Drunken noodles at SriPraPhai in Woodside, Queens. From Umamiventure #4 in 2007. The savory hot sweetness of the dish still hovers in my memory.

Photo by Irwin Chen.

I am really excited to have been chosen to be part of a food photography exhibition called “Feast Your Eyes” that just opened in Brooklyn on Friday and is presented by the NY Photo Festival. I have three pieces in it, including these deviled eggs, from my new recipe project, Forest Feast.

If you are in Dumbo anytime through January 27, stop by the Powerhouse Arena to check it out!

Photos by Erin Gleeson for Forest Feast.

Last week, NYC pastry chef extraordinaire Pichet Ong was a guest judge on Top Chef Just Desserts (aired September 22).  As he was introduced, some of my photos of his desserts were shown on the episode: Foie Gras Taco and Warm Date Cake (see below). I shot the desserts in his restaurants P*ong and The Village Tart in Manhattan. Those restaurants are now closed unfortunately, but you can still find him, and his desserts, at his newest NYC projects, Qi and Coppelia.

Pichet is so talented and makes the most beautiful dishes that are equally delicious.

photos by Erin Gleeson

The afternoon I took this picture in Hell’s Kitchen was one of the steamiest days this summer, but that didn’t stop New Yorkers from loving HOT 99¢ slices. I have a feeling I might look back at this picture in 20 years and be shocked at how cheap a slice was (I’m even a little shocked now!).

Photo by Erin Gleeson.

Chef Gabriel Kreuther of The Modern prepared this dish for the recent 4th Annual Taste of the Greenmarket benefit in NYC.

Update from The Modern (Tues. 7/26, 12:45pm EDT): The dish is Needle Panna Cotta with Nasturtium flowers and Riesling broth, Fingerling potato crisp and extra virgin olive oil.

Photo by Erin Gleeson.

In the past week there’s been a lot of buzz in cocktail circles regarding the outcome of a legal dispute between Pusser’s rum and Painkiller, a tiki bar in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It’s a story that’s led to a lot of anger among us folks in the cocktail biz, as it touches on a number of issues we consider important, so I figured I’d touch on it here. And because the dispute involves the confounding and often contradictory legal concept of intellectual property, there’s been some confusion that I think needs to be cleared up as well–and who better than a lawyer to do so?

Photo copyright www.thelodownny.com. They were the first to break the story about the Pusser’s drama. Read the original post here.

At the heart of the dispute is a classic tiki drink called the Painkiller. It’s a drink I wrote about a couple years ago (photographed above; updated post here), and it’s one I still enjoy on a hot summer day. It also happens to be the name of a tiki bar in Manhattan which opened just a year ago. The bar’s name, obviously, is a tribute to the drink and by extension, its creators. The name Painkiller also happens to be trademarked, and that trademark happens to be owned by the rum company Pusser’s. Painkiller (the bar), as you might imagine, also happened to feature the Painkiller (the drink) on their menu, and not necessarily with Pusser’s rum in it.

So when Painkiller (the bar) opened its doors a year ago, Pusser’s became pissed off about it and demanded that the bar cease and desist the use of their trademarked term as their name, and that they cease selling drinks called Painkiller unless it featured Pusser’s rum. When the owners of Painkiller refused, the rum company decided to sue the bar in federal court (because the trademark is filed with the federal government), claiming “irreparable harm to its brand, unfair competition and unfair business practices.” Rather than duke it out in court (which may seem like the honorable thing, but remember honor can also be very expensive) the owners of Painkiller decided to settle out of court. Accordingly, the owners have now changed the name of their bar (it’s now officially called PKNY), surrendered their domain name, and removed any references to the Painkiller drink.

When word spread last week, the cocktail community was ablaze with fury over the issue. People soon took to social media outlets like Twitter and various blogs to sound off against Pusser’s. Many called for a boycott of the rum brand, and a Facebook page was started called Bartenders Against Trademarking of Cocktails, which garnered hundreds of members in a matter of hours. Jackson Cannon, bar manager of Eastern Standard in Boston decided to take it a step ballsier by changing the cocktail menu to feature the Painkiller “proudly made without Pusser’s rum,” and posting a picture of the new menu along with his business card on Twitter, proclaiming “This is my menu… This is my card… You know where to find me!”

