Posts for November 27, 2012 -- Grub Street: New York Magazine's Food and Restaurant Blog

Posts for November 27, 2012

11/27/12 at 5:50 PM
Leftovers
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Eleven Madison Park Goes Off the Grid; More Sandy Benefits

• Get schooled: The Brooklyn Star and the Brooklyn Kitchen will host a six-course dinner pairing new dishes from chef Joaquin Baca — such as Chicken-Fried Rabbit Roulade with Brussels sprouts, winter squash slaw, and chestnut gravy — with wines from Bedell, a winery on the north fork of Long Island. Tuesday, December 4. Tickets and details here. [Grub Street]

• The straightforwardly named Eat Pie and Shop will take place next Sunday at Cobble Hill's P.S. 29. Food writers and local restaurateurs (including Gail Simmons of Food & Wine and Top Chef fame) will judge the pie contest, which is open to anyone, while local vendors sell gifts. The Parent-Teacher Association uses the proceeds to fund the school's arts programs. More information here. [Grub Street]

• Calling All Food Entrepreneurs: There are two weeks left to submit a business concept to Bon Appétit's Food Innovator Awards. [Grub Street]

11/27/12 at 5:05 PM
Deliberate Mondegreens
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Vaguely Vulgar Restaurant Name Has Chattanooga in a Tizzy

By Hugh Merwin

Say it three times fast.

The guys who own Aretha Frankenstein and Crust Pizza in Chattanooga are making patties from grass-fed beef, bringing in some "extraordinary" buns from Atlanta, getting liquid nitrogen to cool their milkshakes, and even installing a very large recliner in their new restaurant, called Sofa King Juicy Burger. Say that fast enough, though, and you'll realize it's a restaurant name only a 9-year-old would love. In Chattanooga, some citizens are upset by the thought of increased expletive uttering because of the still-under-construction restaurant, with one newscaster even asking, "How will this go over with locals and those looking to put down roots?" One town resident says he will stop at nothing to make sure the restaurant does not open, but no one takes him seriously because his name is Noah Vale. [HuffPo]

11/27/12 at 4:30 PM on Grub Street Philly
Video Feed
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Stephen Starr on the Fiscal Cliff: Keep Calm and Continue Eating and Drinking

By Collin Keefe

Stephen Starr might be the only person right now in the this country who isn’t worried about the fast-approaching fiscal cliff. Despite pundits and blowhards of every stripe and shade sounding the alarm that the looming forced tax increases and spending cuts will spell certain economic doom, the “King of Restaurants” said that he is “more excited now than ever.” He added that during the worst of the Great Recession, his company opened ten new restaurants, and that uncertainties about 2013’s economic outlook aren’t going to stop him from opening restaurants in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. Check out the full clip straight ahead.

11/27/12 at 4:10 PM
Ouch
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The Perils of Being a Lady in a Boyish Kitchen

A female line cook says that after a year working the line with a bunch of guy cooks in New York, she's learned that they're all fixated on Star Wars, they correlate a waitress's ordering patterns with weird ideas about sexual potential, they care more about expensive Japanese knives than getting splattered with hot oil, and, of course, they all love dick jokes. [Buzzfeed, Related]

11/27/12 at 3:50 PM
Grub Guides
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Seriously Stiff Drinks: Twelve of New York’s Booziest Cocktails

By Grub Street

The cognac- and sherry-saturated Bouquet at Gold Bar.Photo: Jennifer Mitchell Photography

The weather's getting cooler, so by Grub Street's calculations that means it's time for our drinks to get stronger. Lucky us, New York's bartenders have the city covered. Whatever your poison — cognac, gin, whiskey, brandy, or something more esoteric — there's a super-boozy drink just waiting to warm you. Who needs a fireplace?

Where to find them, right this way.

11/27/12 at 2:35 PM on Grub Street Boston
Rejections
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Joe Blow: Patent Office Denies Dunkin’ Donuts’ ‘Best Coffee’ Claim

By Kara Baskin

America might run on Dunkin', but that doesn't necessarily mean their coffee's any good. Boston-based coffee empire Dunkin' Donuts' petitioned to trademark the phrase "best coffee in America," but the U.S. Patent Office rejected the claim, saying it's "merely laudatory and descriptive," not patent-worthy (perhaps the office's staff prefers Starbucks?). The Dunkin-deprived folks at the Los Angeles Times also note that "insiders" can order the coffee with flavor shots, but those in New England realize that the proper way to order a DD coffee is "regulah," with sugar and cream. [LAT]

11/27/12 at 2:15 PM
Openings
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Jen Carroll Still Prepping for Concrete Blonde

The former Top Chef contestant is still planning her debut New York City restaurant, the 84-seat Concrete Blonde, scheduled to open “sometime in 2013” in the West Village. Carroll tells Philadelphia that the motif will be “edgy elegance,” and the menu will be heavy on very fresh seafood that's been out of the water no more than a day. Not that she's setting high standards or anything: “The food has to be fucking amazing,” she tells the magazine. “I need to live up to it. If not, it’s my fault.” [PhillyMag, Earlier]

11/27/12 at 1:25 PM
Sunny's
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Sunny’s Needs Your Help to Reopen

Rambling, postmodern hobos and the ghosts of longshoremen routinely collide in the very late hours at Sunny's, Red Hook's old bar that was damaged extensively during Sandy. Sunny Balzano, his wife Tone, and the crew have started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to replace the bar's damaged floor, boiler, compressors, and other equipment. Additionally, a "Brooklyn-filtered" literary salon called Trip City will host a benefit for Sunny's at 498 Court Street in Carroll Gardens on Saturday night from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., featuring comix and live music. Minimum donation is $25, which gets you one cold beer; all the details you need are here. [Kickstarter, Trip City]

11/27/12 at 12:55 PM on Grub Street Philly
Farewell Cream Filling
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Twinkies Takeover? Tastykake Maker Is Top Contender to Bid for Hostess

By Collin Keefe

Gone, but not for much longer.

