Viewing "The Chew" With Best Friends!

Have you been watching the new afternoon TV show called "The Chew"? Produced by Gordon Elliott's Chew Productions for the ABC Television Network, it is a fast-paced show broadcast from New York City that "celebrates and explores life through food." It stars Chefs Mario Batali, Michael Symon, and Carla Hall, along with stylist Clinton Kelly, and author of the 2006 bestseller "The Dorm Room Diet," Daphne Oz.  (All photos will enlarge if double clicked on)

I received an e-mail a few weeks ago asking if I'd like tickets to attend a taping. I had already had plans to meet a blogger, Linda from "Ciao Chow Linda," on October 4, so I asked if she'd like to attend the show with me, along with my husband and another friend, as I was allowed four tickets.

I've been reading and enjoying Linda's wonderful food blog for many years and I was looking forward to finally meeting her and having a fun NYC "foodie" day with her! Linda is a wonderful Italian focused cook, and her recipes and photography are always a delight!

My friend, Rosemary, took a photo of us sitting in The Chew's audience.  If you are curious to watch the episode we attended you can watch it in full on this link.  The theme of the show we attended was "Comfort Foods." We didn't get too much camera time, as we weren't sitting behind the people chosen to be "audience tasters," but we had a good time and enjoyed watching Mario and Michael cook delicious and easy chicken dishes --Mario made Grilled Chicken in Tapenade With Fennel Salad, and Michael made Braised Chicken Fennel and Potatoes.  Carla makes her famous Macaroni and Cheese with guest Sam Champion, the popular weatherman for ABC's Good Morning America. Click on the highlighted words to see their recipes.

No photography was allowed before or during the show, but I was able to take these photos afterward so you can see how many people are involved with the show behind the scenes in the studio.  Mario was engrossed in conversation with the producer Gordan Elliot after the show, but Carla, Michael, and Clinton came over to the audience area to say hello.

Linda and I outside the ABC studio. Each audience member was given a sample tin of Carla Hall's delicious Alchemy Cookie Bites as a gift to take home.

No, this is not our feet, but I did want to show you the fun set of orange crocs worn by Mary and Judy, two ladies from New Jersey, who we met on the audience line before the show. I promised to show their fun shoes on my blog.  Mario Batali is famous for wearing orange crocs, and as his fans, they donned their orange crocs in honor of him!

After the show, we went to the Lower East Side in Manhattan to have brunch at the Clinton Street Baking Company and Restaurant, which I previously blogged about at this link.  This popular restaurant is famous for its fluffy pancakes and buttermilk biscuits, and there is usually a line of people waiting to get in. We had to wait about 40 minutes before being seated, and we must have been very hungry, as we ate everything without taking photos of our delicious meals!  Finally feeling satiated, we continued on our day's adventure and drove into Brooklyn.

Linda lives in New Jersey and hasn't visited the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where we live, for a while, so we took her for a little tour of an interesting neighborhood along Atlantic Avenue.

This street is famous for its variety of antique shops and vintage architectural and industrial furniture salvage shops.  Linda's daughter was the happy recipient of an HGTV "Dear Genevieve," makeover of her Manhattan apartment early this year, and Linda thought they may have found some of the elements they used to decorate her apartment in Brooklyn, in shops such as these.

It was fun to wander in and out of many of the stores and see what was being offered.  Some of the objects we saw brought back memories.  Notice one building was once the 1925 flagship "Ex Lax" factory. It has been converted into a co-op apartment building.

Most of the objects in these stores were highly-priced and unusual antiques, so we enjoyed looking but did not buy anything.

Atlantic Avenue is also known for its wealth of Middle Eastern markets, bakeries, stores, and restaurants.

A market I thought Linda might enjoy seeing was Sahadi's, a Middle Eastern Specialty Food Market located at 187 Atlantic Ave., between Clinton and Court Streets, since 1948.

It is jammed packed with bins and jars and containers full of bulk nuts, seeds, beans, grains, flours, dried fruits, coffee, cheeses, condiments, and spices, all at wonderfully low prices!

There are many imported foods from the Middle Eastern countries such a Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan and also foods from Greece and Italy and some European selections.

Sahadi's large selection of fresh olives available for purchase would certainly make a chef like Mario Batali very excited!

I obviously found some food delicacies to buy in Sahadi's, as did my friend Rosemary and Linda. It was a wonderful day and we promised we'd get together again on another adventure very soon!

Now for the winner of the Bertolli free frozen soup coupons, soup ladle, and ceramic bread dish!  Thanks to all who entered. I had  103 comments on the giveaway post and using Random.org the winning number between 1- 103 was number 85, which turned out to be Susan, from the blog Beyond My Kitchen Window.  Congratulations, Susan! Please send your name and address to me so I can forward it to the Bertolli people who will send the gift set out to you. Enjoy their delicious frozen soups!

It is my 37th wedding anniversary today, so I am also celebrating! I feel blessed to be married to my best friend and look forward to many more years together. Love you, my sweetheart ♥

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