Photo by Jackson Cannon.

So who’s really at fault here? To wrap our head around the issue (and various sub-issues), I figured it best to divide the analysis into three parts: the legal, the ethical, and the practical considerations.

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Any legal analysis of this issue must begin by clarifying the differences between a patent, a copyright, and a trademark, the three main areas that comprise what is collectively referred to as intellectual property.

Patent

First let’s get patent out of the way because it doesn’t really apply in this case, though it’s still useful to understand the basic concept. When someone seeks a patent, they’re seeking a property right for an original invention or process they’ve come up. Having a patent allows the patent holders to exclude others from manufacturing or selling that invention or process.

So what can and can’t be patented? A robot that has human emotions? Hell yes, and pretty cool at that. How about if someone invents a procedure from which to turn water into wine? Yes, that process can be patented, and would also be damn cool. But how about a recipe, because that’s a process, right? Well, the answer is, sometimes. Technically recipes can be patented, but only if they present some new or inventive method of preparing said recipe. So to get more specific, a mere listing of ingredients and preparation instructions is not sufficient to receive a patent. Even a unique combination of ingredients is not enough. The process itself must be novel. So as it relates to cocktails, the simple answer is that cocktail recipes can not be patented. So even if you use your special homemade yak testicle bitters in an original cocktail creation, at the end of the day it’s just a stirred cocktail that’s no different from a Manhattan with regard to how it’s prepared and the types of ingredients used (base spirit, a presumed modifier, and bitters).

Copyright

A copyright provides protection to “original works of authorship.” This includes anything artistic, literary, musical, intellectual, etc. Owning a copyright gives you exclusive the right to do what you want with your creation. You can sell it, reproduce it, license others to reproduce it, display it for free, or perform it as the case may be, and prevent others from doing the same with your work. The reason behind the principle of copyright is to promote creativity by protecting it, with the rationale being that if creative works can be stolen, then creative people have less incentive to do creative things, and society would be presumably worse off.

It’s important to note that a copyright protects the form or method of expression, and not the subject matter itself. So let’s say for example that someone writes a book about the history of the Painkiller cocktail. The writer can copyright his original work of authorship so that someone else can’t just publish his specific writings in whole or in part without his permission. But it doesn’t prevent someone else from writing a different book on the history of the Painkiller cocktail because the subject matter itself is not protected. Otherwise there would only be one book published per subject.

So can recipes be copyrighted? The answer is no. A mere listing of ingredients is not protected under copyright law because it’s not deemed to be a “substantial literary expression.” What could be potentially protected is an accompanying “description, explanation, or illustration.” Thus a cookbook can be protected, but the mere listing of the ingredients for a particular recipe within the cookbook can not be protected.

If that’s the case, then what’s the basis for Pusser’s claim? Read on.

Trademark

A trademark is a word, symbol, or name that is used to distinguish a product of one company from the same product from another company. For example, Coca-Cola is a trademark. The company that owns that trademark, in this case Coca-Cola, has the right to sue another company if that company uses Coca-Cola’s trademark on their products.

The principle behind trademark law is that it encourages honest competition between companies, and enables the consumer to distinguish between competing products. Unlike copyright law which is intended to limit competition, trademark law works to foster competition–or at least that’s what it’s supposed to do. You can see how it would be disadvantageous to consumers if someone were to be able to use the name Coca-Cola or a confusingly similar name to promote their own independent soda product. Even if that product were to be of higher quality than the real Coca-Cola, it would amount to consumer fraud, and we surely wouldn’t want to allow that. When you buy a can of Coke, you expect it to be a can of Coke.

