from Grub Street Chicago

The central gimmick of today’s Oprah was, in Ms. Winfrey’s words, “choooooooo-colaaaaaaaaaate”: her entire set was edible, put together by Godiva-employed “chocolate set designers” (actual job title) to mimic the standard Oprah setup. The walls, the chairs, the chandelier, the fire in the fireplace — the only thing not fit to eat was O’s signature on the wall. “The Oprah is not edible,” she announced, an observation that we will let pass without further comment. But as for the rest of the set, “we’re gonna eat this when the show’s over.”

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Filed Under: video feed, chocolate, gimmicks, oprah

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Ditmas Park West: The Middle-Eastern hot spot, Mimi’s Hummus is expanding to open a wine bar, Castello Plan, just a storefront away, which will feature more than 120 selections in addition to some lighter fare. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Gramercy: On February 24, I Trulli Ristorante will host an $85 Venetian-inspired prix fixe dinner, with a suggested $20 donation to benefit Buddha’s Smile School, a not-for-profit school in India for disadvantaged children. I Trulli will match all donations made.[Grub Street]
Midtown East: Starting tomorrow, Convivio will offer a $28 two-course prix fixe lunch menu. Guests can choose one antipasti and a secondi from the midday offerings. [Grub Street]

The Kimberly Hotel’s rooftop party space and restaurant (with small plates by Gwenaël Le Pape of the former Les Deux Gamins) has opened for private events, and Paper has an early look. [Paper]
Midtown West: Eight of Dean & Deluca’s most talented baristas will compete in a latte-art throwdown at DeLuca’s New York Times Café (620 Eighth Avenue at 40th Street) on February 24. [Grub Street]
Williamsburg: Dram (144 S. 4th, near Driggs) won’t open for more than a month, but see if you can try out the cocktails during the soft opening. [Brownstoner]

Read more posts by Sally Holmes

Filed Under: neighborhood watch, gramercy, i trulli, katzs, lower east side, midtown east

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Eataly in Turin, Italy.

News of the day: Delaware brewer Dogfish Head has announced that it’ll be involved in an 8,000-square-foot rooftop brewery and restaurant atop Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich’s flatiron food center Eataly, which opens this summer. The concept: Food by Batali paired with beers from Italian and American craft brewers. Here’s the part of the release that can be condensed to read “Best Idea Ever.”

The rooftop bar and restaurant will house a copper-clad brewing system. The idea is to create an artisanal, old world Italian craft brewery that just happens to be located on a rooftop in Manhattan, says Dogfish Heads Sam Calagione. The four brewers are working together on recipes for Eatalys house beers. Those beers will feature Italian and American ingredients. The beers will be unpasteurized, unfiltered, naturally carbonated, and hand-pulled through traditional beer engines for the most authentic and pure presentation. The four individual brewers will also occasionally brew beers under their own names on site. The rooftop restaurant project will pair artisanal rustic, homemade beers with the artisanal, rustic cooking of Chef Mario Batali. Additional Italian and American regional craft beers will be served both at the rooftop bar and within the downstairs restaurants.

And with this, the Shake Shack finally has some competition for the best outdoor eatery in and around Madison Square Park.

Dogfish Collaborates With 3 Brewers, Batali & Bastianich on NYC Brewpub [Dogfish]

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Filed Under: openings, craft brewers, dogfish head, eataly, flatiron, joe bastianich, mario batali, rooftop dining, the great outdoors

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Today in the world of barbecue: The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party has been announced for June 12 and 13, and Fast Passes are on sale for $125 at the festival’s site. Might want to hold your horses, though — this year’s pitmasters have yet to be named. In the more immediate future, Grillin’ on the Bay, the competition barbecue event hosted by RUB, will take place (along with the Brooklyn Chili Smackdown) in Sheepshead Bay on March 27.

