NYC Icy @ NYC

Mango Basil and pistaccio are nice. Better yet, buy David Lebovitz's book and make your own...

WTF @ St. Marks and 3rd

What the frak NYC!?! At least Mamoun's was across the street

Shake Shack Madison Square Park @ NYC

A NYC golden rule: things just taste more delicious the longer you have to wait for them.

Balthazar @NYC

My favorite part of arriving in NYC after a red-eye from SFO is breakfast at Balthazar. Everything works. Ignore the tourists and the crowded masses. The small wood tables with worn patinas and comfortable booths, the white aproned waitstaff, long banquette-style seating and Parisian light sconces take you to France.

Your Eggs Benedict and cappuccino will arrive in five minutes. Try the eggs en cocotte with soldiers.

Sit down with the NYT and savor a well-earned New York moment.

José Andrés to Meat: You're Overrated

Jose Andres was profiled tonight on 60 minutes. The piece provides a look into this fascinating Spanish-American chef, trained by Ferran Adria and considered by many to be one of the leaders of molecular gastronomy in America.

The most provocative statement of the segment has to be his take on the future of gastronomy: meat is overrated. "Vegetables are sexy." "Meat to me is slightly boring. You eat a piece of meat, you chew, the first five seconds, all the juices flow around your mouth and then they are gone.  And then you are twenty more seconds chewing something that is tasteless at this point."

"Something like this doesn't happen with a pineapple, asparagus or a green pea."

When he's not teaching at Harvard or volunteering with his charity, D.C. Central Kitchen, he's tending to his eight successful restaurants, including his six-seat Minibar in Washington D.C.

I had a great meal at his LA restaurant, The Bazaar, last September. For those having trouble getting a reservation, here's a secret tip that might help: make a reservation to stay at the SLS hotel--the concierge usually has access to some tables for guests.

You can read the post of my dinner at Bazaar here.