These days, chefs are treated like celebrities who also have superhuman powers. So who are these Croc-wearing food wizards? Where do they find their BITES ON A BUDGET? And where do they go to splurge? In Top Chef Top Eats, we ask top NYC chefs where and what they eat.
OC BTW* (by the water). It's happening this NYFW and it's going to be major, because we've made sure to put some of the best things this city has to offer in one room for a week-long marketplace. Enter Dominique Ansel, the pastry genius whose innovative and physics-defying creations––most famously, the CRONUT™––have caused hysteria in the food world unlike anything we've ever seen. (Sidenote, trademarking the stuff that comes out of your oven? Definition of baller status.) "Beyond stoked" doesn't even come close to describing how excited we are about Dominique launching his newest, currently top-secret creation on Saturday, September 7th at OC BTW* (by the water) and his Soho bakery. While you gear up for all of that sweet tooth action, find out how the man himself answered our Top Chef Top Eats questionnaire below.
Name: Dominique Ansel
Astrological sign: Capricorn
Hometown: Beauvais, France
Current neighborhood: Soho, New York
Restaurant: Dominique Ansel Bakery
Signature dish: The DKA, the Cronut™, the Frozen S'more, made-to-order madeleines, the Paris New York, Mini Me's (miniature meringues), and more. They are all my babies.
Signature dish at home: Believe it or not, I cook Taiwanese food. But the French side of me also makes an amazing soft-scrambled egg.
Favorite vegetable or herb currently in season: Lemongrass
Best spot for a spicy dish: Zabb Elee (for Thai), Land of Plenty (Sichuan), and Kun Jip (Korean)
Best spot for pasta: Salumeria Rosi
Food trend you're over: Fusion, Molecular
Hangover cure: Chamomile tea and orange juice (yes, taken together)
Best food market: Not for everything, but I really love Sunrise Mart
After a long day, what do you make for yourself: An açaí smoothie
Celebrity chef crush: Nah, I don't crush.
Favorite cooking show: No time for TV, unfortunately.
Last meal request: Just a sip of champagne should do it
Any horror apprentice stories? I've got a lot of them. I had a chef who liked cutting me for fun, for starters. But it was a different time.
What are your favorite restaurants? L'Artusi, 15 East, Danji, M. Wells Dinette, and Daniel (for me, it's like home-cooking, because of all the years I had my meals there).
Zabb Elee – 75 2nd Ave, NY MAP
Land of Plenty – 204 East 58th St, NY
OC BTW* (by the water). It's happening this NYFW and it's going to be major, because we've made sure to put some of the best things this city has to offer in one room for a week-long marketplace. Enter Dominique Ansel, the pastry genius whose innovative and physics-defying creations––most famously, the CRONUT™––have caused hysteria in the food world unlike anything we've ever seen. (Sidenote, trademarking the stuff that comes out of your oven? Definition of baller status.) "Beyond stoked" doesn't even come close to describing how excited we are about Dominique launching his newest, currently top-secret creation on Saturday, September 7th at OC BTW* (by the water) and his Soho bakery. While you gear up for all of that sweet tooth action, find out how the man himself answered our Top Chef Top Eats questionnaire below.
Name: Dominique Ansel
Astrological sign: Capricorn
Hometown: Beauvais, France
Current neighborhood: Soho, New York
Restaurant: Dominique Ansel Bakery
Signature dish: The DKA, the Cronut™, the Frozen S'more, made-to-order madeleines, the Paris New York, Mini Me's (miniature meringues), and more. They are all my babies.
Signature dish at home: Believe it or not, I cook Taiwanese food. But the French side of me also makes an amazing soft-scrambled egg.
Favorite vegetable or herb currently in season: Lemongrass
Best spot for a spicy dish: Zabb Elee (for Thai), Land of Plenty (Sichuan), and Kun Jip (Korean)
Best spot for pasta: Salumeria Rosi
Food trend you're over: Fusion, Molecular
Hangover cure: Chamomile tea and orange juice (yes, taken together)
Best food market: Not for everything, but I really love Sunrise Mart
After a long day, what do you make for yourself: An açaí smoothie
Celebrity chef crush: Nah, I don't crush.
Favorite cooking show: No time for TV, unfortunately.
Last meal request: Just a sip of champagne should do it
Any horror apprentice stories? I've got a lot of them. I had a chef who liked cutting me for fun, for starters. But it was a different time.
What are your favorite restaurants? L'Artusi, 15 East, Danji, M. Wells Dinette, and Daniel (for me, it's like home-cooking, because of all the years I had my meals there).
Zabb Elee – 75 2nd Ave, NY MAP
Land of Plenty – 204 East 58th St, NY