Kitaliana

I was happy to support Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation, ”the nation’s premier culinary benefit, featuring top chefs and mixologists — all of whom are coming together to donate their time, talent and passion to end childhood hunger in America” last night in Chelsea. Perfect small helpings of culinary delights from tons of NYC restaurants, from A Voce to Union Square Cafe* and crazy strong and interesting drinks.  It all would have been 82% better had my friend shown up but no biggie. I can amuse myself in any crowd, even if I dislike crowds.

I got in a small tiff with a photographer over cumin. He insisted there was cumin in the scallops and I know there wasn’t. I knew because I had researched it before making my faux-chili (post ginger-lime-coconut chicken soup). Because neither of us could pull up Wikipedia on our iPhones we had to agree to disagree — and agreed to research independently and reconvene to argue some more. Yay!

PS. Yes, you’d think the servers would know, as many of them were actual chefs, but not these fellows. Which reminds me of the worst and most interesting moment, listening to a short, porcine food blogger who was needling the servers: “It’s pronounced Maialino, not MEEalEENo.” And upon being pleasantly asked who he was, he demurred and laughed and said “I should just show you my business card.” I’m thinking, what, the putz can’t actually give them one? THEN he said the part about the blogging and I realized he couldn’t afford actual business cards.

A nice night, all in all: great food, engaged guests, cool music and the much-appreciated respite of the American Express Lounge.

*I missed the opportunity to tell Danny Meyers that I had read his book recently and was actually WITH the fellow who mooned his Union Square Cafe patrons from the sidewalk one evening in the early days. He wasn’t drunk, as Mr. Meyers assumed; he was just displaying — to my horror at the time — a healthy socialist outrage at the privileged class (to which I’m pretty sure he now happily belongs).

As I walked home, in the gloaming, I chanced upon my very favorite Manhattan block, the one on 21st Street between 9th and 10th, the north side of the Episcopalian General Theological Seminary on the south side, and the long, long row of the most perfect brownstones shaded by some of the tallest overhanging trees on a residential block. Magical.

Note: the photo has nothing to do with the event, other than proximity (gallery next door). The bright light and white walls in the event space rendered my photos sadly pedestrian this time. Nice, short write-up on Metromix.