This principle is at the heart of Pusser’s claim, which is that when a customer orders a Painkiller, they expect it to have Pusser’s rum in it because they’re expecting that unique taste. They have two trademarks on the name Painkiller: one for “alcoholic fruit drinks with fruit juices and cream of coconut and coconut juice,” with the claim that the alcohol in the drink is Pusser’s rum; and one for “non-alcoholic mixed fruit juices,” because they also sell a product called “Pusser’s Painkiller Cocktail Mix.” The former trademark enables them to force a bar to either remove the Painkiller drink from its menu or use Pusser’s in the drink. The latter would appear to apply to the issue of preventing a bar from taking on the name Painkiller, since they have a product on the market with that name.

Note that there’s no specific recipe being protected here. Their claim is not based on the precise measurements of particular ingredients to be used in a Painkiller, but rather that any drink called a Painkiller must include Pusser’s rum in addition to “fruit juices and cream of coconut and coconut juice.”

Legal Conclusion

It’s important to remember that the case settled before actually going to trial, so no legal precedent has been set in favor of Pusser’s. Whether or not they would have prevailed is something we’ll never know, but presumably the attorneys for the defendant believed Pusser’s had a good chance of prevailing and thus advised their client to settle; or that even if they believed they could successfully fend off the suit, the cost to do so simply wasn’t worth it.

That said, the fact that Pusser’s owns the trademark is not in dispute, and therefore the legal analysis seems to point in their favor. So why are people still upset then? People are upset, and I believe rightfully so, because this is a case where a colorable and convincing argument can be made that the law as applied has consequences that conflict with the spirit of the law as conceived.

For one, this seems to suppress competition, not enhance it the way trademark law is intended to do. Requiring Pusser’s to be used in any drink called a Painkiller seems no different in principle than requiring only one brand of tequila to be used in a Margarita, or even one brand of pasta to be used in a Fettucine Alfredo. The only difference is that in the case of Pusser’s they happen to have a trademark on that name. The current bartending culture thrives on cooperation and sharing of ideas, and the fact that a bartender could be restricted from using a different rum in a drink recipe just seems plain odd and out of line with plain common sense.

Furthermore, Pusser’s trademark is certainly not akin to that of Coca-Cola, which involves a product with a secret recipe. The recipe for a Painkiller is not only public knowledge, but it was not even created by the Pusser’s. Nor did Pusser’s come up with the name. Worse yet, the Painkiller recipe predates the existence of the company by a decade, and the filing of the trademark by nearly two decades (I’ll elaborate on that later).

This doesn’t seem fair at all, and the entire concept of intellectual property is built on the notion of fairness. It’s therefore too simplistic to say that Pusser’s had a right and they were merely exercising that right. In fact, the more involved legal analysis reveals a reasonable argument that a trademark should have never been issued to Pusser’s in the first place, or in the alternative, that trademark law needs to be changed to reflect a fair outcome in these types of cases.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

All the analysis about legal issues and rights doesn’t change the fact that for many people, something just didn’t smell right. Pusser’s claim that Painkiller’s use of their trademark caused “irreparable harm to its brand, unfair competition and unfair business practices” seemed to many like old-fashioned legal speak drummed up by smart corporate attorneys. Fuel to the fire of that suspicion was added when a few facts came to light that didn’t put Pusser’s in the most honest ethical light.

The first of those issues I mentioned above, that Pusser’s did not even create the recipe for the Painkiller, nor did they come up with the name. Robert Simonson reported on his blog that tiki historian Jeff “Beachbum” Berry researched the history of the Painkiller and noted that it was created in 1971 by the owners of the Soggy Dollar Bar in the British Virgin Islands. He further notes that the original Painkiller was made with Mount Gay and Cruzan dark rums, not Pusser’s. And as mentioned above, Pusser’s didn’t even exist as a company until a decade after the drink’s creation. This is not in dispute, as it is corroborated by Pusser’s rum founder Charles Tobias in a recently released statement on the company’s website.