Elsewhere in the world of competitions, the gourmands at the BroBible report that Dinosaur Bar-B-Que easily took top honors at the inaugural New York City WingFest. Runners-up were Blondies Sports, Atomic Wings, Blue Smoke, and Croxley Ales. Finally, Feast is the latest, after Food Curated, to take a sneak peek at soon-to-open Fatty Cue and its “disco pig” mascot.

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party [Official Site]
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Wins Inaugural New York City WingFest! [BroBible]
Grillin’ On The Bay 2010 [Official Site]
Sneak Peek at Fatty ‘Cue [Feast]

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: foodievents, atomic wings, barbecue, big apple barbecue block party, blondies sports, brooklyn chili smackdown, buffalo wings, competitions, croxley ales, dinosaur bar-b-que, fatty cue, grillin’ on the bay, hot wings, rub, wingfest

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HBO’s How to Make It in America is proving to be one of those shows (like Gossip Girl or Bored to Death) that are worth watching if only for the restaurant cameos. The first episode found a finance guy (played by Paul Liebrandt doppelgänger Eddie Kaye Thomas) trying to get past “Raz” at Avenue (strangely Raz is not played by doorman-actor Was), and last night’s episode found John Varvatos hosting a dinner in the private dining room of Freemans. Credit the producers for knowing that’s exactly where such a dinner would be held (at least, until Kenmare opens), but something about the show’s depiction of the Lower East Side skate and design scene seems just a bit glossy, no? While we await some grit, Kama Geary, co-owner of Bacaro, has created a Facebook group for a bar that surely would’ve been a filming location if it existed today. Ever been to the Hole?

The group already has 424 members, and their comments say everything you need to know about this bygone den of depravity: “I saw Bono there with 5 body guards. Also there was this one time where a guy was passed out on the back couch and we did a pile on. made sense at the time,” “I think everyone got roofied there at least once,” “favorite memory was when some dude lit off jumping jacks inside one night. least favorite was when the door fell off the bathroom when i was in there,” and most succinct, “that place was against the law.” It’s hard to say whether a place like the Hole could still exist in Manhattan (for that matter, many of the skate brats who tagged the walls can now be found sipping lambrusco at Bacaro), but hey — at least it exists on Facebook.

The Hole NYC [Facebook]

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Filed Under: tv land, avenue, bacaro, freemans, kama geary, nightlife, the hole, was

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Feast hears that John DeLucie has been asked to take a leave of absence from the Waverly Inn (the restaurant that earned him a book deal) while he focuses on opening his new joint, the Lion. It’s uncertain how long the “temporary” leave will last, but long enough that management is said to be hiring a sub. Ever want to roast carrots for Karl Lagerfeld? Now’s your chance.

John DeLucie Takes ‘Leave of Absence’ from Waverly Inn [Feast]

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Filed Under: chef shuffle, john delucie, the lion, the waverly inn

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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: Danny Meyer and Tom Colicchio.

Bar Room at the Modern (Menu)
212-333-1220
Two for eight? Yes

Craft (Menu)
212-780-0880
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:30p.m.

Craftbar (Menu)
212-461-4300
Two for eight? Yes

Colicchio & Sons (Menu)
212-400-6699
Two for eight? Yes

Eleven Madison Park (Menu)
212-889-0905
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10 p.m.

Gramercy Tavern (Menu)
212-477-0777
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10:30 p.m.

Tabla (Menu)
212-889-0667
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:15 p.m.

Union Square Café (Menu)
212-243-4020
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:15 p.m.

Filed Under: two for eight, bar room at the modern, colicchio & sons, craft, craftbar, eleven madison park, gramercy tavern, tabla, union square cafe

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Two things to ponder if you consider yourself a self-determining drinker and diner. First, a study indicates that male bar-goers tend to consume alcohol more quickly when music is blasting (well, yes). And second, Francis Lim has a new take on menu manipulation — he offers that high-end restaurants, in obscuring their prices, aren’t pulling one over, but rather they’re just encouraging you to enjoy your meal more. Well, sure. Until the check comes. Unless the check comes with free granola!

