Between all the wild movements of Fashion Week — pushing past Anna Wintour for a front-row seat, asking Christian Siriano if your outfit is fierce, and so on — all those boldfaced names need a place to sit down, relax, and, well, eat. And sometimes it’s not the pomp or majesty of the fashion shows that creates those magical little moments; sometimes those moments happen in the downtime, like, say, at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Celebrated fashion blogger Bryanboy, for example, took to Balthazar at the crack of dawn on Tuesday morning and complimented his “super friendly and lovely waiter” via Twitter. After the waiter noticed the blogger’s kind message and tweeted back, Bryanboy showered him with even more praise. On the celebrity side of things, the love was flowing, too, perhaps in early anticipation of Valentine’s Day: Katie Holmes and her adorable child Suri shared a midday treat from Magnolia Bakery, while Paris Hilton dashed out of Serafina with some highbrow takeout for her boyfriend in tow. Below, this wondrous week in celebrity dining.

Balthazar: Fashion blogger Bryanboy and his waiter exchange a series of adorable tweets.

Bar Breton: Two politically minded fiancé-fiancée pairs double-dated at this swanky French flatiron joint: first daughter Chelsea Clinton with Marc Mezvinsky, and Brooklyn/Queens Representative Anthony Weiner with Huma Abedin. [NYP]

Da Silvano: Funny people Howard Stern and Sandra Bernhard traded zingers over dinner. [NYP]

Le Perigord: Pesky patrons grill Mario Cuomo on when his son Andrew will announce his gubernatorial candidacy. [NYP]

Magnolia Bakery: Katie Holmes and daughter Suri sneakily departed the Bowery Hotel and emerged — via some sort of subterranean tunnel known only to Sex and the City characters and Scientologists, we assume — at Magnolia Bakery to have a cupcake. [Cityfile/Zimbio]

Maximo Pino Café: Fox News anchor Shepard Smith sampled some free gelato and fled, perhaps, as the ever-observant Post supposes, “because CNN was playing on the eatery’s TV.” [NYP]

Philippe: Kanye has committed some notable faux pas in certain other venues, but don’t count this week’s early departure from the haute Chinese resto among them: He didn’t wait the requisite 45 minutes for his Peking duck, but he did foot the bill for it, adding on a generous tip. [Grub Street]

Serafina: Sporting a silver minidress (is there any other type of dress that she wears?), Paris Hilton managed to flee the paparazzi outside the midtown west joint while dutifully carrying a doggie bag to her boyfriend. [NYP]

Swifty’s: Peter Bacanovic, former stock broker of the felonious Martha Stewart, dined with Yanna Avis (whom the Post says is a cabaret-singing widow) at the septuagenarian favorite. [NYP]

Read more posts by Evan Mulvihill

Filed Under: balthazar, bar breton, bowery hotel, Celebrity Settings, da silvano, le perigord, magnolia bakery, maximo pino café, philippe, rare bar & grill, serafina, swifty’s

• 0 Comments

Carroll Gardens: What’s the most romantic spot in the neighborhood? [Pardon Me for Asking]
Chelsea: Watch a puppet show called “City of Hamburgers.” How can you not? [Eating in Translation]
Cobble Hill: Ceol is hosting a “Theology on Tap” series. [McBrooklyn]
Greenpoint: The “Best Wings in Brooklyn” will be determined on Saturday at the Red Star Bar. [Ditmas Park Blog]
Midtown West: Café Bounjour on 38th and 5th now offers a $5 lunch special. [Midtown Lunch]
West Village: Kingswood is closed until February 15, owing to a fire next door. [Eater NY]

Read more posts by Aileen Gallagher

Filed Under: neighborhood watch, ceol, kingswood, red star bar, wings

• 0 Comments

We’ve just learned that Julie Moskin of the Times is working on a story about tweeting chefs that is sure to bring down many food-industry players. Ha, okay, fine: We’re just trying to drum up drama along the lines of that Governor Paterson exposé — who can blame us? Even lowly “barnacles” like to feel like Bob Woodward sometimes. But seriously, we’ve heard that both Joe Dobias and Ryan Skeen have been interviewed about the Twitter flare-ups that Grub Street spotted back in November. And who knows, maybe there’ll be mention of Marcus Samuelsson announcing his new restaurant via Twitter. This should be good! As for Skeen, he tells us that he is indeed working on something new, but isn’t yet ready to share details. In any case, good to hear he’s still plugging away in NYC.

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: twitterverse, joe dobias, ryan skeen, twitter

• 0 Comments

Sure, the “breaded chicken topped with chorizo, grilled hot dog, bacon, and two kinds of cheese” that Serious Eats discovered today at Sunset Park’s Don Pepe is kind of insane, but venture out to Newark’s Ironbound and you’ll find something possibly even more nuts at a late-night Brazilian café called Altas Horas. Among the many lanches sold there, the Tudo (Everything) consists of a bun containing a sirloin-steak cutlet, a chicken cutlet, a hamburger patty, melted mozzarella cheese, a fried egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato, corn, mayo, and thin-cut fries.

