Subject: Food and Cooking

• Rum Along to Ambiance

  November 3, 2009

• SD26: Food in Need of Love

  November 3, 2009

• Drooling in Anticipation Over Purple Yam

  Purple YamTamarind shrimp with caramelized onion and mustard seeds​Purple Yam may not be open for another week, but its owners certainly know how to whet the public's appetite. The restaurant's website pictures some of the Pan-Asian dishes that will be featured on the menu, such as tamarind shrimp with caramelized onions and toasted mustard seeds, Balinese duck leg, and, somewhat unexpectedly, a mushroom and leek quiche that will be served during brunch. If the photos, which also include s

  November 4, 2009

• Under the Toque: A16 Pastry Chef to Follow Nate Appleman; Could New York Have Finally Lured Animal?

  ​ Jane Tseng, the pastry chef at A16 and SPQR in San Francisco, is allegedly following in Nate Appleman's footsteps and heading for New York to take over as pastry chef at Keith McNally's upcoming Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria. [Eater] Michael Ronis, the founding chef of the Carmine's chain and Virgil's Real Barbecue in Times Square, has passed away at age 60. His obituary in the Daily Journal attested to his love of food and keen interest in new restaurant openings. [Grub Street] Fox has an

  November 5, 2009

• The Redhead's Brunch Menu Sings the Song of the South

  Tasting Table noticed that the Redhead began serving brunch this past weekend, finally taking a cue from chef Meg Grace's consulting work with Permanent Brunch. Grace's new menu carries a strong Southern accent, featuring seafood gumbo, Anson Mills grits, biscuits and gravy, and pancakes served with sorghum syrup. Start whistling Dixie, y'all.

  November 5, 2009

• Boulud Continues Worldwide Expansion; Blumenthal Moves on from Bad Fish Fiasco

  ​Just weeks after announcing a Singaporean outpost of DB Bistro Moderne, Daniel Boulud reveals plans to open a Bar Boulud in London's Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park next spring. Bloomberg reports that Gilles Verot, known for his charcuterie in Paris, will helm the kitchen. Boulud said in a statement that the restaurant would combine "New York's energy and spirit, a little French soul and tradition, and a touch of London." It won't be the only new resto for the Mandarin Oriental. Heston Blume

  November 5, 2009

• 100 Things Waiters Shouldn't Do, Under Penalty of Death, Dismemberment, or Undying Scorn

  fast eddie 42/flickrWith rules like these, you'd probably want a break, too.​Bruce Buschel, the would-be Hamptons restaurateur who's been blogging about his experiences for the Times, has just published the second half of his list of 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do. If Buschel's rules are any indication, then working as a waiter at his establishment will be the service industry's equivalent of being a first-year cadet at the Citadel. Much of Buschel's list is valid: No. 58's

  November 5, 2009

• Battle of the Dishes: Grass-Fed, Local Steak Versus Supermarket Steak

  Left: Kinderhook Farm rib steak from Marlow and Daughters; Right: Key Foods rib steak​ As retail experiences go, they were as different as it gets: I walked into Key Foods and found a bone-in rib steak in the refrigerated section, packaged in a Styrofoam container and covered in plastic. The label provided no information other than the cut, the weight (.80 pound), and the price ($7.90 at $9.99 per pound). Then I headed to Williamsburg and asked the bearded butcher behind the counter at Mar

  November 5, 2009

• Our 10 Best Cheeses

  ​ ​Is it a piece of marble or a blue cheese? And did it make the list of Our 10 Best Cheeses? Who doesn't love cheese? A friend says she administers a cheese test to potential boyfriends. If the guy doesn't crave the coagulated milk products of cows, sheep, goats, or water buffalo, it's no dice! (Why is there no such thing as pig's milk cheese? And what about llama cheese?)

