We dropped into Le Fooding this weekend - attending both nights, paying our way for the regular admission - and came away less than impressed.
Le Fooding, if you were out of town or hiding out in a cave, was a two-night festival celebrating the new French cuisine, which is less haughty and more accessible to common folk. Whatever. We were there to check out the French chefs and also to get our hands on the fabled Minetta Tavern burger.
Overall, the experience was mixed - each night there were good dishes as well as terrible ones, but there were also logistical issues and the drinks were a big problem. You see, if you paid an extra $30 you got VIP entrance and one hour unlimited Veuve Clicquot champagne. But starting at 7pm everyone (VIPS along with regular 7pm ticket holders) had to buy drink tickets, which were a steep $12 each. Drinks included the aforementioned champagne, wine from M. Chapoutier and cocktails from Le Plaza Athenee in Paris and Dutch Kills. The latter was pretty egregious since cocktails at the bar, just 5 blocks up the street, are only $10.
Booze turned out to be a bit of an issue in general. While in line for one of the dishes, we heard a guy complain about the wine pours. Apparently, when he got the first cup (plastic, naturally) it was almost full and the second cup was much less so. So he asked the pourer and she told him that she was told to get 6 pours out of a bottle (pretty skimpy since most restaurants & wine bars such as Gramercy Tavern or Terroir get more like 4 - 5 pours). He managed to beg another inch of wine out of her - this is for $12 don't forget - but we found this quite obnoxious even if proceeds are for charity. (As it turns out, we didn't even bother with drinks and headed to Dutch Kills afterward.)
Food was seriously mixed - on Saturday the Minetta Tavern burger was good, the barbacoa taco from General Greene was very good (as was their ice cream) while Daniel Boulud's Moroccan couscous was a headscratcher (wasn't this a French event?). The worst dish of the two days was the chicken skewer from Fogon in Paris - it came with a carrot puree that was way heavy on the lemongrass and the chicken was seriously undercooked. On Friday, David Chang's Bo Ssam was dry but the fried corn with scallop butter (Diner) was pretty tasty and the barbecued sirloin from Bigarrade in Paris was very good. As for Wylie's chicken necks, we have one word for you - bones. Not much meat to be had. Best in show was Saturday nights steak with charred aubergine from Le Chateaubriand in Paris. The aubergine (eggplant) was actually a cream on the side and worked perfectly with the juicy, tender meat.
We have no idea if they will do this event next year but after the jump some things they need to do better.
Le Fooding, if you were out of town or hiding out in a cave, was a two-night festival celebrating the new French cuisine, which is less haughty and more accessible to common folk. Whatever. We were there to check out the French chefs and also to get our hands on the fabled Minetta Tavern burger.
Overall, the experience was mixed - each night there were good dishes as well as terrible ones, but there were also logistical issues and the drinks were a big problem. You see, if you paid an extra $30 you got VIP entrance and one hour unlimited Veuve Clicquot champagne. But starting at 7pm everyone (VIPS along with regular 7pm ticket holders) had to buy drink tickets, which were a steep $12 each. Drinks included the aforementioned champagne, wine from M. Chapoutier and cocktails from Le Plaza Athenee in Paris and Dutch Kills. The latter was pretty egregious since cocktails at the bar, just 5 blocks up the street, are only $10.
Booze turned out to be a bit of an issue in general. While in line for one of the dishes, we heard a guy complain about the wine pours. Apparently, when he got the first cup (plastic, naturally) it was almost full and the second cup was much less so. So he asked the pourer and she told him that she was told to get 6 pours out of a bottle (pretty skimpy since most restaurants & wine bars such as Gramercy Tavern or Terroir get more like 4 - 5 pours). He managed to beg another inch of wine out of her - this is for $12 don't forget - but we found this quite obnoxious even if proceeds are for charity. (As it turns out, we didn't even bother with drinks and headed to Dutch Kills afterward.)
Food was seriously mixed - on Saturday the Minetta Tavern burger was good, the barbacoa taco from General Greene was very good (as was their ice cream) while Daniel Boulud's Moroccan couscous was a headscratcher (wasn't this a French event?). The worst dish of the two days was the chicken skewer from Fogon in Paris - it came with a carrot puree that was way heavy on the lemongrass and the chicken was seriously undercooked. On Friday, David Chang's Bo Ssam was dry but the fried corn with scallop butter (Diner) was pretty tasty and the barbecued sirloin from Bigarrade in Paris was very good. As for Wylie's chicken necks, we have one word for you - bones. Not much meat to be had. Best in show was Saturday nights steak with charred aubergine from Le Chateaubriand in Paris. The aubergine (eggplant) was actually a cream on the side and worked perfectly with the juicy, tender meat.
We have no idea if they will do this event next year but after the jump some things they need to do better.
First of all, don't do outdoor events in late September. This time they dodged the rain, barely, but the wind whipped up both nights and it was pretty darn cold on Saturday night. If it's not summer, these things need to be indoors.
Learn how to manage crowds. On Friday, regular ticket holders were admitted 15 minutes late while on Saturday VIPs got in 10 minutes late. There is nothing less fair than having people wait outside because you are not ready inside.
Raise ticket prices. $30 is a great price but when people have to suddenly spring for $12 drinks, it's not such a bargain. Having to buy drink tickets just means you sell less drinks. Make it $50 or $60 and throw in the booze. It's all sponsored anyway.
Learn how to manage crowds. On Friday, regular ticket holders were admitted 15 minutes late while on Saturday VIPs got in 10 minutes late. There is nothing less fair than having people wait outside because you are not ready inside.
Raise ticket prices. $30 is a great price but when people have to suddenly spring for $12 drinks, it's not such a bargain. Having to buy drink tickets just means you sell less drinks. Make it $50 or $60 and throw in the booze. It's all sponsored anyway.
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