That’s right, the fries are inside of the sandwich, which is served in a tiny plastic bag to make sure the steak juice and corn kernels don’t drip all over the place. Sure, the current issue of Food Network Magazine posits that topping hamburger patties with other meats (pulled pork in the case of Daniel Boulud’s Piggie, seared foie gras in the case of Jose Garces’s Whiskey King burger, and lobster meat in the case of one of Hubert Keller’s burgers) is the hot new trend, but this might just be overkill. Despite the fact that the Tudo is almost physically impossible to get into your mouth, it doesn’t come with a fork and knife. And yet somehow it didn’t disintegrate on us when we knocked it down, which is testimony to its perfect construction. It wasn’t bad, either.

Anyway, speaking of blechtacular sammies, We Heart New York says it was recently served the fabled Luther burger (you know, a bacon burger between doughnuts) at Tipsy Parson. However, a receptionist there told us “we don’t serve that,” so call ahead before going there with your heart set on it.

Tipsy Parson [We Heart New York]
Hot Dog of the Week: Torta De Salchicha [Serious Eats]
Altas Horas Lanches [Official Site]

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: what to eat, altas horas, ironbound, newark

• 0 Comments

A shop that sells nothing but fries? Why not? After all, french fried potatoes are among the most prominent staples…

Pommes Frites

123 2nd Ave, New York

(212) 674-1234

• 0 Comments

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 (Menu)
212-710-2277
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10:15 p.m.

Corton (Menu)
212-219-2777
Two for eight? No
Best available: 5:45 p.m.

Daniel (Menu)
212-288-0033
Two for eight? No
Best available: Fully booked

Jean Georges (Menu)
212-299-3900
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10:15 p.m.

Le Bernardin (Menu)
212-554-1515
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10:30 p.m.

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

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

Per Se (Menu)
212-823-9335
Two for eight? No
Best available: Fully booked

Marea (Menu)
212-582-5100
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:15 p.m.

SHO Shaun Hergatt (Menu)
212-809-3993
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:30 p.m.

Filed Under: two for eight, adour alain ducasse, corton, daniel, eleven madison park, jean-georges, le bernardin, marea, oceana, per se, sho shaun hergatt

• 0 Comments

Okay, we kind of glossed over Sam Talbot’s Fashion Week pop-up at Milk Studios, but this photo of the former Top Chef with Josh Hartnett last night is kind of entrancing, isn’t it? Urban woodsmen, they are!

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: personalities, josh hartnett, sam talbot

• 0 Comments

Even stepping through the doors of Zenon Taverna is a pleasant experience, a comfortably proportioned archway…

Zenon Taverna

3410 31st Ave, Queens

(718) 956-0133

• 0 Comments

Vento, the meatpacking restaurant that opened with Michael White in the kitchen but has since fallen into the shadows of countless other Italian newcomers, including Scarpetta across the street, will close after this Sunday, Diner’s Journal reports. Perpetual shape-shifter Stephen Hanson will reopen it two months later as another location of Dos Caminos.

Given that Vento boasts one of the largest outdoor cafés in the city, this will certainly be an outdoor-marg destination — regardless of what Philip Ward thinks of the quality of the product. So, will 675 Bar, underneath Vento, morph into an underground lair à la La Esquina or Los Feliz? No reason to believe it will, but if you steal the idea from us, Steve, we want some shares in B.R. Guest.

Hanson to Replace Vento With a Dos Caminos [Diner’s Journal/NYT]

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: closings, br guest, dos caminos, la esquina, los feliz, meatpacking district, openings, scarpetta, stephen hanson, vento

• 0 Comments

If you’re seeking some fizz for your romantic weekend, wine writer Nick Passmore suggests the Veuve Clicquot Rare Vintage Rosé 1985 for $120. “Time has turned the bright pink of normal rosé to pale copper. And the flavor? It simply astounds: soft and round, with absolutely no sharp edges, a complex melody of mushroomy, earthy elements combined with that well-toasted-bread character that Champagne acquires with time.” Pricey, but sexy. [Nick on Wine]

Read more posts by Aileen Gallagher

Filed Under: what to drink, champagne, nightlife, valentine’s day

• 0 Comments

Next recently published a sad map of Manhattan’s bygone gay bars, but here’s a ray of hope. According to Gay City News, an abandoned three-story building at 508 West 42nd Street is set to be converted into a $20 million full-service gay hotel that will include a restaurant and nightclub. The latter will be a reincarnation of John Blair’s XL, which closed some years ago after losing its lease — and make no mistake about it: Rather than pussyfooting around the fact that it will be a full-on nightclub, Blair is going for a cabaret license so that crowds of 750 can, like, actually dance.

But keep in mind, he’s pitching this to the community board that recently killed plans to revive the Roxy (where, coincidentally, Blair was a promoter). Doesn’t Blair know that in this day and age (and especially in Times Square) bowling alleys are the new dance clubs?

Life is a Cabaret License [Gay City News]

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: openings, john blair, nightlife, xl

• 0 Comments

Last November, culinary editor Gillian Duffy invited Greyledge Farm to serve some of their beef at New York Taste. Their Black-Angus sliders were a hit, and did not go unnoticed by the industry folks in attendance. The Connecticut farm’s “All-Natural Premium Black Angus dry-aged beef” is now available via a new burger at Monkey Bar. It’s served on a sourdough bun with a grilled tomato, alongside coleslaw and fries, for $24.

Read more posts by Aileen Gallagher

Filed Under: what to eat, burgers, greyledge farm, hamburgers, monkey bar

• 0 Comments