Do you Know What Your Eating?
An exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History explains that and so much more as you walk through, "Our Global Kitchen".
I read and I paused, I read and I paused.
An exhibit to see and absorb.  There is much to think about. 
The subtext of Food, Culture, Nature is displayed cleverly as you make your way through "how food grows'; "how it is traded"; "how food is cooked', includes preservation methods, techniques and tools; "how food tastes", and "how we eat", reflecting who we are, and finally, "how food is celebrated, where culture and religious ritual come into play.
More than pictures on a wall, this exhibit is thought provoking and can stir your emotions.
As I stood and read about how foods have been genetically modified to feed the masses- its an eye-opener.  Agricultural growers have adapted to world population-there is no doubt.
Ask yourself when was the last time you saw a 'real strawberry'.  Its a round table conversation that can last for hours.
A good test is visiting your local green market where local farmers have harvested 'real strawberries' and compare that to your local grocers; the look, smell and taste! And the feel.
I am thankful for New York's green markets and local markets anywhere!
Whether its Subsistence farming and urban agriculture, acquaculture, or large scale farming, they have their own pros and cons.
Grow your own local garden is also a message and is something we are seeing much more we the 'older &b hopefully wiser generation' tries to instill the nostalgia of a garden- wow!  Now that's a revelation!
Its like a revival of the 'good ole days' bringing back what some see as a 'time warped' idea, but for the x, y & z's generation, its all new to them!  Thus we do have something new to share.  Another meaningful installation at this exhibit, and one that might infactuate you, are Window Farms.  You can do this at home!  A made for those tiny little New York studio apartments in mind!  Love this.
reliving what their grandfolks once did- farming!  Quit a concept and something they have identified at the exhibit as Sistainable farming; growing for your family and probably your neighbors.   That's what I try to advocate on "Off the Beaten Palate"; an awareness of where food comes from and an appreciation for what is now come upon us; sistainable growers.
The reason for this is largely displayed at this exhibit.
When we learn more about food, culture and nature, the way it is displayed here, you will get a better understanding of the food chain, and helpfully a better understanding of the very hands that have cultivated the foods that land on our plate.

I will be back

$250 of Lobster is going to be given away and delivered for FREE!
Enter the Off the Beaten Palate and New Brunswick Lobster Give-Away now!

www.offthebeatenpalate.com/give-aways

OTBP website and blogs have a new home!
 

Tocqueville Restaurant Has a Leg Up on Wineware!

I recently attended a special luncheon at Tocqueville restaurant where “An Afternoon of Enhanced taste” was presented to a small group of New York foodies and journalists.
It wasn't only the incredible four course Umami tasting that took center stage, it was the mastermind pairing of wine-glasses!
This particular ‘afternoon’ was an introduction to 'Roberts Taste Enhancing Wineware'; the ‘Supertaster Series No. 1’.
A new stimulation and perception of wine was underway, and for me a true 'off the beaten palate' adventure!
Just as texture in food awakens the taste buds, so does the texture in Roberts Wineware.  They call it 'TST' or Taste Stimulating Textures.
It all boils down to their carefully designed rim of the glass, which provokes your saliva and thus offering a more "generous reward".
Other factors that play significant roles in this stimulation and perception, are look and feel.  “The stem plays a critical role in the transition of the Roberts wine glass.  It holds the key to the glass’s sensuality.”  A glass that is worthy of a date!
To challenge our new found wineware, we were presented tastings of each wine in two separate glasses; glass #1 and glass # 2 (‘Roberts Supertaster glass') 

After tasting glass #1, I was ready to feel the experience of what Roberts wine glasses suggest. And what translated from there was an awakening of my taste buds, an expansion on the palate, a 'tingling' as some put it, and definitely a greater perception of the wine.

Our first course of Jasmine Marinated Red Snapper with Sashimi and Tartar was paired perfectly with Josef Leitz, Riesling Rudesheimer Klosterlay, Kabinett 2010.

Kalamansi & Jasmine Marinated Red Snapper, Sashimi & Tartar

The sampling continued with each course thoughtfully presented to compliment a different glass from the series.  Tocqueville’s talented chef, Jason Lawless and owner JoAnn Makovitzky planned the perfect Umami menu!

Green poached Artic Char, mushroom consomme & Seared Scottish Langoustine

Tamarind Glazed Duck Breast & Seared Foie Gras

Darrol Roberts ,who represents the brand pointed out,"they are building wine glasses for people, rather than for the wine". 

JoAnn Makovitzky commented that her customers are curious and very wine savvy, and that she wanted to offer something of such high quality with their extensive wine list.  Its clear Roberts Wineware is the perfect synergy for Tocqueville.

Darrol Roberts ( Roberts Taste Enhancing Wineware) & JoAnn Makovitzky (Owner of Tocqueville Restaurant)

Journalists with at Tocqueville Restaurant

With a leg up on their wineware, Tocqueville Restaurant will now offer Roberts 'Taste Enhancing Wineware' and encourage their patrons to discover a new heightened perception of wine!

Michael-Ann Rowe toasts Roberts 'Taste Enhancing Wineware'!

A Fall Festival Like No Other

I had the pleasure of attending a tasting of Vermilion’s fall festival menu recently, and I have to confess, it’s the first time I’ve tasted this kind of infusion! 
An Indian- Latin explosion right before my eyes! 
A Fall Festival like no other.
If you’ve never experienced Vermilion on Lexington and 46th street before, get ready for a cultural marriage that will liberate your palate!
It will enlighten your sensibility that Indian and Latin flavors do belong on the same plate.
If you explore both cultures passion for spices and their use of “a number of common ingredients, such as coconut, guava, plantains, beans, and coriander”, then you will understand what owner, Rohini Dey says, when she wanted to introduce her American audience to an “intellectually provocative” cuisine.
Vermilion offers a real “Off the Beaten Palate” adventure in this new Fall Festival Menu, starting with a new take on Arepas; a Duck Arepas, with a brushing of pomegranate molasses with curry leaf mango; 

Artichokes are lightly and cleverly prepared as an Indain Pakoras, with eggplant and coconut chili sauce; Chicken Kababs are tender, tender, tender, with spicy Indian notes;Anchovy Naan Bites are literally lifted off the plate with a Tomatillo Gaspacho; and an over the top, melt in your mouth creation of avocado and chocolate as a Beignet!
I highly recommend trying not one, but both of their signature drinks; a Mango Mojito and White Sangria, that pair excellent to this food.
If your a ‘Foodie Fiend’, then add Vermilion to your list!
If you’re a Latin Lover, you’ll run home to try your hand at a new Arepas!
And for those of you afraid of what might just titillate your palate, Vermilion has taken Indian fusion cuisine to another level, and in another direction.  This one works!