Food and Competition

I used to watch Food Network and Cooking Channel religiously. I also seemed to have a hell of a lot more time on my hands. A couple of years ago the shows on both of those channels took a turn for the unbearable. In the past, there were numerous shows about actual cooking, showing you techniques and recipes that you could recreate at home.
Nowadays, the only crap you see on TV is people doing everything possible to win some sort of competition. The whole reality TV thing became old very quickly, at least for me. If I watch a channel about food and cooking, I do it because I want to learn how to cook and maybe learn a new recipe. I certainly don’t turn on the TV to watch a group of idiots run around madly in search of ingredients and create Lord knows what ridiculous dishes in hopes of winning money. Last I remember I didn’t turn the channel to Money-Hungry-Contestants, but to Food Network.
What happened to regular shows that have a host and instruct you how to cook? There are maybe a handful left if you watch an entire day of the said channel. And the rest is all BS and cupcake wars. Cupcake wars, for crying out loud! Because network executives could not think of something more gripping than a bunch of youngsters creating unappetizing cupcakes.
And forget about the weekend. Saturday or Sunday night is nothing but competition galore.
I have switched to other channels as I was flipping and discovered that they have regular cooking shows that I crave, rather than mediocre reality TV that is supposed to suck in viewers.
There is the Create Channel that has no commercials and focuses on all sorts of shows about creating something, whether that’s food, art, construction or even travel. And channels like PBS always have the traditional cooking shows as well. And they have variety to boot.
Cooking Channel started out with new shows that were not featured on Food Network, with new talent and multi-cultural aspects. Now you get mostly reruns of the Food Network cast-offs, with ancient episodes of Giada and her Italian dishes I’ve seen ten years ago and Rachel Ray. Not to sound offensive but I liked seeing new peeps on the Cooking Channel. They have however been removed and replaced by the old money makers of Food Network.
If both networks don’t make drastic changes, I’ll be making a permanent switch.

Review – Afternoon Tea at The Plaza

I decided to be fancy and have afternoon tea at The Plaza hotel in Manhattan. It was my first time there and I’m sure I won’t be paying for a room there anytime soon.
The lobby and few hallways I saw were beautiful. The Palm Court dining area was superb. After a renovation some time ago, it was restored to its former glory, or so I read.

The ambience was fantastic and I was excited to have my first afternoon tea experience. It was probably not the best idea to start at the most expensive place in the city, but oh well. The tea costs $50 per person and comes with food.

I had reservations because otherwise forget being seated. Was shown to my table promptly and had a waiter assigned to me that seemed to lack any kind of facial expression known to man. After reading reviews online, it seems that all wait staff follows that rule.
I placed my order and waited a long time for my tray to be brought out. I asked for chamomile tea and received jasmine. They exchanged it once I pointed out the mistake. I should say that you get an entire teapot to yourself, so if you come with someone else, each of you has a teapot with whatever tea you choose.
My chamomile tea was good and I should have remembered that it also works as a laxative. I remembered that later at home. Enough said.
The tray contained a tier of small finger sandwiches, a tier of two scones and the top tier packed with pastries.
I finished the sandwiches and scones and was too stuffed to eat any of the desserts, but I got a box to take them home. It wasn’t a lot of food but I’m assuming the entire teapot I consumed filled me up as well.
The sandwiches were good but not spectacular. The first one I had was filled with smoked salmon and was the most delicious one. Wish I had five more of that one alone. The cucumber one was refreshing, the quail and egg salad one was ok, and the lobster and roast beef were nothing to write home about. In fact, the lobster one was pretty darn awful.
The scones were surprisingly delicious, helped along by lemon curd, blackberry jam and Devonshire cream, which I finished completely, to the horror of my ass, I’m sure.
I was offered an orange flavored scone and a cranberry one, so topped with the sweet creams and jam, that was dessert enough for me.
All the pastries seemed to be some sort of chocolate creation, except for one lemon cake cookie. I am very particular about chocolate and when I tried them all at home, found them way too rich and sweet for my liking. I would probably choose the New York tea option next time, instead of the Classic one, which comes with other non-chocolaty desserts such as cheesecake.
After an hour, I sat back, full and content, taking in the glorious surroundings and live piano music that recited the birthday song every ten minutes or so. There were tourists all around the place taking photos, making me more comfortable to take my own and also making me less self conscious about not being some sort of big shot at this swanky place.
Overall, the service was lacking, the ambience pretty near perfect, the food good but needs improvement and the price could be lowered. And here are pics of the hotel and the offerings.

Review – Schaller & Weber Deli

A couple of weekends ago I had the chance to go to a German deli/grocery store called Schaller & Weber, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It’s a small place dedicated to all things German and has been featured numerous times on TV and in newspapers or magazines. I was there on the weekend so the store was packed. Of course, it also seems that way because it’s relatively small and can only fit about 25 people at once. There is a deli on the right side of the store, offering cured and smoked meats and cheeses, and on the left side, you’ll find refrigerated imported goods. In the middle are the candies and cookies.
That day, I walked in with every intention on loading up on salamis and cheeses, and I walked out with a filled bag full of cookies instead. I am still eating my way through the batch and will probably do so for another six months.
I happened to find a few holiday items on sale which I was thrilled about since holiday gingerbread goodies from Germany are my favorite. Guess I’ll be enjoying the holidays for a few more months.
Customers can order the meats online and the store ships nationwide I believe. I’ll have to go back and actually get what I came for the first time.
For now, I’m sharing my take-aways. If you are in the area, check out the store and try these.

Layers of biscuit, gelee, marshmallow, chocolate

Wafer covered in chocolate - similar to Kit Kat

Peanut flips or chips

Gingerbread filled with jam and covered in chocolate

Whole grain cookies

Wafers filled with apricot jam

Banana marshmallow covered in chocolate