Results tagged “dining”

Though more influential abroad, the Michelin restaurant guide is still kind of a big deal for NYC restaurateurs and chefs, who take great pride in receiving a star ranking from Michelin. (The guide only started reviewing NYC restaurants in 2005.) The new edition hits shelves tomorrow, and contains some noteworthy news for the fine dining world. With Michelin, receiving one star is a sign of achievement, not mediocrity, so Chef Michael White is surely tickled pink to see that his new seafood-centric restaurant Marea debut with a star, his Convivio also receives one star, while his Alto has been upgraded to two stars.

Over the weekend it was reported that Cafe des Artistes, the serenely romantic restaurant near Lincoln Center, has closed after more than 90 years in business. The wife of owner George Lang blames the closure on the restaurant's unionized workers, who recently sued the restaurant for unpaid benefits, including medical insurance. Local 100 union president Bill Granfield tells the Times, "We think Mr. Lang is a great figure in the restaurant industry, a great person, and it’s a great restaurant. But it feels like time passed it by a while ago."

Bia Garden: The latest addition to Michael "Bao" Huynh's empire is this Vietnamese beer garden, tucked away out of sight behind a nondescript take-out joint on the Lower East Side. After passing through what looks like a walk-in refrigerator, you'll find yourself in a 50-seat garden oasis, complimented by 10 seats of indoor dining. Huynh, the man behind BarBao, Pho Sure, and Baoguette, has put together a beverage list consisting of only Asian beers by the can or bottle, served in coolers and left for each table. A circulating pushcart dispenses $5 bites, and the Vietnamese street-food menu is divided into Small Dishes, Medium Dishes, Big Dishes and Side Dishes. These include Duck Nem Sausage with pine nut and anchovy sauce; BBQ Rib on Lamb Belly; and Crispy Whole Sole, which is prepared with king mushroom, lily bulb, and ginger sauces, and served wrapped in newspaper. (Though Bia Garden was expected to open this week, we're now told that next week is more likely.) 154 Orchard Street, (212) 780-0010

              

Click on the images above for details on 13 other sweet spots for al fresco drinking, including the Extreme WOW (Presidential) Suites in Midtown East, Ortine in Prospect Heights, Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg, T.B.D. in Greenpoint, Studio Square in Long Island City, The Diamond in Greenpoint, LIC Bar in Long Island City, Nita Nita in Williamsburg, Huckleberry Bar in East Williamsburg, The Hotel Gansevoort in the Meatpacking District, Vutera in Williamsburg, 5 Ninth in the Meatpacking District, and The Brooklyn Ice House in Red Hook.

reBar: This spacious bar/restaurant isn't new, but the chef and the menu are, so it's worth a mention for those making dinner plans in somewhat dining-deprived DUMBO. Self-described hippie owner Jason Stevens, who quit his job trading mortgage-backed securities at Merrill Lynch just before the crash, opened reBar in December 2006 in an old tea warehouse dating back the later 19th century. With an elegantly weathered, post-industrial design by the same guy who did the Zipper Factory Theater (RIP), the place has become a favorite watering hole for the locals. ($2 pints from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.!)

Big news in the dining world today; the Times announced that the city's most influential restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, will move to the Sunday magazine section after five years on the beat. In an email to the staff, Executive Editor Bill Keller revealed that Bruni "will have license to follow his appetites — his journalistic appetites — wherever they lead him [at the magazine]... In his spare time, between aerobic eating and the requisite gym time to burn it all off, he has managed to produce a memoir of his lifelong, complicated relationship with food. Recognizing that the book is certain to seriously compromise his ability to be a spy in the land of food, Frank picked this as a natural time to move on. He will be turning in his restaurant-critic credentials when his memoir, Born Round: the Secret History of a Full-Time Eater, is published in late August." Besides his generally impeccable taste and incisiveness, Bruni brought a fun, casual, and creative tone to the Times's dining coverage. Dining editor Pete Wells is currently searching for a successor to fill those big Italian shoes, and you can bet the mother of 12-year-old foodie David Fishman is already on the horn.

There was a big "summit" meeting this morning at Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak restaurant to discuss the release of an interesting, albeit unsurprising, study highlighting the racist hiring practices at NYC restaurants. Commissioned by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York, the study enlisted 37 people to pose as white, black, Asian-American and Latino job applicants and visit restaurants looking for work. Grouped in pairs with different races (but matched for age, appearance and gender), they would arrive at restaurants within about a half hour of each other to apply for a job.