  November 6, 2009

• Open & Closed: Say Hello to UO; Goodbye to Elvie's Turo-Turo

  The new Sigmund Pretzel Shop on the Lower East Side was opened by pastry chef Lina Kulchinsky and partner Tricia Wancko. Expect small batch, hand-twisted pretzels, plain or dressed up with spreads and dips, both sweet and savory. [Always Hungry] Sushi UO has opened on the Lower East Side with 23-year-old chef-owner David Bouhadana at the helm. Bouhadana has studied in Japan and worked at Morimoto. The menu at his unmarked restaurant will change daily. [NY Times] The owners of Koreatown's not-s

  November 6, 2009

• Dovetail Re-opens Tonight, Expanded and Renovated

  Dovetail, pre-renovation.​Just as Mario Batali has shrunk Del Posto in his quest for the NYT stamp of approval, Dovetail has added 20 seats to its dining room and 500 bottles to its wine list. According to a rep, John Fraser's Upper West Side New American restaurant will also boast a new sommelier, Babbo/the French Laundry's Amanda Reade Sturgeon, as well as a new cheese cart, cocktail menu, and roster of small plates for the expanded bar.

  November 6, 2009

• Ruby Tuesday Tries to Move on up

  NNECAPA/flickr​As the economy has festered, fast-food and casual dining restaurants have been whipping out their mascara wands to class up their image while reassuring diners that the food is still cheap and the portions still monolithic. Burger King embarked on a bachelor pad-fabulous make-over, while Houston's changed its name to Hillstone, perhaps because it conjured images of a gated community rather than beer stains and onion blossoms. Ruby Tuesday is the latest chain to make the bid

  November 9, 2009

• Recipe: Make Sisha Ortuzar's Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Gratin with Black Olives

  ​Is there nothing more satisfying than cheesy potatoes? Sisha Ortuzar of 'wichcraft, which recently launched a full dinner menu, shakes up this comfort-food staple by changing the cheese and the potato. And who should know comfort food better than the co-founder of Tom Colicchio's sandwich brainchild? "Sweet potato is one of my favorite fall flavors, but it can be very one-note and sometimes the sweetness can be overwhelming," says Ortuzar. "By pairing it with the goat cheese and olives,

  November 9, 2009

• Tiki Experiments at Home

  A Painkiller​ Tiki cocktails, when made with freshly squeezed juices, homemade syrups, and quality rums, are completely delicious--complex, stiff, and flavorful. But, with the exception of the now-closed bar at Elettaria, these classic cocktails, most invented in the 30s and 40s, have been neglected by the classic cocktail renaissance. Maybe it's because their faux Polynesian trappings are so kitschy or because reliable recipes are hard to come by--the originators of tiki, Don the Beachcom

  November 9, 2009

• Beer Here! A Report From the Brooklyn Homebrewers Tour

  Josh Bernstein spells it all out.​ On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, 23 beer lovers met in Sunset Park to embark on a day of heavy drinking. Waiting for everyone to arrive, beer writer Josh Bernstein held a sign he made out of trash that said, "Hey! It's a HOMEBREW TOUR." Bernstein played tour guide yesterday for the Brooklyn Homebrewers Tour, helping beer geeks invade the privacy of neighbors' homes and drink all their delicious, handcrafted booze. The first stop was a one-bedroom apart

  November 9, 2009

• Racist Chinese Restaurants; An English Breakfast That's Hardly So

  ​The recession may seem to be ending, but a new study reveals that restaurant customers still plan to spend less on eating out in 2010 that they did this year, about 20 percent less per meal, they say. Weekly restaurant visits, however, are up. [Nation's Restaurant News] Two Chinese restaurants that refuse to deliver food north of East Harlem have been accused of racism. The Human Rights Commission is investigating whether Chinese Mirch and One Fish Two Fish are excluding Latino and Afric

  November 10, 2009

• Maialino to Open Tomorrow

  Chubbyhubby.net​Danny Meyer may be hard at work attempting worldwide Shake Shack domination, but that hasn't prevented him from focusing on more local and lofty endeavors like Maialino, his Roman-style trattoria that opens for dinner tomorrow evening. The restaurant, located in the Gramercy Park Hotel, will feature Nick Anderer as its executive chef. Anderer, who was formerly a sous-chef at Gramercy Tavern, will be turning out old-school Roman classics like braised artichokes and spaghetti