This was something I only recently realized. Up until a week ago I believed Pusser’s was the original rum in a Painkiller, and that’s what I wrote two years ago when I first wrote about the Painkiller recipe, and I’ve since had to go back and correct the record. As Simonson noted in his piece, even Jeff Berry, with his immense knowledge of tiki drinks was fooled, and admitted that Pusser’s litigation lead him to believe they actually created the drink. I suspect others with an even more modest knowledge of tiki history were also fooled by Pusser’s claim.

And that’s not the only issue. Besides not being the creators of the drink they’ve trademarked and now aggressively enforce, it appears they’re guilty of the same practices they accuse others of. A crafty member of the bartender community dug up a tweet by @pussers_bvi (the company’s Twitter account) dating back to May 2010 which encouraged consumers to use Pusser’s rum when making a Dark & Stormy. The significance of this is that a Dark & Stormy is the name of a cocktail created and trademarked by Gosling’s rum; it is a trademark that Gosling’s vigorously seeks to enforce in the same manner as Pusser’s. In the legal field, the term for such behavior on the part of Pusser’s is “unclean hands.”

Ethical Conclusion

That many in the cocktail community are up in arms over the actions of Pusser’s is not merely an irrational, uninformed, or visceral reaction as some have stated. There are bona fide issues of moral duplicity on the part of Pusser’s which are difficult to avoid, and have not yet been responded to by the folks at Pusser’s. Moreover, most people aren’t well-versed in the legal intricacies involved, so these issues strike a bigger chord than claims of legal right. To most people learning of the issue, Pusser’s actions simply don’t pass the smell test.

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

In addition to the various legal and ethical issues here, a number of people have brought up certain points that are simply common sense considerations, irrespective of the technicalities of the law or otherwise. Below is a summary of some of the most notable ones.

First, and in defense of Pusser’s, they rightly claim that not enforcing their trademark in instances of potential infringement leaves them vulnerable for when they do decide to enforce. Essentially the claim is that you risk losing a right you don’t take care to defend. True as that may be, it’s still a tough sell when you weren’t the creator of the trademark.

Others have noted that claims of legal right aside, suing a well respected bar as Painkiller, with owners as highly regarded in the cocktail community as Richard Boccato and Giuseppe Gonzalez, is asking for a major PR headache. As it is Pusser’s doesn’t have a huge presence in the U.S. market, and pissing off bartenders who are the gatekeepers of consumer awareness and consumption is not a bright way to increase market share.

Furthermore, it’s likely that in its one year of existence, the bar Painkiller has done more to promote the drink–and indirectly Pusser’s as a brand–than all of Pusser’s marketing efforts in the last decade. So rather than seeing the Painkiller the bar as hurting the Pusser’s brand, one could argue the bar has helped shine a positive light on their rum that they didn’t previously enjoy; that with a little creative thinking on Pusser’s part they could have created some mutually beneficial collaborative opportunities.

Lastly, if you’re going to claim that you have a product so unique and amazing as to make it indispensable in a recipe, you had better be able to back it up. As noted above, Pusser’s can’t be that indispensable to a recipe if it wasn’t even called for, nor even existed, when the recipe was created. But even putting that issue aside, perhaps they could claim that the Painkiller recipe is better with Pusser’s than it ever was.

Of course this can’t be proven or disproven because it’s a subjective claim, but one would think that if it makes such a great Painkiller, then tiki bars would use the brand more often in the recipe–at least the bars that fashion themselves as using the highest grade ingredients. But that fact simply doesn’t bare out. Painkiller and other high quality establishments that serve Painkillers often use other rums besides Pusser’s.

