Right across the street from Big Wong this place is a bit overrated, especially from a restaurant with a long history…

New Wonton Garden

56 Mott St, New York

(212) 966-4886

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On one of my travels to New York, I met up with a few friends, courtesy of Winston, at a small little pizzeria in…

Gaby’s Pizzeria

204-23 Hillside Ave, Queens

(718) 740-9716

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All dark wood and dim lighting, the JakeWalk has the feel of an old-school bar without the sour booze smell and lack…

Jakewalk

282 Smith St, New York

(347) 599-0294

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This tiny little Euro-cafe on quiet President Street in Park Slope serves up coffee, pastries, and conversation…

Cafe DuCharme

668 President St, Brooklyn

(646) 288-7644

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When I reached the Cipriani, the restaurant looked very elegant especially with the dark wood bookcases and opulent…

Cipriani Wall Street

55 Wall St, New York

(212) 699-4099

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To me, Balthazar is a New York institution. I remember when I made my first solo trip to the city, I ordered the…

Balthazar

80 Spring St, New York

(212) 965-1785

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Mailaino – little pig in English – is the most recent dining venture from YAH’s favorite restaurant-making-machine…

Maialino

2 Lexington Ave, New York

(212) 777-2410

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This week’s overview of celebrity dining features our favorite characters, except they’re acting completely out of character. Snooki, Ronnie, and Sammi Sweatheart, for example, betrayed their Italian roots as soon as they crossed the Hudson to Manhattan, picking Japanese fusion joint SushiSamba Seven over many of the West Village’s great Italian eateries. The momentary lapse on their part was made up for when they made their way to Armani Exchange after lunch.

Ballato: Approaching month three of her anti–heartbreak-related depression year, Alexa Ray Joel seems just peachy as she dines with mom Christie Brinkley. [Gatecrasher/NYDN]

Blue Water Grill: Jessica Szohr, sans fellow Gossip Girl cast member and current boyfriend Ed Westwick, washes her spicy tempura roll down with a bottle of Pinot Noir. [People]

Butter: In a “diva” move, Bono demands Perrier and — gasp! — properly chopped salad while dining with fellow U2 band member the Edge. [Gatecrasher/NYDN]

Elaine’s: The studly actor Josh Lucas is off the singles menu, it seems: He was spotted canoodling with model Amelie Latournald at a bash for PR great Bobby Zarem. [Gatecrasher/NYDN]

Library Bar: Pam Anderson does drinks and appetizers with Richie Rich and an entourage before her runway appearance at Richie’s fashion show — perhaps this is why she was an hour late? [People]

Sòlo: Miss Universe 2008 and Miss Universe 2009, both from Venezuela, share dieting tips over lunch with their immigration lawyer. [Page Six/NYP]

SushiSamba Seven: Snooki, Sammi Sweetheart, and Ronnie might be proud Italians, but they weren’t afraid to try some of the West Village’s posh Japanese offerings before heading to their treasured Armani Exchange. [Gatecrasher/NYDN]

Read more posts by Evan Mulvihill

Filed Under: ballato, blue water grill, butter, Celebrity Settings, elaine’s, library bar, solo, sushisamba 7

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East Village: A new bar has finally set its sights on the spot that held the Raven Café before it was destroyed by a fire in 2006. [EV Grieve]
Midtown East: The Oak Room is celebrating the snow by serving hot chocolate in fifteen-ounce to-go thermoses. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to the Central Park Conservancy. [Grub Street]
Red Hook: The corner of Ninth and Smith, formerly the site of an Uncle Louie G’s, will soon house Il Cuntuccio Brick Oven Pizza. [Pardon Me for Asking]

Tribeca: On Monday, Locanda Verde launches a cocktail list by Bobo mixologist Naren Young. [Tasting Table]
West Village: Final preparations on Otarian, a vegetarian fast-food chain from Australia, look to be wrapping up as the eatery gets ready to open its first East Coast outpost on Bleecker Street. [Bowery Boogie]

Read more posts by Sally Holmes

Filed Under: neighborhood watch, central park conservancy, east village, il cuntuccio, midtown east, oak room, otarian, red hook, the raven cafe, uncle louie gs, west village

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Danny Mena and Ethan Smith, the team that brought delicious, authentic Mexico City–style cooking to the Dumbo General Store, relocate to the old Marion’s space next Friday, and it goes without saying that all across Dumbo, gloom and despair reign. Why did the pair abandon a devoted clientele for the Bowery’s burgeoning restaurant row? “We outgrew the space,” says chef Mena of the cramped kitchen he shared with the DGS’s daytime operation, a wine-and-panini bar of sorts. “It was a hassle: two different teams fighting each other, with no centralized management. We had to completely rearrange the kitchen every night, and we’d only have two hours to prep. It became painful to work there.” Still, it was a loyal team Hecho that scoured Dumbo for a suitable replacement space, to no avail, and now, as they say, Brooklyn’s loss is Manhattan’s gain. (As a tribute to their Kings County roots, they’re keeping the name.)

When Mena and Smith fling open the doors to their new digs, it will be to reveal some newly exposed brick, a ceiling covered with reclaimed barnwood from Montreal, and 68 seats including a few that overlook an open kitchen they can call their own. Lots of ingredients, from hand-pressed tortillas to queso Oaxaca, will be made in-house. An intriguing Mexican brunch menu that goes into effect mid-March will be served every day until 4 p.m., chilaquiles included. And, as in Brooklyn, a dinner menu of antojitos will be supplemented with more elaborate small plates, like guinea hen confit in a mole made from chiles grown by Mena’s mother in South Carolina. For more of what’s in store, view our slideshow and preview the menu.

354 Bowery, nr. 4th St. 212-937-4245

Dinner Menu [pdf]
Brunch Menu [pdf]

Read more posts by Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Filed Under: openings, danny mena, ethan smith, hecho en dumbo, menus, slideshows

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Virtual tour of AL BUSTAN

Al Bustan

319 E 53rd St, New York

(212) 759-5933

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Yesterday as dusk turned to night, 27 chefs gathered on a strip of sand in South Beach to wage war, medium rare. It was the fourth annual Burger Bash, hosted by Rachael Ray, who sauntered around the tent surrounded by four large men in black suits with earpieces. The tent filled with smoke and the smell of blood on the grill.

As in bashes past, defending champion Spike Mendelsohn was there with poor hot, nearly naked girls shivering in the Miami night. This year, Jeffrey Chodorow jumped on the lady train, too, planting a shivering scantily clad lady next to his “beach burger.” To be fair, there was also a shivering topless man there, too. The girls helped neither.

The evening came down to competing ideologies. The judges — expert, urbane, and mostly arrived that day from New York — chose a burger that would happily feed New York’s hunger for culinary simplicity. Michael Schwartz, representing Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink in Miami, cooked what he said was “the perfect bacon cheeseburger.” It was as pared down as a bacon cheeseburger could be: house-smoked bacon, white Cheddar, heirloom tomato, and local lettuce on a homemade brioche bun. He took home the Golden Grill Award.

Cleveland’s Michael Symon won the People’s Choice award for understanding that his audience was filled with transplanted New York Jews. Symon’s burger, the Fat Doug, was awash with Swiss, pastrami, and coleslaw — a half-burger, half-Reuben chimera that channeled Katz’s Delicatessen while still technically being a burger. Symon’s margin of Victory, said Ray, was Bush v. Gore slim.

View our slideshow to see a sampler of the burgers and their chefs.

Read more posts by Joshua David Stein

Filed Under: burgers, burger bash, hamburgers, micahel schwartz, michael symon, slideshows, south beach wine and food festival

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