Gluttony at its Finest

On West 26th Street, there's a porthole to Texas. Although the granite outcroppings and the hills of yore have been paved over with concrete and festooned with skyscrapers, Hill Country is aptly named considering the etymology of Manhattan (mana-hatta means "island of many hills" in the Native American Lenape language). Walking in, you can anticipate the yee-hawing, finger-licking, down-home fun you are about to have.

Upon being seated, a friendly hostess will explain the cafeteria like set-up, with each person receiving a meal ticket. Everything you order will be marked off on the ticket and you will use that to pay on the way out. You will find a meat station with every bbq offering known to mankind that has been rubbed and cooked for hours on end to achieve that perfect bbq essence. The ribs are honking huge as well. 

After heaping monstrous packages of meat onto your tray, you move over to the sides station, where all the fixin's are served. From Cowboy Pinto Beans to gooey Mac 'n Cheese, and Confetti Cole Slaw to Sweet Potato Bourbon Mash, everyone will find one or two or ten things to happily fill the empty stomach space between the meat.

Mac 'n Cheese

Armed with a $50 gift certificate and a Scoutmob discount, my boyfriend Mike and I essentially had $75 to spend and had saved up our calories for the entire day to eat this meal. Sunday is definitely the best day to go because they have a $20 special - 1/4 lb. brisket, one beef rib, one pork rib, 1/4 chicken, 2 sides and a dessert. Holy majoly - that's a lot of food. We each ordered the special and sampled the Sweet Potato Bourbon Mash, Deviled Eggs, Cornbread and Mac 'n Cheese for our sides. 

Texas Thunder

With money to burn, we also decided it was only appropriate to have something tasty to wash everything down with. Served in mason jars, the drinks are very creative. I tried the Texas Tornado with Firefly Sweet Tea vodka, Southern Comfort, lemonade and mint and Mike had the Rolling Thunder (they're big on weather names apparently) with Sailor Jerry's Spiced Navy rum and IBC root beer.

I told you the ribs were ginormous!

Mike attacks!

Carnage shot

But wait! You must save room for dessert! After all it's included with the Sunday night special. Mike and I opted for two of Hill Country's signature cupcakes - German Chocolate and PB&J. They were, in a word, AWESOME. Just the right amount of gooey and not overly sweet, but still indulgent and fantabulous.

Even though at the end of the night Mike and I packed away a very large portion of BBQ, we still had three lunches worth of food to take home for the two of us. With a downstairs lounge and another bar, Hill Country is a great venue to catch live music most nights. They also offer weekly specials and an appealing happy hour. My only complaint was that the whole restaurant only has one restroom. But true to Texas standards, it is fairly large. 

Hill Country Chicken just opened as a fried chicken outpost a few blocks away from the original BBQ joint. If it's as good as this, I might gain 1000 pounds by the end of the year. Just sayin'.

AWESOME DEAL: 47% off "Tastes of the Village: West" Food Festival this Weekend

Whoever thought up the food festival was a genius. Honestly, the concept of sampling all different culinary concoctions in one location for one meal must have been an idea before it's time.

If you also appreciate this awesome tradition, you're in luck. This weekend six different iconic West Village restaurants are teaming up to make your day. By offering a 47% discount off tickets, The Dealist, a new group-buying site, wants to make your wallet cheer as well.

A $17 ticket (normally $32) will get you the following:

• Num Pang - 1 Slider (choice of Duroc Pulled Pork, or Veal Hoisin Meatball)
• Spunto Thin Crust - 2 Slices of gourmet thin-crust pizza (1 Cheese, 1 Pepperoni)
• Cabrito - 1 signature taco (tinga de pollo, skirt steak, or marinated pork with pineapple)
• Satay Junction - 2 Satays (choice of 8, incl. chicken, beef, shrimp, tofu w/peanut dipping sauce)
• Pasticceria Rocco - 1 mini-cannoli, classic italian with chocolate chips
• The Donut Pub -  2 mini-doughnuts (choice of Red Velvet, Cinnamon Sugar or Honey Glazed)

After you've stuffed your face, find yourself some discounted liquid fun at the following bars:

• Fiddlesticks: $4 beer, house wine and well mixed drinks
• Blind Tiger Ale House: $1 off beer
• Half Pint: $4 domestics, $5 well drinks, $6 craft beer
• Cabrito: $6 marguarita
• Galway Hooker Downtown: $5 beers, house wine and well mixed drinks

To get this deal, you have to hurry! Discounted tickets are only available until Thursday. The Dealist will email you your ticket with instructions on how to get your food and drinks. You can use your ticket to get your samples all at once or spread out on both Saturday and Sunday from 12-6 p.m.

