Snout to Tail in Melbourne–Dinner at Josie Bones

 

 

Hello Foodies

Tour de Forks’ President Melissa Joachim is in her hometown of Melbourne this month and is iPhone-ing it in, i.e., some great restaurant reviews complete with pictures. Ahhh, vicarious dinning.

A pull on a pair of giant bronze pig trotters, and Melissa found herself inside Melbourne’s brand new Josie Bones Food and Beer, a snout-to-tail eatery with an impressive beer list. They vow to  “match food which will be seasonal, local, entire beast focused, cooked with beer where appropriate….” Proprietor and “head hog”  Chef Chris Bodenoch” would be the decider on the appropriateness – we presume.

Josie Bones is Chris’ baby and he has partnered with his fellow Masterchef contestant Julia Jenkins who must share his sense of humor.  A larger-than-life image of a skinless, headless rabbit – described as oddly erotic – adorns the bar.

But on to the food. Melissa squealed with delight over their signature dish of rolled pig’s head served with gribichem, a mayonnaise-style egg sauce, and crackling. JB offers a crackling du jour, lovely, lovely. She salivated over the grilled lambs tongues which she described as “crispy outside, soft and unctuous within.” Sides?  Eggplant wonderfully flavored with cumin. But the much anticipated black pudding mit green apples was disappointing in its blandness. Dare we say –offal?  We will. Obviously we are having a lot of fun with this.

On to the beer and an inventory which craft beer aficionados proclaim as awesome. The list boasts brews from Bavaria to Nigeria and includes an IPA from New York And of course lots of Aussie ales.

So all you porcine lovin’ crackling eatin’ bear drinkin’ foodies, enjoy!

Chris’s Blog – take a read  http://bit.ly/hI0rfZ

98 Smith Street, Collingwood Melbourne – No reservations.

 

The Forks

A Taste of Piemonte– for Wine Lovers

 

Piemonte for foodies and wine lovers – June 26-July 3. Hunt truffles, sip wine in baroque cafes …take a look http://bit.ly/ebQxN5

8 delicious days and 7 starry  nights in gorgeous Piemonte, one of Italy’s most important wine regions and home of the Slow Food movement. This guided tour is an uncommon epicurean adventure. Contact Cindy@cruisemasterstravel.com

Postcards From the Edge

Hello Foodies,

Vintage penny postcards are so romantic and I whiled away some time the other day, in a FlickR e-gallery of some gorgeous old scenes from Italy…

I waxed nostalgic wondering if sending postcards will become a thing of the past. But hold on….there’s an app for that. Postcard. So just whip out your iPhone and snap a pic of your handsome Italian guide next to the Colosseum or your Prosecco bubbling away on that sidewalk cafe table. The app transforms it into an actual “snail mail” postcard. You write your own message and input the addresses of all your friends and frenemies. (They will be sooo jealous.) And then, as the Brits say “ Bob’s your uncle.” Your missive is winging its way across the pond.

Cheap enough at a dollar or two and the service is provided by iTunes. Of course, it doesn’t include those lovely foreign stamps – pity – but it is all very cool.

All the Forks love to photograph food when traveling and share our pics so we will be all over this new app. Behold a penne postcard (tee-hee) I couldn’t resist.

We know of some delicious places in Italy to photograph – and eat – pasta. Call us – no iPhone required.

Connie

Vunderful Vander Bar!

Hello Foodies,

We give a Tip of the Toque to NYC’s Vander Bar (in the Roosevelt Hotel on 45^th Street) not just for their latest menu item Teddy's Haute Dog – a five-ounce kobe beef wiener served on a larger-than-life brioche bun – but for donating 10% of its $50.00 price tag to City Harvest – a special charity dedicated to feeding New York's hungry. What's on it for 50 bucks? Shaved foie gras and caramelized shallots and it comes with black-and-white truffle fries served with a caviar and saffron aioli. If you can't make it down to the Vander Bar to indulge, you can donate to City Harvest online. 'tis the season.

Enjoy,

the Forks

Christmas in New York – Come to the Table-December 17-20, 2011

Hello Foodies,

We are happy to have partnered with Sur La Table (that fabulous foodie’s emporium) to create a series of uncommon epicurean adventures in New York City. The monthly A Taste of New York Packages will begin this December with a holiday pop.

Accommodations will be at the elegant 4 star Carlton Hotel, in the heart of the city’s hip Madison Square Park district and just steps from Union Square and its urban farmer’s market. The Square also features 100 boutiques in a European-style holiday market. Shop on!

Limited to an intimate group of twelve, participants will also enjoy a guided walking and tasting tour of Manhattan’s storied Lower East Side, a special visit to the talk-of-the town Eataly and a hands-on cooking lesson at NYC’s landmark of Italian dining I Trulli Ristorante followed by a three course lunch. Other meals will include lunch at the iconic Katz’s Deli and a 5 course dinner at the Michelin star Restaurant Annisa. (Celebrity chef Anita Lo of Annisa shown above.) And there will be free time for theater, museums, holiday shopping and of course – more wonderful eating. We have loads oft restaurant recommendations for you and we will be pleased to assist with reservations.

The 4 day/3night package is priced at $1,380.00 per person based on double occupancy. But hurry, hurry, December’s package must be booked by Friday, December 3^rd. To book, call Sur La Table at 866.292.3302. Click for a full itinerary....or shoot us an email at info@tourdeforks.com. Ask about additional dates for the Taste of New York weekends throughout 2011.

Enjoy,

the Forks

Designing Kitchens at MOMA

Hello Foodies,

New York's Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) now hosts the Modern, one of the city's finest restaurants, but its permanent collections say little about food. Think of Andy Warhol's iconic Campbell's Soup Cans (1962): you could almost taste a spoonful of that tomato soup, though that wasn't Warhol's point, was it?

But a new temporary exhibition, Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen on view through March 14, 2011, offers kitchen objects and fine art images by turns whimsical and serious, unified by fine design. The focus of the show is the "Frankfurt Kitchen," a compact work space designed by Margarete (Grete) Schütte-Lihotzky for residents of the German city's housing estates after World War I.

Enjoy,

the Forks

TDF Guide Makes "Top Ten Culinary Guides" in WSJ

Hello Foodies,

A long time friend and business colleague of the forks, Marieke Brugman, was just named one of the Top 10 Culinary Guides in the Wall Street Journal, Oct 8th, 2010. Marieke co-founded Howqua Dale, the most renowned gourmet retreat in Australia, but now devotes herself to escorting small culinary tours around the world. She takes small groups to Rajasthan for Tour de Forks. Congratulations, Marieke.

In this photo, Marieke is in Rajasthan with her right-hand man, Durga Singh, a Rajasthani prince.

If you want to know more about our tour to Rajasthan with Marieke, click here.

Cheers,

the Forks