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2012 Annual Chefs and Champagne in the Hamptons

2012 Annual Chefs and Champagne in the Hamptons..Greetings Hamptons Mouthpiece readers...I am excited to bring you this information that you may or may not be aware of the “James Beard Foundation Annual Chefs & Champagne” at the Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, N.Y. This annual culinary fundraiser in the Hamptons features flowing Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte and delicious tastings from a select group of more than 30 fine chefs, several from JBF Award-winning restaurants. On Saturday, July 21, the James Beard Foundation (JBF) will honor multiple award-winning TV personality and cookbook author Ted Allen and the judges of Food Network’s Chopped who include Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant, Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy, Marcus Samuelsson, Aarón Sanchez, Chris Santos, and Geoffrey Zakaria.

Chefs & Champagne^®New York is considered the East End’s premiere culinary event. Funds raised at the event will help to support the James Beard Foundation’s mission and programs. A silent auction consisting of fine dining experiences, wines and spirits, cookware and culinary travel packages will also raise funds for the culinary arts organization. The 2012 recipient of the Christian Wölffer Scholarship for wine and food studies will also be announced.

Saturday, July 21, 2012**6:00 pm to 8:30 pm (followed by VIP Afterparty)

VIP Experience 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Wölffer Estate Vineyard*139 Sagg Road* Sagaponack, NY 11962

Call for Reservations…General Admission ranges from $200-$275 & VIP $375

General admission includes: all tastings, silent auction bidding opportunities, and gift bag.

The VIP experience includes exclusive reception with early access to all tastings; advanced silent auction preview; reserved table seating; access to VIP after-party (8:30 pm to 10:00 pm); and a gift bag.

*For reservations and more information, please contact the James Beard Foundation at (212) 627-2308. Visa Signature^® is the preferred card of the James Beard Foundation.

These are the participating Chef’s that will be at the event…I am excited that the chef from Red Rooster in Harlem will be here in the Hamptons…I LOVE this restaurant…

Chefs: Christopher Agnew, Caviar Russe, NYC; Pastry Chef Dominique Ansel, Dominique Ansel Bakery, NYC; Pastry Chef Marc Aumont, The Modern, NYC; Timon Balloo, Sugarcane, Miami, FL; Jonathan Benno, Lincoln Ristorante, NYC; David Bouley**, Bouley Restaurant, NYC; Pastry Chef Heather Carlucci, Print, NYC; Pastry Chef David Carmichael, Gilt, NYC; Cesare Casella, Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto, NYC; Jeremy Culver, Fulton, NY; Todd English**, The Todd English Food Hall, NYC; Todd Gray, Equinox Restaurant, Washington, D.C.; Robert Gurvich, Alison Eighteen, NYC; Chris Hastings**, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Birmingham, AL; Gerry Hayden and Pastry Chef Claudia Fleming**, The North Fork Table & Inn, Southold, NY; Luke Holden, Luke’s Lobster, NYC; Marcus Jernmark, Aquavit, NYC; Laurent Kalkotour, DB Bistro Moderne, NYC; Larry Kolar, Solé East, Montauk, NY; Christopher Lee**, Huntington Social, Huntington, NY; Aliya LeeKong, Junoon, NYC; Andrew Matthews, BLT Prime, NYC; Jeremy McMillan, Bedford Post Inn, Bedford, NY; Jehangir Mehta, Mehtaphor, NYC; Gretchen Menser, Fresno, East Hampton, NY; Seamus Mullen, Tertulia, NYC; Mads Refslund, Acme, NYC; Marcus Samuelsson**, Red Rooster Harlem, NYC; Richard Sandoval, Raymi, NYC; Chris Santos, Beauty & Essex, NYC; Tim Sullivan, Great Performances, NYC; Pastry Chef Meredith Tomason, Craft, NYC; Steve Topple, Ludwig’s at the Sonnenalp Resort of Vail, Vail, CO; Michael Weisshaupt, Restaurant Latour at Crystal Springs Resort, Hamburg, NJ; Simpson Wong, Wong, NYC

About the James Beard Foundation Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, nurturing, and preserving America’s diverse culinary heritage and future. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today, the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary schools, and publications, and by maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for visiting chefs. For more information, please visit www.jamesbeard.org. Find insights on food at the James Beard Foundation’s blog Delights & Prejudices.