That didn't take long: It's only been about a week since Hostess shut down its three dozen bakeries and put its nearly 20,000 employees on the unemployment line after mediation talks fizzled out, and a potential buyer for the brand has already emerged. The Wall Street Journal says that Flower Foods, the Georgia-based baker that last year snatched up Philadelphia’s Tasty Baking Company — makers of Tastykakes — is a top contender to make a strong bid for at least some of Hostess's assets.

11/27/12 at 12:25 PM
Culatello!
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Eataly Rolls Out E-Tailing

The next phase of Eataly's world domination master plan involves online sales, apparently, but instead of the shock-and-awe approach of bombarding customers with countless variations of cappellaccis, troves of truffle oil, and a glut of garganelli, the slow food grocery store is taking it, fittingly, just 100 products at a time, starting with Heritage pork, Piemontese beef, and a bunch of sweet stuff. [Eataly, Earlier]

11/27/12 at 11:45 AM on Grub Street Philly
Recalls
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FDA Shuts Down Trader Joe’s–Associated Peanut Butter Plant

By Collin Keefe

Back in September Trader Joe’s voluntarily pulled its Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter from store shelves over concerns that it had sickened dozens with salmonella. Yesterday the FDA, wielding new power granted to it from last year’s food safety law, moved to shut down the New Mexico facility where the offending peanut butter was made. (The plant also made peanut butter for companies like Whole Foods and Target.) Identifying the peanut butter and other nut products processed there as a "reasonable probability" of causing serious health problems or death, the agency suspended the manufacturer Sunland Inc.’s registration. The AP says that under old rules, the FDA would have had to take Sunland to court to block it from producing or distributing food. Now the onus is on the company to prove that its facilities are clean and safe before it can resume operations. Considering FDA officials discovered dirty equipment, improper handling of ingredients, and trailers full of peanuts outside the facility that were left uncovered and exposed to rain and birds, it sounds as though they've got some work to do. [AP, Earlier]

11/27/12 at 11:30 AM
Video Feed
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Watch This Chinese Dishwasher Sanitize Plates Like Nobody’s Business

By Hugh Merwin

This video, posted on LiveLeak and YouTube yesterday, shows a super-speedy pot washer who, with his soapy squeeze bottles and trusty sanitizer (we hope) at the ready, dispenses with a stack of twentysomething dim sum plates with finesse and ease. This man and his scrubbie are keeping the dream of scullions everywhere alive. If you've ever scrubbed pots and washed dishes in a restaurant, this one's for you.

Long live the four-compartment sink.

11/27/12 at 11:05 AM
Fines
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Zaro Bakery Hit With $118K in Fines After Ceiling Collapse

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has levied $118,000 in fines against the Bronx-based Zaro Bakery — which supplies bread and bagels for Zaro's Bread Basket locations throughout the city — over numerous safety violations. In April, part of the factory's ceiling collapsed on bakers, the Daily News reports, and more recently, inspectors found excess flour, which is actually highly combustible, "built up on pipes and walls" throughout the bakery. [NYDN]

11/27/12 at 09:55 AM
Closings
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Natori Is Closing on Friday

It's the last call for broiled alligator, squid okonomiyaki, and garlic-sprout-stuffed chicken legs: EV Grieve reports the St. Marks sushi stalwart Natori, home to Voice critic Robert Sietsema's favorite early bird sushi specials, will close on Friday. There's no word on its replacement just yet. [EV Grieve]

11/27/12 at 09:35 AM
Smoked Out
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Mile End’s Smoked Meat Is Now More Expensive, But Deal With It

By Hugh Merwin

Still worth it.

When Sandy destroyed Mile End's Red Hook production kitchen, owner Noah Bernamoff had to overhaul production in order to keep the business going. The Meat Hook is handling production of its salami and lamb sausage, and Bernamoff has turned to the smokers at Fleisher’s in Kingston to keep the brisket coming. Between curing, smoking, and now the extra commute, the deli has raised the price of its smoked meat sandwich, from $12 to $14, eliciting complaints. “It’s like, I’m breaking my back to keep this running despite how shitty our situation has been recently,” Bernamoff tells the Local East Village, “and someone cares so much to sit down and write some Facebook message about a sandwich they had that was maybe $1 to $2 more expensive?” We'll take two, please. And a large poutine. [Local EV/NYT, Earlier]

11/27/12 at 09:00 AM
Openings
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Michael White’s Altamarea Group Said to Have Leased Fiamma Space

By Hugh Merwin

Going back to Spring Street?Photo: Patrick McMullan

The Post is reporting that, last week, restaurateur Stephen Hanson sold the Soho building that formerly housed Fiamma to a real-estate investment group, but in a "wild twist," its new owners have leased the space to none other than Michael White and Ahmass Fakahany of the Altamarea Group.

Wowzers.