Posts for April 26, 2012 -- Grub Street: New York Magazine's Food and Restaurant Blog

Posts for April 26, 2012

4/26/12 at 6:00 PM
Leftovers
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Wine Growlers at Brooklyn Winery; T.G.I. Friday’s Infringes on the Korean-Taco Trend

•New Hell's Kitchen Neapolitan pizza joint Don Antonio was shuttered Tuesday by the DOH for 22 violation points, including evidence of mice or vermin and holding cold food above 41 degrees. The restaurant currently does not have a letter grade and hopes to reopen by tomorrow. [Eater NY]

•West Village tavern Monument Lane will start hosting its Sunday suppers this weekend through the end of May with three courses for $27. The menu? Whatever the chef feels like (or picks up at the Greenmarket). [Grub Street]

•The Lower East Side gets a taste of Germany this Saturday with Tanz in Den Mai (Dance into May) festivities at Loreley Restaurant and Biergarten. In time for May Day, get spring beers and platters of up to twelve types of sausage (from Kolbase to Andouille), April 28 to May 3. [Grub Street]

4/26/12 at 4:45 PM
Loyalty
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If You Were Ever Stupid Enough to Think Nutella Was Healthy, You Might Be Owed Some Money

By Alyssa Shelasky

Nutcase wins Nutella suit.

It absolutely kills us to turn on Nutella but ... just in case you were ever misled into thinking that the rich, chocolatey, sinful spread had the same calories as a celery stick (what is wrong with you??), then you should know there's a class-action case you can creep into. NPR reports, "Each claim will pay out up to $20 — that's $4 per jar, on up to five jars — or less, depending on the number of claimants." Contact: nutellaclassactionsettlement.com. Conversely, just be cool. [NPR]

4/26/12 at 4:15 PM
Openings
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Summer on a Stick and in a Straw

By Jenny Miller

Grub learns that Astoria Mex specialist Pachanga Patterson is about to make its backyard even more appealing by adding a bar, the Icebox, specializing in frozen margaritas, ice pops, and raspados (shaved ice) in seasonal flavors. The Icebox will ring in Cinco de Mayo with pineapple-chile-powder raspados and grapefruit-ginger-honey and avocado-jalapeño-lime ice pops — the treats are $3 to $4 apiece (free from 6 to 7 p.m.), with the option to spike raspados with rum. Fresh-fruit margaritas will be five bucks all day and infused tequilas will go for $2.

4/26/12 at 4:00 PM on Grub Street Philly
Health Concerns
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Move Over Pink Slime: Now Granola’s Toxic, Too

By Collin Keefe

Mmm… pesticides

No doubt meat’s been getting a bum rap lately with all this bad news about mad-cow scares, pink slime, and feces-contaminated chickens. But before you get all high and mighty from atop of your tower of tempeh, consider this: Meatless munchies like granola aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. In fact, products from Kashi, the seemingly safe brand of “all natural” cereal and snacks, are loaded with residual toxic pesticides and are all too often wrought with genetically modified soy and corn ingredients. PreventDisease reports that an investigation into the validity of all-natural claims made by Kashi, which is actually a subsidiary of Kellogg's, are mostly bunk.

4/26/12 at 3:30 PM on Grub Street SF
Oeno-File
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Pregnancy Be Damned, Drew Barrymore’s New Wine Hits Stores Next Week

By Jay Barmann

Drew aglow in February.Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

A couple of months back we mentioned that actress Drew Barrymore had parlayed her love of wine-drinking into wine-making. Now we learn that the first bottles of Barrymore Pinot Grigio will go on sale in New York on May 3 for $20 a bottle, and Drew might be a little sad about the timing — given that she won't be able to drink at any of the launch events if the rumors about her being pregnant are true.

4/26/12 at 3:00 PM
Quote of the Day
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A Bikini Model’s Dream Lettuce-Wrapped-Hamburger Moment

By Alyssa Shelasky

“I love a lettuce wrapped beef or turkey burger with a fried egg, jalapeños, applewood smoked bacon, and chipotle mayo (just sriracha mixed with mayo). I will only do a bun if I find a soft, sweet bun like Shake Shack." —Chrissy Teigen, food blogger and John Legend fiancée, on what may or may not be an imaginary meal (We know how you felt about Selita Ebanks and McDonald's.) [Modelinia]

4/26/12 at 2:10 PM
The Other White Meat
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Family at Hungry Jack’s Finds Surprise ‘Package’

By Alyssa Shelasky

Hungry Jack or Horny Jack?