  November 10, 2009

• Abe & Arthur's Says Goodbye to Disco, Hello to Comfort Food

  November 10, 2009

• Dodge the Sake Bombs at Laut

  November 10, 2009

• Server Not Servant Has Its Own List, Mr. Buschel

  fast eddie 42/flickr​In response to Bruce Buschel's list of 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do, Server Not Servant posts its own list of 64 Suggestions for Restaurant Customers. Some of these seem like no-brainers, but anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant knows that some customers certainly could use a primer on dining etiquette. For example: Never blurt your name, the number in your party, and the time of your reservation in response to a warm welcome. Acknowledge the ex

  November 12, 2009

• New in Chinatown: Grand Bo Ky Restaurant

  Cambodian rice noodle soup​ About three weeks ago, the folks behind Bo Ky Restaurant on Bayard Street opened a shiny new branch on Grand Street, and sensibly dubbed it Grand Bo Ky. Both Bo Ky and Grand Bo Ky are all about noodle soups--mainly Teochew style (from Chaoshan, a region in northeast Guangdong province), with a few Vietnamese-influenced dishes thrown in for good measure.

  November 12, 2009

• Chatting With Danny Abrams: The New Mermaid Oyster Bar, Celeb Chef Culture, and Seafood

  Photo: Melissa HomDanny Abrams​Prolific restaurateur Danny Abrams just launched Mermaid Oyster Bar on Tuesday. The restaurant joins his stable of establishments, including the two locations of the Mermaid Inn. Tell us a little bit about the Mermaid Oyster Bar concept--what distinguishes it from the Mermaid Inns? The Mermaid Oyster Bar is meant to invoke the feeling of being on vacation at the beach and The Mermaid Inn is reminiscent of New England beach shack fare.

  November 12, 2009

• Overlooked Places: Du6lin in the West Village (a/k/a Dublin 6)

  ​"Shall I go in or not," she wonders out loud. (All pictures taken in near total darkness with the Fork in the Road low-lite steadicam.) Du6lin, also known as Dublin 6, is a true gastropub, one that has gone largely unnoticed due to its proximity to a more famous gastropub (The Spotted Pig), and its resemblance to a plain Irish pub, of which several new ones have opened in the West Village in the last few years.

  November 13, 2009

• Open & Closed: Say Hello to Cafe Mei Mei; Goodbye to Etats-Unis

  L.A. Burdick, the artisanal chocolatier from Cambridge, Mass., opened a Manhattan outpost a few weeks ago. It will start serving pastries and wines in the next few weeks. [Eater] Robert Ribant of River Cafe has opened Cafe Mei Mei in Cobble Hill, a sleek "seasonal American" restaurant. Wine and beer will be served once the liquor license clears. [The Feed] Le P'tit Paris debuted in the Park Slope space formerly occupied by Da Vincenzo. Chef-owner Olivier Jouannard, who worked at Flea Market C

  November 13, 2009

• Pichet Ong Gets Ready to Open Spot on November 17

  Pichet OngPichet Ong at the soon-to-open Spot.​ Although Batch may have closed in March, Pichet Ong has been busier than ever these past few months. In addition to opening Spot, his Asian dessert bar with the owners of Michael Huynh's OBAO, next Tuesday, the 17th, the pastry chef plans to re-open Batch next spring, is working on a new cookbook he'll publish in 2011, and has two other projects in the works that he'd rather not discuss at the present time. Fork in the Road got a preview of w

  November 13, 2009

• Battle of the Dishes: Bean to Bar Chocolate Bars From Jacques Torres and Mast Brothers

