Kaminsky, in the center of the “Brooklyn food explosion.”

Peter Kaminsky is a food writer whose job has taken its toll on his body. Between stints at our own New York Magazine and Food & Wine, Kaminsky “put on a good 30 pounds.” And, he adds, “my blood-sugar was high, I was borderline diabetic. My life insurance was rejected and I was told I had to lose weight, that I had to try.” Hence his newest book, Culinary Intelligence: The Art of Eating Healthy (and Really Well). “People have had their minds blown by food enough that it’s not simply the fireworks of the richest ingredients. I think people are a little more discerning and sophisticated, and take their pleasures in more zen ways.” So we signed Kaminsky up for this week’s New York Diet to put him to the test, to see if he could really eat healthy in a way that’s also delicious — that’s the whole point of his book, after all. Read on for tales of rooftop grilling, dinner with Danny Meyer, and a fishing trip gone awry thanks to Barack Obama.

Friday, May 11
Coffee, ground fresh, and some whole milk. The coffee is from Two for the Pot. John McGill has been selling good coffee since way before soul patches and pork-pie hats got hip again, probably since mid–Dizzy Gillespie. And some Granola that my wife, Melinda, buys at Pacific Green on Court Street. What kind? I ask. Izzy’s and Bob’s Red Mill mixed together. Topped it all off with whole roast almonds. Now we’re talking.

At lunch, I spoke at the Rudd Center at Yale. We had delivery from a local modern –Italian restaurant. It was a so-so sandwich of overly crispy prosciutto and overly vinegar-ed veggies. The white-bean-and-greens soup, though, was excellent, to my pleasant surprise. Not too salty, just right. This is rare in a takeout soup.

Dinner was Parish Hall in Williamsburg. Okay, I’m a sucker for the Band and Dylan on the soundtrack. New place, clean look, maximum farm-to-table. It rocks. We had small plates to start: Spring greens with panna cotta and shallot vinaigrette; a plate of Nancy Newsom’s ham with shaved asparagus and pickled haricots verts; fluke with turnips and turnip greens. Yes, turnips can be fresh and interesting, even captivating. The things I thought were pickled chickpeas turned out to be nasturtium capers. I was unaware of their existence. Then the entrée for the two of us: lamb sausage, loin, farro sausage, and nettle pesto. Finished with some killer cheeses.

Saturday, May 12
Coffee and milk. Defrosted some whole-grain raisin-walnut bread from Bien Cuit on Smith Street. How did I get the best bread baker in the world a block form my house? And how did the ground zero of the Brooklyn food explosion land in my neighborhood? I swear, if I can’t walk or bike to it, I pretty much don’t go.

Anyway, defrosted the heels of bread in the microwave (even stale bread gets moist again) then toasted. Two fried eggs — free-range, organic in a little butter. Eggs from the corner green grocer, Pacific Green. Fine and dandy. I wonder how the neighbors will take to my raising chickens in the back yard? I already know the answer but you can dream, can’t you?

After that I worked until I remembered I needed to eat. Finally opened the can of little baby eels in garlic and chile peppers that I bought last year at Despaña. Dipped some Wasa whole-grain crackers in the oil. Next time I won’t wait a year. Really great.

Bought the first strawberries of the year at the Greenmarket. They tasted recent. I’m excited. Not full blown, deep-dark-red-all-the-way-through yet, but my hope is it’s just the beginning.

For dinner, we grilled up on the roof with our neighbor Patsy Taylor, her son Spencer, and some twentysomething friends. Way hipper than moi. Grilled asparagus in olive oil and then seasoned with flaky salt. Spencer brought some grass-fed lamb chops from Duclos and Thompson, a Vermont farm. His buddy Mark brought some McClure’s pickle brine from Williamsburg. This worked well instead of the chimichurri that Patsy had intended to make earlier in the day, but Saturday being Saturday, somehow it never happened.

Also a few hanger steaks. Melinda made a salad of lettuce and arugula flowers. Didn’t know that arugula had flowers. Glad they do: delicious. Patsy brought a chocolate cake from Marquet on Court Street. Had a wee piece with the strawberries. It was rich and dark and a little went a long way in the flavor-per-calorie department.

Sunday, May 13
Standard breakfast. Whole-grain cereal, granola for crunch, almonds, dried cranberries, and the strawberries leftover from the night before.

Some figs and one slice of toasted whole-wheat rye from Bien Cuit (their miche is insanely great and crunchy-crusted beyond belief). On it, a shmear of Across the Pond cheese from Stinky: ripe and funky. “Across the Pond, “ I said to the counterperson as I bought it. “From England?” I asked, wanting to show I got the reference. “Nope, they are near a pond in Vermont.”