There's a bracing, if unsurprising, report in today's Times dining section about the state of New York's restaurant industry, and the prognosis is quite bleak. With business down 10% to 30% by some estimates, NYC restaurant owners slashed more than 10,000 jobs between October 2008 and January 2009. And when a new position does open up, it's met with an avalanche of resumes from overqualified applicants, including unemployed Ph.D.s. Alexandra Raij of Txikito tapas bar in Chelsea says it used to be tough to find skilled cooks for her tiny kitchen; now "the situation is so desperate that cooks push résumés through the security gate late at night."

We've visited Bussaco, the new Park Slope restaurant in the old fire station across the street from the Park Slope Food Co-op, twice so far: right after it opened, and then again a few weeks later, just to be sure that it was as spectacular as we remembered it. (And to try again to reverse engineer their spectacular maple creme caramel!)

So that happened. It seems like only yesterday we were having a good laugh about how the $175 burger with the gold leaf flakes at Wall Street Burger Shoppe made the $81 hamburger at The Old Homestead look like rancid dog food. Now all we care about is when the next 69 cent sandwich sale will go down at Swich. 2009 is going to be the year when we learn to cook! (That's where Danielle Sucher weekly recipes come in.) But before we elbow our way onto the rapidly-expanding bread line that is 2009, let's look back in hunger at some of the top food stories this year.

The best place to dine on amateur night is obviously in the comfort of your own home, with the doors locked, windows sealed, a six pack of Drank by your side, and BetaMaXmas flickering on ye olde laptop. But you'll inevitably get dragged out by someone who can't resist the Gregorian calendar's charms, and you'll have to eat something to pad your stomach. Assuming that someone is "someone special," here are a number of dining options to make the best of it (and we also stand by last year's index). Time to start making reservations!
• Gothamist favorite Knife + Fork, that romantic little nook in the East Village, is doing a five course tasting menu with wine pairing. Chef Damien Brassel's menu that night will begin with Pacific Coast oysters with sweet and sour fennel, tarragon oil and peppercorn apple salad with wasabi fish roe. $85 later it culminates with warm chocolate, fondant five spice creme brulee and dried lemon panna cotta.
• L'Absinthe Brasserie: Don a blue blazer and khakis and go old school at this dramatic, ornate brasserie. L'Absinthe has a sexy website but an ancient, old money clientele that makes for fun people-watching. Chef-owner Jean Michel Bergougnoux's menu skews classic French with a bit of an edge, and it's not cheap. But judging by the NYE menu [PDF], you'll be getting your money's worth with his $84 three course prix-fixe. It's got a wide range of haute options, from his signature Dover Sole Meuniere, to a light poached Halibut, to the hearty Venison and Foie Gras Pie. Also, eight different varieties of absinthe.
• Or if you're in the neighborhood and want to go in the complete opposite direction, Slice organic pizza is offering a 5% discount on all take-out and delivery on December 31st.

This week's NY Times Dining section has a long profile about Jamaica, Queens native Rocco DiSpirito, who many in the dining biz have criticized for focusing on TV shows and cookbooks when he could be running a restaurant. Some, like cookbook author Michael Rhulman, believe "he’s almost gotten to the point where people in the food world feel sorry for him and want him back." Others, like former NY Mag critic Gael Greene, opine, "I do believe that ‘Dancing With the Stars’ is kind of the last stop. I don’t understand—has he totally lost that passion to cook?" In his defense, DiSpirito paints himself as a populist who loves "advocating" for the "general public." But Ed Levine at Serious Eats scoffs at that, slamming DiSpirito and the Times in a fun blog post: "What DiSpirito really loves to do is bring attention to himself Paris Hilton-style and try to cash in on it. Only she can't cook."

