Joe DeSalazar is an account exec at a NYC advertising agency, but all he really wants to do is cook. Keenly interested in food but frustrated by a lack of focus on food & drink at wine tastings and the expense of tasting menus at fine restaurants, Joe created a bimonthly event called foodie. foodie is Joe & 3-4 chefs cooking, 6 courses of food paired with 6 courses of wine, and around 50 people eating, drinking, chatting, and generally having a good time.
The latest installment of foodie was held last night near Washington Square Park. The inspiration for the meal was Joe's recent trip to Italy. The menu featured dishes with parmigiano reggiano, bologna (you know, from Bologna), balsamic vinaigrette, and basil. The most ambitious item of the night was the timpani, a dish inspired by Joe's favorite food movie, Big Night. The chef came around with the timpani before he cut it up...it was huge, about the size of library-scale Webster's Dictionary. My favorite dish was the tortellini with pork in a chicken broth.
If you'd like more information about foodie, you can email joe at foodieny [at] hotmail.com (web site coming soon, I've heard). Gothamist wrote about the previous foodie in September.