  ​ There's a reason that very few chocolatiers can claim to manufacture their chocolate from bean to bar. Transforming raw cacao beans to molded bars is a time- and space-consuming process that doesn't lend itself to the snug confines of most New York chocolate shops. The fact that it takes about 400 beans to make one pound of chocolate is in itself a deterrent to manufacture, and that's before you begin to factor in all of the equipment needed for cleaning, bean and nib roasting, liquor m

  November 13, 2009

• Christina Tosi Explains Why the Her Crack Pie Is Now Trademarked

  GlenwoodNYC.comEdible intellectual property. ​ Sometime during the past couple of months, new additions appeared on the Momofuku Milk Bar and Bakery menu: 'TM' symbols next to the cereal milk, compost cookie, and crack pie. Had someone been caught in the act of trying to copycat Christina Tosi's singular creations? Or were the symbols more symbolic of Momofuku's particular brand of whimsical irreverence? Neither, says Tosi.

  November 16, 2009

• Recipe: Make the Smorgas Chef's Gravlaks

  ​Morten Sohlberg, the chef-owner of Smorgas Chef at Scandinavia House, shares his recipe for the house gravlaks, a Scandinavian specialty of fresh salmon cured in salt, sugar, dill, and spices. The gravlaks is part of the new Dinner & a Movie special at Smorgas that includes, well, a three-course prix-fixe dinner and a feature film. "The word 'gravlaks' literally translated means 'salmon buried into the ground,' a reference to the Middle Ages when Scandinavians would preserve salmon throu

  November 16, 2009

• What's Happening This Week: A Lesson in Eating (& Cooking) Your Veggies; A Scandinavian Dinner Date

  Our weekly dining and drinking newsletter features all the coolest epicurean events in the city. Sign up for it here! Vegetarian Delights with an Emphasis on Greens ($55) Indian Culinary Center November 16 Not even the staunchest of carnivores can refute the appeal of vegetables prepared using the spices and flavors of India. Learn to make such standards as homemade paneer for Paneer with Bell Peppers, as well as Spicy and Tangy Potato Curry, Spicy Roadside Style Chickpeas, Cauliflower with Fre

  November 16, 2009

• Follow the Fooderati on Gastrobuzz

  Josh Friedland, who runs the blog The Food Section, has introduced a new website called Gastrobuzz that tracks the tweets of the food world. Follow the twitterings of hundreds of chefs, food writers and bloggers, and other culinary personalities in one place by visiting the site or following @GastroBuzz on Twitter. Now, don't you wish you'd thought of it first?

  November 16, 2009

• Vegetarian Delights of NYC: The Clean Slate at Saltie

  ​The "clean slate" at Saltie is one of the few sandwiches not made with focaccia. Saltie is a new sandwich shop (mainly carryout but with some counter seating) that seeks to redefine what a sandwich is. Above is the "clean slate," a vegetarian sandwich made with a homemade naan, which has a crisp surface and spongy interior.

  November 17, 2009

• The Freemans Gang is Opening a Classic American Diner on the Bowery

  The Freemans wall of plaid.​Last night's Community Board 3 SLA & DCA committee meeting was a surprisingly swift affair, owing in part to the large number of applications that were struck from the agenda. Perhaps the most noteworthy development? Taavo Somer and his Freemans gang are opening a "classic American diner" in the old Kelley & Ping space on the Bowery and East Fourth Street.

  November 17, 2009

• Tokyo More Gastronimically Acclaimed than Paris; Farming Dream Job Found in Brooklyn

  ​Four Seasons Restaurant co-owner Alex Von Bidder is insisting that Jean Mackenzie, who owns the Four Seasons Caterer in Southampton, change the name of her business so as not to suggest any connection to the restaurant. [NY Daily News] Costco has announced that it is no longer carrying Coca-Cola products due to a pricing dispute with the beverage maker. Coca-Cola Co. says it's committed to working with Costco, which is an important customer. [Huffington Post] An upscale Midwood kosher r