Seäsonal: This sleek new midtown restaurant (pictured) uses Austrian and German classics as a springboard into lighter iterations of typically heavy Kraut cuisine. Chefs and co-owners Wolfgang Ban and Eduard Frauneder—if those even are their real names—are intent on making traditional staples like Schweinsbauch (Crispy Pork Belly) new again with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. Other items include Wiener Schnitzel (Breaded Veal cutlet) served with a potato and cucumber salad, and Monkfish Medallions served on Szegediner Kraut. The wine list emphasizes regional bottles such as Riesling, Rivaner, and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), and the atmosphere is comfy and clean; Thrillist likens the white curves and latticework to "the getaway nook on the cruise ship from The Fifth Element." 132 West 58th Street, (212) 957-5550

Brooklyn gets its new burgundy bible today as Zagat releases its 2009 guide to the borough. Prospect Heights' Garden Café was ranked No.1 for both food and service, and DUMBO's River Café, where the trees suffered so much this summer, was named No. 1 for decor. Meanwhile Il Passatore, the rustic Italian place in Williamsburg, rose to the top of the best new restaurant category. Carroll Gardens' Black Mountain was deemed the No. 1 Wine Bar, and Stonehome in Fort Greene ranked best in the nightlife category for its romantic ambiance, big wine selection and tasty vittles. All in all, the exhaustive guide covers 241 of Brooklyn’s finest restaurants, 144 nightspots, 367 shops, and 231 gourmet stores and attractions, like the Central Library in Prospect Heights, which has 1.5 million volumes spanning 64 languages, a newish outdoor plaza and, let's not forget, free admission.

          

Five of New York's secret supper clubs joined forces over the weekend for the epic Undergrounds Unite dinner party at a capacious, bi-level loft in the shadow of the Empire State Building. On Saturday night the place was packed with 165 gourmands who had found their way there in the rain by following a series of cryptic instructions—enter a bar on 35th Street, look for the man learning how to cook everything, ask him for a map.

You're probably familiar by now with "culinary speakeasys" like The Whisk and Ladle that are held semi-regularly in private lofts and apartments around town. Well, next weekend that talented crew will be joining forces with four other hip supper clubs (including the Southern-style Homeslice) for a massive, 150-seat communal dinner in an undisclosed midtown loft. Thrillist likened the affair to that supergroup The Traveling Wilburys; to us this sounds more like Voltron, but take your pick. The two night "Undergrounds Unite" shindig will feature a 12-course meal, with each team handling three courses each; Saturday night's feast will be followed by live music and cocktails. This is going to be a monthly affair at different private locations, but if you want to get in on it before it becomes a Times trend piece (oh, too late), email them through the website for a password and reservation.

Page Six has a long profile on Tavern on the Green owner Jennifer Oz LeRoy, who inherited the place from her flamboyant father Warner LeRoy in 2001 at the age of 22. She currently pays $1.3 million a year in rent to the Parks Department, but the city will be putting the lease up for bidding when it expires in the fall. Donald Trump, Nobu owner Drew Nieporent, and Danny Meyer are rumored to be "circling the restaurant like vultures." Seeing her family lose control would be devastating for LeRoy, who calls herself "the Dorothy of Tavern," and has a major thing for The Wizard of Oz, which her grandfather produced. "I added Oz as my middle name. A lot of people call me Jenny Oz." She also shares her West Village one bedroom with three Toto-like Yorkies. So she's prepared to spend millions to renew the lease, declaring, "I refuse to sell the soul of Oz."

"M" by Megu: Expensive Tribeca Japanese restaurant Megu has redone its upstairs space (formerly Kimono Bar) into a swank nightclub (pictured) with a "small bites" menu. The dance floor has been expanded, fancy cocktails like “Death in the Afternoon” (Absinthe, Champagne, Rock Sugar) have been concocted, and the waitress have been attired in swimsuits custom designed by Keiko, who we're told is kind of a big deal. Menu options include Kobe Beef Sliders, Crispy Cod Sliders, Crunchy Rice Cake Poppers, and select items off the downstairs Megu menu. Your reaction to the following will probably determine if any of this will appeal to you: Eve attended the opening party! 62 Thomas Street, (212) 964-7777

The last iPhone dining application to make news was Urbanspoon, which frustrated Times critic Frank Bruni a little bit with its random slot machine approach to locating a good nearby restaurant. So we're curious to see if the latest iPhone toy, LocalEats, is more Bruni's speed. This feature seems pretty simple; drawing from a list of the 100 best restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn (as decreed by the folks at Where the Locals Eat), LocalEats uses GPS technology to refer users to the best nearby dining options. Which could come in handy when you're getting hangry in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

Today Frank Bruni reviews Adour (pictured), the four-month-old St. Regis Hotel restaurant conceived by extravagant French chef Alain Ducasse. While it’s not “rapturous” enough to merit the Times’s highest four star rating, it’s still “first-rate: polished service, a knockout wine list, beautiful oil-poached cod, gorgeous roasted lamb and exquisite desserts.” And Bruni does confirm our earlier speculation about some kind of haute bagel on the menu.

