Food Republic And Pacific Rim Host A Riesling And Asian Food Crawl In NYC
Earlier this week, Food Republic teamed with Pacific Rim wines and three popular New York City restaurants to demonstrate how well Riesling pairs with food — particularly Asian flavors.
Invited guests from various NYC food- and drink-focused media outlets and several prominent Instagrammers joined Pacific Rim winemaker Nicolas Quillé in a wine-fueled Asian food crawl on Manhattan's Lower East Side, hopping from popular sushi spot Blue Ribbon to noodle-soup mecca Ivan Ramen to Southeast Asian–inspired favorite Pig & Khao. It was truly an epic feast, featuring such lovely dishes as seared blue fin otoro with garlic chips, chilled yuzu shio ramen with seafood and BBQ baby back ribs with Asian slaw. Throughout the hot summer evening, Quillé kept everyone refreshed with prodigious pours of various Washington state–produced Rieslings, including a special age-worthy 2014 varietal from Solstice vineyard in the Yakima Valley, the winemaker's personal favorite. Check out the photos from this mirthful evening here:
On Tuesday, August 16, Food Republic joined Pacific Rim wines to showcase the versatility of Riesling, especially when paired with Asian flavors. The night started out at Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya, with prodigious pourings of Pacific Rim Classic Rieslings. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
First things first: A toast by winemaker Nicolas Quillé. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Market Watch's Christina Jelski takes the winemaker's advice: "You can listen to the ocean!" (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Banana leaf–wrapped cod, grilled with a turmeric-lemongrass curry paste and topped with coconut cream, crispy garlic and cilantro. Divine! (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Morgan Yi (center) is all smiles as the last meal of the night gets underway at Pig & Khao. Check her out on Instagram: @cityfoodie. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Jean Lee (left) clinks glasses with the winemaker. Check her out on Instagram: @jeaniusnyc. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Pig & Khao chef Leah Cohen (right) joins the winemaker in a toast and a few laughs. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Pig & Khao's BBQ baby back ribs. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Guests choose one of three styles of soup (clockwise from top left): spicy red chili ramen with minced pork, triple pork triple garlic mazeman ramen and chilled yuzu shio ramen with seafood. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Food Republic contributing editor and "Wine Dads" columnist Chris Shott (left) chats up Pacific Rim winemaker Nicolas Quillé prior to the big event. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Kat H (right) gets her slurp on. Check her out on Instagram: @thekataloguer. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Winemaker Nicolas Quillé pours from his favorite bottle: a special age-worthy 2014 varietal from Solstice vineyard in the Yakima Valley. Dry and delicious! (Photo: Evan Sung.)
More Blue Ribbon delights: takoyaki (left) with wasabi mayo, teriyaki sauce and bonito flakes; foie gras torchon (right) with habanero syrup, macadamia nuts and micro greens. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Blue Ribbon chef Takahashi Tsuyoshi (center) describes the evening's cold sushi offerings, while fellow chef Jason Potter (left) looks on. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Winemaker Nicolas Quillé joins a group of nearly 30 invited guests on this fun night of food and drink. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Final stop of the night: the popular Southeast Asian–inspired Pig & Khao. Food Republic's Carrie Noonan sets the scene. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Cold sushi course (clockwise from top left): cold egg tofu with sea urchin and yuzu dashi, seared blue fin otoro with garlic chips and wasabi and, finally, Japanese red snapper with lemon gelee and shiso. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
The Wall Street Journal's Elva Ramirez digs right in. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Instagrammers zero in. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Second stop of the night: popular Manhattan noodle joint Ivan Ramen. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Ivan Ramen owner Ivan Orkin chats up winemaker Nicolas Quillé. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Nicolas Quillé shares some knowledge about Washington-produced Riesling. Fact: The Evergreen State is America's top producer of this type of wine. (Photo: Evan Sung.)
Nightcap! Dessert and sparkling wines from our friends at Pacific Rim. (Photo: Evan Sung.)