  November 17, 2009

• More Chef Progeny Enter New York Restaurant Industry

  The ranks of chef progeny who enter the restaurant industry just grew a little bigger: Diner's Journal reports that Jean-George Vonghericten's daughter, Louise, has been made the junior manager at her dad's Mercer Kitchen. She's in good company --

  November 17, 2009

• Some Incredible Qingdao Cuisine Hits Flushing

  November 17, 2009

• Donatella Arpaia on the New Mia Dona and Finally Pleasing Her Mother

  From Mia Dona's new menu: Fava puree with chicory​ "My mother doesn't really like the food in my restaurants," says Donatella Arpaia. "She didn't even like the food in my father's restaurants. She only likes her food," referring to the cuisine of Puglia, where her mother grew up. But now, with the re-opening of Mia Dona, Arpaia's mother finally cleans her plate at one of her daughter's restaurants--that's because the food is her food, literally.

  November 18, 2009

• The Top 40 Locavore Chefs Under 40

  Mother Nature Network has put together a list of the country's 40 most important rising culinary stars under the age of 40. The list focuses on chefs who use fresh, local, and sustainable ingredients and adhere to a farm-to-table philosophy. Surprisingly, there are only two New Yorkers in the bunch -- and neither cooks in Manhattan.

  November 18, 2009

• Jimmy's No. 43's Jimmy Carbone Talks Good Beer, Cassoulet Cook-offs, and Loving the Locavores

  ​ "Do you mind if we talk in here?" Jimmy Carbone gestures to his narrow basement kitchen at Jimmy's 43, outfitted with hot plates, metal racks holding dishes, and wooden chopping boards. Carbone already has the onions out, waiting to be diced for a peperonata he's making for this evening's Hot Bread Kitchen fundraiser. It's early afternoon and the bar is officially open, but the only people who pop in are purveyors-- one carrying in a loaf of bread from Tom Cat Bakery in Queens, another w

  November 18, 2009

• An Early Look at East Village Asian Dessert Place, Spot: Serving Ovaltine Ice Cream, Chinese Walnut Cookies

  Ovaltine ice cream with "walnut soil"​ This week, Ace Watanasuparp and Chai Huadwattana opened Spot, a modern Asian dessert bar on St. Marks, with Pichet Ong as consulting chef. Last night, they were offering six different "seasonal dessert tapas," like white miso semifreddo and jackfruit cake with rum toffee. To-go options included cupcakes (flavors like chocolate-apricot-green tea, and vanilla-almond-coconut), several cookies, and a slew of ice creams and sorbets, including Vietnamese co

  November 19, 2009

• Battle of the Dishes: Chicken-Fried Chicken Livers from Cornbread Diner and Tipsy Parson

  ​​ If the current fixation with all foods cholesterol-laden and comforting brings about a chicken-fried chicken liver renaissance, all that superfluous mac-and-cheese will have been worth it. They're elemental and delicious, entry-level offal. The crisp, rugged batter contrasts nicely with the cushiony organs, and a quick fry should be the perfect amount of time to cook them, so that they arrive still pink in the center. This week's Battle of the Dishes pits two versions of chicken

  November 19, 2009

• Our 10 Best Williamsburg Restaurants

  ​The roof garden at French bistro Juliette awaits forlornly the return of summer. The growth of Williamsburg restaurants in the last dozen years has been meteoric, and, where once there were a dozen or so places that might be worth trying, now there are probably 200 or more.

  November 20, 2009

• Open & Closed: Say Hello to By the Ounce; Goodbye to Zoe

  Bouley Bakery now has a wine bar. By the Ounce serves wines, well, by the ounce, as well as snacks by Chef Shea Gallante, like charcuterie, cheese, and caviar, also sold by the ounce. [NY Times] A new taqueria on Avenue A has a Mexican wrestler theme. La Lucha serves Mexico City-style tacos, which means no guacamole, no sides of rice and beans, and no burritos. [Urban Daddy] The West Village outpost of Cafe Gitane has opened in the Jane Hotel. For now, it's serving breakfast, but expect a full

  November 20, 2009

• A Peek at the New Iris Cafe in Brooklyn Heights

  ​ The pocket of Brooklyn Heights located almost beneath the BQE is now home to the Iris Cafe, an airy, high-ceilinged place that opened yesterday on Columbia Place near Joralemon Street. It's one of several storefronts in the historic Riverside Apartment complex, many of which are empty. One of the cafe's three proprietors used to work at the River Cafe, while another has worked for Edible Brooklyn. A glimpse inside and a description of the menu follow on the next page.

