Cinco de Mayo Party at Young's-May 9th, 2010

Making my way up to Young's new apartment on the Upper West Side, I kept thinking, this place better be worth the trek! After circling the block a few times, I finally found Young's doorway. The place did not disappoint! It is a beautiful, pre-war building with soaring ceilings and massive windows, with the kind of detail work that can really only be found uptown. Besides being gorgeous and large, it also has a phenomenal deck, with a grill, of course!

The party was already revving up, with a group of about seven or eight of Young's friends working their way through a second platter of Sahi's Divine nachos and fried plantains. Emily G. accompanied me, armed with a bottle of tequilla and I with a bowl of my "fiesta de pork". I layered beans refried with an ungodly amount of panchetta with guacamole (also peppered with crispy panchetta), toped with pico de guio and sour cream.

Adam and Jennifer were right behind us, bearing wine and Mexican wedding cookies (homemade of course!). They also brought a guest, Kaiser, who gained instant approval with his bags of wine and cheeky demeanor. Kaitlin burst in like a storm, whipping up some Michelada's for us all. For those of you unfamiliar with Michelada's, they are a concoction of beer, lime juice, hot sauce, worshire sauce and a thick salted rim. I have fallen quite in love with them, but Adam likened their flavor to bile! To each his own!

Heather and Mike came prepared with white sangria and a spicy corn salsa brimming with cilantro. Heather and I agreed that the Sangria could use a little something to brighten it up, like sparkling wine or seltzer, but it was consumed in short order nonetheless!

Two new members, New Heather and Nastassia brought lemon thyme bars which were light and refreshing. Young decided to fire-up the grill, despite the freezing weather, and provided us with some outstanding burgers! One of the favorites of the evening were Erin's cayenne pepper brownies. Their heat snuck-up on you in a slow satisfying way.

As you can imagine from EWI events past, we had a great party. Lots of laughs and Liza Minnelli impersonations, talk ranging from politics to religion to sex. When asked by a new member how a food group could end up on such topics, I responded that food is life. People who love food understand the enjoyment of one of our most basic pleasures and necessities. This group is really about passion and our passion may begin with food, but it certainly does not end there!

Also in true EWI fashion, last call at Young's did not mark the end of the festivities! Nine of us staggered out into the night and off to the bar on the corner to continue with the debauchery. We did get some fantastic food event ideas stemming from our slurred discussions, one of which is a Shabat dinner, dubbed Jew-biley. A re-imagining of traditional Jewish cuisine paired with flavor tripping in Queens scheduled for the second or third week in July. More immediately will be our next event: Korean Fried Chicken and Karaoke in Koreatown one week from Friday.

Though a few days-off, I think we did Cinco de Mayo proud. We ate and drank with impunity, and isn't that what it's all about?

Adios!