Valentine’s Day, boon to florists, bars, and enterprising restaurants, offers dessert lovers a holiday of their own. Bakeries are not shy about cashing in on the cupcake craze, and Valentine&#8217s Day brings a whole slew of options. Pick up a box of edible roses from Kumquat Cupcakery’s pop-up in Greenpoint, or send a love letter baked by Magnolia (ask for them at the new Dubai location!). Like flowers, desserts won’t last forever, but they will endure a gym workout.

Related: The Valentine’s Playbook 2010

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Filed Under: user’s guide, cupcakes, cupmudgeonism, slideshows, sweet news, valentine’s day

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Today in body ink: Behold a tat of Bourdain, Morimoto, and Ripert care of Serious Eats (somehow more nuts than Rachael Ray or Alice Waters tats?); then brace for City Rag’s collection of food-related gut art.

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Filed Under: highly questionable, alice waters, anthony bourdain, eric ripert, masaharu morimoto, rachael ray, tattoos

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My search for a great Midtown meal continued a few weeks ago when Empanada Boy and I were looking for a place to eat…

Szechuan Gourmet

21 W 39th St, New York

(212) 921-0233

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My search for a great Midtown meal continued a few weeks ago when Empanada Boy and I were looking for a place to eat…

Szechuan Gourmet

242 W 56th St, New York

(212) 265-2226

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Flatiron: Joe Bastianich’s Eataly posted a sign to announce its opening this summer. [Fork in the Road/VV]
Hell’s Kitchen: Just like April Bloomfield’s restaurants, the new Print features a designated forager. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Lower East Side: 88 Orchard unveils evening table service and a new small-plates menu tomorrow night with dishes like chickpea-and-butternut-squash salad and lamb sloppy joes, plus dumplings from Vanessa’s Dumpling House and Saxelby cheeses. [Grub Street]
Upper East Side: Cascabel Taqueria introduces a new tequila menu Thursday with a tasting tray of eight shots for $60, margaritas, and a house marg combining fresh grapefruit juice and chili. [Grub Street]

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Filed Under: neighborhood watch, 88 orchard, cascabel, hell’s kitchen, le bernardin, lower east side, midtown west, print, upper east side

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Earlier today we shared our thoughts on the future of food journalism and didn’t charge you a cent, but if you care enough about the subject to spend $50, Gabriella Gershenson of Time Out New York, Francis Lam of Salon.com, Nick Fauchald of Tasting Table, and Brian Halweil of the Edible magazines will be mulling it over at Culintro on February 8. Needless to say, the future of food journalism will involve a lot of panel discussions.

The Future of Food Journalism [Culintro]

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Filed Under: foodievents,

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While the usual suspects turned up in Slashfood’s top ten list of the hottest men in the food industry (Rocco, Jamie), Paula Deen lands in the ten spot on the women’s lineup. She does fit the criteria y’all: “A woman who isn’t afraid of fire, or knives, or licking her fingers.” [Slashfood/AOL]

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Filed Under: food tv, hottest men chefs, hottest women chefs, paula deen, top ten lists

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Just minutes ago, Nate Appleman sent out word via Twitter that Pulino’s is looking for talent: “Hiring: cooks, pizza makers, prep, dishwashers. Anyone interested please send resumes to Nate@pulinosny.com.” McNally’s place is, of course, still under plywood, but to tide you over until the interior is revealed, the folks at NBC New York have uncovered floor plans for the restaurant. Since they were drawn up over a year ago, it’s uncertain how closely the open pizza station and semicircle bar will hue to the original plan, but if, like us, you’re in full stalker mode, take a look-see nevertheless.

Pulino’s Floor Plans Revealed [NBC New York]
nappleman [Twitter]

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Filed Under: openings, keith mcnally, nate appleman, pulino’s

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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 could 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: Splurge.

Adour Alain Ducasse
Adour Alain Ducasse (Menu)
212-710-2277
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:30 p.m.

