Postcard: Le Grand Fooding New York “Camp Fire Session”

The night turned briskly cold after sundown at the Elizabeth Street Gardens on Saturday, where the Le Grand Fooding New York "Camp Fire Session" took place. At the event, chefs were paired with musicians for a unique eating and listening picnic. Indie music act Sondre Lerche's tunes set the mood for the noshing to follow throughout the evening. There were black blankets to spread out on the ground while enjoying WD-50 chef Wylie DuFresne's root beer-laced pork ribs, or fried chicken bites from L.A.'s Dante Fried Chicken. My favorite plate came from chef Inaki Aizpitarte of Le Chateaubriand in Paris: a salad of rare slices of beef topped with a crunchy mixture of chives, coriander seeds, sesame seeds, and browned butter. The drinks came courtesy of Sasha Petraske of Milk and Honey and Richard Boccato of Dutch Kills, who poured Jameson-based cocktails that were perfect guardians against the chill air. And the campfires, oh those blessed campfires, kept me (in my poorly-planned short-sleeved attire) perfectly comfortable as we toasted to new international friends and the great feelings that music and food bring to the soul.