HD Talks Blog

Authenticity

I just received an email from a Manhattan restaurant with a subject line that I was sure was some lame marketing ploy: "Lost and Found Jewelry". But then I opened it up, and here's the message I received, much to my amazement.

To our Patrons,

A piece of jewelry was found last Saturday night on January 30th at our  downtown restaurant , Kellari Parea Bistro ( 36 E 20th street, NYC, NY 10003). Unfortunately nobody has claimed the piece of jewelry yet, so we thought to send an email to all of our Friends & Family to let them know.

If you believe that you may have lost some jewelry at our restaurant last Saturday or possibly Friday or Thursday, please call us at 212-777-8448 to provide a description of the lost jewelry and then we would be very happy to return it to you. Also, please pass this information along to your friends or family that might of dined with you on any of those nights, they might not be on our mailing list.

Please call me directly to claim your jewelry.
Thank you,
Stathis Antonakopoulos
Kellari Taverna N.Y. | Kellari Parea Bistro | Kellari Taverna D.C.
T: 212-777-8448 | F: 212-777-3251 | Email: stathis@kellari.us
"Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends"

For a restaurant with the tag line "Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends" this is one of the most authentic marketing messages I've ever seen. It's such a simple thing to do, but it's amazing how many companies do not do the simplest thing to give that personal touch to their customers. And seriously, they're starved for it! This will stick with me today, and well into the next time I'm deciding where to have saganaki the next time I have a craving.

Bravo Kellari Hospitality Group. Honesty is the best policy.

Food, Wine, and Great Design

I've never been to Mohegan Sun. Nor have I been to a wine and food festival. I'm a foodie and an aspiring wine enthusiast, so the 7th Annual Sun Winefest, the largest food and wine show in Connecticut (it brought in 15,000 attendees this year), was just the event to tend to my taste buds! 

From the time I walked into the lobby, I knew my time here would be a real experience, in food, wine, and design. Here are some of the elements that stood out at Mohegan Sun:

The lobby

Intense lighting hanging above escalators. 

The amazing sculpture by Dale Chihuly in front of Todd English's Tuscany restaurant.

Now, let's get back to the show. I must admit I was a bit star-struck or should I say chef-struck. I watch most of the cooking shows, own many cookbooks, and yes, I love to cook. But seeing some of these celebrity chefs up close made me excited and nervous at the same time. What do I say? What do I ask? There were chefs left and right--Tyler Anderson, Kevin Cottle, Jasper White, and Betty Fraser just to name a few.  

 

Prior to a wonderful dinner at Bobby Flay's second outpost of Bar Americain (the restaurant opened at Mohegan Sun in November) I attended a cocktail reception with chef Govind Armstrong (Table 8 and 8 Ounces restaurants) and Ben Ford (Ford's Filling Station). I was smitten, having been a huge Govind Armstrong fan for a while. I also saw chef Armstrong in action at Sunday's cooking demonstration making brandade fritters with wood-roasted tomato coulis. Yum. 

 

And the show wasn't complete without chef, restaurateur, TV personality, and author Bobby Flay doing his thing. He made his dallas burger crunchified, something you could find at Bobby's Burger Palace. After the demonstration, I tried it out for myself and waiting online for almost 25 minutes was worth it. This burger (probably the best I've ever had) along with a pistachio milkshake was a real winning combination. 

Bobby Flay was also one of 22 chefs to participate in Saturday night's Celebrity Chef Dine Around. This event was filling with both great food and wine pairings. Every type of dish was there from Rich Lucas' braised short ribs of beef with a pumpkin and wile mushroom polenta to Todd English's lobster rolls to an all-out meal from Lydia Shire with lobster popovers, crab cakes, and tiramisu with Kahlua. 

The demonstrations were just part of the show. The other part was of course, the wine! There were seminars from vineyards like Far Niente and Bridlewood Estate Winery; a grape stomp; and even an oyster shucking contest--The Oyster Open. And now for the tastiest wine and liquor--Duckhorn Vineyards' Paraduxx, Far Niente's Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, Apel Eis Apple Ice Wine, Navan's natural vanilla liqueur, Pearly Bay's semi-sweet sparkling wine from South Africa, and Soave's dry white wine from Northern Italy. But taste wasn't all that caught my eye--so did the bottle and label design. Here are some of my favorites--and yes, even Ed Hardy is now making wine (the sangria was pretty good):

It's Monday and I'm still full from all the goodness from the weekend. I enjoyed talking to the winemakers and the chefs so much that I feel like I want to become one myself. There was so much passion felt throughout the event---it was very hopeful. Cheers to the thriving food and wine industry!