Posts for December 6, 2012 -- Grub Street: New York Magazine's Food and Restaurant Blog

Posts for December 6, 2012

12/6/12 at 6:10 PM
Leftovers
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Roberta’s Hosts a Holiday Market; Pig and Khao Launches Budget Tasting Menu

• Roberta's is bringing the seasonal cheer this Sunday, December 9, with a holiday market featuring local vendors, drinks, and a "Bad Santa" portrait studio. [Roberta's]

• Save money at Fatty Crew spot Pig and Khao, which is offering $1 beer every day from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and also a $39 chef's tasting menu at the bar, Mondays through Wednesdays. [Grub Street]

• You can still make it if you rush: Fort Greene's Gnarly Vines has teamed up with the Wallace for a tasting dinner featuring offbeat American selections. For $75, you get five courses with wine, as well as a chaser of ultra-rare Pappy Van Winkle; call 347-689-9137 to reserve. [Grub Street]

More happy hours and special dinners.

12/6/12 at 5:15 PM
Openings
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Fatburger Is About to Open Everywhere in New York City

By Hugh Merwin

It's really happening this time.

Last October, Andy Wiederhorn, CEO of the Beverly Hill–based Fatburger chain, told Grub Street that his company was itching to expand to New York City, and today, Crain's reports the chain has signed an ambitious franchise agreement with the Riese Organization to bring at least ten Fatburgers to New York, with the first opening at 507 Third Avenue next spring. "We are bringing Hollywood to New York," Wiederhorn tells Crain's.

Fries, too.

12/6/12 at 4:15 PM
Quote of the Day
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Andy Ricker’s Septic System Is Fine, Thank You

“The critics are there right away, your rent is through the roof, and you have very little time to get your poop in a ~~groove~~ group*. If you come in with a lot of PR and you suck, it’s even worse — it’s like you suck squared." — Pok Pok chef and owner Andy Ricker, who last night appeared at a Culintro panel with Danny Bowien and Michael White, on the importance of getting it right from day one. [W&T Seafood, Related] *This post has been corrected to show that idiomatically, poop goes in "groups," not "grooves."

12/6/12 at 3:45 PM
Water Lines
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Gowanus Whole Foods Site Did in Fact Flood With Sewage During Sandy

By Hugh Merwin

Paper, plastic, or detritus?Photo: Whole Foods

We've already seen the video of the Gowanus Canal rising to overtake the Third Street Bridge during Sandy and the surge creeping onto the Whole Foods construction site in Brooklyn, and now Pardon Me for Asking has the clearest picture to date of the site during the storm. Samples taken from flooded buildings near the canal revealed high levels of bacteria common to sewage, but relatively low levels of toxins and heavy metals. [PMFA, Earlier]

12/6/12 at 3:00 PM on Grub Street Boston
Cheesy
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Western Hemisphere’s Largest Cheese, and Its Dancing Team, Arrive in Boston

By Kara Baskin

A scene from last year's cheese ceremony.Photo: Lyons PR

Be jealous: Boston is now home to one of the world's largest hunks of cheese. The 400-pound Crucolo from northern Italy, which we told you last month is as tall as a typical 4-year-old child and is rather mild, lands at the Concord Cheese Shop this afternoon — the only place in the country to carry this, the Western Hemisphere's largest fromage. As befits such an occasion, there will be a parade involving cheese-wielding teens.

12/6/12 at 2:45 PM
Openings
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Long Island Restaurant on Atlantic Avenue Is Still Looking to Reopen

By Hugh Merwin

Juggernaut in the making?

Earlier this year, the scaffolding came down at the sleepy, neon-wrapped Long Island Restaurant space at 110 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and work has been going on inside. Eater notices that barman and Times writer Toby Cecchini is listed as one of the principles with Montauk Club vet and Coach Peaches supper club proprietor Joel Tompkins. Plans to reopen have been in the works since last year, when Tompkins got the go-ahead from the greasy spoon's owner and approval from CB6 Brooklyn to serve liquor inside the space. This could very well be Brooklyn's answer to M. Wells. [Eater NY, Earlier]

12/6/12 at 1:55 PM
Listen Up
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Your Favorite Food People Would Like You to Hear Them Out

If you're in need of a good talking-to, look no further than the serene Apple Store Soho, where tonight Times columnist Oliver Strand will be talking with Rachael Ray about her book My Year in Meals beginning at 7 p.m. If you're looking for something with a little more, say, Danny Meyer flair, join Sam Sifton next Monday at the 92YTribeca for a talk on the ever-evolving nature of the restaurant business with Blue Smoke's Kenny Callaghan, North End Grill's Floyd Cardoz, and the Union Square Hospitality Group honcho himself. [OliverStrand/Twitter, 92YTribeca]

12/6/12 at 1:20 PM
Overnights
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Top Chef Seattle Recap: David Rees on Vegan Sushi and Artisanally Candied Salmon

By David Rees

Don't get any ideas, Photoshoppers of the world.Photo: Bravo

According to Padma, there are fourteen “cheftestants” remaining. (My count was closer to 15,619, but what do I know?) Josh broods over his inconsistent performance thus far — is his cartoon-undertaker’s mustache sapping his power? Meanwhile, Tyler, ever doleful, steels himself for future disappointment. He vows to “continue to do the best I can.” I’ve seen a fair amount of reality TV and am pretty familiar with the standard “types” of characters — Tyler’s self-hating, hangdog persona feels unusually sincere and fragile. He’s my favorite cheftestant.

