Chef Einat Admony Incarnates Balaboosta

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Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Places To Eat

Published on Thursday, 09 August 2012 11:51

Written by Laura Blum

Einat Admony is as cheerful and welcoming as her Manhattan trattoria, Balaboosta. The name means "perfect housewife" or "gracious hostess" in Yiddish.

You'd think she'd have agitas. With Taïm Nolita soon opening next door (Corner of Mulberry and Spring Streets) and a tapas restaurant in the works, the Israeli-born chef, restauranteur and adoring mother of two should indeed be dining on her nails. Ask her the reason for her zen and she'll introduce you to her husband, co-chef and co-restauranteur, Stefan Nafziger. 

Admony has added reasons to be chill. Taïm Falafel & Smoothie Bar is among them.The couple's original West Village watering hole (and accompanying truck) draws long lines no less for its gluten-free chickpea and pita staple than for its tantalizing fruit drinks. With flavors like strawberry/raspberry/basil and a non-alcoholic version of piña colada among the repertoire, how patrons quench their thirst can pose quite a dilemma.

The twinkly-eyed brunette developed her passion for feeding legions of guests in her Iranian mother's kitchen. Admony's youthful and seasoned culinary adventures will spice up her debut cookbook, The Balaboosta Way, due out in Fall 2013.

How she has time to write remains a mystery, but one recent summer day -- before the lunch crowd filled Balaboosta -- she also managed to squeeze in a leisurely interview. Read on below, but you’ll have to visit her Mediterranean eatery for an appreciation
of the treats that followed our chat.

Q: How did you get started in New York?

EA: I came in 1999 with my first husband and stayed for three and a half years. I worked at Tabla and Danube and other restaurants, and was always going around to Indian and Spanish and all kinds of places -- anything other than strict French cuisine. Then we went back to Israel and got married and divorced.

I came back here and got married to Stefan pretty fast. We had met when we were both working at Bouley during my first stay and right away had a very spiritual connection. Still I married my first husband but my he left me after two months in Israel. Good stuff. (Laughs.)

Q: Great stuff!

EA: Really...You know, some women would moan, "Ooooh!" But it's the best thing that's ever happened to me, because otherwise I would probably be stuck in Israel, in the shadow of some big chef and have five kids, be miserable and have a husband who cheated on me all the time.

Q: "Ha-kol le-tova." (Hebrew for "Everything works out for the best.")

EA: Ha-kol le-tova. It's amazing. After three days Stef and I knew we were going to be together forever. It's been ten years. We have a real love story. We opened Taïm seven years ago. It's become an institution in New York City. The first year nobody knew
about us and we almost closed. Then one day the editor of New York magazine passed by and she was fascinated by the food. Then it was article after article.

We've been in probably every newspaper and magazine as the best falafel in the City. Then we went to The Food Network and "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." So it's nice. And two years ago I had the opportunity to open [Balaboosta].

Q: How do you do it with two kids?

EA: You do it. I actually think they're my biggest achievement. Years ago I used to meet a lot of women around their 30s who'd say they'd never have kids because "they're going to ruin my career."

Today I look around and I don't see them in the industry. They've disappeared. I'm still here with two kids and businesses. I come from a country where there's a lot of pressure to have a family. Besides the pressure I like kids and I have an amazing family. After my oldest child was five I was ready for something new. I no longer had a challenge at Taïm. There were recipes and people who could implement them. I need to cook, do specials every day, be creative. So I opened this one.

Q: And the concept here is...

EA: The concept is like the name. It's a chef-driven place with atmosphere and service like a Balaboosta. And we get write-ups like that: "It seems like she invited you to her house and told her family to treat you really nice and kind."

It's really important to me that the atmosphere isn't that of a screaming chef who everybody's scared of. And with the food -- I don't say everything is organic and crazy; it's not that there's no fried food -- but it's very healthy and balanced.

Q: You're a world traveler. Which countries and cultures have inspired the menu?

EA: For lunch I wanted to do a little bit more authentic ethnic food, because it's hard to present that in an amazing way, and in theevening I want more presentation and more refined food. 

For example, for lunch I make khamusta, which is meatballs that have some molina, and a sour soup that's made with fava bean, celery and Swiss chard -- it's really good.

Q: Is that what you'd recommend for lunch?

EA: Yeah, but my favorite is between schnitzel (chicken cutlet) and Moroccan fish. I make schnitzel with cornflakes and it's very crunchy. Delicious.

Q: And for dinner, what shouldn't one miss?

EA: Cauliflower, fried olives, if you like fish, branzino, which is grilled Israeli style with a marinade of parsley, garlic, thyme. The cauliflower is mixed with four different kinds of peppercorn -- Szechuan, pink, white and black -- and a little bit of flour, and it's very crispy. It comes with a dressing of currants and pine nuts and parsley. People love it. No tahini. I try to take it in a little different direction. I use a lot of tahini and yogurt, obviously, but I think the food here is unique.

