exploration of Finger Lakes wine going had glass of AMAZING Cab Franc by Element Wines...??? Never heard of...So far been loving Eminence Road Cabs,(thanks Skin). This totally great to compare with, much more Rhone-y than lighter, "pretty" Burg style E Road.
We also had insanely detailed tutorial on tea...guy gave Michelle tea leaves to take home...nutty...Needless to say we were last to leave. So we heading out and dudes are like.."Hey so hope we'll see you again Steve....octopus, helicopters, yeah we know.." WTF?? Guess when you serve 12 people a sitting you got time to Google them. Cant hide, even in the forest.....
sdb