Akhtar Nawab

What New York's Chefs Eat and Drink to Fight the Flu

We've been offered a lot of fairly obvious flu-fighting tips lately, like avoiding close contact with sick people and washing our hands. But what to eat and drink? Chefs fight off the flu with some interesting homemade concoctions, featuring guest appearances from ingredients like cachaça, raw eg ... More >>

Happy National Taco Day! Find NYC's Best Tacos

It's National Taco Day, apparently! While New York City might not be Los Angeles when it comes to scoring premium carne asada off the street, there are still lots of excellent taco options to try. Plenty of new spots have opened since we listed the 10 Best Tacos in New York a couple of years ago, wi ... More >>

La Esquina's Akhtar Nawab, Chopped's Chris Santos At City Harvest Fundraiser

Akhtar Nawab of La Esquina​ City Harvest is one of the most beloved nonprofits in NYC. Each day, it collects nearly 77,000 pounds of food from restaurants, markets, and farmers, and uses that to feed more than 300,000 people. Last night it held its big annual fundraiser, "Summer in the City," ... More >>

La Esquina Will Spawn a New Location in Williamsburg's Relish Diner

plate of the day/FlickrUpscale diner food begets upscale Mexican food.​Less than four months after Williamsburg's Relish Diner closed up shop, the chrome railroad car has a new tenant: according to NYC In.tel (and confirmed by Grub Street), it's been taken over by the La Esquina team. They pla ... More >>

Akhtar Nawab Is Indeed the Chef at La Esquina

From Midtown to downtown.​Sometimes, there is truth in a rumor: on Sunday, Akhtar Nawab appeared on Josh Ozersky's Mr. Cutlets radio show, and took the opportunity to confirm that he is indeed the new chef at La Esquina. This follows an abbreviated stint at Zengo, Richard Sandoval's Latin-Asia ... More >>

La Esquina Shuttered by the Department of Buildings; Poses "Imminent Danger to Life or Public Safety"

La Esquina​Akhtar Nawab may be out of a job for awhile longer: citing "imminent danger to life or public safety," the Department of Buildings has shuttered La Esquina until, presumably, it no longer poses an imminent danger.

Akhtar Nawab Bids Farewell to Zengo

Nawab's next move?​Less than a month after he was hired as Zengo's chef de cuisine, Akhtar Nawab has parted ways with the upscale Latin-Asian fusion restaurant. The pairing never did seem like the best fit (downtown chef set adrift in vast Midtown sea to play second-in-command to Chef Richard ... More >>

In Rumors this Week: Michael White In at Setai; Akhtar Nawab On His Way Out at Zengo?

​ Rumor has it that Michael White and partner Chris Cannon will man all food operations at the Setai Fifth Avenue, including a 15,000-square-foot 160-seat restaurant. [Eater] Just three weeks after Zengo opened, Akhtar Nawab may be on his way out. The chef has apparently signed on to take ove ... More >>

Open & Closed: Say Hello to Zengo; Goodbye to Lusso

Restaurants, they come and they go. Here are a few making their debuts and taking their leaves this week. It might be curtains for Great Wall on Henry Street, which has been shuttered by the DoH for a total of 58 violations, including evidence of roaches and inadequate staff hygiene. [Brooklyn Heig ... More >>

Akhtar Nawab In at Richard Sandoval's Zengo

Will Akhtar Nawab's magic translate?​Florence Fabricant reveals that Akhtar Nawab of the now-defunct Elettaria (and, before that, Craftbar and E..U.) will be the chef de cuisine at Zengo, a new upscale Latin restaurant by Richard Sandoval set to open next month in the space formerly occupied b ... More >>

Akhtar Nawab is Landing at Zengo

Akhtar Nawab​ Those who enjoyed Akhtar Nawab's cooking at The E.U. and Elettaria might be interested to know that Nawab has found a new gig. And it sounds like a stretch.

One If By Land Takes Over Elettaria Slot at 'Eat Your Heart Out'

laverrue/flickr​The closing of Elettaria last month did, apparently, come as a surprise to owners Akhtar Nawab and Noel Cruz, who had already signed up their one-and-a-half-year-old restaurant to participate in Eat Your Heart Out, the seventh annual West Village tasting event taking place in W ... More >>

Elettaria to Close?

​Eater brings news that Elettaria, Akhtar Nawab and Noel Cruz's one-and-a-half-year-old restaurant on West Eighth Street, may be closing tonight. According to an e-mail sent yesterday by a bartender at the restaurant, " Our last service will be tomorrow night, Thursday the 27th." Though the re ... More >>

The Blogroll Gazette--Eat Me Daily Hypes Obama Food Book; The 'Bag Drools Over Men's Health' Pig Porn

This week in food blogs... Eat Me Daily discovered a new book entitled The Obama Menu: Dining with Barack Obama, which compiles menus, photos, quotes, and recipes for dishes that Obama may have eaten. EMD was hardly thrilled by the spoiler alert, though: "Multiple appearances by food guru Alice Wat ... More >>

Fork in the Road Reviews Elettaria (with Bonus Recipe)

Elettaria: Where Saag Paneer Is 'Saag Paneer'

Elettaria puts chefs onstage, plays with convention, and comes out ahead