Momofuku Ko and other things Changian topped many a best-of list this year, including Ryan Sutton's, Frank Bruni's, and our own Adam Platt's. But it is the Momofuku Bakery that is the most accessible of Chang's restaurants. You don't need a reservation and you can grab something sweet and go. After the jump, our New Year's gift to you: a lesson on strawberry milk (available at the Momofuku Bakery). See you on Friday morning, in 2009.
When Tom Colicchio announced in September that he would cook in an open kitchen at a temporary restaurant called TOM: Tuesday Dinner, a commenter noted: "A chef will be cooking at his eponymous restaurant. Sad this is news." Today, a Missouri chef named Bryan Carr takes Frank Bruni to task for praising Colicchio's project. "The alleged news in this article is that the celebrity chef Tom Colicchio cooked dinner for his restaurant patrons one recent evening," he complained. If Colicchio were any old TV-land chef, we'd concur with Carr. But we're not talking about a Ted Allen tasting menu or a 30-minute meal. Colicchio earned his place as a New York cooking legend more than a decade ago at Gramercy Tavern. TOM gives a new generation of diners a chance to try the food behind the franchise, and that's big news even if Colicchio's fame feeds his press hits. Colicchio's quirky, egocentric restaurant concept flies here for local foodies and celeb stalkers alike.
Unimpressed [NYT]
Related: TOM BOMB
Can't make it to one of our New Year's Day brunch picks? If you're sober enough tomorrow, make the liquored-up French-toast recipe Market Table chef Mikey Price demoed on The Early Show this morning. [CBS]
Del Posto's Mark Ladner, Corwin Kave of Fatty Crab, Resto's Bobby Helen, Juan Jose Cuevas of Eighty One, and Allen Benton, dubbed the "ham master from Tennessee," will prepare whole heritage pigs in competition at Cochon 555. Tickets to the January 25 event at the Maritime Hotel are $125 and benefit City Harvest. [Cochon 555 via Feedbag]
Rachel Maddow took time out from being America’s favorite TV liberal yesterday to give us a lesson in mixology. If you need something to serve at your New Year’s Eve party, Maddow, a booze enthusiast, demonstrates her favorite American classic cocktail, the Jack Rose. Watch the video to learn the proper way to shake and what constitutes real lime juice.
When Ben Van Leeuwen gave us a tour of his impressively stocked artisanal-ice-cream truck this summer, he told us to look out for Van Leeuwen ice cream at Whole Foods across the city. It's finally available. [Facebook]
Frank Bruni’s best meal in 2008 was lunch at Le Bernardin, and his favorite new restaurant is Momofuku Ko. [NYT]
Robert Sietsema plays the lotto and eats classic Italian-American immigrant cuisine at Colandrea New Corner Restaurant in Dyker Heights. [VV]
“Kefi was already loved. Now it’s the perfect mecca for tough times,” says Gael Greene, who advocates the “wonderful shareable” pastas as starters. [Insatiable Critic]
At Irving Mill, Ryan Skeen seems “less secure when he can’t fall back on pork fat to tie a dish together. … Still, Skeen achieves some lovely subtleties,” writes Leo Carey. [NYer]
• Union Square's Tisserie closes today, but a new branch has already opened in midtown. [NYT]
• Deno's Party House, the only bar in Chelsea and, perhaps, the city, that offers both bikini-clad bartenders and complimentary Wi-Fi, has reopened. [Eater]
• If the Times says it, it must be true: Sherry is in!
Related: Dovetail’s John Fraser Will Pair Your Food With Sherry
• A belated gift for the cook who has everything: onion goggles to prevent crying while chopping. [Moment/NYT]
• From pistachio-crusted salmon at Balducci's to boxes of chocolates at Max Brenner, all your food shopping can be done along 14th Street. (Missing: Trader Joe's.) [Urbanite/amNY]
The scene at Craftsteak.Photo: Marcus Nilsson
Abstract artist Alice Lipping has worked with Tom Colicchio since he was the chef at Gramercy Tavern. Craft's private dining room (also the site for TOM: Tuesday Dinner) serves as her gallery, but Lipping has waited tables for two years at Craftsteak. Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld recommended the beefsteak event tonight on their Eve's Eats list, so we asked Lipping for some advice about serving on New Year's Eve.
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