Tag Archives: Dining with Outlaws

Fork and Scissors: A Sneak Preview of COREY and Northern Indian Delights at Tamarind

Corey: Corey Lynn Calter FW13

My picks from the Corey presentation at the Jane Hotel in NYC for the FW13 collection

I love the 60′s and 70′s. Anything that reminds me of that era in time, whether it’s the music, the iconic styles, everything from paisley prints to laced collar silk blouses- I dig. Corey reminds me of my fave era. The new line by designer Corey Lynn Calter exudes everything I love at the moment: gold buttons, check; paisley, check; fedora hats, check; make me look rich silk jumpsuits, check, check, check. I can’t wait to see what Corey conjures up next season- but at least for the rest of 2013- we’ll know what to wear.

Corey FW13 Presentation at the Jane Hotel in NYC

Shag-a-delic and very wearable.

The collection was presented at the Jane Hotel, a hipster- boutique hotel neatly tucked away at the end of Jane Street in the West Village. No- sorry folks, it’s not typically open to the public. You kinda have to know the right people to get in- or at least look the part, or be somebody. Lucky for me, I knew someone who sent me an invite to preview the new collection last night. I gasped at the first sight of Corey’s paisley prints. After all, it was only a week ago that I rummaged through an old lady’s fabric closet, in an undisclosed location (since I’m not sharing my source of goodness, for the time being) and brought home an array of vintage paisley silk fabrics. Yards and yards of the goodies.

Silk Dyed Easter Eggs by Dining with Outlaws

My Silk Dyed Eggs from Easter

I used some of mine to make these wonderful easter eggs. Silk printed paisley eggs finished with gold leaf. Not too shabby egh?

Our wonderful evening ended with this amazing dish at Tamarind, my all time favorite Indian restaurant in NYC. I haven’t stopped thinking about this dish since my first time having it. All night- that’s all I talked about at the fashion show. I’ve probably convinced People magazine’s style director to try it out sometime- she would’ve come with- but had to retreat home. Oh well- it was her loss, and more food for me! The Raj Khatori is priced appropriately at $8.00, it’s meant to be shared by two lovers. In my case- it was shared by two BFF’s. It’s spicy, it’s sweet, a bit of yogurt with chick peas welcome your taste buds as you neatly deconstruct the poofy fried bread. Ours disappeared within minutes. (Yes, we can turn into savages when food’s this good, and nevermind that I was dressed to the nines in a silver brocade jacket by Moschino, beaded skirt by Elie Tahari, sequined sweat shirt by Forever 21, Alice and Olivia maryjane platforms).

Raj Khatori at Tamarind

The Raj Khatori at Tamarind

Tamarind has two installments of their signature Northern Indian Restaurants in NYC, both by the same ownership. Located in the Flatiron district and Tribeca. It’s a bit pricier than your usual Little India (on 6th Street) restaurants and unless you’ve frequented a bunch of the sitar playing traditional joints- you may not appreciate the superb quality and flavorings Tamarind has to offer. You’ll find a glassy window displayed right in the middle of the Flatiron locale, along with two tandoori ovens accompanied by a chef making naan and grilling (is it called grilling?) some meat on the skewers. We ordered the Raj Khatori, Chicken Tikka Masala (are you surprised?), Vegetable Pillau- a mixed vegetable basmati rice, and the Tandoori Mixed Grill. If Koreans are making soju cocktails with asian pears, don’t be surprised to see Northen Indians making theirs with a bit of Tamarind and fennel. Delish, delish, delish. I can’t wait to go back again.

Tarmarind
41-43 E 22nd St
New York
(212) 674-7400

99 Hudson St
New York
(212) 775-9000

 

 

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Filed under April 2013, Dining with Outlaws, Fashion Smashion, Fork and Scissors, Hot on the Blog, Special Events

Dining with Out-Laws may sometimes be unwelcomed in the near future…

Dining with Out-Laws

I’m finally turning this blog into what it was originally intended for. A blog about dining out. Not with your typical family or friends- but with a special group and a mix of the unwelcomed. The critics, the foes- the ruiners for some. For others- their words are captioned for decades long after restaurants receive their initial four stars with reviews immortalized, lamented, framed- then plastered all over the world wide web. It’s much easier to do the latter than the former. And no, I will never ever apologize for my reviews. I won’t take your money either. If you want to treat me to a free meal to write a review, invite me over to your house and we can talk over fluff while you make me dinner. But not in your restaurant. Although I welcome the offer for free meals via insta gift cards. I’m a bit of an Indian giver. A cheapie, and love re-gifting gift cards. So bring it on!
Michael Bao's last restaurant in New York
I was invited to visit Bao at 26 Greenwich Avenue a few months ago…I wanted to write about this place while it was still open- but felt bad, and would’ve been cursed if I’ld exposed the dump while Michael Bao was still here. Then Hurricane Sandy came along- and shut it down for good. Maybe it was intended to be that way. Who wants to have their last hoorah and leave the land of opportunity with their tails between their legs? The food was usually good, as always- the chef seemed to deliver. But the lack of decor- or shall I say: the recycled decor left over from the previous joint, along with French signage outdoors, floor cleaning products staring at our table kinda rubbed me the wrong way.
Green custard
This dessert was pretty spectacular. The green custard above rubbed me the right way for some reason. The consistency of the chewy fresh ginko, married with the caramel sauce added a nice touch. It wasn’t too heavy nor sweet. It was just right. We didn’t care so much for the lettuce wraps with fried chicken- there was nearly not enough lettuce and the service wasn’t that great.
Cleaning supplies at Michael Bao restaurant
The most entertaining part of this meal- was perhaps the stripper look a like flashing her red brassiere under the sheer white blouse with fire red painted lips sashaying her way up and down the cramped space- that was indeed the highlight of the night. Now that’s all I remember from our meal together. Those two girls seemed to know the chef quite well- well enough to help themselves straight out of the rice cooker, practically licking the sauce off his lips in the open view kitchen, with the cleaning supplies staring at both our table and the kitchen staff. I hope he did it to get a rise out of us, and wasn’t being delusional about reality. But if I were in his shoes- I may have done the same. It’s hard to imagine spending a wonderful evening joined by some of the best art dealers from Beijing with designer friends and models at the former Bao joint- only two years earlier. A somber farewell to see a chef brought down like this. I might have seen the chef tremble for a second when Gael Greene yelled at him right before we left: “Who do these girls think they are- walking right into your kitchen and helping themselves to rice- do they work here?”…(and no they didn’t work there). Seriously- who were those girls?
Our VIP table
Whoever they were- at least I’ll never see them again, unless Michael Bao moves back to NY from Vietnam and invites all of us for another opening in the distant future. Well, the show must move on, and Spring will soon be near, along will rise new restaurants, with new menus, new chefs, followed by more reviews. Take good care Chef Michael Bao. New York will miss your serial restaurant openings/closings.
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Filed under Dining with Outlaws, Hot on the Blog, January 2013, Uncategorized