Why is that? Contrary to their ridiculously sounding claim on the Pusser’s website that their product is “The Single Malt of Rum,” the truth is that many bartenders and rum experts will tell you is that it flat out sucks. For starters, it’s outright puffery to claim that a rum can even be a single malt (it is impossible, since rum is distilled from sugar, not malted barley). But even if we take the phrase in a looser sense, it doesn’t jive with reality. Paul Pacult, who is a highly respected spirits critic, published a review of Pusser’s rum in his 2008 book Kindred Spirits 2. It may be enlightening to read what he had to say about the highly self-touted rum. Here’s the review in its entirety:

“The brilliant copper penny color is pretty, but displays minor sediment beneath the examination lamp. The opening nose detects peculiar smells of olive brine, seaweed, wood polish, and shellfish; extra air contact does nothing to enhance the briny/solvent-like and weird aroma. Better in the mouth than in the nasal cavity; the palate entry is piney, cedar-like, and astringent; at midpalate there are flashes of molasses, coffee, and tobacco that aren’t significant enough to drag this oddball rum up into recommended territory. Ends up poorly as highly astringent and manufactured tastes dominate the exit. This was originally labeled as “Admiral’s Reserve” in 1993 and 1996. That designation no longer appears on the label, though the abv strength is the same. The detergent-like, cleaning liquid finish brings the rating back down to one star. A waste of a good glass bottle. No wonder the British Navy fell into disrepair. Rating: 1 star/Not Recommended”

One star is the absolute lowest rating that Paul Pacult gives a spirit. In other words, their rum just sucks. Of course that’s only one critic’s review–one notable and highly respected critic–and ultimately you should decide for yourself. Nonetheless it doesn’t help Pusser’s claims that it is the one and only rum that must be used in a Painkiller.

Perhaps then, in the utmost consideration of practicality, some of Pusser’s legal budget ought to be redirected toward product development.

Just a thought.

*Got a cocktail question? Hit me on twitter @paystyle, email me at payman(at)lifesacocktail(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below.

PREFACE
Skankynavia: In the US (Part 1 – Berkeley)

Last week I listened to the great NYC radioshow called RadioLab. They deal with quirky science and interesting true stories, and last week’s subject was “memory” (a rerun from 2007, listen here). It turns out that every time you remember something, and when you revisit a certain piece of stored information in your brain, you actually reprogram it. The brain re-experiences the thing that once happened to it, it replays the situation, and it also alters it a little. Neurons shift place, the atoms jump around, things you were certain of before will suddenly become unsure. Meaning that every time you think of something, you change it around. The less you recall a memory, the more it stays pristine and “true”.

My three weeks in the U.S. are already jumping around in my head–facts drift away, situations are mixed-up–and all the strange flavours I treated my tongue to are becoming blurry and mushy. I look through all the photos I took during the trip, and while it does help, so much information is lost.

One thing stays super clear though–what an incredible country the U.S. is. I recall how friendly and kind people were, and the warm and intensity of the Western states. I had such a great time, and the memories will stay with me forever.

On April 27th 2011 fellow Umamimart writer Yoko and I rented a lipstick red car and drove South onto Highway 101. I especially recall what it felt like leaving the Bay Area, a place with such an intense focus on food and drinks. When you leave this culinary bubble, it’s kind of an abrupt wake-up call.

Destination: LA, Joshua Tree, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Phoenix and NYC.

After a week of Japanese food and healthy, organic, politically-correct dining, we attacked the first burger chain joint we came upon: Good O’l Burgers!

We start out slow with hand-cut fries, Pepsi coke and a “Garden Burger”–a nice soft, veg beginning. I liked the wholegrain bun!

Between San Francisco and LA there’s a weird, weird place called Solvang. It’s a village inspired by Denmark–quaint and cute with buildings and locations named after famous Danish historical sights and people.

I’m sure it’s very exotic and as close to a Scandinavian vibe as you’ll ever get for an American. To me, a Dane, it was just plain weird.

Sladerbænken (“Gossip Bench”) is spelled wrong, and makes no sense in Danish. The viking is super creepy as well.

This is what it must feel like for a Japanese person, when foreigners put together a “Japanese festival” or design a sushi bar, copying random katakana and kanji characters for decorational purposes. Everything was slightly off and kinda wrong–things looked somewhat familiar, but as it was as if David Lynch gave a helping hand.

Yoko browses the postcard section, teary-eyed about her own Scandinavian adventure in Denmark two years ago.