  November 20, 2009

• Vegetarian Delights of NYC: Roasted Cauliflower Sandwich at Num Pang

  ​ ​Even though there's seating upstairs in the tiny shop, many would prefer to eat their sandwich al fresco. Num Pang is a sandwich shop whose purpose is to tweak the banh mi formula in unexpected directions. If you go there jonesing for a traditional banh mi, you'll be sadly disappointed, but many of the sandwiches have an exciting traction all their own. Because chef Ratha Chau was born in Cambodia, some of the sandwiches swing in that direction, tastewise. Somewhat paradoxically

  November 20, 2009

• Bluefin Tuna on Menus, Should Be Banned; Coca-Cola Targets China

  ​Some of the tuna sushi being served in New York restaurants comes from an endangered species, according to a new study. Bluefin tuna is regularly on the menu in New York restaurants. [NY Daily News] Meanwhile a Times editorial makes the case for banning the sale of bluefin in the U.S., joining other countries that have proposed listing the bluefin as an endangered species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. [NY Times] Todd English was spotted "sucking seri

  November 23, 2009

• What's Happening This Week: Turkey Day in the City

  Our weekly dining and drinking newsletter features all the coolest epicurean events in the city. Sign up for it here! A Craft-y Thanksgiving Hours: 2:00pm-8:00pm Sure, it's not mom's green bean casserole. But you could do worse than Tom Colicchio's Thanksgiving dinner ($115). An amuse-bouche of spiced pumpkin soup with creme fraiche and pumpkin seed oil will be followed by roasted Nantucket Bay scallops with black truffle, then a roasted organic Eberly Farms turkey with a selection of family-st

  November 23, 2009

• Curry Hill Gets a "Handcrafted Indian" Restaurant for "Post-Modernist" New Yorkers

  ​ Kalustyan's expansion isn't the change to Curry Hill's storefronts: a new restaurant called Cinnamon Grill is opening in the former Coconut Grove space at 106 Lexington Avenue.

  November 23, 2009

• Recipe: Make The Pioneer Woman's Potato-Leek Pizza

  ​Ree Drummond is The Pioneer Woman, a thirty-something city girl-turned-ranch wife and mother of four. Her blog chronicles her life as a black pumps-wearing, sushi-eating, pedicure-getting gal who fell in love with a rugged cattle rancher and moved to the middle of nowhere. She shares a recipe from her cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, for Potato-Leek Pizza. "This is my favorite pizza on earth, hands down," writes Drummond. "It's flavorful, textural, and girlie... the leeks set it apart

  November 23, 2009

• An Early Look at Banh Mi Zon in the East Village

  Banh mi #1: Pork roll, shredded pork, liver pate, and the fixings​ As the journalism business flounders, the banh mi trade booms--no one knows this better than Tai Dang, who was reportedly fired from his job as a photographer for Newsweek, and decided to return to his native Saigon to learn to cook, then come back to the East Village to open a banh mi shop. The result of this career change is Banh Mi Zon ("zon" means "crisp and delicious"), a small storefront decorated with Dang's photos o

  November 23, 2009

• Some Food Predictions to Chew On

  It's almost Thanksgiving, which means it's time for assorted food-oriented publications to start dusting off their crystal balls for a look at what next year will hold for our stomachs. Nation's Restaurant News has stepped up to the plate with its list of Five Dining Predictions for 2010.

  November 23, 2009