If you’re in the NYC area and you need your knives sharpened - here you go! I took mine yesterday - I’d never had it done since I bought mine about 2 years ago. I’m excited to get cooking today and see the difference. Keeping your knives sharp is so key to cooking well and it just makes it easier. Margery Cohen is at Chelsea Market in front of Bowery Kitchen Wednesdays and Saturdays. Plan on leaving your goods with her for a bit and doing some shopping - it took about 45 minutes for 5 of my knives, which I was impressed with. Her website is here.

Bobby Flay and the DJ

I don’t have a dinner recipe for last night, but I feel I have a good excuse. Johnathan and I had tickets to the Food Network Wine and Food Festival opening party at Chelsea Market. We got all dressed up (which rarely happens) and enjoyed an amazing night of wine, lots and lots of wine, and food from the Chelsea Market Vendors. It’s every foodies dream. The lights were low, wine glasses were always full, people chatted excitedly, the music changed from a string quartet to a bluegrass band, to a thumping DJ. It was packed, and at points we had to shuffle through but would stop frequently to refill our glasses and feast on gourmet treats from savory to sweet. Plus, Bobby Flay was personally doling out gourmet burgers, Guy Fieri was walkin’ around followed by a camera and a crowd. I also spotted Anne Burrell, and Dale from season 4 of Top Chef. It was also rumored that Giada and the Neeleys were there, but that was unconfirmed. My favorite stops of the night were The Green Table, who kept bringing out nibbles made of their famous local, organic ingredients. Another was Chelsea Market Baskets who had amazing cheese samples served by the cheese makers paired with some decadent chocolates and sparkling rosé. We met two lovely women, mother and daughter from Greenville who we showed around for the night, and a great time chatting with. I think as New Yorkers it’s our civic duty to be friendly and show people a good time who are visiting our great city. Anyway, there was no skimping at this party - 2 different bands, a DJ (pictured above with The Flay), full bars, lots of different wines, and a great gift bag from Bowery Kitchen, and of course food celebrities. If you can get to any of the other festivities this weekend, I’m sure you’ll have a great time. Next year we’ll be there again, and probably buy a few more tickets to some other events!

Is it actually possible? Melissa Clark seems to think you can be a food writer, eat out every night, and fit into a size 2. It’s genetics, you say! She says, no. She must have figured something out, right? She does eat at the best NY restaurants nightly and tastes endless parades of chocolate mousse and foie gras. She cites in her article that she changed her foodie outlook and realized she didn’t need to finish everything on her plate, and only eat what she likes. I can remember so many amazing, tasty meals at restaurants and at home where I felt a button was going to pop on my jeans. It’s not a very good feeling. The food would taste just as good if I ate 2/3 of it than if I cleaned my plate with the bread basket, letting out a long slow exhale of stuffedness. Her other point is not denying yourself food you like, but ordering more veggies and not finishing the main plate, just enjoying the taste of your favorite food slowly. As a woman who is eternally trying to lose weight, I can attempt to subscribe to the Food Writer’s Diet - which also comes with a side of exercise…. grrr….. I don’t get away that easily…. It’s going to be hard not finish my favorite beurre blanc lobster gnocchi next time it’s wafting in front of me in all its buttery glory. We’ll see if it happens… Here’s an excerpt I think summed up Melissa’s food strategy, “By using this eat-what-you-like-don’t-eat-what-you-don’t-like strategy, together with ordering (and eating) a salad or a vegetable side dish every time I went out, plus exercising 3-4 times a week, the weight came off. It’s stayed off since”. The Bon Appetit article also has some other tips like ordering appetizers, and making sure there are 3 forks for every dessert ordered. So, if your mama told you to always finish your plate because there are starving children around the world, maybe it’s time to block out this particular mama-ism and trim your waistline instead.

Cutting your food budget and eating better may sound like oxymorons. When you can, read this NY Times article about Whole Foods cutting prices, and staying competitive in the grocery market - supposedly. I do concede and admit that the Whole Paycheck nickname could prove to be true. However, if you’re choosy and only buy what you need, it could work for you! Yes, ShopRite, Publix, Kroger Safeway, etc. will have lower prices ON SOME ITEMS - for me, the farmers market, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s are in a 2 block radius where I can save my time by shopping these stores. Last time I was down south, Publix was a great competitor and has beefed up its store brand - although my parents that live in Atlanta, still frequent Whole Foods if they’re looking for the best of something.

Another obstacle to shopping the Costco’s and Wal Marts for groceries for young urbanites is the space and transportation issue. Most apartments in NYC dont have a pantry to fill with pounds of rice, beans, canned goods, and 24 rolls of paper towels. What would happen to our food bills if we only bought what we needed, and our fridges didnt smell of rotting veggies we bought in bulk? Another excercise I challenge everyone to do is try to go a week without throwing out food that’s gone bad i.e. eat it before it goes off- you could come up with some pretty special recipes being creative with what you have rather than making a supplemental trip to the grocery store for new produce, etc.