In the official Danish bakery I could hardly recognise any of the “traditional” cakes. Here is a borrowed picture of the popular Danish cake “Napoleons hat”(around $4 in Denmark).

Photo: Baechs Conditori.

Here is Solvang’s edition:

It’s all wrong. Milk chocolate? And on top instead of underneath?? That’s disgusting.

After our 20-minute stop in Solvang, we headed for Studio City in LA where Yoko’s sassy and witty cousin Tomo lives.

Oh, LA: I thought I’d hate you but I didn’t.

Just the traffic. But everything else was fab. The weather, the gigantic palm trees, the $$$.

After a few days, Tomo decided to throw a traditional LA pool party, inviting super fun fellow Umamimart writer Sarah Nevada, the gay star photographer Matthew Kristall and lots of really friendly people. All everyone talked about was movies, celebs, script writing, working in the industry etc. VERY LA! Loved it.

Yoko cooking wonders as usual. Tomo posing, putting beer in the fridge, filling a watermelon with vodka and prepping the hot tub for her hot straight male friends. Pretty cool family.

This is the only picture I took of the pool, I was totally too timid to actually walk out there and snap photos of the naked peeps. Don’t know the LA pool party picture rule book well enough..

I think the food theme was Mexican. Sarah Nevada fixing super spicy drinks. Need that recipe by the way!

The Studio City Kitchen Posse.

We only had three days in LA but I could’ve used so much more. And only one day in Disneyland? Please, I could’ve stayed a week!

This place just lets you seriously escape the Outside World which is probably why Yoko couldn’t drag me out.

Pretzel stand inspired by the artwork of famous Disney preliminary artist Mary Blair.

Two of my most inspirational heroes on Earth: Jim Henson & Mary Blair. Both gone too soon, unfortunately.

Disneyland and the new California Adventure were such delights. Unlike the food.

This was supposed to be one of the better places in Disneyland. Not really though. Dry stale bread overload.

Carb removal.

Warner Bros Studio tour. We went on a weekend hence the quiet studio streets.

Normally it’s crowded with actors, writers and the whole crew shebang.

This is where they shot Blade Runner!!!

And also a certain show about six friends…

Oh, we also came by this little cafe called The Central Perk.

We both suddenly started humming “Smelly Cat”, no idea why…

From LA we headed into the scorching desert of Joshua Tree–a total recommendation. We went hiking in the Hidden Valley which felt like walking around in a movie set from a distant desert planet.

Yoko snacking on a Cliff Bar while enjoying the views of alien trees and moon-like rocks.

After a lot of eating out, Yoko insisted on cooking us a homemade meal in the small cabin we stayed in. It ended up being a wonderful night with desert spaghetti, cold white wine and incredible star-gazing.

After 24 hours of desert tranquility and listening to the soothing sounds of oasis palm trees blowing in the wind, our next destination was Las Vegas.

As soon as we arrived, Yoko declared her fear and loathing for Vegas and booked an all afternoon spa treatment inside our Hard Rock Hotel, leaving me to roam free on the Strip after a quick Mexican meal with a view over the big pool area filled with naked, chunky, corn-fed American guys. I already loved this place.

A tiny starter plate of nachos with 3 hot dips.

Two tortillas with beans, rice and fried shrimp. Pretty good.

The rest of the day I walked back and forth on the Strip, trying to see the crazy insides of as many hotel casinos as possible. Among other things I came across this:

The gondolas of Venice. Charming.

Even more fake: the indoor shopping mall with a canal, gondolas, and men singing classics such as O Sole Mio and That’s Amore.

I would definitely not eat anything in here…

Next up was the Grand Canyon–what a place of wonder and awe.

I really liked the way the cultural legacy shifted from Mexican to Native American as we came closer to the Canyon.

I loved the big dining hall at our hotel – clearly inspired by Native American architecture and patterns, especially the cool lamps.

Breakfast: french toast and pancakes:

Carb overload again. I had a hard time emptying even one of the plates.

