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: TV Chefs.

Babbo (Menu)
212-777-0303
Two for eight? No
Best available: 11 p.m.

Becco (Menu)
212-397-7597
Two for eight? Yes

Butter (Menu)
212-253-2828
Two for eight? Yes

Daniel (Menu)
212-288-0033
Two for eight? Yes

Felidia (Menu)
212-758-1479
Two for eight? Yes

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

Le Bernardin (Menu)
212-554-1515
Two for eight? Yes

Mesa Grill (Menu)
212-807-7400
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:30 p.m.

Morimoto (Menu)
212-989-8883
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:15 p.m.

Wd-50 (Menu)
212-477-2900
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9 p.m.

Filed Under: two for eight, babbo, becco, butter, daniel, felidia, jean georges, le bernardin, mesa grill, morimoto, wd-50

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Pit Stop’s backyard now belongs to 5 Burro.

Marla Cornejo, who owns 5 Burro Café along with her husband, Jorge, confirms that the Forest Hills favorite will open a location in Red Hook at 127 Columbia Street, just a few blocks from Calexico. Construction will begin in early March, and in April she hopes to open a location that closely resembles the Queens original, right down to the palapa bar. The menu, however, will be just a little different: “My husband seems to think there’s a more savvy customer in Brooklyn than in Forest Hills,” says Cornejo, “so he wants to put a few really authentic things on there like mixote.” And expect at least one other thing the Queens location doesn’t have: outdoor seating. The Cornejos will continue to host petanque in the back patio (just like Pit Stop did), and they also hope to turn an adjacent lot into an additional patio that will be covered in the winter. The Brooklyn location will be their first satellite since a brief run on MacDougal Street.

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Filed Under: openings, 5 burro cafe, red hook

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The soft-serve flavors (red velvet, carrot cake, and cream-cheese frosting) aren’t the only new thing in Momofuku’s world. We’ve just learned that Colin Alevras, the former Tasting Room chef who brought wine kegs to DBGB, has left Daniel Boulud’s restaurant to become the beverage director for the Momofuku Group. A DBGB rep confirms: “Colin Alevras did an amazing job establishing the unique beer and wine program we offer at DBGB Kitchen and Bar. He has recently moved on and taken on the role as Beverage Director at the Momofuku Group. Our Wine Director, Daniel Johnnes, is still determining which candidate will join DBGB as the new sommelier. Until then, Mr. Johnnes will be overseeing the program.” It’s uncertain what Alevras has in mind for Momofuku (we’ll let you know when we find out), but this much is certain: On March 13, he’ll moderate a panel discussion on sustainable seafood at the 92nd Street Y. Tickets here.

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Filed Under: chef shuffle, daniel johnnes, dbgb, momofuku, the tasting room

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from Grub Street Chicago

Sorry, not for you.

Reinforcing what we pretty much already knew, an upcoming book called Culinary Careers (by Institute of Culinary Education CEO Rick Smilow) makes a point of noting just how little money most chefs earn. Setting aside the seven-figure paychecks that big dogs like Batali, Colicchio, and Keller can haul in, the book, which is previewed today in NRN, says that an average executive chef earns something in the $70,000-$140,000 range, while a humble sous’s salary hovers around $50,000.

But those figures apparently differ region by region: the book also quotes Graham Elliot Bowles as saying that in Chicago, cooks only pull in about $30,000-$60,000, depending on seniority — a figure corroborated by 312 Chicago pastry chef Kimberly Schwenke. If you think that’s low, you can wave goodbye to your dreams of squeezing in a stage at El Bulli before it changes form: a cook on her way to assist Ferran Adrià said the range for someone at her level is “free to $15.50 an hour.”

Book offers details on chef salaries [NRN]

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Filed Under: foodienomics, jobs, salaries

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Is twenty-year-old Forest Hills kitsch den 5 Burro Café (one of New York’s 50 reasons to love Queens) coming to Red Hook? Gregory T. O’Connell of the O’Connell Organization tweets that the Mexican spot “will take the place of Pit Stop … yum,” meaning it would be poised for 127 Columbia Street. Also coming to Columbia, according to Word on Columbia Street: An “international sandwich café” called Fultummys.

Fultummys International Sandwich Cafe coming to Columbia St soon! [Word on Columbia Street]
TheOConnellOrg [Twitter]

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Filed Under: Openings

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David Sax, author of Save the Deli, outs himself as a staunch 15 percent tipper on City Room (“Yes, I know you’re all underpaid,” he tells members of the service industry. “But guess what? So am I.”), and Fork in the Road recalls its ten worst restaurant moments (“If you can see bloody meat juice dried on the walls, it is best not to eat there.”). [City Room/NYT, Fork in the Road/VV]

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Filed Under: eatiquette, david sax, tipping

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Dear Food Diary: A big giant red lobster handed me the menu for an Urban Lobster Shack while passing through 3rd Ave…

Urban Lobster Shack

805 Third Ave, New York

(212) 809-2626

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There’s Chinese Food and then there’s Chinese Food. If you’re on the hunt for great Chinese, head over to Sammy’s…

Sammy’s Noodle Shop

453 Ave Of The Americas, New York

(212) 924-6688

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When Mojito told us it was quite happy with the makeover it got from Gordon Ramsay, we had to wonder what the place used to be like. Turns out it was over $300,000 in debt. Why exactly? Well, check out this clip from last night’s Kitchen Nightmares, which felt more like a cooking version of Hoarders.

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Filed Under: tv land, gordon ramsay, kitchen nightmares, mojito

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NYC Food Guy says Yuca Bar beats the Breslin in skirt steak and eggs by a “landslide,” and Fork in the Road likes Clinton Street Baking Co.’s biscuits over Café Pedlar’s.

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Filed Under: what to eat, brunch, cafe pedlar, clinton street baking co., the breslin, yuca bar

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Two things distinguish the Tangled Vine, opening March 1, from other Upper West Side wine bars: the Mediterranean menu of David Seigal, formerly of Mercat, and the wine program overseen by author and importer Evan Spingarn, whose passion for the grape suffuses the 160-bottle list. Spingarn once worked at Nancy’s, where he must have cultivated his Riesling fetish; the varietal is well represented, with eleven choices, and offered as a “trio,” a flight of three themed two-ounce pours.

But the list, which identifies each selection as biodynamic, organic, or sustainable, covers considerable old-world ground, as does Seigal’s menu. Crostini are topped with ingredients like chickpeas and morcilla, and larger plates include scallops à la plancha, fideos negros with squid ink and braised cuttlefish, and braised lamb shoulder with heirloom polenta and preserved lemon.

434 Amsterdam Ave., at 81st St.; 646-863-3896

Tangled Vine Menu [PDF]
Tangled Vine Wine List [PDF]

Read more posts by Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Filed Under: openings, menus, nightlife, tangled vine, wine

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You won’t find portabello mousse at Caravan of Dreams. This is a real, hippydippy vegetarian restaurant. The kind…

Caravan of Dreams

405 E 6th St, New York

(212) 254-1613

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