Day 813 : Txikifest 2012

Txikifest is the annual celebration for this year's vintage of Txakoli hosted by Txikito, the excellent tapas restaurant in Chelsea. This year's festival promised all the new releases of Txakoli and a wonderful selection of small bites from restaurants citywide with a few institutions traveling from further distances. Each of their bites was to be inspired by Basque street food staples and outdoor markets. A portion of the proceeds of this year's event went to the Department of Neonatology at NYU Langone Medical Center.

What's Txakoli (pronounced Chacoli) you might be wondering?

It is a slightly sparkling very dry white wine with low alcohol content produced in the Basque region of Spain. Traditionally served as an aperitif, it is refreshing and bright! The proper way to serve it is to pour it from about a foot or so above the glass so as to give the wine the opportunity to aerate before it makes it into your glass.

The festival yesterday was held in the alley behind Txikito, right behind 9th avenue between 24th and 25th streets. With about twelve different food stations and multiple different bars serving different types of Txakoli it was the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

So what were the highlights in terms of food?

Pearl Oyster Company had an amazing Scallop Chowder with Pernod and thyme -- luscious and creamy with a nice fishy aromatic herbaceous bent. Perfect with a glass of mineral forward, high acidity Txakoli!

Also pretty fabulous was El Quinto Pino's toasted noodle paella with a shellfish melange and a spicy aioli -- classic street food noodles dressed up and on display specifically for yesterday's event. Great with a fuller bodied Txakoli to balance out the spicy fishiness of the noodles.

The post unusual pairing I found but perhaps the most successful was from the Raleigh, North Carolina based AC restaurant group (Poole's, Beasly's Chicken + Honey, and Chucks) who were serving Dill and thyme infused deviled eggs that were topped with a fried oyster. Decadent, rich, luscious and over the top in just the right sort of way, this was the perfect bite to accompany a glass of our light bubbly Txakoli.

The Hurricane Club had a fabulous shrimp with broken chili sauce and crispy taro small bite that combined the classic flavor profile that become pretty apparent to me was ideal for pairing with Txakoli -- 

1. Aromatic and herbaceous

2. Rich, round, and luscious

3. Fried or sauteed 

The Txakoli will cut right through the fried richness and will find its pairing partner in the aromatic herbaceous-ness of the dishes. So next time I plan to serve Txakoli at home, I will have to make a dish that falls under those flavor profiles! And why not plan a fun Txakoli event -- pretty unknown to most people here, it is a perfect spring and summer drink and you can  !

Overall such a fun way to spend an afternoon, I look forward to next year's Txikifest! 

Day 763 : Happy π Day!

It's 3/14 or otherwise known as the mathematical constant, π day! In honor of Pi or Pie day many people enjoyed apple pies hopefully with a nice thick slice of cheddar on top or perhaps a slice of a pizza pie. So in honor or π day I thought I would give you a list of my top pizza places in the city:


1. Co - My absolute favorite pizza place -- Jim Lahey's no knead thin crust inventive pizza joint with communal seating and a fun, casual, and slight rustic atmosphere. Don't expect straight forward slices here, you won't find them.
2. Lombardi's - The classic downtown pizza joint, it's been around since just before the turn of the 20th century and is routinely fantastic.
3. Arturo's - Old world Italian red sauce meets downtown hip meets Jazz era cool in this Soho standby.
4. Roberta's - Brooklyn DIY meets locavore chic meets artisanal ingredients -- what do you get? Some of the best pizza you can find in any of the fire boroughs. 
5. Joe's -- Slice to go? The place to go is Joe's. An NYC institution since the 70s. 
6. Bleecker Street Pizza -- Well if you don't like Joe's, their Sicilian slice is pretty gosh darn good.
7. Keste - Gluten free pizza that is actually excellent in a chill environment? Creative thin crusted pizzas? Step out of Manhattan and into a small pizzeria in Italy. 
8. Motorino - This place just exudes cool and boy does it earn it's reputation -- you cannot go wrong with anything you order here -- each pie is better than the last. Prepare yourself for a wait for a table. 




I know you're thinking why didn't she mention the cult pizza places like DiFara's and Grimaldi's? I've never had the pleasure of trying DiFara's and Grimaldi's I've just not been impressed with, unfortunately.


Your next question is what about Artichoke?


I find Artichoke slices to feel like two meals rolled into one slice of pizza -- its simply too rich for me, but don't get me wrong, it's some people's top choice and that's for them to decide.


So happy π day folks!!