I have so much experience with different cultures that you can feel it. This is not strictly Israeli -- oh, babaghanush -- no, no! Yesterday I did a pasta from fava beans, served with short rib and fresh chickpeas and fava bean inside. It's Middle Eastern fetuccini. My pasta on the menu right now is made with fresh beets -- it's red, red, red -- cut by hand in long pieces and sauteed with spinach, shallots, capers and ricotta and parmesan herb bread crumbs on top. So the food is not typical.

Q: What's your favorite dessert here?

EA: The kanafeh (Arab pastry flavored with rose water). I put sugar, honey and berries and mix them all. Then I cook it with a little bit of orange peel and rose water and a piece of cinnamon stick and cardamon, and I put b

erries to give the sauce some color.

Then I put pistachio ice cream and shredded halva. People go crazy. I love this dessert. It's sweet but it's not overwhelming since the cake itself is like a cheese cake. It's with ricotta and a little bit of semolina with milk.

Q: Sounds like something kids would also like. Are your kids sophisticated eaters?

EA: My son Liam is my taster. Both of my kids always cook with me.

Q: What keeps you up at night; what are your worries?

EA: I don't have worries. I have a husband. He's worried!

Balaboosta
14 Mulberry Street
New York, NY 10012
212-966-7366
http://balaboostanyc.com/

Taïm Falafel & Smoothie Bar
222 Waverly Place
New York, NY 10014
212-691-1287
http://www.taimfalafel.com/

Singapura - The Alternative to Indian Curry Houses

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Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Places To Eat

Published on Wednesday, 04 July 2012 17:44

Written by Elaine Ing

Here in Manhattan, there’s a new kid in town.

In the Murray Hill area (affectionately known as Curry Hill -- on Lexington Avenue between 26th St. and 29th St.), Singapura is great alternative to the standby Indian curry houses. 

Singapura offers foodies an introduction to Nonya (or Peranakan) cuisine, which is a unique blend of Chinese, Malay and other influences (such as Thai, Indonesian and Indian). A true traveler knows that Singapore is known for two things -- its shopping and amazing cuisine. No where else would a true foodie eschew star chef-run restaurants to line up en masse at hawker stands before the daily special runs out. 

NYC has come come a long way from the days of cheap dogs and pretzel vending carts. However, Singapore has had a long tradition of serving the best food in these government-regulated hawker food stands. 

Singapore (derived from the Malay word Singapore) is a true blending of different cultures -- Chinese, Malay, Indian and English, with each being officially recognized. As well, the variety of food representing different ethnicities is seen by the government as a symbol of its multiculturalism. 

Nonya cooking is the result of blending Chinese ingredients and wok cooking techniques with spices used by the Malay/Indonesian community. The food is tangy, aromatic, spicy and herbal. There are regional variations in Nonya cooking, however the standby dishes are clearly present in Singapura's menu. 

The smallish interior of Singapura offers a cozy alternative to the hustle and bustle outside, and harkens back to a time gone by. The earth-toned/ wood panelling interior with hanging lotus blossom lamps with abacuses (abaci) now reused as hanging frames in lieu of pictures, is not what you'd find in a typical Chinese restaurant. Even the chairs are chosen with care -- they are laden with mounted brass lion head door knockers (perhaps in reference to Singapore's moniker as "The Lion City-State?”). 

The meal brought me back to my days as a tourist in Singapore. I salivated over the menu and was not disappointed. The meal started off with Roti Canai (a flaky pancake served with a potato curry), Laksa Noodle Soup (a spicy noodle soup dish) and Tamarind Shrimp (grilled shrimp which came with a variety of sauces). The main meal consisted of Malay Fish Curry (Tilapia), Devil's Curry (a spicy chicken dish) and Lamb Rendang. The first two curry dishes were absolutely wonderful, however the lamb curry was lacking a bit on the sauce. 

Singapura's dessert menu was rather minimal -- only two options were available: Mango Sticky Rice and Fried Banana. My guest and I tried both but perhaps we were so full from the main meal that we weren't really that impressed with the dessert choices. 

Overall, Singapura is a delight. I like being able to have Singaporean food without having to trudge all the way down to Chinatown. The interior is delightful and the cuisines extremely well-affordable. Staff was extremely helpful and accommodating, and the food not as intimidating spicy as one would think.

Though it just recently opened in April 2012, Singapura is here to stay. 

