Hot Times (and Hot Bites!) at Summer in the City

By Francesca Bartolomey July 6, 2011 2 Comments

The beautiful and luxurious Metropolitan Pavilion, which hosts so many fabulous charitable events, once again opened up its space to food lovers and humanitarians alike as City Harvest â€“ through its young professionals arm, Generation Harvest â€“ held its annual Summer in the City event this past Tuesday, June 21. For those of you who are unfamiliar with City Harvest, itâ€™s a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating the epidemic of hunger across the city. In addition to its main project of collecting excess food from all areas of the food industry (from restaurants, manufacturers, farms, grocers, and corporate cafeterias), City Harvest also seeks to educate by running programs that support eating locally, access to healthful foods in low-income communities, and preventing diet-related health problems. And at the annual Summer in the City event, top chefs from across the Big Apple came out to show off their latest culinary creations for charity.

The evening started off with a bang at Rosa Mexicanaâ€™s table where chef David Suarez served up a fantastic guacamole en molcajete with tortilla chips and two condiment salsas, a choice of either pasilla de Oaxaca or tomatillo and habanero salsa. Possessing a cowardly tongue, intolerant of spiciness of even the most mild setting, I chose the former. Guacamole is always a huge hit in my world, and Rosaâ€™s was no exception, but for me the star was the pasilla de Oaxaca which was a smoky sauce dappled over the chips adding a depth of flavor unique in Mexican fare.

Summer in the City couldâ€™ve been renamed Summer of Sliders, but you wonâ€™t hear this writer complaining. Chef John Stage of the popular Dinosaur Bar-B-Que served up a smoky, tangy mini pork slider, while chef John Milito of cafÃ© sfa wowed with a braised and pulled short rib slider topped with creamy celeriac slaw, tomato jam, and chipotle aioli.

One of my favorites of the evening, which was also the most beautifully presented, was from Armani 5th Avenueâ€™s chef Roberto Deiaco â€“ the millefoglie di finocchio, which roughly translates to â€œa thousand layersâ€ of Pienza pecorino cheese, fennel, and toasted pine nuts with aged balsamic vinaigrette, all encased in a little tomb of thinly-sliced shavings of pear. It was phenomenal. The neat thing about it was that this dish wasnâ€™t something I would normally have tried (I avoid fennel like the bubonic plague), but I made that sort of awkward eye contact with the chef and would have felt like a tool if I didnâ€™t sample his dish. Boy, am I glad I did! Such a cornucopia of different flavors that melded together in a light, crisp, beautiful summer blend.

As usual, chef Marc Murphy of Ditch Plains didnâ€™t disappoint with his classic ditch dogs topped with mac â€˜n cheese. Theyâ€™ve quickly become a staple of charity food events across the city with eager crows consuming them just as fast as theyâ€™re put out!

The strangest, most interesting dish of the event was the creation of chef Marco Porceddu of Ristorante Asellina, a mission fig stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped with thinly-sliced prosciutto. I had to ask if the whole thing was edible because I wasnâ€™t sure. But it was strangely pleasing. Of course, I will eat anything with goat cheese in it. The saltiness of the meat muted the sweetness of the fruit somewhat and left the palette pleasantly surprised, albeit a bit confused.

Another favorite of mine was the toro taquito from chef Julian Medina of Yerba Buena. Although served in teeny tiny taco shells, they packed a ton of flavor. The tuna bellyâ€™s mild fresh flavor was beautifully complemented by a sweet-onion habanero salsa that provided the perfect spicy kick.

Deliciousness aside, I would be remiss if I didnâ€™t mention the musical entertainment for the night. About an hour or so into the event, Savoir Adore took the stage and rocked out. The attendees (this writer included) really enjoyed their upbeat melodies and the beautiful blend of the two lead singers, Paul Hammer and Deidre Muro. They sort of evoked a Stars-esque Torq and Amy vibe; it was a great performance and hopefully Iâ€™ll get to see them again sometime soon. Follow them on Twitter. And MySpace. And Tumblr. And Facebook.

The event was a resounding success and City Harvest should be congratulated. Not only do they do amazing work, but they also throw one heck of a party!

Big thank-you to Karen Ko for taking the beautiful pictures!