Below are a couple of photos from Chelsea Market. Eventually I will give some more info about what’s to be eaten here. For now, other than these two photos, I can really only provide you with a link to my review of the famous Mokbar ramen joint that is located here.
My wife and I got access to the NYC Wine & Food Festival on what was essentially “industry day.” People there were mostly people who work in either the food, wine or liquor business in some way or another.
There were a few stand out tables that really blew us away. I’ll feature those up front, and then do a photo dump on the rest. Enjoy.
First, the big winner for me: Fossil Farms. This place was slinging the best food at the event: duck pastrami with pate, foie gras and micro greens on a wonderful baguette.
After getting down on that deliciousness, I was intrigued. I starting chatting with the representatives and the owner. They’re big on game meat, and not-so-common products, like alligator, kangaroo, elk, etc. Check out the list below:
Here’s a scan of their “about us” info pamphlet as well: This is like my dream supplier!!!
It turns out they supply some of my favorite joints in the city. It’s no wonder I was drawn to this table. Blue Smoke, Eataly, Freeman’s Alley, Hill Country, Momofuku, Ottomanelli… Some of my old favorites. I even noticed some others on the list that I’ve been wanting to try, like St. Anslem and Route 66 Smokehouse. After my experience here with the fine folks at Fossil farms, I will definitely be adding those two to the short list. Lance (CEO/Founder) and Jen (Marketing/PR) were really informative and easy to chat with. I’m glad I was exposed to this.
Next up was the 3D sugar printing machine. WTF?!?? YES. I couldn’t believe the stuff this thing was printing! All edible, all made of sugar. Incredible. They had everything from little candy machine type things, to modern art sculptures. You can imagine that my wife was floored by this masterpiece of modern technology, being a baker and all.
We got to speak with the inventor of the machine. Apparently these babies are selling for $10,000 each, and soon there will be a smaller, more affordable version available as well.
Next: Booze. There was an abundance of wine here, but my wife and I were all about the booze. Here are a few of the stand-out brands that we got to try:
Fifty Pounds gin. I’m a gin martini guy. This stuff was incredible. I sipped it neat and warm, but it still was delicious. It had all the flavors I want from a slightly dirty but very dry martini (this is a London dry gin) in all the right proportions. The name is clever too: it stems from an old tax that the king levied upon producers of booze. All distillers were supposed to pay 50 pounds per year.
Four Roses bourbon. The single barrel (on the right) was by far my favorite of the three. The cool thing is that these guys gave out high quality glassware as well:
Some very smooth brandy, which was set up next to the gin:
Nice aged rum:
An Irish cream type liquor, which I really loved, by Amarula. Silky smooth, lots of flavor, and a cool elephant keychain to take home. This hails from South Africa, I believe:
KichenAid had a massive presence at the event. Look at all the pretty colors. The cake dealer was ecstatic.
This little stand had some of the nicest cheeses and cured meats. Sid Wainer & Son:
Romanesco & Cauliflower:
Truffles!!!
Edible flowers, black garlic, small tubers:
I have a lot of respect for the potato bun:
Great innovations in the booze and wine world. This was of particular interest to me since I actually patented some bottle glorifiers in my day:
Tasty bites from a section focused on Mexican cuisine:
Snap pea snacks:
Wine tastings:
Braised bison with sweet potato puree:
Flavored caramels:
Finishing salts:
Local crack dealers:
Colombian coffee/tea drink:
More booze:
Weapons:
Some more tasty bites:
Flair:
Tequila!
Pickled items:
Fancy ice cream:
Enter to win!!!
Fancy asian-flavor-inspired cakes:
Ratatouille:
Crab salad on a cracker:
Tasty sauce:
All the schwag we took home with us:
Today I officially published my ramen page, and I guess it was off to a good start, because the Mokbar Twitter account responded to my tweet about it, telling me I should give their food a try. I asked for a recommendation, and they suggested the cold brisket ramen in tomato broth. It sounded very enticing, but it was ultimately no longer available (I guess it was a seasonal item). No matter though; the rest of the menu was saliva-inducing anyway, and there were several other things I wanted to try.
The joint is tucked away in a nice little corner of Chelsea Market, a great place to explore and do some food tasting. They basically have bar seating only, but it’s not too cramped. Here’s a look at the table setting and some views of the kitchen:
My wife wanted one of the alcohol slushees, but they were out of those too. Doh! We settled on these:
I ended up ordering the classic pork broth ramen. It had great depth, a strong garlic flavor, firm wavy noodles, and yummy mushrooms. I ordered a poached egg to go with it. They forgot it at first, but the problem was quickly remedied. Take a look:
As you may know, I do not like my scallions cut in this way, but these were easy enough to brush aside, so not a big deal. I wish there was a little bit more pork in the bowl, because it was so damn good!
My wife had the chicken thigh ramen with kimchi cucumber. This was a thicker broth, but the soup itself was lighter than mine.
We also grabbed an order of the kimchi trio. I thought this was a little pricey at $12 for three small dishes of stuff that is typically free at most other Korean joints:
The first was pickled daikon, which was nice and crunchy with great spicy flavor:
Next was kimchi cucumber, also very good, and also in the chicken ramen that my wife had:
Last was a bacon cabbage kimchi, which was really nice and smoky.
The damage was a bit high for a ramen joint, but we did sample a lot of stuff. I thought it was worth it to try something different and unique. I definitely recommend this place for those of you who are looking for a new twist to ramen. Everything was really tasty!
MOKBAR
Chelsea Market
75 9th Ave
New York, NY 10011