Is your mouth watering yet Hamptons Mouthpiece readers…I know my mouth is watering and my stomach is grumbling, just the thought of all these fantastic chefs in one place ….WOW and for such a great cause.

Best Burgers in the Hamptons

UPDATE 2015: Nichols Restaurant is closed..Updates coming soon!

UPDATE 2014….3 Burger places have been removed from this list for several reasons: this list was originally published in 2012, Barristers my favorite Burger place in the Hamptons closed in 2013, Madison & Main (Sag Harbor) closed their doors 12/2013. I will be on the search for 3 more places in the Hamptons that make the BEST burgers….

Best Burgers in the Hamptons….Who doesn’t love a list…when you are searching for things on the Internet, you might type in search BEST THIS or BEST THAT…..So with that in mind this year every week I will be posting about the Best Restaurants, Best burgers, Best Lobster Rolls, Best Drinks, Best beaches, Best shopping, best movies…BEST, BEST, BEST in the Hamptons…

Top 10 Restaurants in the Hamptons who make the Best Burgers in the Hamptons..no particular order

Southampton Publick House: Southampton
Rowdy Hall: East Hampton
East Hampton Grill: East Hampton
1770 House: East Hampton
Corner Bar: Sag Harbor
Big Bity Burger: WestHampton Beach

My personal favorite was Barristers in Southampton…I loved the burgers here, and when you order make sure you get the sautéed onions and cheddar cheese….mmmmmmm DELICIOUS! Who will take their place as my all time favorite NUMBER#1 Burger Place in the Hamptons.

As always, Hamptons Mouthpiece keeping you in the know with the Hamptons Best!!!

The Inlet Seafood Restaurant in Montauk..What a pleasant find!

Photo courtesy of Kurt Leggard

Greetings Hamptons MouthPiece Readers…..Saturday, April 14th a beautiful day in the Hamptons, the temperature read 63 degrees, a perfect day for a drive to Montauk. Kurt, Allura and I drove to Montauk and once we got there we decided to have dinner at the FishBar because it was given excellent reviews on Yelp; however when we called a recording answered and said they were only open for Dinner. Since we were given no information on what time dinner started, we went with our back-up plan and decided to go to Inlet Seafood instead.
My daughter Allura and I are Foodies and probably the biggest food critics; we love good food and even more we love good service. Friends, the Inlet Seafood was the best find, and I highly recommend this restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The restaurant has the best oceanview from almost every seat in the place. You can even take a walk on the beach while waiting for your table, you can wait in the downstairs area or on the deck over-looking the ocean.

We got there somewhat early for dinner, lunch had just ended and dinner did not start until 4pm. We waited at the Bar and Kurt had a drink and I had a Cosmopolitan. It was delicious and I say that honestly. Not everyone makes a good Cosmo but our bartender did and I was pleased, so much so I had 2…good thing I was not driving.

We were seated for dinner and we could not wait to order because the food smelled so good. Our waitress brought out fresh homemade bread and even though I am not eating bread these days, I could not resist, it was just so good. I ordered the Mussels, Allura ordered the Rhode Island Clam Chowder and Kurt ordered Fried Calamari. Wow…..the mussels were so delicious and the broth was heavenly, I found myself dipping my garlic toast in the broth and savoring every single bite. Allura was kind of skeptical about her soup since she really loves the New England clam chowder, but I do think this Rhode Island Chowder made the top of the list, it was divine. The calamari was very light and not chewy, almost melted in your mouth. We were now salivating at the excitement of our entree, because truth be told, if a restaurant passes the appetizer test then the Entree will be great. I am pleased to say they did not disappoint…Allura and I ordered the Pan Seared Scallops over Risotto with Mushroom and Kurt ordered the Lobster. The scallops were savory and the Risotto was cooked to perfection and it was hot, which was a plus. Kurt took his time savoring every bite of his Lobster and sharing with his darling daughter who gave the puppy dog eyes when she wanted some.

We were so full I just wanted to lie down and go to sleep. I could not even consider making any room for dessert but Allura does not consider her restaurant experience completed unless she has dessert. I was slighly disappointed that there were not many choices for dessert but the one Allura chose was not bad at all…rather over the top, she was impressed…Warm Brownie with chocolate ice cream, whipped cream topped with sprinkles…

What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, the Restaurant is moderately expensive our total bill that included drinks was a little less than $200, it was worth every penny and it is on our list of favorites… This restaurant was started by 6 local Fisherman who supply most of New York and the Hamptons with the catch of the day. They opened up this wonderful dining experience and the rest is history. You may want to make a reservation before you come. I was so tired from my 2 drinks and feeling so full when I got home I took a 3 hour nap.

