lunch on the L train

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funemployed:

Oh, just a 6-Course meal served on the L Train. What did YOU do this weekend?

Quite possibly the ballsiest interpretation of the “popup restaurant” phenomenon to date: 12 guests were treated to a full 6 courses on an NYC subway commute from 8th Avenue to Canarsie, with a new dish being served every third stop. Courses were plated by teams either on the platform, or in the train itself, and served to guests on custom-built straphanger tables. The exquisitely planned and executed event went off (amazingly) without a hitch. The Great Gatsby was read, diners were stuffed, onlookers drooled. (see the full photo set here) 

The menu:
6th Avenue: Hamchi Crudo, Bone Marrow, Trout Roe, Laproaig, Sweet Lime
3rd Avenue: Foie en Brioche, Port Wine, Raisin
Lorimer Street: Ramp Soup, Black Garlic, Cippolini, Morel, Thyme
Morgan Avenue: Petit Filet Mignon, Pomme Puree, Asparagus
Bushwick Avenue: Pepper Jam, St Andre
Sutter Avenue: Chocolate & Gold Leaf Panna Cotta, Raspberry Coulis

The lunch was Hosted by Michael Cirino, Daniel Castano and Andrew Rosenberg of
A Razor, A Shiny Knife

Along with:
Jonny Cigar – Winetology
Mike Lee – Studiofeast
Linda Lou – The Cheeky Chef

Full list of collaborators here: www.arazorashinyknife.com/a-casual-sunday-lunch/

Photo ©Steph Goralnick

Jittering with anticipation, when the subway doors opened and I and the other members of Team StudioFeast brought in the main course, Steph Goralnick (my friend since Junior High!) was one of the first people I saw.  Quickly snapping photo after photo, she weaved and dodged through servers, passengers, and her photographer counterparts to capture my favorite images of this memorable event. 

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I feel big, you know what I mean
Like not, not big in the sense of weight
You know what I mean like gaining weight
Or nothin’ like that, like colossal

Emily Cavalier of MouthoftheBoarder channeling Lil Wayne in response to Mike Lee’s sentiment of how he felt after serving the filet mignon course with “military precision.”
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arazor:

Aboard the L Train, Luncheon Is Served – New York Times, May 2011 (click above for the article)

Many thanks are do to many people to read more about what and who went into this event please see our site.

 – HERE –

How many times in your life do you open the Dining & Wine section and say “oh, yeah…that was US!!” ?

What a privilege to work with these fine folks. And in case you were wondering, the food kicked some serious culinary ass.

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Photo: Team Studiofeast, plated and ready at Morgan St stop, awaiting the L Train. [Photo by: David Christiansen, http://pop-up-studio.com

“I can’t even describe what just happened, but it was freaking awesome. A Razor, A Shiny Knife, Studiofeast and others just cooked/served a 6 course menu along the whole route of the L Train, one course every 4/5 stops with new teams plating on platforms, serving, then disappearing. It went off flawlessly. The menu:

– Hamchi Crudo, Bone Marrow, Trout Roe, Laproaig, Sweet Lime
– Foie en Brioche, Port Wine, Raisin,
– Ramp, Black Garlic, Cippolini, Morel, Thyme
– Petit Filet Mignon, Pomme Puree, Asparagus
– Pepper Jam, St Andre
– Chocolate & Gold Leaf Panna Cotta, Raspberry

Much more to come, we have wonderful photo/video from the day (I wore a camera mounted to a headband for the entire platform plating & train car service).” – Mike Lee, Captain of Team StudioFeast

Almost 24-hours later, and I’m still on an adrenaline high.  It was an honor to work not only with our team, but with all six wildly talented teams as a whole. Hats of to A Razor, A Shiny Knife for superb event execution, and to StudioFeast for including me in this kickass event. Here’s to many, many more events to come.