Lower East Side: Construction at Veselka Bowery has finally begun at 11 E. 1st Street, though the project won’t be finished for at least seven months. [Eater NY]
Fort Greene: The Greene Grape is the only store in New York that carries the organic Entusiasmo di Palazzetto Ardi from Veneto, Italy. [Local/NYT]
Greenpoint: Cathy Erway will read from The Art of Eating In and serve crostini at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Word. [Brooklyn Based]
Park Slope: A new hidden restaurant called Benchmark, described as “New American, a little Italian, a little Austrian,” has been discovered behind the local haunt Loki Lounge. [Brownstoner]
Williamsburg: It looks like the much-anticipated second coming of the hole-in-the-wall Pies-N-Thighs might actually be opening soon. [Free Williamsburg]

Read more posts by Sally Holmes

Filed Under: loki lounge, lower east side, park slope, pies ‘n’ thighs, veselka, veselka bowery, williamsburg

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Pickled baby squid and shirako

Thought Kenka’s jumbo curry was hard to stomach? Depending on your level of squeamishness, these izakaya specials may well be harder. Zenkichi, where the menu warns non-adventurous eaters about the fish guts, kindly informs us that shirako season is winding down, so go there in the next few weeks if you’re hankerin’ for cod milt. It’s available in sashimi form as a special (call ahead), and also in tempura form on the à la carte menu as well as the new omakase menu below.

Also, Joe DiStefano points out a curiosity on Hagi’s specials menu. Hotaru ika okizuke, or “pickled baby squid,” has a “pleasantly fishy, salty flavor with an undertone of mellow sweetness from the pickling liquid, which is composed of soy sauce and sake, among other things.”

Early Spring Omakase
8-course tasting menu: $48 per guest (for 2 or more)
($60 per guest for individual tasting)
-Items marked with * are not available a la carte-

Miso Soup

Chilled Plate of Hamachi Tartar*
Yellowtail belly & scallion tartar

Fresh Uni Tofu
Homemade creamy tofu topped by uni sea urchin from Aomori

Sashimi of the Day*

Jidori & Kinoko Salad*
Gilled free-range chicken & mushrooms from Shizuoka, Japan on bed of greens, onion-ginger dressing

Shirako & Nagaimo Tempura*
Creamy cod milt, Japanese yam, shiso leaf in cod fish cake wrapped by nori seaweed

Saikyo Miso Cod
Grilled black cod in Kyoto miso marinade

Agedashi Goma Tofu
Deep fried sesame tofu made by kudzu powder in light broth

Mini Madai Don*
Red snapper from Japan, soy-marinated and served over rice

Choice of Homemade Dessert
Choose one item per person

Rice Flour Trifle (wheat-free)

Baked Japanese rice flour cake with Okinawan brown sugar cream, cashew nuts, whipped cream
and sweet azuki beans

Frozen Black Sesame Mousse
Silky frozen chocolate sesame mousse

Pear Cream Cheesecake
Japanese-style creamy cheesecake

Kabocha Chocolate Pudding
Rich dark chocolate pudding with kabocha pumpkin and roasted walnuts

Izakaya Hagi’s Pickled Curiosity Horrifies Small Children, Tourists [Fork in the Road/VV]
Related: Shirako Season [NYM]

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: what to eat, cod milt, hagi, izakayas, japanese, kenka, shirako, zenkichi

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from Grub Street San Francisco

Each week on the Food Chain, we ask a chef to describe a dish he or she recently enjoyed. The chef who prepared the dish responds and then picks his or her own memorable meal. On and on it goes. Last week, Oakland’s own Russell Moore delighted over Ignacio Mattos’s empanadas at Il Buco in New York. What’s tickled your fancy, Igancio?

Who: Ignacio Mattos, chef at Il Buco, New York
What: Wood-grilled poussin with bone marrow sauce and artichoke hearts
Where: Bar Jules, San Francisco
When: 2009

“I visited Bar Jules on Hayes Street when I was in San Francisco about a year ago. I was visiting friends and we went to many different places, we went all over, and one day we just went there for lunch and I had this magnificent poussin with artichokes and chanterelles in a bone marrow sauce. It’s really, really really good. I don’t know if it’s on the menu regularly, but I know she does it pretty often. It’s so rich. It’s light and at the same time it’s decadent — like really, really decadent. It’s amazingly good.”

Chef Jessica Boncutter at Bar Jules responds:

“At the restaurant we are lucky enough to have a wood burning grill, which makes everything delicious — seriously, it could make baby poop taste delicious. The poussin (which is a baby chicken) gets a lot of its flavor from the grill. And the bone marrow sauce: what’s not to love about rich bone marrow, dried and fresh porcini mushrooms, breadcrumbs, a rich chicken broth, and butter?