Well Hamptons MouthPiece readers…next time you are in Montauk, consider Inlet Seafood. It is a family friendly restaurant and the service is wonderful and the food is YUMMY…For more information about the Inlet Seafood click here….As always Hamptons MouthPiece, keeping you in the Know!!!!

Wine:Look at the Legs

Wine:Look at the Legs

Greetings Hamptons MouthPiece Readers….Yesterday, March 10th I had the pleasure to do something that I have never done before and WHOW was it a wonderful experience. My friend Sharon and I took the Ferry from Shelter Island yesterday over to the North Fork and visited Water’s Crest in Cutchogue, NY. When we arrived we were greeted and asked if we would like to have a wine tasting while we waited for everyone to arrive for our Wine Blending event. The answer to that was an absolute YES….since I was the designated driver for the day, my tastings were limited but Sharon was free to enjoy herself. We started with the 2009 Reserve Chardonnay, I am not a fan of Chardonnay but I did like this wine, it was light and fruity and one that I would enjoy drinking. Our 2nd tasting was the New Release “2010 Campania Bianco another Chardonnay, Sharon loved this one, I however preferred the 1st one, it felt a little heavy for me and I like wines that are very light. Our last tasting with the White Wines was the 2010 Dry Riesling…this was my favorite of the 3 and I loved it. It was perfect for me and I am told that it is a perfect pairing with spicy food. I’ll have to write down all these pairings and go onto https://www.wineaccess.com/store/ as well as take a trip to the food store to pair up my wine with food for an at-home taste test!

It was then time for the event and so we were walked to the back where we each were seated next to our partners and we worked in groups. We were given 3 reds that we would be blending.

2008 Merlot
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin(cs)
2007 Cabernet Franc Grand Vin(cf)

James Waters the owner and the Wine Maker was the host for the day and we were given a lesson on blending and an overall history of Water’s Crest. It was incredibly informative and I’ll be honest, I did start looking at large used wine barrels for sale so I could start making my own at home! I’ll let you know how that works out… Although Water’s crest makes several delicious wines on the East End in Long Island you might be surprised to learn that they do not have a vineyard, they purchase their grapes from another Vineyard that grows grapes in LI and they then make the wine on the premises. We were taught about our Palet’s…how to taste the wine, what we should be tasting, why wine-makers blend wines. Wine makers blend wines for several reasons, from enhancing the aroma -to adjusting the sweetness of the wine.

It was time for us to start blending our wine and that was both educational and a lot of fun. I was not sure how I was going to do on my first try because I do not really care for Merlot. Merlot being the prominent wine I had to come up with a formula that would give me the smooth mellow taste that I enjoy… WHAM I did it…I blended a wine that was so delicious for my taste and Jim(the owner) tasted it and liked it as well. Here was my formula:

**Merlot*CF*CS

(now you didn’t think I was going to give you the percentages)

Look at the Legs…not referring to Larry Rivers sculpture that graces the outside Residence of a home in Sag Harbor.….

Fun Fact: When you swirl a glass of wine and look at how it runs down the glass, you’re looking at the legs. Look at the ring of wine near the top of the glass and how the droplets form and run back down into the wine. These are the legs. I am told they usually occur in high alcohol wines and you’ll see the link between alcohol and wine legs shortly.

Sharon after several tastings finally got her blend where she wanted it to be…you will see in the video I posted her various attempts and her perfect saying for the day..“I don’t believe in wasting”

We were all given our very own personal blend to take home with us and before we left Jim let us each sample a Special blend that will not be ready until 2014..It is still sitting in the barrel until Mid-summer and afterwards will sit in the warehouse until 2014…It was delicious…I am told it will retail for $50 a bottle. I really cannot wait and in the meantime I have decided to try out Cabernets wines for sale online, as this deal provides plenty of selection from various countries around the world.

We ended our day at Water’s Crest and the cost for such a wonderful afternoon was only $30. What a find and a definite cool thing to do on a Saturday afternoon in March. Sharon and I left and stopped over at Sparkling Pointe that was literally 2 minutes away. This place is absolutely beautiful and for you Sparkling Wine fans they only have sparkling wine…They are also the recipient of the Jazz on the Vine, LI Winterfest Closing event on March 18th at 330pm…well worth a visit.

