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

Posts for November 26, 2012

11/26/12 at 5:40 PM
Leftovers
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Al Di La Spinoff Gets a Name; Eight Nights of Latkes at Kutsher’s Tribeca

• Hear kitchen horror stories from the pros tomorrow night at Brooklyn Brewery. The storytelling and networking event will raise money for ReStore Red Hook. Dine on Dreamscoops beer floats, Porchetta, Brooklyn Cured sandwiches, and Anarchy in a Jar pop tarts; and purchase raffle tickets toward prizes including dinners at Talde, Farm on Adderley, Seersucker, and more. Tickets are available here. [Brooklyn Based]

• STK OUT is launching delivery service in Manhattan. Have burgers and shakes delivered to locations from 25th Street to 48th Street, between Park and Ninth avenues. Delivery is available from 11 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. [Grub Street]

• The team behind Al Di La is getting closer to opening its third spot. It will be called Lincoln Station and will be around the corner from Bar Corvo in Prospect Heights. [Prospect Heights Patch]

11/26/12 at 5:35 PM
Udder Madness
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Of Course European Dairy Farmers Riot With Milk-Filled Hoses

By Hugh Merwin

Dangerous for the lactose intolerant, and possibly Cap'n Crunch.Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP

If you're like us, you've always wondered what it'd be like to wield a fire hose full of Belgian cow milk against a squad of cops in riot gear. Well, the European Milk Board "unleashed torrents of milk" today outside the European Parliament in Brussels in protest of quotas and unfair pricing schematics, which they say are putting small farmers out of business. Hundreds of tractors were moved into the city center during the protests, and hay bales and tires have been set on fire. Dairy producers sprayed hundreds of gallons of the full-fat stuff at the government building complex, splashing police and passersby in the process. If you happen to be in Brussels, the farmers plan on protesting outside of Parliament until tomorrow afternoon. Bring chocolate syrup. [NBCNews, Related]

11/26/12 at 5:05 PM
Closings
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Café Forant Is Closing for Good, Blames Health Department

By Hugh Merwin

Hell's Kitchen restaurant Café Forant will close in January, and owners Carolyn Montgomery Forant and Lea Forant blame the excessive fines levied by the Department of Health. "We're never going to succeed with them the way they are," says Carolyn, telling DNAInfo that the fines — up to $4,600 at a time — have been constant and sometimes confusing. The Forants say they received one fine for storing ingredients on a shelf "without doors." After buying a cabinet to replace the shelves, for example, the restaurant was fined by the same inspector because the cabinet doors were not locked.

11/26/12 at 4:15 PM
Openings
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What to Eat at Sen, Now Serving Kindai O-Toro in Flatiron

By Hugh Merwin

We've been looking forward to Sen, the first NYC outpost of the eighteen-year-old Sag Harbor sushi restaurant with the same name, since last year. Jeff Resnick and Tora Matsuoka have now opened Sen on West 21st Street in Flatiron. The menu is a collaboration between executive chef Bryan Emperor and executive sushi chef Hiro Sawatari, who sliced things up last at Niko, and before that, at Sushi Yasuda. The restaurant has a voluminous wine list, sake by the glass and bottle, and cocktails to match the menu of raw and cooked dishes that span everything from from Japanese fried chicken wings to sustainable Bluefin tuna. Check out the whole deal, gills to flipper fins, straight ahead.

A look at the menu.

11/26/12 at 3:20 PM
Video Feed
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Watch All of The Mind of a Chef There Is to Watch

A friendly reminder for you lovers of fermented foods, old Canadian ladies who fry bologna, and/or Dave Chang: Ten full episodes of the Anthony Bourdain-narrated and produced PBS series The Mind of a Chef are available to watch for free. The first four episodes, covering everything from noodles to Spain, will expire in a few days, so you best get yourself a big bowl of kimchee and Benton's bacon and click on through over here ASAP. [PBS, Earlier]

11/26/12 at 2:50 PM
Interviews
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Sea Fire Grill’s Richard Pims on Sandy, Short Ribs, and the Wrath of David Burke

By Beth Landman

Pims, at work on the Sea Fire Grill line.