I'll definitely be checking out this event and posting a recap with pictures. Thanks The Dealist and happy eating!

AWESOME ALERT: Star Chef's Rising Stars Gala

Out of all of the events I attend every year, there is one that has stood out as "my most looked forward to." That's a pretty high honor in my book since NYC is the land of fabulous events. I'll give you a little back story. After moving here in August 2008, I did a little soul searching and decided that Craigslist was the way to go for everything - an apartment, extra hangers, side jobs and whatever else I could find that seemed intriguing. I found a listing for volunteers needed at a food event. Sure, I say, and sign myself up figuring I'd meet some new people as well.

So I showed up for my assigned post at the Park Avenue Armory for the International Chef's Congress hosted by an organization called Star Chefs. I learned that it was a conference looked forward to every year by chefs from across the city where they can network, present cooking demos and walk through a gigantic trade show. I spent the afternoon putting together VIP gift bags, and what do you know, but there were extras at the end of the day and I got to take one home. BEST GIFT BAG OF MY LIFE. Honestly, I think this is when I started my infatuation with gift bags to see if any could ever measure up again. Here were some of the contents: Wusthof Chef's Knife (valued around $90), a container of Foie Gras, coupons for free drinks at Nespresso Cafe on Park Ave., a Microplane zester, and many other items that I was thrilled about. But the best was yet to come.

I had also signed up to work the Rising Stars Gala, held on a Tuesday night at the American Museum of Natural History. Basically, I stood in front of the giant front entrance pointing people the way to the VIP reception in the front lobby area for about an hour, and was then told to enjoy the event. (VIP reception = Petrossian caviar and Champagne by the way). If you've ever watched an episode of Top Chef, this event tops any of their tastings on that show. Walking into the enormous whale room of the museum, I was overwhelmed by the table upon table of gourmet tastings - pork belly, filet mignon, foie gras, tuna tartare, seared scallops - each paired with a different wine. Then there were mixology tables and several pastry chefs in attendance with some sweet samples. That was two years ago.

Last year, I again volunteered at the event, held on the top level of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel overlooking Central Park. And this year, I went a little further out of my way to Liberty State Park for my third Rising Stars Gala. Held at the venue Maritime Parc, the event honored some of the most promising young chefs in the city from some amazing restaurants including Craft, Sorella and Aureole. This gala is a way to showcase their work and sort of debut them to the supportive culinary community and celebrate their successes. The thing about volunteering, is that when you're done helping out, you get to enjoy an event with a $165 ticket price, gratis. Also, I met Tom Colicchio - pretty much the most exciting moment of the night! I'll note some of my favorite dishes below. I gave major props on the eco-friendly dish-ware! I included more pictures than usual in this blog, but words just can't describe the awesomeness of this event. Happy salivating!

I had to take the ferry to Liberty State Park and the view over the water was just too gorgeous.

Ms. Liberty and Ellis Island with a ferry in the foreground.

My requisite "I'm on a Boat" picture

Lower Manhattan from the ferry.

Approaching the New Jersey side

Champagne servers at the VIP reception

Petrossian caviar served at the VIP reception

Me with the program, Champagne in hand

Marina view from the event

Chris Siversen (Maritime Parc)

Brined New Zealand King Salmon, Fennel Kraut, and Mustard-Leek Risotto (Chris Siversen - Maritime Parc)

Rabbit and Hudson Valley Foie Gras Terrine, Candied Rhubarb and Shiso Vinaigrette (Brandon Kida - Asiate)

An amazing drink! The Strawberry Blonde (Brad Farran - The Clover Club)

Pate di Fegato: Chicken Liver Mousse with Candied Bacon and Fried Egg VOTED AUDIENCE FAVORITE (Emma Hearst  Sorella)

Mixologist Jason Littrell from Dram lighting things on fire.

