Posts for February 1, 2010 -- Grub Street: New York Magazine's Food and Restaurant Blog

Posts for February 1, 2010

2/1/10 at 6:00 PM
Slideshow
Comment

First Look at Polar Lounge and Its VIP ‘Polar Caves’

By Daniel Maurer

With 46 hotels in the pipeline for New York City this year (according to a tally quoted in the Times) and 40 slated for Brooklyn in the coming years (according to the Brooklyn Eagle’s math), it should be no surprise that Print isn’t the only new hotel venue we’re introducing to you today. This next one, Polar, will open below Gramercy’s Marcel Hotel on February 9 (just in time for Fashion Week!). Like, say, the Mercer Hotel’s SubMercer, it’s small and subterranean (and boasts a stand-up bar as well as a lounge area), but as you can see in our slideshow, Polar is quite a bit brighter.

2/1/10 at 5:15 PM on Grub Street SF
Oenofile
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Are California Wines Too Pricey for Recession Drinking?

By Jay Barmann

For the first time in sixteen years, sales of California wines dropped in 2009, despite the fact that everyone is boozing it up more overall. New figures show that CA wineries shipped four million fewer cases last year than they did in 2008, The Cellarist reports. About three-quarters of those losses were in exports, and far fewer people in general were buying wines above a $20 price point, even though wine consumption is up two percent.

2/1/10 at 5:15 PM
Neighborhood Watch
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Anella’s New Menus; Secret Café in Clinton Hill

By Alexandra Vallis

Boerum Hill: Mile End closed early today because it couldn’t keep up with Brooklyn’s demand for meat. The deli will try again tomorrow starting at 8 a.m. for brekkie, and noon for the beef. [Eater NY]
Clinton Hill: Behind metal gates and papered windows, a new café called NeroDoro soft-opened at 395 Classon Avenue, serving coffee and pastries early, and piadinas for lunch. [Brownstowner]
East Village: Ko serves a tortellini in an oxtail broth spiked with Amaro, perfect to sip on while preparing the recipe. [Moment/NYT]

2/1/10 at 4:20 PM
Openings
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Conant’s Faustina Menu Revealed

Eater has snagged the menu of Faustina, Scott Conant’s project in the Cooper Square Hotel. At the time of this posting, the first available OpenTable reservation is on February 5. [Eater NY]

2/1/10 at 4:10 PM
Personalities
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Colicchio: My, How David Chang Has Grown

“It's interesting because when David worked for me, um, we wouldn't let him work the hot line. He wasn't up to speed ... He had to grow, and I think that if you look at what he's doing now compared to the first restaurant … If you look at Noodle Bar compared to Ko, there's a simplicity at Noodle Bar that changed and he grew dramatically in the 5 years.” —Tom Colicchio on the "Leonard Lopate Show" [WNYC]

2/1/10 at 4:00 PM
Two for Eight
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Tables Available at Becco; Daniel, Mesa Grill Mostly Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze in a couple for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: TV Chefs.

2/1/10 at 3:00 PM
TV Land
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Anne Burrell Wants Back Into the Biz

“I do love restaurants. I'm not in one at the moment, which is becoming an apparent hole in my career. I'm getting myself together to get back into restaurants.” —Anne Burrell, host of Worst Cooks in America [Serious Eats]

2/1/10 at 2:15 PM
Personalities
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Sebastiaan Zijp: There Is No Laughter in Paul Liebrandt’s Kitchen

By Daniel Maurer

Josh Ozerksy is now a Time columnist and a “Master Hamburger Seminar” teacher, but his most entertaining gig continues to be as host of the Mr. Cutlets radio show. Yesterday, Sebastiaan Zijp (who took over Bar Blanc from Cesar Ramirez) discussed his time in the kitchens of David Bouley and Paul Liebrandt, neither of whom sound like anyone’s dream boss. Regarding Bouley: “He has his way and everyone else has to catch up to him.” For example: “Finding out at 5 p.m. on a Friday night that there’s a private party you have to go to and he takes everybody’s mise en place for your Friday night and you have to run around and do everything all over again and you got 120 people coming in half an hour.” Like Zijp says, these things happen, but Liebrandt sounds like a different story altogether.

2/1/10 at 1:34 PM
Red Tape
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City Helps Restaurant Owners Spend Less Time in Line

By Daniel Maurer

Mayor Bloomberg promised to speed up restaurant applications. The State Liquor Authority vowed to eliminate its own backlog of applications. And now it looks like the Department of Health is also trying to ease the burden on restaurateurs. According to a notice posted on the DOH’s website, those who’ve been fined can now agree to a settlement rather than have to wait in line to appear at a hearing. “To accept an offer,” the announcement explains, “a food service establishment must acknowledge that the violations alleged in the [Notice of Violation] existed at the time of the inspection. However, the penalties offered by the Agency to settle are generally lower than the penalties it recommends be imposed for the same violations if they are sustained at a hearing.” The Department will soon be accepting settlement agreements online and by mail.

Administrative Tribunal Offer of Settlement FAQ [NYC.gov]

2/1/10 at 1:03 PM
Awards
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And the First Beard Award Goes To ...

Though the James Beard Awards aren’t till May 2 and 3, the foundation has named Minnesota restaurateur Wayne Kostroski as their Humanitarian of the Year. Kostroski has distributed over $9 million to hunger organizations via his Taste of the NFL event.

