Shaking the Wellington Fizz.

Sean Hoard of PDT will be one of three bartenders representing the U.S. in the Cocktail World Cup later this month in New Zealand. (The event’s sponsor, 42 Below, is a Kiwi vodka.) Hoard joins D.C.’s Todd Thrasher and Mark Stoddard of Denver on the team, which was selected last weekend by a panel of judges that included chef Sam Talbot and cocktail guru Dale DeGroff. Hoard’s entry was the Wellington Fizz, made with vodka, lime juice, passion-fruit purée, and heavy cream, among other ingredients.

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Filed Under: booze you can use, nightlife, pdt, sean hoard

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A missive from Colicchio & Sons: The restaurant will begin serving lunch tomorrow, and you can sample it this week only as a three-course prix fixe for $25. Brunch is available on weekends from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., beginning on Saturday, March 13. We’ve got the menus, below.

LUNCH

Appetizers
Kale & white bean soup with ham hock 9
Squid salad with chickpeas & radicchio 11
Warm octopus and potato salad with paprika & capers 12
Salad of pears, country ham & baked endive 10
Mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette 9
Fresh ricotta with roasted root vegetables & truffle honey 12

Sandwiches
Suckling pig with sauerkraut & fontina 13
Leg of lamb with eggplant caviar & tapenade 15
Tap Room burger with balsamic onions & pecorino 14

Pizza
Onion, fontina, rosemary & potato 11
Tomato, mozzarella & basil 12
Chanterelle, nettle & cacciatorini 12

Mains
Quail with farro & vin cotto 19
Baked rigatoni with duck & cavalo nero 17
Braised rabbit legs with grits & soffrito 18
Roasted loup de mer with tomato confit 20
Herb-roasted poussin with braised potatoes 16
Skirt steak with chimichurri, leeks & potatoes 20

BRUNCH

Pork scaloppini with sunny side up eggs, salsa verde & white beans 12
Toad-in-the-hole with spicy tomato piperade 9
Ricotta root vegetable frittata with truffle honey & arugula 10
Baked eggs with mushroom ragout & crispy ham 11
Carolina rice johnny cake with duck confit, poached eggs & red-eye gravy 10
Eggs your way with wood oven potatoes & choice of meat 10
Irish oatmeal with caramelized pecans, compressed apples & brandied raisins 9
10th avenue hangover: soffrito tripe with beer sabayon & poached eggs 12
Merguez scotch egg with curried lentils & caramelized yogurt 12
Peekytoe crab omelette with spring onions, bitter greens & fontina mornay 12
Brioche pain perdu with smoked maple syrup & bourbon butter 10
Pizza with onion, fontina, bacon jam and a sunny side up egg 10

Sides
Pork sausage patties 6
Wood fired potatoes 6
Nueske’s bacon 6
Cheddar grits 6
Roasted vegetables 6
Assortment of pastries 6

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Filed Under: menus, brunch, collichio and sons, lunch

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This year’s “Best of New York” is a multicourse scavenger hunt for the adventurous eater. Start with breakfast at the Breslin, have a deceptive Vegan doughnut from Babycakes, or fuel efficiently with Milkthistle Organic Dairy Farm yogurt. Take advantage of the stellar $15 prix fixe lunch from Abraço, or try one of the city’s many entries into the booming sandwiches category. Swing by Brooklyn Kitchen Labs and the Meat Hook to see what’s in stock at the city’s best gourmet grocery, or wait until June to visit New Amsterdam Market.

Pork still dominates dinner menus, but don’t miss out on Maialino’s roast chicken, SHO Shaun Hergatt’s innovative Asian fusion, or the quality meat and potatoes at Minetta Tavern. Have a chocolate-chip cookie at Má Pêche for dessert, and breathe deep — you’ve still got a lot of edible treasures to unearth in 2010.