Wagyu Strip Loin, Potato Terrine, Matsutakes, Black Garlic and Bone Marrow (Justin Bogle - Gilt)

Australian Lamb Neck, Pea Shoots, Syrian Aleppo Pepper, Greek Yogurt and Lamb Jus (Bobby Hellen - Resto)

Seared scallop with peas (Marc Forgione - Marc Forgione)

Greg Seider from the Summit Bar making my favorite drink of the night "She Loves Mei, She Loves Mei Not." It had rose petals in it! And pisco!

Definitely in the top 2 - Cauliflower custard, Santa Barbara Uni, Golden Trout Roe, and Squid Ink Emulsion (Jason Hall - Gotham Bar & Grill)

Me with Chef Tom Colicchio from Top Chef!

Thanks to new friends Lily and Jeff for some of those last couple shots after my camera died! Note to self: ALWAYS recharge camera battery before this event, and double check. If only the event wasn't on a school night, I would have totally hit up the after party at the newly-opened and buzzed about Nuela. Oh well. I'll definitely be back next year, volunteering of course. Let me know if you're interested in joining and I might be able to hook you up :)

AWESOME GIVEAWAY: 2 Tickets to Time Stands Still

Every so often there comes a play that really moves me. When I saw "Time Stands Still" produced by the Manhattan Theater Club on a limited engagement last spring, I was so mesmerized and amazed at how a story I had no connection to could really make me think the way I did. It also didn't hurt that Laura Linney, one of my favorite actresses, played one of the main characters.

Back for a more permanent run, "Time Stands Still" started previews at the Cort Theater on Sept. 23rd and opens Oct. 7. It tells the story of a war photographer dealing with the realities of real life back at home. It's a very poignant and intelligent story that gives another whole perspective to the politics and realities of war and brings a personal angle to it.

One lucky reader and a guest will get to attend the Yelp night at "Time Stands Still" at 7 p.m. on Tuesday October 12th. You must be able to attend this showing so please do not enter if you are not available that night. There are 4 easy ways to win. Please include your email in any comment so I know how to get a hold of you if you win.

1) REQUIRED - Follow this blog by clicking on the button on the right panel and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.
2) REQUIRED - Leave a comment below letting me know why you want to go to this show and how you heard about this contest.
3) Follow me on Twitter @yaelleah and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.
4) Tweet or blog about this event and let me know with a comment below with a link to your tweet or blog.

A winner will be chosen using Random.org on Thursday 10/7. You have until Thursday 10/7 at 10 a.m. EST to enter this contest. The winner will have to pick up his/her tickets at the box office the day of the show. Good luck!

A winner has been chosen! Congrats Jessica who writes the blog See Jessica Go! Jessica was the 5th commenter and was chosen using Random.org. I hope you like the show. Let us all know how you enjoyed it!

Queens in a Banquet Hall

As a contributing writer for NYC Recession Diary, I sometimes get asked to cover different events around the city that scream awesome. Last week I had the pleasure of attending Dish du Jour Magazine's "The Cuisine of Queens" tasting event at the Astoria Manor with my friend Amanda. 

You may recognize this location as the scene of Dorota's wedding in Gossip Girl and Hilda's wedding in Ugly Betty. With wall-to-wall mirrors, larger than life chandeliers, sparkly pink paint in the girls bathroom,  gaudy statues and fake flowers galore - it's probably the most unique venue I've been to in New York, but I loved every minute of it. 

Scroll down to find the link to my full review on NYCRD, but I wanted to share some pictures with my awesome readers.

The banquet hall where all of the amazing food was served.

One of my favorites - garlic shrimp from Cafe Ole

Another favorite - Sweet Potato Gnocchi from Manetta's

The vat of caramelized onions at 5 Napkin Burger - delish!

Amanda with Dino from Dino's Restaurant - he made the sausage!

Delicious rum drink with OJ and nutmeg

One of the smoothest beers I've ever tried

Some of the wine selection

All I can say is AWESOME! (Lulu's Bakery's spread)

Cooking competition

Me with Andrea Beaman (Top Chef Season 1)

Amanda and I enjoyed a final glass of sake before heading home

To read my original announcement of the event on NYCRD, click here!

To read my review on NYCRD, click here!