2/1/10 at 12:45 PM
Openings
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First Look at Print, Opening Today at Ink48

By Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

This has been a big year for hotel restaurants — ones you’d actually want to eat in — with Locanda Verde, Standard Grill, the Breslin, and Maialino, not to mention the impending Má Pêche. This week’s magazine introduces you to yet another one to get excited about: Print, open now for breakfast and lunch in the ink48 hotel. The ambitious project comes courtesy of Über-consultant Adam Block, stepping into the role of the restaurateurs he’s counseled for decades, and homegrown husband-and-wife chefs Charles Rodriguez (Sony Club, Judson Grill) and Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez (the pastry chef known most recently for her late, lamented Indian takeout, Lassi). Here’s a closer look at the dining room, with its Craftsman and mid-century-modern touches, plus the breakfast and dessert menus.

Print Breakfast Menu [PDF]
Print Dessert Menu [PDF]

Opening: Print [NYM]

Print, 653 Eleventh Ave., at 48th St.; 212-757-2224

2/1/10 at 12:35 PM
Lawsuits
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Park Avenue Winter Will Have to Weather Class-Action Suit

By Daniel Maurer

Two captains and a waiter at Park Avenue Winter who claimed that their manager discriminated against Bengalis and Bangladeshis won a victory in court on Friday. Per the document below, a judge has ruled that the minimum-wage complaint they brought against the Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group over a year ago can be tried as a class-action lawsuit.

Park Avenue Class Action Certification [PDF]

2/1/10 at 12:20 PM
Freebies
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Free and Almost Free: Coffee, Chocolate, and Chocolate Cake

By Daniel Maurer

Seamless Web is once again hooking you up with free coffee this month — consult this map to find out which stores are giving out free cups on which days. And while we’re on the subject, NYC Daily Deals reports that Leonidas of Hanover Square is giving out free Belgian chocolates and coffee today. And what the heck, we’ll throw a third one in for you: With this mobile coupon from 8Coupons, you can get a slice of Market Café’s chocolate cake for just 8 cents from February 8 through 14.

2/1/10 at 11:46 AM
Openings
Comment

Greenpoint’s Secret Lobster Lair Is Revealed

By Daniel Maurer

Check out this video of Ben Sargent, a Bostonian who operates a secret lobster-roll shop out of his Greenpoint basement. If you have his number, you can order some rolls (assuming he doesn’t have a date that night) and he’ll slip them through his mail slot for you. Of course, Sargent begins his video with the familiar “New York doesn't know what a real lobster roll is” pitch and goes on to reveal his secrets: a minimal amount of Hellmann’s, big chunks of meat from lobsters that are steamed alive in salt water and onions, and a roll that’s buttered on both sides. You can direct message the story’s author, Liza de Guia, on Twitter or e-mail Sargent via his website if you want to gain admittance into his lobster lair. But look, if you’re going to this much trouble, you might as well just follow his instructions and make them yourself.

2/1/10 at 11:23 AM
Marketing Gimmicks
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The World According to Bravo

The Bits blog over at the Times reports that Bravo has partnered with FourSquare to award “badges” if you visit designated locations associated with Top Chef (meaning, Whole Foods?) and other shows. [Bits/NYT]

2/1/10 at 11:00 AM
Celebrity Settings
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The Balthazar Treatment

“They always make it seem like they’re getting me a special table, even if the restaurant has 50 empty seats. They act like they’re squeezing me in like I’m an important person. I’m a nobody, but I love the food there and I love that they make me feel important.” —Comic Jim Norton (also a Nobu fan) on Balthazar [NYP]

2/1/10 at 10:33 AM
In the Magazine
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Underground Gourmet Relaxes at Eat; Where to Buy Artisanal Jerky

By Alexandra Vallis

Gerald Jerky.Photo: Hannah Whitaker

In the magazine this week, the Underground Gourmet unwinds at Greenpoint’s Eat: “It’s good, fresh, truly local food in a mellow, relaxing atmosphere, and the combination has an undeniably calming, salutary effect.” Seasonal food is also emphasized at Print, opening this week in the ink48 hotel. “For insight into his biggest influences, [Adam] Block flew his culinary team (chef Charles Rodriguez, a Sony Club alum, and his wife, pastry chef Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez) out West, to eat at Chez Panisse, Zuni Café, and, less predictably, Dynamo Donuts,” report Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld.

2/1/10 at 09:55 AM
Closings
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Butcher Bay Is Done

By Daniel Maurer

Photo: Melissa Hom

EV Grieve notices that Butcher Bay closed in November. Given all the blog banter about the place (it replaced critics darling Seymour Burton, reeled in a chef from Tailor, put ever-trendy fried chicken on the menu, and then the owners, including the well-known video director Bob Giraldi, sued the community board for failing to upgrade its liquor license), it’s amazing that its closing went unnoticed this long (“closed temporarily to write our memoirs,” read the sign in the window). But then again, maybe its slightly out-of-the-way location is what damned it. Those suddenly hankering for a Maryland fish shack are hereby redirected to Choptank.

Washed up: Butcher Bay calls it a day [EV Grieve]

2/1/10 at 09:40 AM
Top Chef
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Is Padma Planning Pink?

A Post spy (the same one who told the tabloid that Padma’s baby daddy is Andy Dell?) now says the child is going to be a girl: “Sources close to Lakshmi say her closets are stocked with tons of little girls’ clothes.” [NYP]