Friday, July 11, 2008

Conte' Catering

July 4th was a busy one for me and my team, I have to let everyone know that starting out in the food business may be one of the hardest and most demanding jobs out there today. Restaurant failure rates and chef turnover rates at a all time high (hence my turnover to the catering industry). Going through culinary school (Institute of Culinary Education) for me was a great soul searching journey that I will never forget. The fundamentals of cooking and going back to the basics is a must for all casual and professional cooks, but thats another story/blog (see here).

Going through a 2 year hiatus in working at the Gramercy Park Hotel, Tides Seafood, and Eleven Madison Park. I finally got my calling, that in order to better myself, my craft of cooking, and being able to fully express myself through my culinary education, I had to leave the industry part time.

I now am able to allocate my time and manage stress levels and also be able to put out the food I believe in. The food I serve is how I speak to the world, let out my emotions and what brings me close to the people I care dearly for.

Conte Catering tho small and ambiguous right now is built by myself and hardworking friends, that are not cooks but more rather complied up of and RN, Med Student, DDS student, Accountant, and Insurance Analyst.

Camacho July 4th - Hors d'oeuvres and Burger/dog Bar Pics - 50 People


Penthouse B


Full Bar


Blue Point Oyster Shooters


Truffled Puff Pastry Duxelles


Crabcake bites with salsa verde and roasted red peppers


Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella Skewers


Salmon Tar Tar with Wasabi Creme Fraiche and Soy Tapioca Caviar


Lemon and Plum Glazed Chicken Skewers


Smoked Marsala infused Shrimp Skewers


Burger Green Bar


Shallot Sirloin Burger and Sharp White Wisconsin Cheddar


Dogs!


Strawberry Soy Panna cotta


Sweet Pimm's Lemonade


tired red socked chef

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Ork Posters


awsome poster by Ork Posters!

get them locally:
Abitare
Click here for directions and hours.
Brooklyn Heights
309 Henry St.
Brooklyn, NY
(718) 797-3555


For posters & framing:

Brooklyn Frame Works
Click here for directions and hours.
142 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY
(718) 399-6613

spacer


Blue Ribbon General Store
Click here for directions and hours.
Boerum Hill
365 State St.
Brooklyn, NY
(718) 522-9848


miss you already


home is where the heart is. flying solo for a bit.
missing YOU already.

Excellent Pork Chop House

Chinatown NYC can be so intimidating, foul stanching, and downright rude. A frequent tourist spot, you will find that it is always crowded, loud, and most of the time disgusting. The people are what you can say hardly friendly, but more often pushy and rude, and the service...I won't even get into that.

But with all that being said there is still tons of great eats to be had. Being pretty much American born as I can be (immigrated here at 2 years old), I can't speak, nor understand Chinese. So I mainly rely on my friends on recommending me restaurants to frequent in chinatown.

As I have learned through the years, Chinatown never will be fine dining, but finding good food at a bargain is always attainable. My fiancée and I like to frequent several restaurants in a triangular radius of each other. Our favorite stop of which would be the Excellent Pork Chop House at 3 Doyers St. The name itself is pretty daring and cheeky.



The aesthetics are nothing to write home about, it is about a 40 seater with small and large tables. They have a weird collection of dolls displayed on their back wall and most passerbys might be pushed away from their presentation of food, which is prominently displayed on their front window. They specialize in Taiwanese street food, fried pork chops, fried chicken leg, spare-ribs, noodle soups, preserved vegetables, rice cakes and crushed ice sweets. Uncharacteristically the service is great, they have a very nice and accommodating staff, who are there 6 days a week 10:30 am - 9 PM, closed on Tuesdays.





The Wonton's in Spicy oil are delicious, they are modestly filled with minced pork, mostly wrapper but the wonton skin is so fresh, along with the minced cilantro and the spicy oil it is downright tasty. The soy sauce eggs are cooked perfectly and topped with a little oyster sauce. The scalded vegetables (available in cabbage and spinach) are stir fried in chicken stock and flavored with minced garlic to add a punch. The chicken/spare-rib soup is fantastic! They use a super slow cooked process which extracts all the great flavor of the falling of the bone chicken or spare-ribs that creates a perfectly translucent and smooth tasting broth. The rice or noodle bowls are served with preserved cabbage and mince pork, which both are ultra tasty. The beef noodle soup has a strong anise flavor, which is usually missing, at other noodle houses around town. Their noodles are also exceptional and taste home made. To end the meal you can go with one of their crushed ice creations, which you choose a slew of toppings (condensed milk is a must) or a nice refreshing bubble tea. There are several items I have left out which we have tried and are all great, you won't be disappointed try it all! I can proudly say we have almost tried every item on the menu and love it