12/6/12 at 12:50 PM
Extra Mustard
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Pastrami Alert: Katz’s Deli Now Delivers

You have long been able to send a salami to your boy in the army, and the Local East Village reports that you can now also ferry a box of knishes to your homegirl on Loisaida Avenue. Yes, Katz's Deli has joined Seamless — GrubHub too — and if you get beyond order minimums and minor fees, better access to one of New York's most enduring restaurants (and its sandwiches) can be all yours. [Local EV/NYT]

12/6/12 at 12:20 PM
Grapes of Doom
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Apparently Someone Found a Black Widow Spider in Her Bag of Organic Whole Foods Grapes

By Hugh Merwin

Someone get this spider a book deal.

This 27-year-old yoga instructor was about to start snacking on some organic grapes purchased from a Whole Foods in Fairfield, Connecticut, when she noticed a little Charlotte's Web action happening within. It turns out that a potentially deadly black widow spider had stowed away inside the bag, perhaps in Mexico, where the grapes were grown. Nora Weiss reacted by calmly posting a Facebook message that read: "Attention all Fairfield Whole Foods Customers!!!! I just found a black widow spider in my Sunview Organic Table Grapes bag!!!! If you just bought or will be buying these grapes or any other produce from them, carefully inspect and wash them with rubber gloves!!!! Ahhhhhh!!!! Totally freaked me out!" A day later, Weiss says no harm, no foul, and wishes the spider the safest of travels and the best of luck. "My boyfriend let it go outside,'' she tells the Connecticut Post. "That's how we live. It's a living animal and we have no hard feelings.'' [CT Post]

12/6/12 at 11:35 AM
Annoying People
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Donald Trump Bans Glenfiddich From His Properties, Calls for Boycott

By Hugh Merwin

No whiskey to wash down that Trump steak.

Donald Trump is really on fire this week. First, Trump Grill is bestowed with the illustrious and completely nonexistent "highest rated sanitary award in NY," and now, ever the crusader for truth, Trump has called on the good people of Earth to boycott Glenfiddich and its parent company, William Grant & Sons. "Glenfiddich is upset that we created our own single malt whisky using another distillery, which offers far greater products," Trump has decreed, according to the Guardian. "People at our clubs do not ask for Glenfiddich, and I make a pledge that no Trump property will ever do business with Glenfiddich or William Grant & Sons."

Watch the You've Been Trumped trailer.

12/6/12 at 10:45 AM
Remember The Maine
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Luke’s Lobster Now Sells Lobster Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

By Hugh Merwin

They said it couldn't be done.Photo: Courtesy Luke's Lobster

Ben Conniff of the Maine-centric lobster-roll company tells Grub Street that its financial district location is still offline after losing equipment and suffering damage during the storm, adding that it is likely that the South William Street Luke's will not reopen until next month. In the meantime, Luke Holden and company have decided to update the chainlet's menu for the first time in three years, adding a lobster grilled cheese loaded with lobster, Gruyère, and white bread from Maine. They're selling hot cider by the cup, seasonal Maine beers at their Upper East and Upper West Side locations, and two kinds of vegetable soup made by Hurricane's Soup, a Maine company whose name (and chowders) predate Sandy.
Luke's Lobster Winter Menu [PDF]

12/6/12 at 09:50 AM
Fin
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What It’s Like Fishing in Post-Sandy New York City Waters

By Hugh Merwin

No fluke.

The Rockaways are still a disaster zone, so it's with some compunction that writer Monte Burke gathers his lures and rod and catches all kinds of midsize striped bass just 200 yards off the Rockaways shoreline. "We could still catch occasional glimpses of the boarded-up houses and ruined cabanas," he writes at Forbes, noting that fishing boat captains lost their ships, the guides lost more than a month of business, and even with the jetty out of sight, the storm effects are still felt. Not much has been made of it, but last month, Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank declared an unprecedented fishery resource disaster in the fishing communities of coastal New Jersey and New York. "In 2010 alone, New Jersey and New York commercial fisheries landed almost 190 million pounds of fish, valued at more than $210 million dollars," they note. Recreational fishermen went out on 10 million trips and caught 5 million pounds of fish in the same year. The damage to the local fishing economy is still unknown. [Forbes via SamSifton/Twitter, NOAA]

12/6/12 at 09:00 AM
Lump It
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Grimaldi’s vs. Juliana’s Pizza War Extends to Coal-Oven Claim

By Hugh Merwin

Just open already, Juliana's.

The ongoing battle between 71-year-old Grimaldi's owner Frank Ciolli and 81-year-old Juliana's owner Patsy Grimaldi in Dumbo has an entirely unshocking new twist: Ciolli's architect has written a letter to the Department of Buildings alleging that the still under-construction Juliana's installed a new coal oven, which is all shades of pepperoni-illegal. Although many pizza experts claim coal ovens produce the finest crust and hottest pies, their use is heavily regulated by the city because of the emissions produced by burnt fossil fuels. "Given the scrutiny that my filing for such an installation at another location underwent," the Post quotes Robert Scarano's complaint letter to city officials as saying, "I feel that it is my fiduciary obligation to bring this troubling and possibly life threatening issues to your attention." [NYP, Earlier]