Peter Hoffman

Sephardic Passover at Back Forty West Tonight, Plus Vermouth and Cheese Pairings!

Tuesday, March 26 Sephardic Passover Dinner at Back Forty West Forget cooking, or even catering, and make a reservation at Back Forty West for Passover. Owner Peter Hoffman will host a Sephardic Passover dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Seder plates and "written thoughts on the holiday" w ... More >>

Back Forty West Hosts a Cassoulet Festival Tonight, and More Great Events

Monday, February 25 Cassoulet Festival at Back Forty West Peter Hoffman will hold the annual Cassoulet Festival at Soho's Back Forty West starting at 6:30 p.m. Alex Raij of Txikito, Mike Laarhoven of Back Forty, Shanna Pacifico of Back Forty West, Nick Anderer or Maialino, and Tom Mylan of the Meat ... More >>

10 Best Restaurants to Book for Christmas Eve Dinner

Walking around Lower Manhattan these past few nights, it is clear that something is in the air. Literally. Take a deep breath in and find your lungs greeted by wave of pine from the tightly wrapped trees that now seem to line every street corner. By next week, it will be impossible to dodge the ho ... More >>

Tejal Rao at Back Forty West, Robert Sietsema at Mataheko

This past week has been an important one for the food industry. As we work to rebuild Sandy's lingering devastation, many restaurants have worked tirelessly to save their establishments as well as organize food drives and drop-offs to those who need it most. Those who eat professionally seem to be ... More >>

Back Forty West: New Soho, New Restaurant

In his old Savoy space, Peter Hoffman shines again

Round-Up: Fork in the Road's Hurricane Sandy Coverage, and How You Can Help [UPDATED]

Well, it's been quite the week here in New York City. We at Fork in the Road have been working remotely (some without power, heat, or even running water) to bring you the best coverage we can. We'll continue our reporting but in the meantime, for your convenience, here's a rundown:

Report From the East and West Villages, Post-Apocalypse

Le Bonbonniere, the West Village's favorite greasy spoon, was operating by candlelight last night. Over the last three days, as the reality of the storm's extreme impact downtown has become increasingly apparent, Villagers have pumped their basements and tried to lead some semblance of normal live ... More >>

Escarole and Kale Salad at Back Forty West

It's been a very good year for kale salads. Welcome to 100 Dishes to Eat Now, the tasty countdown leading up to our "Best of 2012" issue. Tune in each day (weekends too!) for a new dish from the Fork in the Road team. [See More 100 Dishes: Bread: New Breakfast and Brunch Spot in the West Village | ... More >>

5 Great Sodas in NYC

Now that the days of dropping five bucks on a jumbo, movie theater Coke will be going the way of smoking in bars, New Yorkers might want to consider a carbonation contingency plan. Despite Mayor Bloomberg's approved soda ban, plenty of NYC restaurants are crafting their own sodas in-house. Although ... More >>

This Week's Specials: Late-Night Eats, Taco Trials

See what we've been up to at Fork in the Road this week: Where should you go for drunk food on St. Patrick's Day? We've got the answer: our 10 best late-night eats. We're also giving you 5 other ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, including snacking on Burger King's free fries and green ketchup.

Back Forty West Chef Peter Hoffman on the Foods He Won't Serve: Interview Part 2

Yesterday we spoke with Peter Hoffman, the chef/owner of Back Forty and its new spinoff, Back Forty West, and he told us all about the best days to visit the Greenmarket and how he got into the locavore movement. Today he looks back on his long career in New York City and reveals his all-time favori ... More >>

Chef Peter Hoffman Shares His Thoughts on Recreating Back Forty in Soho and the Locavore Movement

Peter Hoffman has been a fixture in the downtown New York restaurant scene for years. He opened Savoy in Soho back before the neighborhood was a glorified shopping mall, and championed a farm-friendly culinary aesthetic before the term "locavore" was ever coined. He shuttered Savoy last year, but ju ... More >>

Our 10 Best East Village Restaurants, 2012 Edition

These chicken chile guajillo enchiladas at Downtown Bakery are every bit as good -- and spicy -- as they look. The East Village may be the city's most eclectic and rewarding dining destination, though this aspect of the neighborhood is sometimes eclipsed by its bars and cocktail lounges. You can d ... More >>

Savoy Becomes Back Forty West; Benares Brings Indian to the Theater District

Here are the latest newcomers to New York City's cutthroat dining scene. If you hear of any new openings or closings, let us know. ​Chef Peter Hoffman's former Savoy space, said the be one of the original farm-to-table restaurants, will re-open as Back Forty West this week. The SoHo sister restau ... More >>

New York City's 17 Greatest Chefs

The re-Africanized fried chicken at Marcus Samuelsson's Red Rooster This highly idiosyncratic list is based entirely on my own dining predilections, and only includes chefs whose work I'm reasonably familiar with. Certain figures have been excluded from consideration -- Thomas Keller, for example ... More >>

The Vendys to Honor Food Trucks from Jersey

Snooki would approve.​New York's Vendy Awards is adding a new category this year: New Jersey food trucks. Three competitors from the Garden State have been entered, including Taco Truck and the vegan Cinnamon Snail, from Hoboken; and Jersey City's Two Pitas in a Pod.