David Bouley, the acclaimed chef from Connecticut whose eponymous restaurant brought four star dining to Tribeca in the '80s, has a lot on the stove these days, as his big plans to expand his culinary empire in the neighborhood are finally coming to a boil. Sometime in the next month or so, Bouley expects to relocate his flagship restaurant to 161 Duane Street, where a Renaissance ambiance, replete with stone from Versailles, awaits his flock. Two of his other restaurants, Bouley Bakery and Upstairs, will be shuffled around to fill the old Bouley space, and his Viennese-inspired restaurant, Danube, will be replaced with a new French restaurant sometime next year.

Today Frank Bruni files a second review of Mas (pictured), the organic, locally-sourced West Village eatery he bestowed with one star four years ago. Today he bumps the cozy French-inflected restaurant up a star, noting that Mas isn’t “for diners with big, blunt appetites. It’s for those who revel in little surprises and unexpected nuances, like the smoked celery root purée that came with grilled turbot.” Meanwhile, Alex Witchel enlists cookbook author Arthur Schwartz in his failed and funny attempt to recreate his late Nana’s fried meat kreplach.

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Primehouse New York . Calls it “an estimable [steakhouse], with virtues that will rightly earn it the affection of many discerning carnivores and give it a solid chance in a competitive field.” On the downside, the quality of the meats isn’t always quite what it should be, service is uneven, and beyond the steaks, the menu doesn’t have much to offer.

Kuta Satay House & Wine Bar: Taking its name from the tourist beach town in Bali, Kuta Satay House (pictured) is bringing its modern Southeast Asia menu to the Lower East Side. The main attraction here are the skewers, such as short ribs with asian pears and sesame barbeque sauce. Entrees emphasize seafood and steak, but there’s also a spicy duck curry and side dishes like garlic fries. 65 Rivington St, (212) 777-5882.

During the holidays, we are all bombarded with requests for charitable giving. Sure, it's a great way to do something good and squeeze in one more tax deduction before year's end, but given the number of requests, making a choice about how to spend your charity dollars can be somewhat daunting. The Times focused this week on the dizzying number of food-related charities making year-end requests.

Urban Rustic, the new Brooklyn grocery store whose shelves are almost exclusively stocked with food from within a 100-mile radius, opens tomorrow. Located on North 12th Street across from McCarren Park, the grocery is the brainchild of Aaron Woolf, a partner in the nearby faux-alpine Lodge restaurant/bar/general store. Woolf is also one of the producers of the indie documentary King Corn, which followed the misadventures of two neophyte corn farmers and their harrowing journey...

If you’re thinking about buying into the future Soho Mews condo but still unsure whether the “doorman, concierge and a curator” will be enough for you, the news in today’s Post might just be your tipping point. The under-construction condo, which is comprised of two buildings joined by a shared courtyard garden, has announced a partnership with Centovini, the Italian restaurant on West Houston, four blocks north from the condo on West Broadway, across from...

This week in the Times, Bruni two-stars Allen & Delancey. Loves the atmosphere; says “the food at Allen & Delancey is at once sophisticated and accessible, reliant on fail-safe luxuries deployed in a modestly creative and occasionally playful manner.” Says that in some ways it’s similar to what he did uptown (at Gordon Ramsay at the London) but it works much better in this context. In $25 and Under, "> Peter Meehan goes to Food...

On any given night, visitors to The Stanton Social may encounter Executive Chef-Owner Chris Santos making his post-rush rounds through the dining room, or they might not: Problem is that the rush at the restaurant, which can feed (between its bar, lounge, and dining room) up to 200 people at a clip, sometimes just doesn’t let up. The 36 year-old Santos, who says he “feels 39,” is known for food that ditches ornate, mother-sauce heavy...

A while back Gothamist wrote about the closure and renovation of Gum Fung, our go-to spot in Flushing for dim sum. Turns out that the sign on the door was right about the space's renovation but wrong about its reopening: Gum Fung is no more; it's been replaced by Jade Asian Restaurant. Don't be thrown off by the joint's less-than-creative name though.; the dim sum here is up to the standards of its predecessor....