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Filed Under: in the magazine, best of new york

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If user-generated critiques of restaurants aren’t enough for you, now there’s user-generated critiques of individual dishes! Twiddish, an unfortunately named new iPhone app and website, invites users (or “dishers”) to photograph their food and rate it according to criteria such as flavor, aroma, and value. You can also include a line or two of text in your evaluation, and search the site either by users or individual dishes. Twiddish is NYC-heavy right now, but anyone anywhere can post a review. [Twiddish]

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Filed Under: app-etizing, apps, twiddish

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Don’t miss German photographer Oliver Schwarzwald’s images of breakfasts eaten around the world. Russia’s looks the prettiest. [Designboom via Atlantic]

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Filed Under: the most important meal of the day, breakfast, oliver schwarzwald

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This summer, look for a bakery-café from François Payard in Greenwich Village. Payard is partnering in the new, unnamed venture with A Voce owner Marlon Abela. “Inexpensive, lots of bread, sandwiches and rustic stuff,” the chef told Diner’s Journal. Payard will also use the kitchen at 116 West Houston (near Sullivan Street) to prep for other locations, including another casual café planned for 2010. [Diner's Journal/NYT]

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Filed Under: empire building, bakeries, francois payard, openings

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The New York City Parks Department is seeking food vendors for the highly anticipated Brooklyn Bridge Park. There’s room for two “mobile-food carts” (one with booze!), a big sit-down restaurant, and a smaller restaurant near Atlantic Avenue. What would you like to see in the park? Leave your suggestions in the comments, and be sure to let the city know your order. [Eater NY/NYP]

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Filed Under: parks and recreation, brooklyn bridge park, cartography

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Choptank’s “vibe is suburban, as safe as Cal Ripken,” Sam Sifton decrees, and “[t]he food is to match.” [NYT]
Related: What to Eat at Choptank

Choptank’s “dishes, which run the gamut from lowbrow bar food to urbane composed plates, don’t add up to a coherent identity,” observes Jay Cheshes.
[TONY]

“Prime Meats is a competitor not just to Luger, but to every steakhouse in Manhattan,” writes Ryan Sutton, who cautions that “[s]ometimes the hip slacker factor goes overboard.” [Bloomberg]

Out in Bay Ridge, Robert Sietsema suggests you “stick with the vegetarian stuff” at Tanoreen and stop by Athena Express (484 77th Street) for “meaty earthbound delights at bargain prices.” [VV]

“Counterintuitively, the food [at the Standard Grill] isn’t a postscript, though the chef, Dan Silverman, misses as often as he hits,” says Mike Peed. [NYer]

Bagatelle is an “oddly charming little bistro” says Gael Greene. “[T]he food is not bad at all. Indeed, it can be very good.” [Insatiable Critic]

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Filed Under: the other critics, athena express, bagatelle, choptank, prime meats, standard grill, tanoreen

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Dine in Brooklyn, the borough’s own restaurant promotion, will take place March 15 through March 25. More than 175 eateries, from Bath Beach to Williamsburg, will offer three-course meals for $20.10 (lunch) or $25 (dinner). Borough President Marty Markowitz “also reminds everyone to be generous and properly tip their wait staff,” his office said today. (Hear that, David Sax?) [Visit Brooklyn]

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Filed Under: foodievents, brooklyn, dine in brooklyn, marty markowitz

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Mario Batali is the most-frequent guest on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and he was on again last night to celebrate the show’s one-year anniversary. Judah Friedlander hung around for Batali’s segment, looking impressed by the preparations for fettuccine with lobster and tomato sauce. “This is so good I would eat it before you even cook it,” Friedlander told Batali. “You are that good.” Watch the video to see what kind of gifts you’d get from the chef if you were friends.

30 Rock’s Judah Friedlander & Mario Batali [Late Night With Jimmy Fallon]

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Filed Under: video feed, jimmy fallon, judah friedlander, mario batali, tv, video, videos

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Condé Nast Traveler checks in with the Ghost of Restaurants Yet to Come and predicts that cooks will stop using olive oil, rely on heritage produce, and consult with botanists. A restaurant could look more like an art installation than a dining room, but the food will emphasize flavors rather than over-the-top presentation. [Condé Nast Traveler]

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Filed Under: trends, dining out, predicitions

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Laurent Tourondel and partner Jimmy Haber are breaking up their empire, says Florence Fabricant. Tourondel keeps the BLT name, and will stay on as executive chef in all the BLT restaurants in hotels. Haber gets BLT Steak, BLT Fish, BLT Prime, and BLT Burger. Tourondel initiated the break, but everyone seems nicey-nicey about it. [Diner's Journal/NYT]

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Filed Under: back of the housel, blt, jimmy haber, laurent tourondel

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