Last night I left hubby with the little one (who just turned four weeks!) and joined a group of wonderful food bloggers in the city for the first official Tabélog awards ceremony in NYC (for recent press release see here). Tabélog is a food social media forum that’s been around for ages in Japan (similar in concept to Yelp here in the states), and only recently moved overseas – New York being it’s first foreign city!
Imagine my delight when I was asked to be an official judge for the foodie scene in my home town! What’s more, the ceremony itself was held in a fantastic restaurant right in my own hood! (SakaMai on 157 Ludlow, will need to go back with hubby sometime).
The evening was filled with sake tasting and sampling of fantastic Japanese tapas dishes conceived by Takanori Akiyama, Sakamai’ executive chef. Not only did I learn a thing or two about Sake pairing (did you know… earthy sake, aka those reminiscent of wet rocks and fallen leaves, pair best with meats!), I also caught up with some of my favorite fashionistas in the neighborhood!!! (Remember this lovely chica? That’s the shop-owner of the Cutie Room (5 Rivington Street), who also happen to have her own food blog called Cutie Patroller!). It just reaffirms my personal conviction that wonderful food and fashion go hand-in-hand.
As for the winners of the 2013 Tabélog awards? Well, there were five categories in total, and the first two I wasn’t surprised about (Peter Luger for best steak and Ippudo for ramen? Check check). Though I was happy to see the NoMad win best use of truffle and Eleven Madison take home the top prize for best presentation (not least because I had voted for them!!!). See full list below:
2013 Tabélog winners:
1) Best Steak: Peter Luger
2) Best Ramen: Ippudo
3) Best use of truffle: NoMad
4) Best place for drinks: Fat Radish (this one I did not expect, as I’ve only been there for food – though will have to certainly revisit now for happy hour!)
5) Best presentation of food: Eleven Madison Park (though personally, I think that Momofuku Ko, Daniel, WD-50, and The Elm are all strong contenders in this category!).
