Snack: From Paris to Lincoln Center

I am thrilled that Gramercy won. Well of course I’m thrilled for all the winners. But Mike Anthony and I go way back. It was maybe 15 years ago. Yes am still old lady at the party.

We were both working as line cooks at a one Michelin star place in Paris called Le Toit de Passy. Young Americans in Paris. No money and working hard, six days a week. I recall his French was better than mine. And here we are. We clean up nice no?

Julie Powell: Blessed, blessed event!

My first bit of real sustenance was lamb garlic sausage from the Prairie Grass Café. The second was my beloved fried squash blossoms. My third was pork belly. The blessed fourth? A pomegranate martini.

And you will see none of it because live blogging killed my iPhone.

Snack: Victory cooking

Q: How is it cooking after the win? More or less pressure?
Eric Ziebold – Much less. Because there was tension and anxiety. Now its over and we can go back to normal.

The soft shell crabs fried to order sure taste like victory.

Update: Winners

Outstanding Service: Terra, St. Helena, CA, Owners: Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani
Outstanding Pastry Chef: Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, Tartine Bakery, San Francisco
Lifetime Achievement: Fritz Maytag
Best New Restaurant: Central Michel Richard, Washington, D.C., Chef/Owner: Michel Richard
Outstanding Restaurateur: Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali, Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, NYC
Outstanding Restaurant: Gramercy Tavern, NYC, Owner: Danny Meyer
Outstanding Chef: Grant Achatz, Alinea, Chicago (pictured)

More Books:
Asian Cooking: My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking, by Niloufer Ichaporia King
Photography: The Country Cooking of France, Photographer France Ruffenach
Single Subject: The River Cottage Meat Book, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Writing on Food: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingslover
Entertaining: Dish Entertains, by Trish Magwood
Cookbook of the Year: The River Cottage Meat Book, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Design:
Outstanding Restaurant Design: Tadao Ando Architect and Associates, Designer: Tadao Ando, Project: Morimoto (NYC)
Outstanding Restaurant Graphics: Robert Louey Design, Designers: Robert Louey and Claudia Pandji, Project: Sepia (Chicago)

America’s Classics:
Bagaduce Lunch, Brooksville, ME (Owner: Judy Astbury)
Irma’s Restaurant, Houston, TX (Owner: Irma Glavan)
Jumbo’s, Miami, FL (Owner: Bobby Flam)
Maneki, Seattle, WA (Owner: Jean Nakayama)
Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap, Chicago (Owner: Joseph DiBuono)

That’s it for the ceremony. Now, the party!

The Paupered Chef: Food, at last!

We set out from the press room to find Maricel Presilla and chat about her Cuban restaurant in Hoboken. We sincerely wanted to know how she’s adapted to having a restaurant in New Jersey while still sticking with local ingredients, even though her cuisine is a world away.

But her table was totally busy and we could barely get a word in edgewise. We introduced ourselves but were left speechless because she asked if we wanted tamales. To eat. Right now. They are topped with a smoky salsa and a salad of fava beans, red onions, and Peruvian corn. Too busy to chat, we had to settle for one, which Nick devoured on the spot. Maybe we’ll catch up with her later.

On our way back to post this, we stumbled on the folks at Bacchanalia, who were putting together delicate little bites of cured trout on bee pollen crackers. They also quick-cured the roe from the trout (who knew you could do that?) which imbued it with with a wonderful complex saltiness.

So they’re feeding us. Slowly. The ceremony is almost over and many hungry people are now milling about wondering where to fill their stomachs. The San Pellegrino and cocktails, for the charming few who find them, flow like wine.

Savory Cities: Michael Anthony

Michael Anthony on who his money’s on.

Snack: “What looks good?”

Ed Levine: “The food promises to be unusually good.”

Michael Symon: “So far, beer. But Bruce Sherman’s table looks good. “

Aaron Sanchez: “Cindy Pawlcyn looks good. Alex from Butter. And Michael Symon should have won. “

Julie Powell: Another crush

The entire world is live blogging the beard awards, apparently. There’s like dozens of lit up cell phone screens in the auditorium.

The woman who won for best photography book is lean and elegant and very French, and she just thanked her wife. I have another crush.

Oh, and the river cottage meat book won! My bestest favorite!

The Paupered Chef: Everyone’s starving, but nobody is feeding. We’re trying.

Our first stop was the Osteria Mozza table. Nancy Silverton was just standing around, so we chatted up the ingredients, talked some shop and only then asked if we could have a sample. Nancy wasn’t having any of it, telling us to come back when things were ready. She was proud of her shoes, though, which we were able to get a sneak peak of.

At Chez Panisse they were cutting candied flowers, made by coating flowers in egg white and sugar and left to dry. They were beautiful, but hardly substantial enough to warrant some kind of haggle.

Mustards Grill had a beautiful bowl of micro arugula ready to go on their duck sliders. There grill was hot, but still unused.

Our last stop as at la Casita Mexicana. Jaime Martin Del Campo was stuffing mole into little corn cups. “It is my Grandmother’s recipe, it has 43 ingredients!” They looked beautiful.

Dr. Vino: Twelfth Street Whistler

As the ceremony enters the home stretch, attendees will soon be flocking here, at the Wild Turkey table.

Pictured is a five gallon jug of “twelfth street whistler,” a blend of gin, Wild Turkey American Honey, apple juice, and fresh lemon juice. The man stirring it told me there wouldn’t be any left at the end of the night. Sounds like a challenge…