January 29, 2010 Ed’s Chowder House in the Empire Hotel is ideally located if you’re heading to Lincoln Center. That…

Ed’s Chowder House

44 W 63 St, New York

(212) 956-1288

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With 46 hotels in the pipeline for New York City (according to a tally quoted in the Times) and 40 slated for Brooklyn alone (according to the Brooklyn Eagle’s math), it should be no surprise that Print isn’t the only new hotel venue we’re introducing to you today. This next one, Polar, will open below Gramercy’s Marcel Hotel on February 8 (just in time for Fashion Week!). Like, say, the Mercer Hotel’s SubMercer, it’s small and subterranean (and boasts a stand-up bar as well as a lounge area), but as you can see in our slideshow, Polar is quite a bit brighter.

Design firm Goodman Charlton (which also created the Marcel’s mod-tastic Coal lounge in the same space) this time aims to take revelers to the North Pole via faux Polar Bear skin and “polar caves” reserved for VIPs (or you can claim them by emailing the address below— no bottle service is necessary but keep in mind drinks are $17 a pop). Overseeing the lounge on behalf of Amsterdam Hospitality (Empire Hotel, etc.) will be David Bowd, who ran the Mondrian LA, The Royalton NY, and others while at the Morgans Group. Check out the seasonal cocktails by Somer Perez of Couture Cocktail Concepts and the small-plates menu from neighbor ’inoteca.

Food Menu
Antipasti Plate
serves 2-4
14.

Olives
7.

Affetatti Assortito
assorted cold meats – daily selections
18.

Bruschette
Fagioli / Pesto / Tapenade / Ricotta / Cauliflower / Rabe / Fennel
One for 3. Three for 7. Five for 12.

Croquettes di Patate
lightly fried potato croquettes
9.

Insalata Di Calamari Grigliata
salad of char-grilled squid with chili and garlic
12.

Formaggi Assortito
assorted cheese – daily selections
3 for 12. 5 for $14.

Truffle Egg Toast
truffle oil, fontina cheese and egg yolk
9. per piece

Proscuitto Panini
mozzarella, arugula and pesto
11.

Fontina Panini
truffle oil, spinach and mushrooms
11.

Drinks
POLAR Specialty Cocktails
17.

POLAR’s Champagne Cocktail
Veuve Clicquot Champagne and Rhubarb Bitters with a Sugarcube

Tundra
TyKu Junmai Ginjo Premium Sake, Cucumber and Lychee Puree

Endurance
Sazerac Rye, Meyer Lemon Puree, Honey Water and a Floating Glacier

The Terra Nova
Don Julio Silver Tequila, Aztec Chocolate Bitters, Housemade Vanilla Syrup and Smokey Salt

Operation Highjump
Reyka Icelandic Vodka, Frozen Grapes, White Grape Juice and Pear Eau de Vie

Bourbon Grog
Makers Mark Bourbon, Pinot Noir, Brandied Cherries and Sweet Vermouth

Prime Meridian
Bluecoat Gin, Morello Cherry Puree, St-Germain and Lime

Polar, at the Marcel, 201 E. 24th St, nr. Third Ave.; reservations@nycpolar.com

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: slideshow, amsterdam hospitality, empire hotel, gramercy, marcel hotel, nightlife, openings, polar, submercer

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from Grub Street San Francisco

For the first time in sixteen years, sales of California wines dropped in 2009, despite the fact that everyone is boozing it up more overall. New figures show that CA wineries shipped four million fewer cases last year than they did in 2008, The Cellarist reports. About three-quarters of those losses were in exports, and far fewer people in general were buying wines above a $20 price point, even though wine consumption is up two percent. “People just scaled down buying patterns,” says wine industry expert Jon Frederickson, adding that cheaper bottles sold well, such as those in the $9 to $12 range made by larger operations like Sterling and Cupcake Vineyards. Smaller producers and all those overpriced Napa Cabernet-makers were hit hardest, since Trader Joe’s has now opened our minds and palates to the decent cheap bottles we can get from France, Australia, and Argentina. Newsflash, winemakers: That Opus One bullshit only flies during giddy, spendy times.

Why California Wines Aren’t Selling [The Cellarist]

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Filed Under: oenofile, cupcake vineyard, jon bonne, recession is your friend, sterling vineyards

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Boerum Hill: Mile End closed early today because it couldn’t keep up with Brooklyn’s demand for meat. The deli will try again tomorrow starting at 8 a.m. for brekkie, and noon for the beef. [Eater NY]
Clinton Hill: Behind metal gates and papered windows, a new café called NeroDoro soft-opened at 395 Classon Avenue, serving coffee and pastries early, and piadinas for lunch. [Brownstowner]
East Village: Ko serves a tortellini in an oxtail broth spiked with Amaro, perfect to sip on while preparing the recipe. [Moment/NYT]