An Australian mum was horrified to find a crude drawing in her hamburger takeout this week. Someone had scribbled a man's private parts — the other, low-hanging fruits — inside her burger box. "If they have drawn that in there, what else have they done to my burger?" the disgusted customer wisely asked. This plus the spitting saga equals a big, fat stay-away-from-fast-food. [The Chronicle]

4/26/12 at 1:30 PM on Grub Street Philly
Beer Me
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New Cans Make ‘Shotgunning’ Easier

By Collin Keefe

Down the hatch!Photo: SABMiller

Here’s some good news for folks out there with a propensity for binge drinking: Some genius at SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing (a.k.a. MillerCoors) came up with a way to streamline the consumption of Miller Lite. They’re calling it the “Punch Top Can.” The official word from MillerCoors is that this breakthrough in beer-can technology is designed to increase airflow and reduce “glug” to facilitate a smoother pour. But anyone who’s ever spent time at college fraternity parties, Jets games, or Phish shows will surely recognize it as an air hole that makes shotgunning beers possible. The only difference really is, you no longer need a knife or awl to pierce the can. How’s that for drinking responsibly?

4/26/12 at 1:00 PM
Foodievents
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Five Fun Foodievents

Foodievents season is ramping up, and over on NYmag.com we've rounded up five of the choicest upcoming options. Some, like Taste of the Nation, you've heard about on here, and others are new even to us, including a few wine-centric options. Toggle on over to learn about good times and good eats and drinks. [NYmag.com]

4/26/12 at 12:20 PM
Branding
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What Happens When Mustard Meets Mad Men

By Alyssa Shelasky

The folks behind French's mustard are working hard to get mustard away from salami sandwiches and into our recipe repertoire, with a new ad campaign showing a young couple throwing a dinner party full of mustard-based dishes and the slogan, “Friends. Family. French’s.” Can't you just hear Peggy's pitch? [NYT]

4/26/12 at 11:40 AM on Grub Street Boston
Trends
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Spring Chickens No More: Poultry Has a Retirement Program

Urban chicken farming is all the rage, so it makes sense that urban-chicken retirement homes are cool now, too. The New York Times turns into an episode of Portlandia visits Portland to spotlight "blissful, pastoral" resting places for past-their-prime poultry. At these coops, birds chase one another, jump for Cheerios, and are protected from "cockfighting hooligans." They do not play bingo. [NYT]

4/26/12 at 11:30 AM
House Style
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House Style: Pulqueria

By Jenny Miller

Grungy Doyers Street seems like one of Chinatown's unlikeliest nightlife destinations, but that's precisely what appealed to siblings Heather and Christopher Tierney when they opened Apothéke in 2008. Six months ago, they expanded their Doyers Street profile and opened Pulqueria two doors down. "It's cool because during the day it's barber shops and people running around, and then at night, it's serene and kind of eerie, with streetlights and everything closed down except these two spaces," Heather says. Subterranean Pulqueria is an oasis of color on this curving back alley, with a raw feel from exposed brick and abundant cinder blocks, tempered by feathers bursting from Deco-style sconces. Staff are encouraged to wear turquoise, gold, geometric pieces, and color in general, but beyond that they're given free fashion rein — and it shows. See what we mean straight ahead in the latest edition of House Style.

4/26/12 at 11:05 AM
Giveaways
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We Have a Winner in Our New York Culinary Experience Giveaway

By Alan Sytsma

Someone's getting free chocolate.

On Tuesday, we asked you to give us your best cooking tip. In return, we'd offer up for our favorite two tickets to Jacques Torres's Chocolate Extravaganza at this weekend's New York Culinary Experience. We didn't realize at the time how difficult it would be to pick just one winner, but we've spent our morning weeding through all of them and have come up with a winner.

4/26/12 at 10:30 AM
Dreamin'
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Chris Pratt Has Restaurant-Related Stress Dreams

By Alan Sytsma

Anyone who has ever waited tables knows the stress dreams that come with the gig. (If you don't, check out this little roundup of some that servers around the city experience.) Not immune from this phenomenon: Hollywood hotshots. Well, Chris Pratt — Andy on Parks & Recreation, husband of Anna Faris — gets them, anyway. He tells GQ, "They're like the worst nightmare you can have. You're totally in the weeds. You have like six tables. You forgot to put the order in. You're sweating, and you wake up and 'Oh, my God. I'm so glad.'" [GQ, Related]

4/26/12 at 09:45 AM
Lawsuits
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Spitzer’s Corner Sued by Former Cook Over Wages

By Alan Sytsma

The corner in question.

DNAinfo says Edward Kim, who worked in the Spitzer's Corner kitchen for roughly ten months, is suing the Lower East Side spot for allegedly paying him a "poverty wage." Kim says he stuck around because he was promised a culinary education, in addition to the low pay. Instead, Kim says he was stuck doing menial tasks: "Now I realize they exploited me to get basic kitchen labor for next to nothing, for as long as they could … I feel like they've set me back on my dreams." Ten months is a long time to spend chopping garlic. [DNAinfo]

4/26/12 at 09:05 AM
Coming Soon
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The New Beatrice Gets a Chef

By Alan Sytsma

Late yesterday, Eater got some fresh info on the relaunch of the Beatrice Inn: The spot will open in about a month, and the chef will be Brian Nasworthy, an alum of the Per Se kitchen. And the menu? It "will consist of innovative takes on classic chop house fare," which sounds about right. [Eater NY, Earlier]