Future Chef?

About ready to dive into Daddy's Michael Symon cookbook

Flipping through the pages trying to find something he likes.

BEEF...yum!

He found a recipe he liked!

The Chew in NYC!

Today was the day!  Michael and I left AJ with Grandma and Grandpa and we headed for The Big Apple to see a live taping of The Chew at ABC television studios.  We woke up bright and early around 3:30am and were ready to leave the house by 4:45am.  We made a quick pitstop at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and then we were off to the New Haven Train Station to catch the 6:23am train to NYC.

We made it to the studio super early (around 8:30am) even though we didn't need to wait in line until around 10am!

Where the line would form...

So.. we walked around for a bit and found a Starbucks.

  Michael had hot chocolate and I tried a skinny vanilla latte, which was surpsingly good!

After waiting in line for about an hour or so, we made our way into the studio where we got our tickets and then went to the audience holding room where they had some light snacks and water for us to enjoy. 

 

After another 1.5 hours of waiting in the audience holding room, we then got to go on set and watch the taping!  They were taping for this Friday's show - Love Bites - and the celebrity guest was Sean Lowe from The Bachelor!

A little less crowded picture of the cooking and tasting area.

 

A quick self-portrait before we had to the leave the set. 

After the taping, we took the subway to the Doughnut Plant at the Chelsea Hotel.  

These doughnuts were so tasty!  From top left to right: Vanilla Bean yeast, Vanilla Bean and Blackberry filled, PB&J filled and Pistachio yeast.  Oh-so-delicious! 

From there we walked about a mile to Barbuto, a Jonathan Waxman Italian restaurant that I wasn't so sure I would like. 

The wide open kitchen which we sat right next to.

We started with an appetizer of Salumi (which I forgot to take a photo of) that was delicious.  And my meal (shown above), Monzo which consisted of prime hanger steak, romesco and scallions was impeccably delicious!

Michael had the Buccatini Alla Carbonara, which was tastefully delicious as well!

After our bellies were full from lunch it was then time to head home - sad!  We found the nearest subway and made our way back to Grand Central Terminal to catch the 4:34pm train back to New Haven.  

A quick photo in Grand Central before heading back home. 

On our way to New Haven.  We still look pretty happy for being up since 3:30am!

But before we could head home, we made a pitstop for dinner at Prime 16 in New Haven.  Not only was the bacon burger that Michael had and my cobb salad delicious.....

...but the beer selection was mighty fine and you can be sure we ended our fantastic day with a brewski (or two!)!

Sidenote:  The day was absolutely perfect.  We had great weather, no hiccups in our travel plans and everything ran smoothly.  And to top off our day, Grandma and Grandpa kept AJ up so when we got home we were welcomed with a warm embrace from our little guy.  It was a perfect ending to a perfect day!

Meeting Michael Symon!

If you know my husband at all, you know he is obsessed with cooking/food shows.  Iron Chef, Diners Drive-ins and Dives, No Reservations, Chopped - those are just a few, the list could go on and on.  But one of his favorite chefs is Michael Symon, and he just so happened to be having a book signing/meet-and-greet at Dave's Fresh Marketplace in Smithfield, RI today at noon.  So, of course we all hopped into the car and made our way to Smithfield this morning.  When we arrive there was already a line outside of the store with about 50-75 people all anxious to meet Mr. Symon so Michael and AJ headed into line while I went into the store and bought Symon's new cookbook 'Carnivore' to be autographed.  After about 45 minutes of waiting outside (it was a gorgeous day out!), we were escorted into the store to wait some more.  We probably waited about another 45 minutes inside the store, but then it was time for Michael to meet his man-crush!  (The whole time we were waiting in line, Michael was so giddy and anxious about meeting him - he was like a little school girl!)   Mr. Symon was so friendly and we were able to hear his laugh in person -yes!!  [For those who don't know - his laugh is so loud and infectious - you can't help but smile and laugh when he does!]  Michael was able to tell him about his experience at Symon's restaurant 'Lolita' in Cleveland and we took a family picture with him.

After all was said and done, we only met with him for about 2-3 minutes, but to see the smile on my Michael's face afterwards, I would have waited all day in line!  I'm so happy Michael was able to meet one of his favorite chefs and idols!

AJ was such a good sport about waiting in line.

Almost our turn!

Autographing one of the three cookbooks we bought

AJ was intrigued too!

No big deal... a family picture with Michael Symon!