Booking.com’s Taste Of Travel Townhouse Event: Innovative Tastes With Marcus Samuelsson!

I headed over to the posh yet classic stooped 1891 townhouse at 118 West 76th Street yesterday for booking.com’s Taste Of Travel event. Set up outside was the Taste Of Travel food truck, which lucky passersby were able to sample food from gratis (plus they got to press the flesh with legendary chef Marcus Samuelsson, the host of the event inside for press)!
The townhouse is actually available to rent on Booking.com but this week a lucky booking.com contest winner is getting to stay in it. Find it on the site under the name “Taste Of Travel Townhouse.” Just be forewarned that this six story gut-renovated luxury pad will set you back $42K per month. I noticed that it was already booked up for August so there is someone out there with big bread to spend. Just for the record, you can also purchase it for $15.95 million. (Here is link to the sale listing: https://lesliegarfield.com/properties/new-york/sale/118-west-76th-street.)
The event inside the stunning home took place along the ample kitchen island. Chef Samuelsson created about a dozen great New York neighborhood inspired dishes including Greek style lamb and chicken meatballs with a dill labne sauce created in honor of Astoria’s great Greek cuisine and a spicy fried chicken bread done with a buttermilk batter in honor of Harlem’s legendary soul food. There was also an extra large sticky rib with a soy based sauce and pickled red chili pepper topping that I loved and had to take a second on (I believe this was inspired by midtown Manhattan’s Koreatown)!
As we sampled each tray of dishes that came out, and since the event was travel themed, Chef Samuelsson asked all 30 to 35 travel and food writers gathered around him to talk about their best culinary experiences on their most recent trips. I have to say that I have bot gone past Jensen Beach, Florida in 2018 but others talked about recent culinary episodes in Vietnam and Greece. I truly felt that I “don’t get out much” as they say, LOL!
After a lot of noshing and photo ops with Chef Samuelsson, everyone received a goody bag with a held translating device for future trips. That gift was definitely a good call for people who travel the world on a regular basis! I stopped to talk to the crew out at the truck who I noticed were busy prepping for the crowd to come enjoy their New York inspired fare for free! It was a fun afternoon in one of Manhattan’s most classic neighborhoods. And what town come up #1 among booking.com’s recently poll of great destinations for best foodie town? (There was no question in anyone’s mind that New York City would be the winner!)