First Post NYC

I'm in NYC for a few meetings for the next couple of days, and wanted to share a few of my new NYC finds.When you are Chef and you get to a new city the first thing that runs through your mind is where are the cool food spots? Where do the locals eat?Will I find a new place to add to my "list".Most chefs keep a list of places that are their favorites and the "need to try"Try it, keep a list and jot down the name and address of an interesting restaurant that a friend tells you about, or when your flipping through the latest issue of Gourmet or the food section of the newspaper.Today my brother and I ventured down to Chinatown to one of the best dim sum restaurants I have ever visited.Vanessa's dumpling house located on 118 Eldrich street between Grand and Broome is a small dumpling house where EVERYTHING is hand made throughout the day and as a bonus...it is one of the cleanest restaurants I have visited in the city.We had the steamed shrimp dumplings,pan fried pork buns,pan fried pork and chive dumplings traditional red sauce wontons(just as good as they were in China)and my favorite new find....a wok grilled sesame bread filled with fresh cucumbers, carrots and cilantro with a light soy/vinegar sauce and 4 iced teas for $18.00.The dumplings and bread are prepped and cooked constantly throughout the day and all of the ingredients are high quality and fresh.This is probably one of my favorite restaurants in the city.High quality and excellent Value.
For dinner we went with some of our wine distributor friends to a cool spot in SoHo named LURE, which is a sushi/seafood restaurant that was jamming for restaurant week.The raw bar and sushi were fantastic and the pan seared bronzini was excellent.Bronzini is commonly referred to as the European version of sea bass and is now gaining popularity in the US.The desserts were made from scratch and with a lot of care.Molten chocolate cake, fresh sorbets and home made ice cream sandwiches.Put this one on your list.More to come....