Greenpoint: Chef Joseph Ogrodnek takes on the kitchen at Anella starting Wednesday. Preview his new menu here, along with the $45 Valentine’s Day menu. [Grub Street]
Tribeca: Try Japanese ingredients like surimi, wasabi, and saury pickles in French cuisine at Bouley during a series of special seafood lunches served February 8 to February 13. [Grub Street]
Upper West Side: Carmine’s celebrates its twentieth anniversary with a special menu of $20 entrées (linguine with clam sauce, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken cutlets) served Monday through Wednesday during lunch and dinner. [Grub Street]
West Village: On March 9, the brothers Voltaggio host a $165 dinner at the James Beard House that begins with foie-gras jelly doughnuts. [JBH]

Read more posts by Alexandra Vallis

Filed Under: neighborhood watch, anella, boerum hill, clinton hill, east village, foodievents, greenpoint, james beard house, ko, menus, mile end, nerodoro, voltaggio, west village

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Eater has snagged the menu of Faustina, Scott Conant’s project in the Cooper Square Hotel. At the time of this posting, the first available OpenTable reservation is on February 5. [Eater NY]

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Filed Under: openings, cooper square hotel, faustina, scott conant

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“It’s interesting because when David worked for me, um, we wouldn’t let him work the hot line. He wasn’t up to speed … He had to grow, and I think that if you look at what he’s doing now compared to the first restaurant … If you look at Noodle Bar compared to Ko, there’s a simplicity at Noodle Bar that changed and he grew dramatically in the 5 years.” —Tom Colicchio on the “Leonard Lopate Show” [WNYC]

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Filed Under: personalities, craft, david chang, tom colicchio

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It’s 4 p.m., and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze in a couple for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: TV Chefs.

Babbo (Menu)
212-777-0303
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9 p.m.

Becco (Menu)
212-367-7470
Two for eight? Yes

Butter (Menu)
212-253-2828
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:30 p.m.

Daniel (Menu)
212-288-0033
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9 p.m.

Felidia (Menu)
212-758-1479
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9 p.m.

Jean Georges (Menu)
212-299-3900
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:15 p.m.

Le Bernardin (Menu)
212-554-1515
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:45 p.m.

Mesa Grill (Menu)
212-807-7400
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:15 p.m.

Morimoto (Menu)
212-989-8883
Two for eight? Yes

Wd-50 (Menu)
212-477-2900
Two for eight? No, closed Mondays

Filed Under: Babbo, Becco, Butter, Daniel, Felidia, Jean Georges, Le Bernadin, Mesa Grill, Morimoto, Two for Eight, Wd-50

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I was able to try out A Salt and Battery, made famous by Food Network’s "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." While the fish…

A Salt & Battery

112 Greenwich Ave, New York

(212) 691-2713

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The bistro is quite large for a New York restaurant. Not overly pretentious yet classy, the atmosphere resembles…

Perilla

9 Jones St, New York

(212) 929-6868

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“I do love restaurants. I’m not in one at the moment, which is becoming an apparent hole in my career. I’m getting myself together to get back into restaurants.” —Anne Burrell, host of Worst Cooks in America [Serious Eats]

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Filed Under: tv land, anne burrell, worst cooks in america

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“I do love restaurants. I’m not in one at the moment, which is becoming an apparent hole in my career. I’m getting myself together to get back into restaurants.” —Anne Burrell, host of Worst Cooks in America [Serious Eats]

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: tv land, anne burrell, worst cooks in america

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Josh Ozerksy is now a Time columnist and a “Master Hamburger Seminar” teacher, but his most entertaining gig continues to be as host of the Mr. Cutlets radio show. Yesterday, Sebastian Zijp (who took over Bar Blanc from Cesar Ramirez) discussed his time in the kitchens of David Bouley and Paul Liebrandt, neither of whom sound like anyone’s dream boss. Regarding Bouley: “He has his way and everyone else has to catch up to him.” For example: “Finding out at 5 p.m. on a Friday night that there’s a private party you have to go to and he takes everybody’s mise en place for your Friday night and you have to run around and do everything all over again and you got 120 people coming in half an hour.” Like Zijp says, these things happen, but Liebrandt sounds like a different story altogether.

“Paul taught me boldness and arrogance,” Zijp says. He goes on later: “He’s very, very talented — he knows what he’s doing. He’s got a very good style and very good sense and but also very … I guess probably the closest to working for somebody if I was to work in Europe in the sense that you’re the cook; you’re the grunt; you work, and you don’t laugh, you don’t talk, you don’t own anything … it’s like you’re almost in the army; it’s very different than here in New York and he’s still very structured in that sense … In my first week I laughed at one of his jokes and he said, ‘You don’t know me well enough to laugh at one of my jokes.’” Ouch.

The Mr. Cutlets Show [Heritage Radio Network]

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: personalities, cesar ramirez, david bouley, paul liebrandt, sebastian zijp

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