After only a brief closing, Nevada Smith’s is back open. Goooaaaaalllll! [EV Grieve]

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Filed Under: reopenings, nevada smith’s, nightlife

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Financial District: Sample more than 20 premium vodkas in a blind taste test tonight from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Cipriani Wall Street. Tickets ($40) are available from the Fifty Best. [Feed/TONY]
Gowanus: Edible Manhattan hosts its second Good Spirits event at the Bell House on April 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. Expect drinks from places like Tuthilltown Spirits and Warwick Valley Vineyard and Distillery paired with food from the Vanderbilt and Fette Sau, among others. Tickets are $40. [Grub Street]
Gramercy: Wildwood Barbeque is celebrating National Waffle Day today with a special of fried chicken and waffles with a side of giblet gravy. For those inclined toward sweets, a classic waffle comes with fresh berries, chocolate chips, or granola. [Grub Street]

Lower East Side: Teany, closed since last June due to a fire, will reopen next week at 90 Rivington Street. [Bowery Boogie]
Midtown West: The ‘21′ Club hosts its inaugural recreational cooking class with Chef John Greeley on Friday, April 16. The menu consists of heirloom-tomato gazpacho, ahi-tuna tartare, grilled porterhouse steak, and baked lemon tart. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets, which include all materials, lunch, wine, tax, and gratuity, are $225 per person. For reservations, call 212-582-7200. [Grub Street]
Park Slope: Mission Dolores, a new bar from the guys behind Bar Great Harry, will be opening in the old Cattyshack space in the next couple of weeks. Expect to see 20 craft brews on tap and a large outdoor patio. [Zagat Buzz via Brownstoner]
Tribeca: The Taste of Tribeca is happening May 15 at Duane and Greenwich Street. The culinary event, which benefits neighborhood schools PS150 and PS234, will feature offerings from restaurants like Bouley, Landmarc, and the Odeon. Tickets are now selling for $35, but the price goes up to $40 after May 1. [Tribeca Citizen]

Read more posts by Sam Dangremond

Filed Under: neighborhood watch, 21 club, bar great harry, bier international, bouley, bowery boogie, brooklyn eagle, brooklyn heights, brownstoner, cattyshack, cipriani wall street, crumbs bake shop, curbed ny, financial district, harlem bespoke, landmarc, lower east side, mcbrooklyn, midtown west, mission dolores, park slope, south harlem, taste of tribeca, teany, the odeon, tribeca, tribeca citizen, vodka, wildwood barbeque, zagat buzz

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I had always written this place off as a locally-run Starbucks wannabe, with its crowds of latte sippers on laptops…

Choux Factory

865 1st Ave, New York

(212) 289-2023

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The new hotel restaurant in the Wall Street Hyatt, Wall & Water, was made for power breakfasts, power lunches, power…

Wall & Water

75 Wall Street, New York

(212) 590-1234

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Tonight on Bourdain and Ripert’s “Turn and Burn,” Frank Bruni will retell the tale of the restaurateur who showed him a photo of his kids and said “these are my four stars” (preview clips up at Feast). Meanwhile, a less prestigious critic, Steve Barnes of the Albany Times-Union is dealing with the repercussions of a far more horrifying restaurant encounter.

You’ll recall that in October of 2008, the Mario Batali doppelgänger was attacked outside of Albany’s Creo. His case has now been dismissed on the basis that the defendant (an ultimate fighter) had his right to a speedy trial violated when the prosecutor missed court dates, among other procedural issues. Barnes will appeal, because unlike the restaurants he reviews, he’s legally entitled to a second chance.

Charges thrown out in reporter assault case [Times-Union]

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Filed Under: lawsuits, albany, anthony bourdain, creo, eric ripert, frank bruni, steve barnes, turn and burn

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With Fork in the Road reporting that Painkiller will open in mid-April, and Lost City uncovering the relics of a former tiki joint in Jackson Heights, our mind is on all things Polynesian. And yet this news blows us away, monsoon-style. Diner’s Journal reports that Julie Rainer of Flatiron Lounge and Clover Club is bringing top-notch mixology back to Eben Freeman’s old stomping grounds — the Tailor space at 525 Broome Street (so much for rumors that Socarrat might take it). And the Hawaii native is opening (you guessed it) a Pacific-Rim (but not a “tiki”!) spot that will serve tuna poke, barbecued ribs, and a pu-pu platter. Says Rainer: “Cocktails have gotten too serious these days.”

Julie Reiner to Turn Tailor Space Tropical [Diner’s Journal/NYT]

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Filed Under: openings, clover club, flatiron lounge, julie rainer, painkiller, socarrat paella bar, soho, tailor

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The original Hill Country

A tipster tells us that Hill Country’s Texas chicken joint at 1123 Broadway (and 25th Street, just a few blocks from what might become the John Dory) recently revealed its signage. Though Hill Country Chicken had been aiming to open in spring, reps tell us that the 2,700-square-foot, bi-level space won’t open till summer. The good news: It’ll have sidewalk seating. Hill Country Chicken will be an “updated version of the classic American fried-chicken joint” serving fried chicken and apple pie made from the recipes of Hill Country founder Marc Glosserman’s mother and grandmother, respectively. Other menu items: freshly baked pies and biscuits, fresh-cut fries, and homemade ice cream.

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: openings, flatiron, hill country, hill country chicken, the great outdoors

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The former Patroon rooftop.

