S’more Bakery’s Sarah Warren (left) and Mike Siebold deliver to client Elizabeth Keating. (
)
Eggnog from a carton and slice-and-bake gingerbread cookies no longer cut it at holiday parties, especially in a city of one-upsmanship like New York. Now, if you want to stand out, you need Polish-born chefs to make and assemble pirogi in front of you, beautiful girls to shuck oysters and even a delivery of homemade s’mores. Fortunately, new services cater to exactly such needs. Read on for our guide to holiday entertaining, no matter what the occasion or situation.
FOR AN OFFICE-BONDING BASH
Nobu’s hand-roll box delivery, which launched last month, is ideal for celebratory office lunches — and is even more appealing because the high-end sushi spot doesn’t deliver. Don’t know how to create a handmade roll? A sushi expert from the restaurant is there to guide you, step-by-step, on how to roll the crunchy seaweed wrapper into the perfect conical shape and seal it closed with just the right amount of sticky rice.
“This is by far the freshest sushi you can get — and I don’t even usually like sushi,” exclaims Allison Vicenzi, an account manager at concierge service INsider. Vicenzi’s bosses ordered the box in honor of the 23-year-old Williamsburg resident’s one-year anniversary with the company.
The $550 price tag includes 50 hand rolls worth of sushi — enough to feed up to a dozen people — with all the fixings, including avocado, roe, soy sauce, ginger, wasabi and rice. Orders must be placed at least 72 hours in advance.
FOR IMPRESSING BIG CLIENTS
Dutch import Oysters XO reimagines the standard raw bar: Instead of oysters sitting off to the side of a catering hall, a group of girls work the room, shelling out Beau Soleil, Kumamoto or local Blue Point bivalves from silver buckets hanging from their waists.
“You can’t get oysters fresher than that,” says Jeroen Werdmölder, director of banquets at the Plaza Hotel, who ordered 10 dozen Beau Soleil oysters for a summer picnic in Central Park for his most valued clients. “It’s a personal touch, the way the oyster girls come to you.”
Oysters XO’s appeal is rooted in its attention to detail: The company’s 14 speedy shuckers, who can shell up to 200 oysters per hour, wear custom-made outfits — down to the aprons and shucking gloves — for events and are well versed in anything and everything oyster-related. Pricing varies but can go as high as $10 per oyster.
FOR A SWEET SHINDIG
Sarah Warren and Mike Siebold, the brains behind the year-old S’more Bakery, don’t simply slap together store-bought Honey Grahams and Hershey’s chocolate bars for their s’mores: Every ingredient is made from scratch, then delivered to your doorstep — with a slew of props to complete the experience, including a mini-chalkboard that lists the menu.
But the real fun begins after the treats are assembled, when Warren — a professionally trained pastry chef — brandishes a mini-blowtorch to melt the comfort food confection into gooey goodness. (No more burning s’mores in your oven broiler!)
Some of the six flavors — like the classic vanilla-bean marshmallow with cinnamon sugar grahams — are regulars; others, such as pumpkin spice and dark chocolate peppermint, are available only seasonally.
“I loved s’mores as a kid,” enthuses Warren, 25, as she presses an inch-thick vanilla bean marshmallow between two graham cracker squares, drizzling it with a silky chocolate ganache. “And s’mores are a part of our culture.”
There’s a $75 minimum for the at-home service, which includes delivery, setup and catering for the duration of the party; pricing starts at $1.50 per s’more (for minis) and goes up to about $3 each (for regular size).
FOR MULTICULTURAL MINGLING
Don’t even think about heating up frozen dumplings at your next shindig! Krasula Bar — which debuted in July — will make fresh pirogi in an array of offbeat flavors, right in your home. Just round up at least 15 of your closest pirogi-loving pals ($60 per person, with prices going down to $25 per person for 50 or more guests) for a party that includes two kinds of appetizers (like stuffed cabbage or mini meat crepes), three different types of pirogi and drinks like Polish beers.
The flavors range from sweet (like strawberry with yogurt) to savory (such as turkey and pine nut). The price includes delivery, cooking, service and cleanup: “I’m not comfortable just dropping it off and saying, ‘OK guys, figure it out,’ ” notes Kuczek, 32. “By me going to people’s homes, it allows [guests] to taste them the way they should taste.”