“The inspiration for the dish came from the wood-oven-roasted chicken at Zuni. I worked there for about six years and I worked the oven station for a long time, cooking thousands of those chickens, and I could never get over that wonderful crispy skin and the incredible smoky flavor from the wood.”

Read more posts by Jay Barmann

Filed Under: the food chain, bar jules, ignacio mattos, jessica boncutter, zuni cafe

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If you weren’t looking for it, you wouldn’t find it. But once you find it, you won’t ever forget it! Faustina will be…

Faustina at the Cooper Square Hotel

25 Cooper Sq, New York

(212) 475-3400

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Benjamin Conniff tells us the slowly evolving menu at Luke’s Lobster now includes lobster tails, the shack’s first foray into hot seafood. The cooked tails are split down the middle, heated on the grill, and then topped with lemon butter and seasoning. They go for $15 for three halves. What’s more, Maine favorite Portland Soup is now hooking them up with chowder made with clams from Portland Shellfish, the supplier owned by co-owner Luke Holden’s father. Cups go for $5.50 for a 12 oz. and $7 for a 16 oz.

If you still haven’t checked out Luke’s Lobster, you might want to consider buying a $18 ticket for “Taste of Seventh Street”— on February 27 and 28, that gets you a mini sandwich at Porchetta, a mini lobster roll at Luke’s, a choice of two cupcakes at Butter Lane, a smoothie at Xoom, and an arepa at Caracas. Go to Scoop St. to buy tickets before they sell out.

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: menu changes, benjamin conniff, luke’s lobster, portland shellfish

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from Grub Street San Francisco

Ranked #3 by the Times and #2 by New York, Mangieri’s Neapolitan pie will be the one to beat in SF’s brewing pizza war.

As of next week, there’ll be a new pizza sheriff in town: Anthony Mangieri, one of New York’s more celebrated Neapolitan pizza chefs who shuttered Una Pizza Napoletana in the East Village at the height of its popularity last year, moves to SF permanently on March 1st. Mangieri announced in the fall that he’d be moving his operation to SOMA, and we’ve now learned from the man himself that he’ll be opening, hopefully by May, just a block or so away from the clubland of 11th Street, not far from Thad Vogler’s upcoming Bar Agricole — a combo which should make this usually boozy part of town a new food destination.

“I found the kind of space that I could never have afforded in New York,” Mangieri told us. “Really raw and industrial, high ceilings. I came out here and really fell in love with it. But mostly I just can’t wait to get out my hiking boots, you know?”

His wood oven arrived from Naples ten days ago and the building owner installed it last week. All that remains are some trimmings and a few permit approvals from the city.

Mangieri intends to keep the same restaurant name he had in New York, Una Pizza Napoletana, which may cause a bit of confusion after Farina’s Antica Pizza Napoletana comes online — however if all goes well, Mangieri should beat Farina to market by at least a month. And with another pizzeria slated for Mission and 24th, not to mention former Flour + Water pizza man Jon Darsky’s as-yet-locationless venture on the horizon, SF is about to ride the pizza wave that crashed over New York in the last few years in a big way.

But don’t expect Mangieri to compete on price. At around $20, his pies out-priced most of the competition in New York, and as a sign in his original joint read, “We have no quarrel with the man who sells cheaper pizza. He knows how much his is worth!”

Earlier: Chairman Anthony [NY Mag]
Anthony Mangieri Closes Una Pizza Napoletana, Hands Keys Over to Motorino [Grub Street NY]
It’s Official: Una Pizza Napoletana to Open in SF [Grub Street]

Read more posts by Jay Barmann

Filed Under: pizza pizza, anthony mangieri, antica pizzeria napoletana, farina, flour + water, jon darsky, previews, una pizza napoletana

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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: Mediterranean.

Allegretti (<a href="http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/allegretti/menus/main.htmlMenu)
212-206-0555
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:30 p.m.

Alta (Menu)
212-505-7777
Two for eight? No
Best available: 7:30 p.m.

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

Estiatorio Milos (Menu)
212-245-7400
Two for eight? Yes

Il Buco (Menu)
212-533-1932
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9 p.m.

ilili (Menu)
212-683-2929
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:15 p.m.

Le Caprice
212-940-8195
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10 p.m.