Shall we celebrate this lovely weather with some rooftop news? The One Group, which just opened the Collective (reviewed by NYC Food Guy today) has announced that it has started construction on a rooftop bar atop its other meatpacking venue, STK. When it opens this summer, ONE/ONE Manhattan will seat 200 for “refined American food and inventive cocktails, complemented by panoramic views of Manhattan.” The menu will initially be overseen by STK chef Todd Mark Miller.

Also coming in the summer — Ken Aretsky tells us that when his restaurant, Aretsky’s Patroon, opens its refurbished rooftop bar on June 1, 50 percent of the terrace will be covered by galvanized steel, for drinking during less-than-ideal weather. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to smoke. Lunch will be served during the day, and from 4 p.m. onward, there’ll be a bar menu — plus Charles Gabriel’s chicken on Fridays and Saturdays!

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: the great outdoors, aretsky’s patroon, charles gabriel, meatpacking district, one/one manhattan, stk, the collective, the one group

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It’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Seasonal American.

10 Downing (Menu)
212-255-0300
Two for eight? Yes

BLT Market (Menu)
212-521-6125
Two for eight? Yes

Blue Hill (Menu)
212-539-1776
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10 p.m.

Cookshop (Menu)
212-924-4440
Two for eight? Yes

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

Eighty One (Menu)
212-873-8181
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:15 p.m.

Mas (farmhouse) (Menu)
212-255-1790
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9 p.m.

Park Avenue Spring (Menu)
212-644-1900
Two for eight? Yes

Telepan (Menu)
212-580-4300
Two for eight? Yes

The Wright
212-427-5690
Two for eight? Yes

Filed Under: two for eight, 10 downing, blt market, blue hill, cookshop, craft, eighty one, mas, park avenue spring, telepan, the wright

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from Grub Street Los Angeles

Obsess over the minutia of your meals via a Facebook group called MunchMad. Limiting messages to just seven words or fewer, the page asks its fans “What are you eating right now?” From airplane food, home lunches, and Benihana to sushi at L.A.’s Katsuya and cheese steaks at Jersey Mike’s, fans share every detail, along with photographic evidence, opening their choices to such judgments as “That looks horrible! Put it down!” from other members. Founded just last week by friends working in a Westwood marketing company to unite food obsessives scolded for Tweeting their meals, the page already has 332 fans dishing on their dishes.

What Are You Eating Right Now in 7 Words or Less [Munchmad]

Read more posts by Hadley Tomicki

Filed Under: facebook for foodies, benihana, jersey mike’s, katsuya, munchmad, twitter

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Remember the Animal Protection & Rescue League? After protesting outside of Momofuku last summer, the San Francisco–based vegan avengers promised a “sustained presence” in New York, but we never really heard from them again. Now organizer Bryan Pease informs us that the group has hired Michelle Brotman, a New School student who works at vegan eatery Blossom, to be its New York–campaigns coordinator. She’ll organize more protests, and the first one will take place outside of Telepan on March 27 from 7 p.m. till 9 p.m.

Wait a minute — Bill Telepan? The chef who’s trying to improve school lunches with hormone-free milk? The same chef who won a merit badge from Animal Welfare Approved, for switching to a grass-fed beef burger? We called Telepan to make sure they had the right guy.

Sure enough, the chef was surprised to have been targeted by the organization &#8212 not only because he has long objected to practices such as the beak-clipping of turkeys and factory farming in general (and sources his food accordingly), but also because he doesn’t sell all that much foie gras in the first place. The foie-gras ravioli he did over the winter isn’t on the menu anymore. Telepan tells us, “I wrote them a letter back explaining to them that I’ve known Izzy [Yanay] and Michael [Ginor, of Hudson Valley Foie Gras] for many years. I’ve been to their farms many times. I’ve seen their production many times, and I’m very satisfied with the way they produce it. And then I ran off the list of all the other people I buy meat from by their first names and reminded them that I was one of seventeen restaurants that are on the Certified Humane list. It’s nuts! They’re picking on the wrong guy.”

Of course, Bryan Pease disagrees. “If there’s a business that professes to care about animal welfare and more ethical food practices but is also serving foie gras, it’s almost worse than a restaurant that says they just don’t care. If [Bill Telepan] has taken that stance [about foie gras], it’s not just a matter of being hypocritical but it’s providing more legitimacy to this practice of force feeding and making it seem like it fits in with free range and organic and all these other values.”

To be sure, Telepan isn’t the only one that’s being targeted. We’ve heard that Wylie Dufresne and John Fraser have also received letters. But the Telepan protest is the one that’s currently on the calendar. So what can the group expect when they show up? “We got sweets for them if they want sweets,” Telepan jokes. “If it’s raining, I’ve got umbrellas. I’ve talked to the local police, so they’re going to be hanging around to make sure they don’t destroy the place.” No doubt the po-po will be especially vigilant if there’s some delicious foie-gras ravioli in it for them.

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: beef, animal protection & rescue league, animal rights, bill telepan, foie gras, hudson valley foie gras, momofuku, telepan, veganism

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Top Chef Masters is less than two weeks away, and we can’t wait to see chefs like David Burke, Susan Feniger, and Graham Elliot Bowles bumble around the kitchen struggling to remember their days as line cooks. Who will freak out? Who will make a mistake so elementary that even dishwashers titter? Who will get drunk and hate on James Oseland at Judges’ Table? Find out on April 7. In the meantime, watch a preview, and get stoked.

Read more posts by Aileen Gallagher

Filed Under: food tv, top chef masters, video feed, videos

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