A summer soup soirée (and grilled meats) with Dan Kluger, April Bloomfield and Shea Gallante
The Madison Square Park Conservancy strives to make the park one of the city's most loved urban retreats—though it's arguably more famous these days for ground-chuck burgers than bird watching. At this annual fund-raiser, neighborhood chefs set up shop, showcasing their dishes under the ancient oaks.
On the eating front, the event felt a little like a chilled-soup Takedown—we sampled a half dozen versions of gazpacho. Marc Vidal (Boqueria) did sour cherries and tomato. Missy Robbins (A Voce), a smoked eggplant with whipped ricotta. My favorite was Shea Gallante's (Ciano)—a silky blend of basiga yellow tomatoes, cucumbers and a drizzle of fine Italian olive oil. The secret? "A very good high-speed blender," according to Gallante.
Other highlights included April Bloomfield's (The Breslin) grilled merguez with chilled lentil caviar. She was pleased with her recent New Yorker profile, which the chef said required an intense two months of reporting. Tyler Kord (No. 7 Sub) continues to serve his all-universe chilled broccoli sub. Run, don't walk, my vegetarian friends. Craft's Lauren Hirschberg looks like that pitcher on the San Francisco Giants. Though his fried pig trotter with pickled chili and green tomatoes was more in the style of the Atlanta Braves.
By Matt Rodbard; photos by Natasha Ryan
