James beard foundation dinners

3/26/2025 

Pier 57, 25 11th Ave NY, NY

My first JBF dinner and what an experience. I arrived to the venue at Pier 57 in NYC and got checked in and seated at the internal chef's counter for the night. The dinner started off with a nice reception that included the first wine pairing and 2 Hors D'oeuvres that were passed by servers while everyone stood around chatting and getting ready for the evening. There were croquettes made with a béchamel and iberico ham that were incredible but the one I couldn't stop eating was the puff pastry topped with both a cured and a pickled Spanish anchovy and then finished with EVOO, garlic, and parsley. Hand me a sheet pan of those and a bottle of Tempranillo and I would've been good for the night but that would've been really shorting myself on the rest of the courses.

After the passed starters, I took my seat at the chefs counter with strangers on my left and right and got ready for the actual dinner. All of the chefs including the two mains, Ryan Bartlow and Nico Lopez, were all business in the kitchen. The first course was a red tuna Gilda with a tomato emulsion and liquid olives, it was like a gazpacho style, served cold. The tuna and other components were skewered and so you took a bite off and then used a spoon to drink some of the delicious tomato and olive emulsion. Honestly, it was so well done without being overly pretentious and ridiculous considering the "liquid olive." The wine pairing was "La Cigarrera Manzanilla" and it was so perfect—Really the perfect compliment to the lightness of the whole tuna dish.

Next was the Basque white bean stew with clams and Spanish red shrimp—This was made with Pochas, a type of bean that only grows in the Basque region of Spain, delicious and very creamy. They plated the beans first and then topped with what I presumed to be, a broth, and then finished with 2 clams and a single Spanish red shrimp with the head on. For the wine pairing, I usually turn my nose up at Rose but 1000 props to the Somme because the Gañeta Txakolina Rose he chose was so good. It was so light and refreshing, almost like an ice cold Topo Chico honestly. I could barely tell it was a wine. He had a technique of "crashing" the wine into the glass from a considerable height to aerate the wine as it landed. He said it was completely necessary, if you just poured it in, it would taste like a totally different wine–I really enjoyed this and had about 2 extra pours.

Next was the short ribs with olive oil whipped potatoes and red peppers pilpil paired with Villota Viña Gena Viñedo Singular (Tempranillo.) This plate was that comfort food you're used to, hearty, full of flavor, and warm. The short rib was super tender and the olive oil potatoes were done so well, not to mention the sauce spooned over the entire thing. The Tempranillo was really good, I look forward to getting a few bottles of this for the house.

Lastly, the dessert. A Jose Andres Basque cheesecake that was topped with honey, olive oil, and freshly grated Idiazabal cheese—Holy shit this was so rich and flavorful. That sharp, salty cheese was just the perfect balance to the sweet cheesecake and honey. So simple but so perfect—And paired with the Dorado Moscatel? Well done to all.

At the end was a Q&A where Ryan and Nico answered some questions and talked about their background. I thought it was really cool that Ryan did his a lot of his training in Spain and got all of the cultural enrichment of Spain and the Basque region and brought it back to NYC where he owns and operates Ernestos and Bartolo—Super cool guy and I appreciated his efforts in the kitchen on the night of this dinner, it was a pleasure to watch him work.

No but seriously, can I get a sheet pan of those puff pastries topped with the anchovies and a bottle of Tempranillo?