Picholine (Menu)
212-724-8585
Two for eight? Yes

Taboon (Menu)
212-713-0271
Two for eight? Yes

Travertine (Menu)
212-966-1810
Two for eight? 8:30 p.m.

Filed Under: allegretti, alta, craftbar, estiatorio milos, il buco, ilili, le caprice, picholine, taboon, travertine, Two for Eight

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The results of the big chili throwdown mentioned in New York last week are in, and the townsfolk of Austin, Texas, it’s safe to say, must be dancing in the streets. Last night, Char No. 4 chef and Austin native Matt Greco defeated the General Greene’s Julie E. Farias (who hails from San Antonio) by just four votes. The final tally came in at 88 to 84.

“People clearly agonized over which chili to choose,” says Char No. 4 partner Sean Josephs. “We even had two people who voted for a tie.” Home-field advantage was a key factor: The GG was up a whopping 44 to 18 at the end of the first round which took place at that restaurant. But when the venue shifted to CN4 the next night, so did the score, a title-clinching 70 to 40. Happily, there were no Plushenko-like hard feelings; Farias did not fashion a chili bowl out of platinum for herself, and the two talented chefs remain best of friends.

Read more posts by Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Filed Under: contests, char no. 4, chili, julie e. farias, matt greco, sean josephs, texas, the general greene

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While Kenmare tries to stay off the SLA’s radar, another tortured venue, the Jane Ballroom, is rumored to be reopening this week (it was closed owing to building-code violations in October).

The Dizzy Fizz hears from a source that “Sean MacPherson’s Ballroom is guaranteed to be back in business by Monday, March 1st. Reportedly, the Ballroom has undergone renovations to ensure that it is 100 percent up to city code.” Not true, say two different employees of the hotel, who declined to be named. The first person we talked to said it would be a few months — the second said that the time period was uncertain, but that it would certainly take longer than just a few days to continue “working out the last little bit of our issues.”

Meanwhile, Feast brings news of a reopening that actually will happen soon: Partner Naimm Okdamini reveals that Teany is just about fully recovered from the fire that shuttered it last June and will be selling vegan bagels again within seven to ten days.

TeaNY Reopens in 7-10 Days [Feast]
Breaking: Jane Ballroom to Reopen by MONDAY! For Reals! [Dizzy Fizz]

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: reopenings, jane ballroom, the jane, west village

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Noah Bernamoff’s Mile End Deli carries Montreal bagels, but they’ll be even fresher beginning this Saturday. Two of Bermanoff’s friends from high school, Joel Tietolman and Jon Leitner, will go to the famed St-Viateur Bagel at midnight and pick up several dozen bagels, and then drive them to New York City. The trip takes about seven hours, says the duo. The deli sells the bagels, but also serves as a pick-up point for anyone who has preordered via the Mile End Montreal Bagel website. “We are looking for other locations to make distribution agreements,” Tietolman and Leitner told Grub Street via e-mail.

The bagels come in sesame and poppy-seed varities, and cost $12 for six and $22 for a dozen. Preordering on the website results in a $2 discount per dozen. (These prices are just for the special Saturday delivery; Mile End will continue to replenish its bagel stocks through a courier throughout the rest of the week.) Tietolman and Leitner have cleared their bagel export operation with both the U.S. customs and the FDA, so crossing the border with a car full of bagels is a lot less like international espionage than we’d like to imagine. “Also worthy to note that bagels fall under NAFTA,” Tietolman adds.

Read more posts by Aileen Gallagher

Filed Under: imports, bagels, boerum hill, mile end

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We’ll add this to NY Barfly’s news that the Breslin is serving off-the-menu pickle backs: The surprisingly effective combination of whiskey with a chaser of pickle juice is also being served (much cheaper, we’re guessing) at the venerable Nancy Whiskey Pub. One of the bartenders recently added it to her repertoire after a visit to the home of the original pickle back, Bushwick Country Club, and will gladly do a shot with you if you ask for it. Just be careful with these — too many of them will turn you into a real dill weed.

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: what to drink, bushwick country club, pickle backs, the breslin

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How do you make a hot dog safer? The parenting blog DadWagon enlisted Brooklyn artist Jon-Paul Villegas to design more “child-friendly” weenies following a report on the hazardous food icon from the American Academy of Pediatrics. We liked the one that looked most like a traditional hot dog, called the Scary Dog: “Dress up the dog in some kind of a scary outfit so the kid doesn’t recklessly wolf it down.” That way, there’s more for us.

A Safer Hot Dog [DadWagon]

Read more posts by Aileen Gallagher

Filed Under: hot doggery, chocking victim, food safety, hot dogs, jon paul villegas

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