Forking Tasty

Recap-San Francisco Italian Treat Supper

7 courses and counting

Every once in a while the timing works out so we can share a kitchen with some of our closest collaborators. Two weeks ago I found myself in the kitchen with long time friend and chef, Ben Long. His recent trip to Italy and my heritage spawned an idea to create a traditional Italian feast served in the traditional Italian sequence. More on that down the page a bit. With the help of a few specialty items Ben smuggled back from his trip, some surprise ingredients brought in by John “Chu” Churillo and a morning trip to the Asian farmers market in San Francisco, we were prepared to do my namesake some solid justice.

For those who are unfamiliar with our dinners, Forking Tasty’s Suppers is our attempt to bring back dinnertime by seating a bunch of strangers around a table to share some food, conversation and laughter. For this one we flew out west to spread the love at SPICE Supper clubs 8-seat chefs table.

As each guest arrived they were greeted with an immediate sense of home. From the wooden gate they walked through to enter the space, through the softly lit garden and up the stairs into the victorian foyer, each guests arrival procession prepared them for the homey atmosphere that awaited them in the dining room. As the first guests sipped their welcome drink waiting for the remainder of their dining partners to arrive, the kitchen was busy preparing…

San Francisco Italian Treat Supper

Saturday, February 9th at 7:00pm.

Starts: 7:00pm
Location: San Francisco (exact location will be released to reserved guests)
Donation: $80 (make a reservation below)

Spice and Forking Tasty unite once again for a one night only, chef’s table, Italian celebration. Drawing from Ben and Jason’s extensive travels through Italy they’ll present a 7-course meal that’s sure to keep you guessing what’s next. Following the traditional style of Italian suppers you’ll work your way through an unexpected series of dishes, flavors and presentation. Drawing on northern, southern and foreign influences the meal will be an over-the-top tour for your tastebuds and emotions alike. We’ll also pair select Italian and Californian wines that match the dinners flavor progression from small to big. This one comes with major bragging right so grab a seat while you can.

TABLE FULL-Reservations

RECAP-REEL TASTY: King Kong

Talk about a backdrop.

It’s very rare that we pull off a dinner that has such direct connection between the location and the film we’re screening. This was that kind of perfect storm. I moved into my office on 34th and fifth about two years ago. Day two I wandered up to the roof and saw the Empire State Building looking down on me. To my left was the perfect movie screen (found on the side of the building just south). From that moment I’ve been working with the Wework crew, the owners of the building, to make this event happen. A few weeks ago my vision of Dinner with King Kong under the Empire State Building became a reality.

For those who are unfamiliar with our dinners, Reel Tasty is Forking Tasty’s summer supper club where we screen a movie on a 2 story building while our guests sample some of our latest and tastiest gourmet creations. For this one we decided to pick some of our favorite NYC neighborhoods to inspire the cuisine. Although we screened the original 1933 film, no CGI for us, we chose recipes that…

RECAP-REEL TASTY: The Birds

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It all started a few months back over some stiff drinks and a few oysters. Three food fanatics, me one of them, sipped and slurped as we brainstormed dinner themes. As the night grew longer the ideas piled up. Some good, some bad. As a counter idea to the unique but crazy thought of an illegal narcotics dinner I boldly suggested “ALL BIRDS”. I’d envisioned a multi-plate dinner where every course contained a bird part. Smiles grew into the cheeks of my two gastro-passionate buddies and I knew we had a winner.

For those who are unfamiliar with our dinners, Reel Tasty is Forking Tasty’s summer supper club where we screen a movie on a 2 story building while our guests sample some of our latest and tastiest gourmet creations. The seats are usually first come first serve but every once in a while we collaborate with some old friends. A while back we pulled off a Creole/Cajun feast in 102 degree heat for the Gastronauts, an adventurous eating group in NYC.

