caviar -

by BS

Hitting the Jackpot: Casino Canapes

Writer Sean joins us to show that poker night doesn’t have to be all about chicken wings and beer.

Hosting a casino-themed game night party for friends recently, I was struck with the urge to put together something a little more than average (food-wise, of course). Yes, a downscale game night with pizza and booze can be fun, but for this occasion we wanted something a little classier.

I poked around online to find some aesthetic inspiration—I used my iPad and found an iPad Casino and yes, I might have played a few games to get me in the mood too! Here’s what I settled on: I used the black and red color palette of the roulette wheel as inspiration for my blinis, which I topped with red and black caviar and laid out in a circle. In keeping with the savory theme I topped square crackers with red peppers and black olives to make hands of cards for poker, and stacked Chinese crackers in matching colors to represent chips. I grabbed some trays and set out some crudités and cold meats according to color to represent slot machines, and as a finishing touch I put the dips in little Vegas0style casino token buckets I had lying around.

The star though, was the roulette-themed caviar bites. Blinis are one of my favorite things to serve and they are quick and easy to make if you follow this recipe:

Casino Canapes

Attack of the Meme: Hipster Ariel on Food and Drink

Fuck being a doctor, president or a flying My Little Pony. All I wanted to be when I grew up was Ariel, the mermaid. Turns out, it would have been a rad choice – Ariel is now a Chuck hi-top wearing, PBR drinking, music snob hipster. And being a hipster, she clearly owns some outlandish ideas on culinary appropriateness. Here”s the best of Hipster Ariel, from casino Fuck Yeah Hipster Ariel, on food and drink.

5. Not Something to Brag About

(Photo: teenage lobotomy)

4. Utensils Are Too Conventional

(Photo: Fuck Yeah Hipster Ariel)

ES Local: New York’s Four-Figure Dishes

We all know that eating out in New York can often be a ridiculously expensive proposition. But what about the times when you want to make that really ridiculous? Recession or not, there are still a good few places around town where you can drop $1,000 on just one dish. Worth it? Umm…we’ll probably never know. The ES accounting department wouldn’t shell out expenses for this story. Anyone out there want to sponsor a $4,000 restaurant crawl?

The $1,000 Dish: Bagel and cream cheese
Where: The Westin New York at Times Square, 270 West 43rd St., but only during the fall truffle season.
Why: Alba white truffle cream cheese, goji berry infused Riesling jelly and specks of golden leaves.
$1 alternative: A schmear to go from H&H’s midtown outpost. 629 West 46th St.

The $1,000 Dish: Omelet
Where: Norma’s restaurant at Le Parker Meridien Hotel, 119 West 56th St.
Why: Six eggs whipped up with lobster and 10 ounces of Sevruga caviar (that’s a lot).
$1 alternative: Sausage McMuffin, now a buck at the McDonald’s around the corner.