I wanted to share a little bit of info about the recent dinner I had at Elements in Princeton, NJ. The dinner was loosely referred to as chefs without restaurants and featured dishes from Curtis Duffy, John & Karen Shields, Alex Talbot, Aki Kamozawa and Scott Anderson. While I could type my account of the dinner, I’m going to take the easy route here. The dinner was already documented in both words and photos.
If you happen to visit my page but don’t follow John Sconzo, shame on you. John does a great job writing about food and restaurants, as well as covering culinary events. His photos are pretty great too. Here is his 2 part write-up of the dinner with pictures (I’m even in there).
http://docsconz.com/2012/05/chefs-without-restaurants-at-elements-the-prelude/
http://docsconz.com/2012/05/chefs-without-restaurants-at-elements-the-dinner/
Also, Adam Goldberg does a great job documenting his restaurant adventures. His site is: http://www.alifewortheating.com/ If you are interested in food & restaurant photography, Adam has a great Flickr page. His photos from the Elements dinner is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alifewortheating/sets/721576299060827
Upon arrival, there was a reception with passed snacks from the Elements crew and a house cocktail. After the last course there were sweet snacks to finish. It should go without saying, but the dinner was great. Here is the menu from the event
Pansey Custard (Elements)
Egg, Yogurt
Back Cove Oyster (John Shields)
New Spruce, Spinach, An Infusion of Seaweeds, Radish Milk
Cold Broth of English Peas (Curtis Duffy)
Recado Negro,Creamy Ginger, Compressed Pineapple,Black Mint
Dried Beets & Sour Strawberries (Alex Talbot & Aki Kamozawa)
Concord Grape Kombucha, Walnut, Yogurt
Chilled Scallops (Curtis Duffy)
Toasted Goat’s Milk Pudding, Hibiscus Tea, Licorice Flavored Herbs
“Tongue-Katsu Oscar” (Alex Talbot & Aki Kamozawa
Soft Shell Crab, Asparagus Gribiche, Almond
100 Day Dry Aged Wagyu (Elements)
Dehydrated Shrimp, Shitake Mushroom, Cured, Elderflower
Alpine Strawberry (Elements)
Cashew, Thai Chili, Tarragon, Hyssop
Dried Carrot (Karen Shields)
Sweet Woodruff, White Chocolate Yogurt, Tona Bean, Muscavado Sugar Spread