Soho's Going Kosher, and Looking Beyond Savoy

Dig it, West Broadway.​As yet further evidence that Jewish food is edging its way into the limelight, Soho is on track to get 3,000 square feet of kosher dining.

What's Happening This Week: Crab Boil, Colorado Pop-Up and Spanish Wines

As you may know, our weekly dining and drinking newsletter features all the coolest epicurean events in the city. Sign up for it here! Crab Boil Back Forty Tuesday, June 14th, 7 p.m. Peter Hoffman's East Village spot Back Forty will kick off summer by throwing its first Crab Boil of the season. For ... More >>

Back Forty's Annual Chesapeake Crab Boils Kick Off on June 14

'Tis the season.​Savoy may have recently thrown its last big hurrah, but Peter Hoffman is gearing up to throw Back Forty's annual all-summer-long Tuesday night Chesapeake Crab Boils.

Elegy for Peter Hoffman's Savoy, 8:00 Monday Evening

​As the sun set, the crowd spilled out into the magnificent Spring weather. Peter Hoffman's Savoy, a Soho fixture for two decades, founded at a time when Crosby Street was dark and forbidding at night, lays claim to being New York's Chez Panisse, a place that pioneered locavorism and fundame ... More >>

Our 10 Best NYC Restaurants With Secret Gardens

Lauren ShockeyWho would have known this was hidden in the back of an East Village diner?​ Eating in the great outdoors. Is there a greater pleasure in life? Quite frankly, no. And now that the weather has warmed, it's finally time for al fresco dining. New York surprisingly has many option ... More >>

Savoy, Say It Ain't So: Locavore Pioneer to Close After 20 Years

Joi/flickrPeter Hoffman​Peter Hoffman has just sent word that he plans to close Savoy, his trailblazing market-driven restaurant in Soho, on June 18 after more than two decades in business. He says he'll open a new restaurant in the same space later this year.

For One Night, Savoy Will Become a Shad Shack

Alosa sapidissima. Pretty, isn't it?​A few things you probably didn't know about shad, but which Wikipedia assures us are true: - also known as river herrings, they belong to the family Clupeidae - they play an unusual role in Virginia politics: every April, a Shad Planking (wherein the fish ... More >>

Next Week Is Grains Week

bernat/Flickr​While the idea of local fruits and vegetables is now firmly entrenched in the collective conscience, the concept of local grains is still relatively novel -- it's easy enough to picture an upstate apple orchard, but less so to imagine a wheat field that isn't in Iowa or Kansas.

Andrew Pressler 'Out' at Fatty 'Cue; Christopher Lee 'In' at Las Chicas Locas

​Scott Conant of Scarpetta has written an open letter to the city of Toronto introducing himself and inviting the city to his restaurant in Miami. [Huffington Post via Eater] Michael Psilakis's is closing down Gus & Gabriel Gastropub on the Upper West Side, but is planning to reopen it in a n ... More >>

This Week's Installment of Ask the Critics: Mom's in Town

​The laid-back vibe early in the evening, and charming West Village location of Malatesta, may be perfect for mom. One of my favorite parts of my job is helping friends and acquaintances with restaurant recommendations, and I work on several per week, time permitting. If I were an idiot savan ... More >>

French It Up This Weekend: Champagne and Cassoulet to Warm and Uplift You

Get chaud with cassoulet.​Savoy will host its second Annual Cassoulet Feast this Saturday. Chefs from six different restaurants -- Ryan Tate and Peter Hoffman of Savoy, Marc Meyer of Cookshop, Galen Zamarra of Mas (Farmhouse), Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern, Cyril Renaud of Bar Breton, and ... More >>

A Good Month for New York Food History

​In the last three weeks or so, the publishing world has bestowed upon us no less than three books dedicated exclusively or in large part to the cultural history of food and dining in New York. William Grimes's Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York, David Sax's Save the Deli, and Andre ... More >>

Peter Hoffman Considers the Crab

IntangibleArts/flickr Last week, a slew of articles shed light on the issue of whether or not crustaceans can feel pain. In the Atlantic, Trevor Corson reported on the debates inspired by a UK study suggesting that crabs may in fact not enjoy being boiled alive, while the Huffington Post offere ... More >>

Under Review--Sietsema At Harbour; DiGregorio At Andy's Seafood & Grill

This week in the Voice, Our Man Sietsema swims over to Harbour, although he isn't sure enough of his fellow New Yorkers will follow suit, while Sarah DiGregorio tries to stomach stinky tofu at Andy's Seafood & Grill. Jay Cheshes is less lukewarm about Harbour, with its chef Joe Isidori, who "cooks ... More >>

What's Happening This Week--Big Apple BBQ Block Party & the NYC Food Film Fest

As many of you know, our weekly dining and drinking newsletter features all the coolest epicurean events in the city. Sign up for it here! Big Apple Barbecue Block Party Madison Square Park June 13 & 14 The Seventh Annual Snapple Big Apple Barbecue Block Party returns to Madison Square Park this we ... More >>

Now Hiring: Rich Families, Stadium Opportunists, Fox

Bull Market: A Restaurant Generated by Concept

Not what Alice Waters meant by 'market-driven'

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