Opening a restaurant in New York always has its challenges, but when your planned premiere turns out to coincide with the storm of the century, it’s particularly rough going. Sea Fire Grill, owned by the team behind the Benjamin Steak Houses, was due to serve its first meal at the end of October, but as it turned out, plumbers and other contractors were a bit scarce that week to finish up work. "Everything is ready to go," Benjamin Prelvukaj told Crain's. "We have 40 people waiting to start the job."

Chris Santos, David Burke, Rick Moonen.

11/26/12 at 2:00 PM
Other Magazines
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The New Yorker’s Food Issue Is Out

By Hugh Merwin

Hold the mustard.

For its annual food issue, The New Yorker deploys several correspondents over continents and into the realms of memory: Calvin Trillin eats like a local when he visits his daughter and her family in Oaxaca, while Mimi Sheraton remembers the bygone sausages of her youth and laments the sad state of kosher beef salami in contemporary New York. Elsewhere, Daniyal Mueenuddin develops a sudden appetite for samosas when he inherits his father's farm in Pakistan, Chang-rae Lee learns how to make a perfect Manhattan, Dana Goodyear delves into the world of a Los Angeles supper club, and Philip Gourevitch skins bears. [NYer]

11/26/12 at 1:25 PM
Tavern 2.0
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Tavern on the Green’s New Owners Speak Out on Nepotism Charges

By Hugh Merwin

The restaurateurs from Philadelphia’s Beau Monde who have been readying Tavern on the Green for its big comeback in the fall of 2013 say they have been unprepared for the controversy which has accompanied their winning bid of the twenty-year lease on the historic restaurant. Jim Caiola and David Salama were selected to run Tavern on the Green last August, beating out restaurateurs and prominent chefs including Drew Nieporent, Mario Batali, and Bill Telepan. Salama tells Crain's he realizes the choice may seem like nepotism because his partner's sister is married to former deputy mayor (and current Bloomberg LP executive) Kevin Sheekey, but in reality, they keep mum during the entire RFP process. "It was obvious [talking to Mr. Sheekey about the Tavern on the Green request for proposals] would be a conflict of interest," he says, so they never brought it up all. When it opens next year, the rebooted Tavern on the Green will have 600 seats total. Revenue is expected to reach $17.5 million by the end of 2014. [Crain's, Earlier, Related]

11/26/12 at 12:20 PM
Ryu the Day
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Scott Disick’s Ryu Is Closed

We had heard that Kardashian attaché Scott Disick had left the made-for-television meatpacking party spot Ryu some time ago and that partner Jess Camac of Fatty 'Cue had also dissolved his affiliation with the big box Japanese restaurant. The restaurant closed after Hurricane Sandy and now, with its bloggy fingers searching for a pulse, Eater NY declares the restaurant has closed for good. Where will meatpacking denizens get their teriyaki cheesesteak now? [Eater NY, Earlier]

11/26/12 at 11:45 AM
Openings
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Nom Wah Tea Parlor Looks to Expand With Pop-up-Friendly Openhouse Bowery

By Hugh Merwin

Headed for new digs.

Chicken foot dim sum fan Ewan McGregor will likely be thrilled to bits to learn the nearly 100-year-old Nom Wah Tea Parlor is branching out to a new project at 168 Bowery. Wilson Tang writes in to say his collaboration with Jonathan Daou of Openhouse is nearly ready. In addition to a gallery, approximately half of Openhouse Bowery's 2,000 square feet will be used as a kitchen and food space, which Tang says is ideal for pop-up brunches, adding that come January, he hopes to host chefs from new restaurants to come in and do test-run and pop-up dinners of their menus. Before that, he says, a café selling goods made on the premises will be up and running before Christmas. [Openhouse Bowery, Related]

11/26/12 at 11:05 AM
Fire
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Three-Alarm Fire Nearly Destroys Sarge’s Delicatessen