Later, we decided to fill our backpack with sandwiches and wine and hiked one hour up to a peak across the plains and canyons to watch the sunset.

We enjoying great food and cold wine with this view, watching silent eagles hover across the cliffs, listening to the only sound of the wind whistling through the caves many miles below while the sun set. It was simply magical.

Yoko brought a fantastic snack: transparent sourly pickled plum drops from Muji:

Here it beams in the sun. This drop will forever remind me of sunsets and warm red sand.

By now we were deep into the midwest, at least to me being so far away from the coast. Being in Arizona was exactly what you see in the movies–burning sun, crazy cacti and wide open spaces. And of course, biker diners. Yoko’s hitting the spot while checking out the hot cowboy dudes with tats and boots and hats at the bar. When the waitress called me “honey” I knew I was finally in the Real US.

The food was, as expected, not candlelight dining. Ceasar salad with spicy chicken and crackers in a plastic bag.

In Phoenix, Yoko had booked us into a luxurious golf resort for a change of pace. Never got to ride that golf cart though…

Arriving in our room (which thankfully included a washer, dryer and kitchen) Yoko insisted on cooking us a meal again so we went to the local supermarket, which was such a contrast to the shops in the Bay Area. Instead of 20 different kinds of oranges, this place carried 20 different kinds of chocolate milk.

Patriot-mobile.

This was a display for Mother’s Day gift ideas:

A great addition to my Toxic Terror post.

This is not the garden bug exterminator section, it’s what they feed their kids:

Thank god, Yoko’s ready to whip up a fresh, healthy dinner on the terrace.

Followed by a pool swim under the Arizona stars.

And then, we flew to New York for the big Umamimart Writer’s Dinner hosted by MARTHAlicious co-writer Yamahomo.

Meeting, greeting and mixing drinks. Unfortunately I started my NYC trip by going accidentally gay binge drinking with a certain gay Martha the night before, so being slightly hungover the next day I chose to opt out of Payman’s drink menu to everyone’s understandable hostility and lack of understanding. Who says no to a free drink?? Sorry Payman, next time I promise to drink everything you serve me.

Kayoko aka Asian Oprah in her right element–mixing drinks with food fanatic friends.

Pink hostess with the mostess and her slave boy Nate. Love their interior decor.

No need to post more pics of this fab dinner party, Kayoko already covered it thoroughly–except for my LSD Bunny matching the appropriately homosexual table settings in white and pink.

The next morning I had breakfast at the local Moonstruck Diner, enjoying the real NYC atmosphere:

Food was not something to write home about… oh guess I just did. Avocado omelet and hash browns. Like sticking your tongue out the window.

Later I met up with Kayoko for Umamimart design meeting and lunch at NY classic French bistro Balthazar.

Cheers in champussy, darling.

Steak tartare. Delicious and very full in taste and crunch.

Crispy lamb sandwich and real French fries. Great dish.

I really loved Balthazar because of the atmosphere of power lunching in a real NYC legacy. My friend once saw Anna Wintour and Marc Jacobs lunch here, and that seals the deal in my book.

Later that evening Yoko, Washi, Kayoko and I met up with some other NYC friends in Grand Central Station for an oyster meal.

I had been looking forward to this for a while–I had heard a lot about the place and wanted to experience it myself.

And so this abundant, decadent plate symbolized the final evening of my three week U.S. adventure. So full of taste, variety and fun!

I seriously had the best time eating my way through the U.S., meeting lots of new Umamimart-related peeps and falling in love with California.
No matter how hard I try though, I probably can’t help thinking back all the time, destroying all the original memories and replacing them with sugar-coated dreams.

But one thing’s for sure: I’ll be back!

It seems that pop-ups are popping up all over New York City recently. What’s going on? Or should I say What Happens When? That’s the name of a new pop-up resto that has a nine-month lease on a space in SoHo, and a new menu and theme every month. I visited in April for Movement # 3, inspired by Impressionistic paintings and 1880′s garden parties.

