Marie Fromage

Beware the Foodie Boondoggle

Here’s where Marie Fromage gets cranky…

Le Fooding d’Amour

I like to think I have an open mind.  I’m patient and willing to try new things.  So when I heard about Le Fooding coming to New York, I jumped at the change to go. Jumped I tell you!

Le Fooding was started in Paris in 2000 as a way for young chefs to challenge the old guard and breathe new life into the staid Parisian dining scene. It’s an urban picnic that mixes casual cuisine with edgy DJs in a cool setting. 

Sounds like something that New Yorkers would absolutely gobble up. 

So Le Fooding plans to come to New York as a charity benefit for Action Against Hunger that will take place at P.S. 1 in Queens. Tickets sell out quickly.  The buzz is major.  I can’t wait.  I enlist Gastro Chic, my usual partner-in-dine to come along because this seems like it will be GREAT!

 Well, not so fast.  Trouble started brewing before we even got in the door.  Turns out, Le Fooding was all about les lines – lines to get in, lines for the drink tickets, lines for the food stations.  

There were hundreds of people there, and the chefs didn’t pre-plate anything, dishing the food out as they went along and at some stations just plain old running out of food. What?!?! The lines for some stations were so long we didn’t even try.  For example – they were scooping out ice cream from a tiny cart by hand, while about 75 people waited. And don’t get me started on the wine - $12 a glass and all you got was a 3 ounce pour.  Clearly the organizers of this event have no experience in pulling these things off.  And Veuve Clicquot was one of the sponsors – couldn’t they afford to hire event planners?  Do they even use event planners in France? While I believe the organizers had the best of intentions, Le Fooding is a good idea gone bad, at least with the New York edition.  

The Il Buco Pig Roast

Early Fall is that fantastic time of year when the weather sparkles and outdoor events are in abundance.  Il Buco, a trendy Italian restaurant in NoHo, was hosting its sixth annual pig festival.  The weather for the day was going to be gorgeous, so going to this event sounded like the perfect thing to do on a Sunday afternoon.  $20, solid food, sun on the face - yes, a good idea.

And it all looked lovely, the stage set for a laid-back yet festive autumn feast.  It all looked lovely…until it was your turn to eat.  

Way too much salad which made me suspicious, one sausage link, a mostly bread sandwich with a few slivers of roast pork, one ricotta fritter and, last but not least, actual slices of pork FAT. No meat.  Did they think we wouldn’t notice?

“Why are you serving slices of pork fat and no meat?” people were asking.  “This is a very fatty pig,” the lady behind the counter told us with a straight face.  Right.  The sausages were raw too.  

I brought mine back to get a cooked one and was given another raw one.  The ricotta fritter was the size of my thumb, and I have tiny hands.  Totally and completely unsatisfying and we felt as if we’d been had. 

What to do?  Vow never to return to Il Buco and head straight to the Great Jones Café for an amazing Bloody Mary served with a side of gritty soul music from the jukebox and service with a smile. An even better way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Great Jones Café (NoHo): 54 Great Jones St. bet. Bowery & Lafayette; (212) 674-9304; www.greatjones.com

Bites: Hudson Valley Camembert; The Magna Carta & You; New Languages Jazz Festival; Bolt Bus

Cheese 

Something Stinky This Way Comes:  Hudson Valley Camembert

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A wonderful combo of sheep and cow’s milk, this little baby is bursting with buttery, creamy deliciousness.  Let it sit on the counter for a few hours to allow for peak ooziness and then dig in, especially tasty with crisp apples and an even crispier white wine or champagne.  Look for the tidy little white package sporting a label with a black sheep on a green background.  And if you find yourself in Old Chatham, NY any time soon, drive right in and get it straight from the source!

Old Chatham Sheepherding Co:  www.blacksheepcheese.com

Eats 

Summer may be over, but it’s not the end of enjoying good times in the great outdoors.  So, after a lovely autumn day on Governor’s Island, hop off the ferry and stroll over to some noteworthy edible hot spots.

Fraunces Tavern, The Magna Carta & You

 

Established in 1762 and still going strong, Fraunces Tavern will take you back to the days when George Washington roamed the streets of lower Manhattan. Grab a pint or two in the tavern then head to the Fraunces  

Tavern Museum, which is currently hosting a very special guest.  The one and only Magna Carta, the document that got this whole constitutional law stuff started way back in 1215, will be on display in the flesh for all to see until December 15. Head on down and let your freedom flag fly.

Fraunces Tavern (Financial District) 54 Pearl Street at Broad Street; 212-968-1776; www.frauncestavern.com 

Stone Street

After the Magna Carta viewing, keep the history theme going with a stroll – and a meal – on Stone Street, a winding, cobble-stoned lane created in the 1600s (it’s the city’s first paved street) that is thankfully under the tourist radar.  Long forgotten for most of the twentieth century it earned landmark status in 1996, got a good scrub down, and is now a thriving, 

lively and lovely spot to drink and dine al fresco at one of the many food establishments and pubs that line the way. Best time to go is on the weekends, where it is free of the financial  

district worker bees and full of laid-back lower Manhattan residents.    Stone Street is located in the lower Manhattan Financial District, between South William and Pearl Streets.

Music – New Languages Festival

Jazz is alive and well and currently stirring things up at McCarren Hall in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The New Languages Festival celebrates free jazz in all of its lively forms, kicking off its fifth year last Thursday with a stellar night, featuring the righteous and rollicking Respect Sextet,  

 

 

 

 

the atmospheric House of Mirrors and Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, an 18-piece “steam punk big band” that will stretch your brain and get your toes tapping at the same time. And there’s more to come, so head on over to McCarren Hall and expand your musical horizons. 

 The New Languages Festival at McCarren Hall (until September 26):  98 Bayard Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. www.newlanguages.org; Only $10 for a night of sweet crazy music!

Travel – Bolt Bus

$17.50 and three and a half hours of my time - that’s all it cost to get from Midtown Manhattan to Boston on a recent weekend.  Nice and clean and with comfy seats.  And there’s wifi!  Well, some of the time. Super good deal here people. www.boltbus.com

(photo credits: all photos by Mary Connolly, except for The Respect Sextet by Ryan Gould)