One of my two dinner brainstorming buddies was Curtis, the Gastronauts fearless leader and organizer. The other was…

REEL TASTY: King Kong

Thursday, September 27th at 7:00pm.
The original Kong underneath his favorite building

Starts: 7:00pm
Ends: 11pm (really, when the film is over)
Donation: $25 (make a reservation below)
Movie: King Kong

That’s right, this dinner is on a roof just under the Empire State Building. How fitting for the movies climactic ending. Better yet, we have an amazing 5 course tasting menu prepared. While your tastebuds explore the 5 boroughs you’ll be comfortably seated in this epic movie’s finale location. How can you pass this up? Grab a seat while they last.

SOLD OUT-Reservations

For those who have reserved: Location and directions will be sent to guests one day before the event. IF IT RAINS: If it rains, or looks like rain, the dinner is off. Decisions on weather will be made the morning of the event. All donations will be refunded at this time.

More on Reel Tasty:

Jason and Anthony pair a 5 course gourmet meal for 20 friends, some new and some old on a HUGE deck in Brooklyn. As the name implies, we will be screening a movie during the meal. Don’t worry, there will still be plenty of time pre-entree to mingle, catchup and meet some new friends. Once the sun goes down we will role the film in all its two story high glory. This is an experiment, so we are not sure how much silence or chatting will go on. That’s for you to decide. We hope you will come out and enjoy yourselves with us this summer. See you on the deck.

You can check out pics from our last dinner here.

If you can’t make this dinner but want us to send you an invite to the next one, jump on the list.

REEL TASTY: The Birds

Last night we pulled off another successful collaboration with our friends over at Gastronauts. You may remember our last creole/cajun collaboration. This year, the Forking Tasty crew along with my kitchen collaborators from Whisk & Ladle, went in a totally different direction than last time. About four months ago over a few oysters and meticulously crafted cocktails at a popular Williamsburg Brooklyn haunt, we brainstormed an 11 course, plated, all bird menu. Below is the final draft of that session. Stay tuned for a post with a breakdown and picture of each delectable dish.

TABLE FULL-REEL TASTY: Roman Holiday

POSTPONED-If you have reservations check your email

Saturday, September 29nd at 6:30pm.
From gladiators to Vespas. Here’s the skinny on the fat.

Starts: 6:30pm (cocktails and appetizers)
Ends: 11pm (really, when the film is over)
Donation: $65 (make a reservation below)
Movie: Roman Holiday

Our next dinner in the Italian Season is a pure classic. How could you go wrong with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Italy circa 1953? Rhetorical. You can’t! With that we are pulling out many of our family favorites from both the Italy and the New York archives. We’ve spent a significant amount of time in Lazio and plan on giving you the full Roman treatment straight from the pages of our travel journal and family albums. My grandfather is from a small town just south of Rome named Fondi. No visit to Rome is complete without a stop at the old citrus farm they had down there. Expect a little influence from this little town in the menu. Hopefully the food and the film will inspire you to take your own Roman Holiday soon. There is no line at the vatican in early December. Shhhh.

Menu

Our menu focuses on the cuisine of Lazio with a heavy influence on Roman modern favorites. No gladiator inspired dishes we promise. One of my father’s favorite parts of eating in Rome is the antipasti spread you find in many restaurants. We’ll do our best to recreate this help-yourself-style table of treats. That will be followed by 4 more courses that continue the edible delight through one of the greatest ancient cities in the world. Come hungry but pace yourself, this will be a gut buster.

TABLE FULL-Reservations

2. GET ON THE MAIN LIST SO YOU DON’T MISS THE NEXT ONE.

For those who have reserved: Location and directions will be sent to guests one day before the event. IF IT RAINS: If it rains, or looks like rain, the dinner is off. Decisions on weather will be made the morning of the event. All donations will be refunded at this time.