Corton
Corton (Menu)
212-219-2777
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:30 p.m.

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

Jean Georges
Jean Georges (Menu)
212-299-3900
Two for eight? Yes

Le Bernardin (Menu)
212-554-1515
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:30 p.m.

Eleven Madison Park (Menu)
212-889-0905
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:45

Oceana (Menu)
212-759-5941
Two for eight? Yes

Per Se (Menu)
212-823-9335
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:45 p.m.

Marea (Menu)
212-582-5100
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10 p.m.

SHO Shaun Hergatt (Menu)
212-809-3993
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:30 p.m.

Filed Under: Adour Alain Ducasse, Corton, Daniel, Eleven Madison Park, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin, Marea, Oceana, Per Se, SHO Shaun Hergatt, Two for Eight

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An industry study has told us what we already know: Last year “people drank more but turned to cheaper brands. They also drank more at home and less in pricier bars and restaurants.” Just ask the dude buying Maker’s Mark from Costco. [WP]

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Filed Under: booze news,

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Robert Sietsema has penned a capsule history of restaurant reviewing for the Columbia Journalism Review, and here’s the long and short of the pre-Bruni era: “Craig Claiborne built the foundation of professionalism. Gael Greene and Mimi Sheraton gussied it up and infused it with sensuality. And … [Ruth Reichl] turned the restaurant review into a bona fide literary form.” After that, Sietsema came along and gave vernacular food some love (though he points out Reichl was no stranger to Chinese restaurants) — and then came the Internet era. Restaurant Girl and Sam Sifton threw anonymity right out the window, restaurants got reviewed earlier, and preview dinners were thronged by bloggers who sometimes do and sometimes don’t disclose their free meals. (Sietsema doesn’t mention the growing number of chefs who are reviewing the reviewers). So what does the future hold?

If you ask us, it will probably entail reviewers (or bloggers, at least) outright collaborating with chefs and restaurateurs. For instance, NBC New York is hyping its upcoming blog launch by sending chefs off in a food truck (see the promo video below), and the site’s editor, Ben Leventhal, is getting into the restaurant business himself. Or take the case of Josh Ozersky adding a burger to the menu at Lucy Browne’s and then covering it on his now-defunct blog the Feedbag (as you know from reading this blog, that experiment backfired when, according to the chef, the blogger didn’t know what he was doing). Or that thanks to Midtown Lunch’s Sandwich Challenge, blogger Chubby Chinese Girl just got a sandwich on Cer Te’s menu.

Of course, media outlets collaborating with chefs isn’t exactly a new thing; New York Taste is over a decade old, after all. But now that each outlet works by its own code of ethics, it’s quite possible blogs will begin actually driving your day-to-day dining experience rather than simply reporting on it. It’s no secret that publicists have a hand in menu design, and as restaurants continue to take advantage of the free advertising that blogs offer, they’ll continue to add “trendy” items to the menu (burgers! Vietnamese sandwiches! Heck, we even got a press release for a Groundhog Day cocktail today). We’ll continue to see the launch of twee, media-friendly concepts (cupcake trucks!).

Not to mention, with more and more blogs popping up, the competition among bloggers for exclusive information will become even more fierce — to the point that they’re sure to begin creating that information themselves. Look at the way Eater hyped the New York Wine & Food Festival, which it co-sponsored: The site spat out dozens of “news” posts about the event as if a hamburger contest was the second coming of the first Olympics in 776 B.C. It’s not too far fetched to imagine the day when a blog creates a restaurant (Grub Street’s Fried White Castles!) just to have the exclusive on its opening, and for the free advertising it will bring when all those other blogs report on it.

Everyone Eats … [Columbia Journalism Review]

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Filed Under: thought pieces, bloggers, blogs, gael greene, mimi sheraton, restaurant reviewers, robert sietsema, ruth reichl

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Del Posto harkens back to a grander age, where elegant dining and formal service were the appreciated norm. Mario…

Del Posto

85 10th Ave, New York

(212) 497-8090

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