The place was packed and we didn’t sit until 10pm for a 9:30pm reservation (which was all we could get a week before). I was pleased with, but not terribly impressed by the $58 prix fixe menu, which started with the artichoke salad (above).

Vegetable Bouillabaisse.

Took a while to get the waiter to come over so we could ask for silverware. She said to look in the drawer under the table. What?!? Why didn’t I think of that? More annoying than clever.

Dessert cart.

They surprised us by charging way too much for cocktails and the three of us shared the cheapest bottle of wine they had. We had a lovely time, but not sure it was worth the price in the end ($100 per person).

I just got back from a weekend in NYC, for a very important Umamimart Reunion Dinner, hosted by Yamahomo (post coming!). Even though I really only had two full days in the city, I bounced around and hit some of my favorite haunts. It felt good to be back, if only for a few days. The air was warm and everyone had a spring in their step. There’s no place like New York–the spirit and energy is such an incredible force.

I took pictures of everything I ate and drank. Duh. Here is the creme de la creme of this trip.

The Sage Advice cocktail at Craftbar.

Platter of Hama Hamas, French Kiss’, Kumamotos, Naked Cowboys (!), Penn Coves, Skookums, and Cherrystone clams, at the Grand Central Oyster Bar.

Octopus with chorizo at Craftbar.

Steak tartare at Balthazar.

3am bowl of shrimp wonton noodle soup at Great NY Noodle Town.

Hibiscus and Blood Orange donuts by Bed Stuy’s Dough, at the Brooklyn Flea.

Cocktails at Hotel del Mano.

The Di Fara Classic. Had to go see Signore Domenico!

Martini at Balthazar.

The Vampiro at Fonda in Park Slope.

Cherry blossoms at Cafe Colette in Williamsburg.

New York is home. Sweet home.

I know this piece of cake doesn’t look so hot, but to be fair, it’s been through a lot.

Last weekend I was at a house party in Williamsburg. It was still Passover, so I was having wine instead of beer, cheese with no crackers and trying not to look at the cookies. I’d been going through a week of this, and there were only two days left. I MISSED BREAD! As if things couldn’t get any worse, in walks a box with the words “MOMOFUKU BANANA CAKE” written in bold font.

Oh dear God, let my people free! I can hardly remember the conversations I had after that point–the only thing on my mind was that banana cake on the table two feet away. People kept eating it and exclaiming “OH, WOW! Who brought this cake?”

I mean, I am really into dessert. I have read about Christina Tosi for years and somehow never tried her goods. This was just too much for me to handle. It was a huge cake and after at least an hour, two thirds of it was still left and it was time for me to leave. I thought about cutting a piece, putting it on a plate, asking for saran wrap and taking it home. But that’s rude, I would never do that. So instead, I cut a piece, put it on a large napkin, walked to a corner as if I was going to sit and eat it, and then shoved it in my purse.

I felt bad about it (but only a little). I don’t think anyone saw. As I said goodbye to the host, I felt compelled to confess and told her I’d put a piece of Momofuku cake in my purse. I think she thought I was joking or something. I was exhausted after the very long journey home to Park Slope that night and went straight to bed when I got home. Sunday morning I awoke and sat straight up in bed. MY CAKE! It spent a whole night in my purse! Ah, well, I thought. It survived David Chang’s kitchen and a subway ride to Williamsburg–I’m sure a night in the ol’ bag wouldn’t do much harm. In it went into the fridge till Monday night.

I broke Passover Monday evening with a plate of mussels and a lovely pork loin at The Kingswood (and of course I ordered dessert, too). Then I came home as quickly as I could and went straight for the fridge. This cake. THIS CAKE! Holy guacamole!

I’m pretty sure that even had I not been deprived of baked goods for a week, this would have been just as impressive. In fact, I’m sure of it. This stuff was OFF THE HOOK! I yelled from the kitchen. You have GOT to try this! Seriously–so moist and carmelly and these great, GREAT crunchy bits.

I managed to saved the mister a bite. A small one.

Photo by Erin Gleeson.