I’m watching Heston Blumenthal stuff a Cod’s head with Veal Mince at the moment, a recipe from Charles Elmé Francatelli a famous chef from the 1800’s and Queen Victoria’s favourite dish apparently!

Whilst in New York recently a number of meals had been organised to ‘feed the troops’, along with some Rooftop Bars to enjoy the Manhattan Skyline and soak in the atmosphere of the city that never sleeps, it was an amazing experience.New York has strong ties to Italy (amongst other countries) and that was very evident from some of the restaurants we ate in, although one of the stand out dishes came from Tao, a Pan Asian establishment with attached Night Club.The menu seemed endless, Hot Endamame, Chefs’ Sushi, Chicken Gyozas, Pan Roasted Halibut, Dry Aged Sirloin and Broccoli Drunken Vegetable Pad Thai the flow of food just didn’t seem to stop. It was all beautifully presented and very tasty indeed. The restaurant was huge, and floor walkers with radio communications kept in contact with the Chef’s to ensure the food was cooked at the right time and that no table was left waiting for the next course.All the food was good but one dish was just amazing, the ‘Satay of Chilean Sea Bass with Miso Dressing’. It does not look much but the texture and flavour was sublime, perfectly cooked fish (to the point as Rick Stein might say), it was silky, moist and packed with flavour, my favourite of the whole evening and in the top three of the trip.The following night we were at Cecconi’s in DUMBO! That’s Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass, a restaurant that looks over at Manhattan from Brooklyn, the other side of the river, we were to follow dinner with another rooftop bar but it was raining so it was not quite rooftop!This was Saturday evening and I had spent the day eating on the Brooklyn Culture and Food Tour, the location of Cecconi’s was our last stop on the tour and over the road was the Chocolate Shop I had been in a few hours earlier with my foodie chum!

I was going to face a new challenge over the next couple of days, I had run out of my Metformin, used to help the Insulin I inject every morning get absorbed by the body so less carbs was the order of the day, and hopefully I had enough in me to get home (I did)!Cecconi’s was a typical Italian restaurant, homely, cosy and carb heavy with Risotto and Gnocchetti but luckily there was Chicken on the menu so I was sorted, the starters included Calamari Fritti with Lemon Aioli and Chilli which was very tasty.

The stand out dish for me is in the previous picture, Burrata, Heirloom Beetroot and Aged Balsamic Vinegar, simple but the flavours just sung.Now onto Il Cortile situated in Little Italy, right next to Chinatown! Over 11 dishes on the menu for our group at this 40 year old traditional restaurant which has a reputation for amazing Italian food cooked exceptionally well. Everyone commented on the Antipasti, the Baked Clams and Fried Prawns were really good, the Roasted Italian Loaf was something new, never heard of that before!I went for the Veal Scaloppini for mains, it was very tasty but I think the Veal could have been cooked less, it was a bit to over for my liking but still nice.The stand out dish was definitely the Capellini with Peas and Prosciutto, it was amazing, absolutely stunning and the picture is the featured image of this post, you have to visit just for this dish, its that good.I did gain a few ounces over the 4 or so days and had the chance to taste some great food. New York is mad, manic and full-on, but you do slowly get used to it, the range of cuisine is enormous and you can get fed for not a lot if you know where to look.

………………………………….Until next time……………………L8ers………………….