Singapura
106 Lexington Ave. (at E. 27th St.)
New York, NY 10016
212-684-6842

singapuranyc.com

Cooking Channel Chef G. Garvin's Great Grilling & Travel Guide

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Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Places To Eat

Published on Friday, 15 June 2012 19:26

Written by Brad Balfour

Summer is upon us and so is the smell of grilling wafting in the air. To assist us in our quest for finessing fine grilling exercises, the Cooking Channel has called on one of its vets, G. Garvin -- who has enjoyed popular success as chef, author, entrepreneur, and television host -- to entreat with some of the best cooking to be found nationally. Starting May 29th, the Atlanta native debuts his new show, Road Trip with G. Garvin.

Though he built his culinary repertoire during childhood, his earliest experience came with cutting and peeling vegetables alongside his mother in the kitchen of Atlanta’s Jewish Home for the Aging. So besides the obvious local inspirations he has a taste of another kind of orthodoxy to influence him.

Raised by a single mom, surrounded by four sisters, the 13-year-old Garvin traded after-school football practice for a job at Atlanta's Old Vinings Inn, soaping dishes and soaking up the inner workings of a high-end kitchen. Two years later, he became the youngest cook at the downtown Ritz-Carlton, where he held seasonal positions.

 Garvin moved west, initially in 1988, to open the Ritz-Carlton’s Rancho Mirage resort in Palm Springs. At 20, he moved to Europe to further his culinary training and served as Jean Pierre Maharebacha’s apprentice. Then he got kitchen positions in Hamburg and Warsaw, while documenting everything he learned. After nearly two years, he returned to Atlanta to become sous chef of the award-winning Italian restaurant, Veni, Vidi, Vici. However, the lure of the West Coast drew him back, this time, to Los Angeles. 

 During the ‘90s, he served as Morton’s executive chef, where he orchestrated dinner for the second Annual Vanity Fair Oscar fete, as well as a lavish banquet for the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. 

 With doing “really good food” as the goal, Garvin ended up at the former Hollywood watering hole Kass Bah, where he shaped a creative menu appealing to both gourmands and show-biz execs alike. A year later, he became executive chef at the restaurant Reign, which became a smash and earned Garvin great reviews and his highest salary.

Yearning for both business and creative success with food, he left there to independently cater high-profile events, including two exclusive dinners for President Clinton, a private brunch for Senator Hillary Clinton and meals for other notable clients. 

After two years, he teamed with a catering client to open a restaurant. In fall of 2001, G. Garvin’s opened to critical acclaim, then expanding two years later to more than double its size.

Plans for a series of cooking DVDs brought him to the attention of TV One in early 2004, where his enthusiasm seemed perfect for a new network looking to provide lifestyle programming for the growing foodie audience. It was then that Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin came to fruition and now this summer, his latest show, Road Trip with G. Garvin.

Q: Cooking is something you’ve always done. Did you start out doing Jewish food since your mom worked at The Jewish Home?

 GG: My mother did. I was in the kitchen, doing what I could, considering most of it was culture. Just hanging out with my mom and watching what she did. Then she’d go home and make her own version of meatballs. A little bit, but not too much.

Q: Why is there such a fascination with food now?

GG: People are learning to understand food in a way that it’s not just something you do. You don’t just eat to live. The science of food, the development of recipes, the new science, it’s become not just something to do, it’s become a lifestyle.

People are savvy, where people don’t have desires to be chefs; they have desires to learn how to cook, and make great meals, and understand why you’d do a pinot noir with chicken and steak and pinot grigio with seafood and pasta. There’s a lot of intelligent information about food where before there may not have been.

Q: When you grill, do you grill everything? What can’t you grill? Guess you can’t grill watermelon.

GG: Nowadays you probably could. Grilling is a method, just like sautéing or baking, or broiling. You can braise your leg of lamb or grill your leg of lamb. For my show and the show we’re doing, not everything is grilled.

But this time of year, there are certain focuses for people. But if you want to grill it, figure out a way to do so. I love throwing fish on the grill. I work out five days a week, so I throw it on the grill, it’s all smoky from the wood, and have it with a salad. If you have a desire to grill, you certainly can, but you just have to create a method.

Q: I guess it depends on what sauces you use.

GG: The bigger issue, and what people tend to forget is, when people grill, they tend to create a big flame and turn it and turn it and get the grill marks, the key components when I grill are hot, medium, and warm. 

Start with whatever your cooking with a hot flame, if you’re using a sauce, put it on at medium so it coats well because of the warmth. The problem people have is grilling and burning. If you start it super-hot, you get grill marks and flavor, slide it to the medium side to actually let it cook, then finish it on the warm side, it allows you to sauce it while grilling and getting that flavor without burning.

Q: Are there meats or foods you haven’t used that you want to explore like, say, ostrich?

GG: I have never used ostrich. Alligator I love, I have cooked rattlesnake and bison in the past. So I would think that the next thing for me, I’ve been thinking about a good dish with some alligator.

Q: Have you tried grilling insects?