How do bar owners get you to drink more? [Barking Up the Wrong Tree via Guest of a Guest]
How restaurant menus make you spend more [Salon]
Related: Menu Mind Games [NYM]

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: studies, freebies, graphic design, menus

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Last May, word was that the owner of the hip-hop IHOP was going to be the New York franchisee of Elevation Burger, the organic burger chain based in Arlington, Virginia. It’s uncertain whether that panned out — Crain’s now reports that Daniel Magnus just signed a franchise deal to open seven locations here. Magnus was formerly chief executive of Metro New York, and he expects the burger business to have “more stability than I had in my last career.” And so we have another media type seeking out the security of the restaurant business. Which says nothing good about the state of the media industry.

From publisher to burgermeister [Crain's]

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Filed Under: the chain gang, daniel magnus, elevation burger, metro new york

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With all the recent hand-wringing over the Angosturapocalypse (most recently, an Observer article on February 12), we were surprised to find jumbo $15 bottles at Spuyten Duyvil Grocery this weekend. Apparently, however, a woman who walked into Clover Club during a recent afternoon (described as being in her early 30s with long, sandy brown hair) didn’t have our shopping luck, because as proprietress Julie Rainer tells it, after making sure no one was around, she pinched a bottle from behind the bar.

“My brother was on a computer in the back,” Rainer says. “He watched her take the bottle of bitters and stick it in her bag, at which point he confronted her. She was really embarrassed that she got caught. She pulled the bottle out and had this whole meltdown about how she was having a party and wanted to make Manhattans, and then she just ran out the door.” Amazing! So the days of poaching swill from behind the bar at Mars Bar have passed, but cocktailians are still keeping it real in Carroll Gardens. Hey, we understand you have hungry party kids to feed, but next time, maybe make piña coladas instead?

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Filed Under: crime scenes, angostura bitters, clover club, julie rainer, shortages

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from Grub Street San Francisco

What about Bob’s?

Among the doughnut shops crowned in Bon Appétit’s latest listicle: Dat Donuts in Chicago; Kane’s in Saugus, MA; The Doughnut Plant in NYC; Randy’s in L.A.; and two in the Bay Area, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery and Dynamo in the Mission. [Bon Appétit]

Read more posts by Jay Barmann

Filed Under: lists, bob’s donuts, bon appetit, bouchon bakery, dat donuts, dynamo donuts, randy’s donuts, the doughnut plant

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How serious is Jean-Georges Vongerichten about this whole kooky locavore thing that all the kids are into these days? Well, if it’s any indication, a Greenmarket spy spotted a cook from J.-G.’s soon-to-open ABC Kitchen purchasing a wheel of cheese from the Consider Bardwell Farm stand the other day, and overheard him say that it might just end up on a pizza. The fromage in question is called Pawlet and made from the raw milk of contented Jersey cows in the style of an Italian toma, and thus an unusual choice (compared, say, to the Fontina, Parmesan, and mozzarella designated for Vongerichten’s pies uptown at the Mark). Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised by the Alsatian Über chef’s current pizza obsession — he is a partner in Jim Lahey’s Company, after all.

More intriguingly, this loose-lipped, cheese-procuring minion was overheard predicting that the restaurant might make its debut in the beginning of March (which kind of contradicts what his boss told Grub Street about his preference to postpone until ramp season). If that happens, both ABC and the Mark could conceivably open within the span of a week or two. (Michael Bao Huynh, apparently, has nothing on Jean-Georges Vongerichten.) His reps won’t comment on a precise opening date, but anyone anxious for details about the flatiron spot can check out ABC’s website, which teases the “locally sourced and globally artistic” menu, the “elixirs … organically cultivated on fair trade cooperatives,” and, especially, the Carpet & Home tie-ins like Jan Burtz’s dishware, Patagonian bread baskets, and Jim Denney’s salvaged wood tables. There’s also mention of a rooftop garden, which should prove even more convenient than the Union Square Greenmarket, if not quite practical for dairy farming and cheese making.

Read more posts by Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Filed Under: empire building, jean-georges vongerichten, openings, the mark

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