Spice Market

Something was hot at Spice Market...and it definitely wasn't me - but we'll get to that later.

Guess who I got to meet when I visited New York? My best-blogging buddy, Sue, of Food Network Musings! We met at Spice Market, Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurant.

The menu at Spice Market contains authentically uplifted versions of flavorful street foods that Jean-Georges Vongerichten enjoyed while he visited China, India, Vietnam and Thailand. The food is served family style, in a casual, but sexy environment.

My mom and I had just toured the French Culinary Institute, and were running a little late, but luckily Sue wasn't mad at us. FCI was a very nice school, by the way. I would LOVE to go to school there. They're sending information to me and then I'll figure out what I want to do. It's hard to say right now.

Well, let me tell you, Sue was so warm and inviting, I felt like I had known her for years. Also, she was just as hilarious as she is on her blog. I'm glad I got to meet her; I'm a fan of her blog, and I always learn something new. Anyway, we had TONS to catch up on, so I didn't pay as much attention to the food as I should have.

First we had these chip-things with a sweet and spicy sauce. They're called papadums - a thin, Indian wafer, made from a dough containing lentil, chickpea, black gram or rice flour, and seasoned with chili, cumin, garlic or black pepper.
Man, were these good. I wanted to eat the whole basket, but I thought that would be rude. I'm going to try making these.

We ordered the Bentō box lunch, which contained several courses and a drink.


I ordered Fiji iced tea. Kind of tasted like watered down iced tea - definitely missed the Fiji part. The other drink is a cherry-yuzu soda - a little sweet for me, actually.


Pea soup isn't that exciting, and I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I actually LOVED this soup. I thought about if for days after I tasted it. It was a lovely green shade, flavored with coconut milk, and very smooth and creamy. There were peas and thinly sliced radish in the soup, that added some texture, and I think maybe there was an herb in there also.


This little salad was brilliant. I'm having trouble remembering the exact ingredients, but I think it contained mango, sliced tomato, green beans?, cashews, cilantro, and my favorite ingredient, the crystallized tamarind. My first time trying tamarind!


This chicken satay was so good...so good. I could have eaten a couple more of these sticks.


By this time, I was getting a little full, because I was also helping my mom eat her food. I ate some of the striped bass, but not a lot.
It contained shiso, miso, bonito, tamari, yuzu, daikon, udon.
Nahh, just kidding. I have no idea what was in it.



Time for dessert! My favorite part! Ginger ice cream, which was very good. It came in a take-out box. Cute, but impractical.



And a chocolate-Ovaltine kulfi, with caramel sauce, banana, whipped cream and caramel corn. Kulfi is kind of like a thick ice cream made with sweetened condensed milk.
I liked this dessert because it was whimsical and a lot of fun, but honestly, it was kind of a mess. The kulfi was okay, but not great; the sprinkles were too crunchy, I think. It tasted like milk chocolate, but not necessarily like malt. I see where they were going with this dessert, but they didn't execute it well. Wow, I sound like I could be a judge on Top Chef. Kidding.
However, I LOVE the idea of using popcorn in a dessert...coooool.


Now, for the HOT STUFF at Spice Market.

Food Network celebrity (and hottie), Chef Danny Boome, was sitting a few tables away from us! He was eating lunch with Bob Tuschman, Food Network Senior Vice President of Programming and Production! (Next Food Network Star Judge.)

I felt like I was going to freak out the whole time I was sitting there. This was a dream come true! A Food Network celebrity sighting! I thought about rushing up to Danny and giving him a big smooch, but decided against it. Or asking him if he wanted a massage.

The two got up and started to leave, and I rushed up to them like a huge idiot. Bob was kind of already out the door, but I asked Danny if he would take a picture with me. He was SO NICE! He could have been rude to me, but he wasn't. We even had a conversation. I can't remember what it was...but I bet it was great.
Then Bob walked over and I got to meet him too!

Look at how Danny's touching my arm! Swoon. I look terrible, though. I had been walking all over New York City that day.


I only have one more New York post to go...