GG: I have not.

Q: Supposedly people do a lot with grasshoppers.

GG: I’ve heard that and seen different people do that all over the world. It’s going to be less about me, and more the demographic that I’m cooking for. It would be a hard sell. I think people are more open minded about where things are going with food, but I think it’s key to talk slowly. 

Q: You could throw it in as a side dish.

GG: We got people comfortable with escargot. There are certain cheeses that they have with worms that people are eating in France, I think it’d be a hard sell in America. But people are open to getting themselves prepared for something. You certainly have to ease your way in.

Q: Frogs, too.

GG: Frogs legs are great, I love them.

Q: I never tried them grilled.

GG: The grill is a great component. It gets you out of the kitchen and into the backyard or park. Grilling can really be fun.

Q: How large do you like your grilling environment to be?

GG: I’m a big guy, so I like a big-boy pit. I like to throw a whole tenderloin, whether it’s pork or beef, side of ribs, whole side of salmon, we actually did that in Houston. Grilled a whole side of salmon, with brisket and some shrimp. I like big, smoky, loud, big-boy grills.

Q: How about tuna -- do you put the whole thing on the grill?

GG: You can, but tuna is one of those delicacies. When I think tuna, I think cerviche, carpcio, tartare. Navy black, I used to do a blackened pepper and mint with shitake tuna, but I don’t know if I’d ever throw the tuna onto the grill.

Q: Do you ever worry about carcinogens that supposedly occur in some foods during grilling?

GG: I’m just not qualified to answer that question, unfortunately, so I couldn’t answer that question intelligently. Grilling has been around as long as I can remember. It has changed, absolutely. It’s not harmful but I’m not a doctor. If there is a concern, people should grill in moderation, but I cannot speak intelligently on that philosophy.

Q: Guess it depends on what you grill with.

GG: There is some concern. Oak wood, open flame, it can’t be too harmful. It’s the way of the caveman. Throw it on the grill with a natural flame and oak wood.

Q: So your preference is oak wood?

GG: Yeah, absolutely.

Q: You have your On the Road series and then you have your grilling. Are those separate environments or do they interweave? 

GG: They sort of work together. The name of the show is Road Trip with G. Garvin and there are some episodes where we do grill, but primarily, it’s about road trips, finding unique restaurants, finding great things about those places and working with those people and those places.

Q: Where do you like to travel when on the road -- where do you like to go?

GG: What we love is that we love to see something in a community that all the locals are talking about. A mom and pop spot that’s not visible to the regular traveler. Whether it’s a burger, or a sandwich, or pasta, or pie, we can’t adhere to the culinary streets, if you will.

Q: What places do you want to visit?

GG: We’ve gone to Austin, Houston, Nashville, Atlanta and New York. I’m looking forward to going to Virginia, Chicago and Philadelphia. I’m really looking forward to Vietnam, Peru and Brazil. I’m hoping we can go to a lot of great places where we can find some great dishes.

Q: How small do you get or big do you get?

GG: We get Nashville small and we get Austin big, so it’s a little of both. We get Lfayette small. But there’s big flavors and big things going on in places like Austin. We hit Charleston, which was a great place, but small. We got both.

Q: When did you decide to move back to Atlanta after living in Los Angeles?

GG: It’s because I grew up in Atlanta. I started my food career there. When we decided to do this show, the network wanted to do the first episode in Georgia, so that was one reason. I’m opening a restaurant in the Atlanta airport, that’s reason number two. I opened a studio in Atlanta where we shoot videos and host parties. It just made good food business sense to go to Atlanta, so I did.

Q: You already have the media profile, so you’re not losing something by not being there.

GG: That’s a great point. Outside of the weather, thank god that I’m busy enough that I don’t need to live in Los Angeles to work. I’ve earned the right to live outside of Los Angeles. I love LA, most of my adult life has been there, it’s a great food town, but I also love where Atlanta is going as a new food mecca. There’s all sorts of genres of food. The scene is growing and I love being there.

Q: You didn’t want to live in NY?

GG: It just never came up. I almost did, but right from Atlanta I got a job in California. I’ve always been responsible, never really packed my bags and took a chance. I went to California, loved working there, and that’s where I ended up. New York has always been on the radar, but I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve gone to places where people have interests in southern food.

Q: Will the fascination with haute cuisine encourage us to diet better or will we gorge ourselves?

GG: People are smart enough now to…one thing I argue is that people are more food intelligent than they’re given credit for. Listen, people like to splurge some times, but everyone has their own personal health requirements.

People are smart enough to know what works with them. That’s the one thing I’ve always argued when I have a show or a restaurant, I say people are more food intelligent than we give them credit for. I don’t think anyone is gonna over-do it. A small few will, as always, but the overall feels is that are going to indulge less and learn to be responsible.