By Hugh Merwin

Sarge's will not reopen for some time.Photo: Shanna Ravindra

A fast-moving fire broke out inside the revered and iconic Sarge's Delicatessen last night at 6:50 p.m., spreading within the walls and ventilation ducts at 548 Third Avenue, a four-story mixed-use building. More than 150 firefighters worked for 90 minutes to contain and extinguish the blaze. Several firefighters were injured, the Daily News reports. The exact cause of the fire is still unknown and the damage has not yet been totally assessed, but the deli, known for its hearty corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, is damaged and "will not be open for a while," according to Deputy Chief Thomas McKavanagh. [NYDN]

11/26/12 at 10:10 AM
Overnights
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Top Chef Seattle Recap: David Rees on Cheese Ball Sophistication and Undercooked Kale

By David Rees

Emeril is not nearly so excited about that turkey.Photo: Bravo

Can we talk about cheese balls? When I was a kid, cheese balls were a gooey talisman of sophistication, a sure sign that I was at a grown-up party featuring classical music and debates about Rite I Eucharist versus Rite II Eucharist. So naturally, this Thanksgiving, I brought a cheese ball to the table in order to class up the proceedings. It had been years since I’d partaken of a cheese ball’s pleasures; I was excited!

11/26/12 at 09:55 AM
Empire Building
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Shake Shack Chicago? Sounds Like It’s Happening

By Hugh Merwin

Get ready, Windy City.Photo: Jed Egan

Union Square Hospitality Group's ever-expanding hamburger and frozen custard chain Shake Shack is rumored to be opening its first Chicago location next year. A source familiar with Chicago's restaurant real estate business says the chain is headed for a tourist-heavy stretch of East Ohio Street just off Michigan Avenue, possibly even replacing the Harley Davidson ~~dealership~~ gift shop at the corner of East Ohio and North Rush. We've reached out to Danny Meyer's camp for comment and will report what when we hear something, ahem, concrete. If true, between the news of Shake Shack's big Boston plans and the chain's just-announced expansion to London, 2013 may indeed turn out to be the Year of the Shackburger. Update: Citing company policy, a representative reached via email has declined to comment on Shake Shack's potential expansion to Chicago. [Earlier, Earlier]

11/26/12 at 09:40 AM on Grub Street Boston
Empire Building
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Mario Batali Pizzeria Is Boston-Bound (‘Wheeeeeeee!’)

By Kara Baskin

Batali poses at his Otto, not the other Boston Otto.Photo: Melissa Hom

So Mario Batali replied to a queston on Twitter over the weekend that he's opening a pizzeria in Boston, or, to quote him directly, "Very soon !! Babbopizzeria! Wheeeeeeeeee!" Eater Boston says an "industry source" suggests a Seaport or Fort Point location. This fits with the whole "mystery celebrity chef opening a new restaurant in Fort Point" thing, though he's probably not the same mystery celebrity chef who plans to open a French restaurant in the neighborhood.

11/26/12 at 09:25 AM
Chef Shuffle
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Timothy Hollingsworth Leaving the French Laundry; Per Se Sous-Chef Taking Over

By Hugh Merwin

Hollingsworth and Thomas Keller.

Representatives for Thomas Keller announced over the weekend that chef de cuisine Timothy Hollingsworth will soon step off the line at the French Laundry. Going forward, Hollingsworth, who has served in his position for three years, will become a "culinary consultant" and leave the restaurant group.*

And his replacement is ...

11/26/12 at 09:00 AM
Eat Well
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Eat Well: Time to Atone

By Kate Lowenstein

Use up those leftover apples.

With Thanksgiving behind us, it's time to move into the serious holiday season, full of cocktail parties, big meals, and all the other hugely caloric merriment. There's no reason to avoid it, but it also means everything else should be slightly more healthful to offset it. This week, that means a vitamin-packed lunch spot in Brooklyn, heart-healthy seafood burgers, and a recipe that will help use up any apples that didn't end up in your pie last week.

And more, right this way.