Back of the House

The Travails of the Produce Biz; A Rebuke to Our Rachael Ray Defense

An inside look at what restaurants’ produce suppliers go through and the razor’s edge their business turns on. [NYT]

Nina Lalli believes that we were wrong to defend Rachael Ray, who, she says, just throws fatty food at the masses, with no care for their well-being. [VV]

Joël Robuchon has confirmed that he’s going to open a restaurant in Chicago; now it looks like Alain Ducasse will be doing the same. If, as some speculate, Ducasse never reopens here, we may actually end up behind Chicago in something. [Chicago Sun-Times]

“You can put saffron in anything and everything,” says an importer, and this article aims to prove it by quoting American, European, and Asian chefs — including, alas, Shane McBride of 7Square, which was still in business when this article was written. [NYDN]

Something that almost never happens inside the McDonald’s system happens in Brooklyn: A franchisee with seven restaurants goes bankrupt and has to give them all up. [Nation’s Restaurant News]

In honor of the Chinese Year of the Pig, one of the most comprehensive and well-reported pork guides we’ve ever seen, in which, to use a hog-farmer term, nothing is wasted but the squeal. [NYPress]

Hidden in a story about Red Hook dockworkers is this Brooklyn bombshell: Brooklyn Brewery, the pride of Williamsburg, is considering a move to the Hook. [Brooklyn Record]

Bruni stops in the House and Da Enzo, the restaurant installed in the back of Maganaro’s Heroboy and finds neither of them that good. Is Diner’s Journal devolving into a clearinghouse for reviews that won’t make it into the paper? [NYT]

Catalan hot-spot-to-be Mercat opens on Bond Street, and ambitious gastropub Alchemy in Park Slope. [The Strong Buzz]

That’s right — almonds, dark chocolate, wild salmon, and avocado are good for you. But they’re also way fattening and should be consumed in small amounts. [NYDN]

Consumerist, taking a cue from Restaurant Girl, is determined to sum up all the secret menu items at the national chains but hasn’t gotten very far yet. [Consumerist]

The Travails of the Produce Biz; A Rebuke to Our Rachael Ray Defense