More on Reel Tasty:

Jason and Anthony pair a 5 course gourmet meal for 20 friends, some new and some old on a HUGE deck in Brooklyn. As the name implies, we will be screening a movie during the meal. Don’t worry, there will still be plenty of time pre-entree to mingle, catchup and meet some new friends. Once the sun goes down we will role the film in all its two story high glory. This is an experiment, so we are not sure how much silence or chatting will go on. That’s for you to decide. We hope you will come out and enjoy yourselves with us this summer. See you on the deck.

You can check out pics from our last dinner here.

If you can’t make this dinner but want us to send you an invite to the next one, jump on the list.

RECAP-REEL TASTY: A Bronx Tale

photo credit: Kun Kim

You talkin’ to me?

The season 4 opener of REEL TASTY was quite the oasis of an evening. It may have taken us a while to get going this year but we kicked off with a bang. The night itself was an unexpected 84 degree evening complete with a slight breeze. Sandwiched between two blistering hot weeks in July, we lucked out is an understatement.

For those who are unfamiliar with our dinners, Reel Tasty is Forking Tasty’s summer supper club where we screen a movie on a 2 story building while our guests sample some of our latest and tastiest gourmet creations. This year we twisted it up a little by…

Bike-In-Theater is back!…almost.

It’s been a while since a post. You may have wondered what we’ve been up to. The above video explains it all but for those of you who can’t bring yourself to watch 3 minutes of fun, bike and food content here’s the skinny.

Last year we threw our first Bike-In-Theater in North Brooklyn on the waterfront. The response was so amazing that we decided to bring it back this year. The twist is that we want to hit as many cities as possible. We’re starting with NY and San Francisco but hope to raise enough money to do a few more.

Yes. I said raise money. See, last year it was self funded and helped to launch the ForkingTasty Suppers season. This year we’ve turned to Kickstarter to help raise the funds to put the proper infrastructure in place and bring even more amazing food to the event. So, to our loyal fans and those of you here for the first time, please help pitch in and make Bike-In-Theater a reality.

TABLE FULL-REEL TASTY: A Bronx Tale

Saturday, July 21st at 7pm.
The Italian-American season begins. Here’s the skinny on the fat.

Starts: 6:30pm (cocktails and appetizers)
Ends: 11pm (really, when the film is over)
Donation: $65 (make a reservation below)
Movie: A Bronx Tale

We like to end each season with an Italian meal BUT for the last two years that hasn’t happened so this year we are going all Italian. We’re starting with  A Bronx Tale. Besides the fact that Robert DeNiro’s character shares our last name and my father claims the beginning of this story follows his real life, we love this flick for it’s portrayal of Italian-American life in the mid-twentieth century. Aside from the stereotypical mobster movie stuff it paints a serious picture of the neighborhood segregation in that time as well as the positive shift into the multi-cultural society we live in today. Plus, who can forget “The Door Test”. Rules to live by.

Menu

Each dinner this season we will focus on a different region of Italy mixed with our Italian-American favorites from Grandma’s kitchen. This time we are pairing the Bronx with Tuscany. WHy, because we are dying to make some of our Florentine favorites. Expect Tuscan steaks bigger than your stomach cooked the Flrenza style. We’ll also be cooking up a killer day old soup. Yes, very peasant like and delicious for days. We’ll spare you the tripe…well then again, maybe we won’t.

TABLE FULL-Reservations

More on Reel Tasty:

Jason and Anthony pair a 5 course gourmet meal for 20 friends, some new and some old on a HUGE deck in Brooklyn. As the name implies, we will be screening a movie during the meal. Don’t worry, there will still be plenty of time pre-entree to mingle, catchup and meet some new friends. Once the sun goes down we will role the film in all its two story high glory. This is an experiment, so we are not sure how much silence or chatting will go on. That’s for you to decide. We hope you will come out and enjoy yourselves with us this summer. See you on the deck.

You can check out pics from our last dinner here.

If you can’t make this dinner but want us to send you an invite to the next one, jump on the list.