Guy Fieri Will Never Be Like Bobby Flay; Batali on Eataly Expansion

Guy Fieri is bringing his “Awesome Pretzel Chicken Tenders” to Times Square and tells the New York Post that he has something to prove to those with misconceptions about TV chefs: “Look, I’m not Mario Batali, I’m not Bobby Flay — there’s only one of those cats. I’m not trying to be something that I’m not.” [New York Post]

Mario Batali talks to Eater about Eataly and his expansion plans. He also mentions his retirement plan of staying put at one restaurant: “It would be a new place probably somewhere else. It would have to be somewhere where I could be for six to eight months without having to leave. The restaurant would look like an open structure or a barn, and I would open on Saturdays and Sundays only. There’d be a giant antipasto table. You’d walk in and see meat and fish by the pound in a deli case; you’d buy it, we’d grill it.” [Eater]

Ludo Lefebvre, star of LudoBites, is coming to New York to celebrate the publication of his new cookbook based on those dinners. The NYC event is on October 9 at Blue Ribbon Bakery in Greenwich Village, where he will be cooking with Bruce Bromberg. [Diner’s Journal]

Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery and editor of the encyclopedic Oxford Companion to Beer, talks to Diner’s Journal about the White House’s recipe for Honey Ale: “”They’ve also added some crushed grains and steeped them like tea leaves. In this case, the biscuit malts give a toasty malt flavor, adding some complexity and fresh grain character. Amber crystal malts give a light caramel flavor.” [Diner’s Journal]

David Chang talks about his Momofuku playlist and says that he makes the lists himself for all the restaurants: “Once you’ve become comfortable with your 4,000-song universe, the next step is the difficult part: choosing about 150 of those songs to fill eight to 10 hours’ listening on an iPod. You never want the diner to hear the same song twice during service.” [Gourmet Traveller]