There is another opportunity to take this class but hurry class is filling up quickly…

Saturday, March 17th**2-4pm, $30pp**create your own Wine Blend on Saturday, March 10th or March 17th from 2-4pm, for a truly unique experience. You will have a one of a kind opportunity to create your very own 375ml bottle. The cost is $30 per person which includes an artisanal cheese plate to pair with the currently released Waters Crest Red Wine flight.?Space is limited to the first 30 people to respond per event date. RSVP required to Waters Crest. 631-734-5065

There is one weeked left for the LI Wine Fest, might be worth a drive From NYC, The Hamptons or Western LI and even NJ…..For more information about Water’s Crest…click here and for more information and the schedule for the Jazz on the Vine www.liwinterfest.com..Well that was my experience and as always, Hamptons MouthPiece keeping you in the know!

I LOVE SWEETS…..

I LOVE SWEETS…..Hamptons Mouthpiece was out and about this weekend tasting desserts, its a hard job but somebody has got to do it! I love dessert unfortunately they don’t really love me…but who cares, GYM here I come….The Hamptons are full of amazing restaurants and I wanted to share with you some of my top choice desserts…

Fried Oreo’s with Chocolate Dipping Sauce: LT Burger in Sag Harbor. This dessert is unbelievable delicious. I really felt like I was in Heaven. Not knowing what to expect I was anxious and after taking that 1st bite I was in love.. they were hot and crispy fried. Wow, so goooooooood

Death by Chocolate…B’Smith’s Restaurant, Sag Harbor, NY….This dessert is so good if you are a chocolate lover like I am…It is served cold and the chocolate just melts in your mouth. It is sprinkled with chocolate dipping sauce and fresh strawberries….This is a definite must have…B’Smiths is the perfect spot to hang out with friends on a warm summer night in Sag Harbor.

Tempura Banana Split: Beachhouse Restaurant, East Hampton, NY….Wow, I have never had a banana split like this. It included Vanilla & Chocolate Gelato, Tempura Fried Banana, crunchy caramel & whipped cream. I really cannot believe how delicious the fried banana tempura was, It was very light and not overwhelming sweet, melted in your mouth…If you are visiting Beachhouse this summer for lunch or Dinner don’t skip the dessert especially this one.

Burbon Street Bread Pudding: B’Smith’s Restaurant, Sag Harbor…..This nice & light bread pudding is B’Smith’s signature dessert….I wasn’t sure what to expect since I really do not like bread pudding, but I loved this and the strawberries and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream was a nice touch to this scrumptious dessert.

Warm Almond Cake: Harbor Bistro, East Hampton….Just looking at this delicacy makes my mouth water…How beautiful is this….Well Friends as beautiful as it looks it taste even better. Bravo Harbor Bistro this dessert was amazing, thank you for allowing me to taste it. This Almond cake is accompanied by Strawberry-Rhubarb compote, Vanilla bean Ice Cream and toasted Almonds…. Simply delightful

Profiteroles Patea Choux Puffs with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Harbor Bistro, East Hampton……..If a pictures was worth a million dollars….then this dessert would definitely be a winner…Look at the chocolate just oozing down this puff with sprinkled white sugar powder on top…..Harbor Bistro has done it again….not only are they crafted at making food look good it really does taste incredible….I really love this restaurant, if you choose to share dessert you will end up asking for another dish because it is just that delectable.

Not to be forgotten…..CUPCAKES... .Cavaniola’s Sag Harbor, I am not really a cupcake fan but I recently had the pleasure of tasting these yummy cupcakes, they are hands down the best cupcakes I have ever tasted..you will not be disappointed. While you are there try the homemade potato chips, they are insane..

So there you have it I am a dessert addict….My top choice for cookies are Panera Bread, Tates and Author, Lauren Chattman of Cookie Swap.

Lauren creates magic with her desserts and has chosen to share some of her mouth watering recipes with us….You can purchase this book at Book Hampton in the Hamptons (East Hampton, and Southampton locations) or Amazon.com

Till next time friends…..enjoy these amazing treats……stay tuned for “Hamptons MouthPiece” next blog talking about what’s happening in the Art’s this week in the Hamptons…