With that, a couple of pickled okras that I bought from the farm stand outside Roberta’s. The acid cuts the ripeness of the cheese. I almost wrote “cuts the cheese” as food shorthand, but realized that would be indelicate.

Back on the roof for dinner. Super-big treat, my daughter Lucy and her boyfriend Max. Bought last of the local fiddleheads at Jim and Andy’s and had them sautéed in beurre blanc. From the Carroll Street Greenmarket (my favorite), the supernal Lani’s had baby arugula flowers, baby mache, even redder strawberries. The fishmonger had fresh flounder, with that telltale grey tinge of super-fresh. Dredged the fillets in cornmeal, greased a plancha on the gas grill, and cooked ‘em quickly. We ate on the roof at sunset.

Monday, May 14
Cereal again. More of the same. It’s fine.

Lucy on a break from a jury duty assignment, so lunch was at Yemen Café on Atlantic Avenue. Lots of families and ladies in leopard-print headscarves. Cute kids. Had the salad with their amazing dressing of green pepper, herbs, garlic, and vinegar; homemade flat bread, fresh from the oven; and salta, a vegetable-and-fenugreek stew. Laced it with a couple teaspoons of their freshly made green hot sauce. It’s my favorite place in the neighborhood. Whenever a famous chef is in town, I take them there and they are tickled. Sheila Lukins loved this place. Michel Richard, too. Sifton. Cathy Erway. Okay, enough with the names.

Showed up at a reception for Theater For A New Audience in my standard Neil Young wear: flannel shirt untucked, jeans, tee, sneakers. Guess I got a “writers pass” for underdressing. Please patronize this new theater. It will be a great addition to Brooklyn. We ran into Danny and Audrey Meyer there, so we ambled two blocks to Colonie on Atlantic. I ordered a few apps: fried artichokes, one big soft-shell crab, clam crostini, and calcotada, grilled leeks with romesco. Danny ordered a bottle of Frappato, which my daughter first turned me on to at Frankies. Alas, no Band on the soundtrack.

Tuesday, May 15
Had my “gone fishin’” sandwich: A BLT on whole wheat with a scrambled egg. But no fishing, even though the stripers are in season. Drove up the FDR and peeked to see what was happening at U Thant Island, that little speck beneath Roosevelt Island off the U.N. Usually it’s the one infallible fish-catching spot in the harbor, but oh my sweet lord … a police boat sitting right in the rip current where the fish hang. I was bummed, until I realized Obama was in town. Sending memo to bluefish at U Thant Island: POTUS leaving, please stay put.

Lunch was Wasa crackers, Cabot cloth-bound cheddar, and some cornichons.

Later, a cocktail party for my book at the International Culinary Center, thrown by my sister-in-arms, Dorothy Hamilton. Great charcuterie, and damn fine Champagne from … New Mexico?!

Afterwards, dinner with Dorothy, Andre Soltner, Jacques and Hasty Torres, daughter Lucy and Melinda. I’m in heaven. Andre is the man and Jacques is bonhomie personified. I had roast chicken because … well, why wouldn’t you? There was a lovely side dish of borolotti beans and greens, and Dorothy ordered up some Burgundies. I am a committed Burgundy slut. For dessert, I had half of a crème brûlée. It can be blah and average too often, but mine was great.

Wednesday, May 16
The morning was cereal and coffee.

I was flying, and lunch was a challenge. JetBlue says you can have your pick of all the wonderful restaurants in their terminal, but it’s all doughnuts and pizza and cheeseburgers. The healthiest thing I could find was two Kind bars, so I bought them and ate them, and then I got the fabulously inauthentic, but not carcinogenic, hummus and whole-grain crackers from JetBlue.

I landed in Seattle and went to Pike Place Market and had a half sandwich. I wanted spring salmon really bad, but someone told me to have the halibut, so I did. Grilled onions, lettuce, and tomato, hold the bun. The fish had lots of spice rub but no salt. Got the shaker and I was happy.

Dinner was at Etta’s. Many oysters, mussels and romesco, and some fresh King salmon. I was with Maxime Bilet, the co-author of Modernist Cuisine, his good friend Katie, and Warren Etheredge. Seriously great food talk. Had a nice Washington State Sauvignon blanc. They tried to talk us into dessert but virtue prevailed. Jet lag helped.

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Filed Under: the grub street diet, bien cuit, colonie, parish hall, peter kaminsky, roberta’s, stinky bklyn, the new york diet, yemen cafe

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Like this, but fatter and angrier.

Okay, real quick: Bill Wisth, a 6-foot, 6-inch man who weighs 350 pounds, went to an all-you-can-eat fish joint in Wisconsin, ate a dozen servings of fried fish, then got very, very upset when the restaurant claimed they were about to run out of fish for the night, so they gave him eight more pieces to go and sent him on his way. But it wasn’t enough for this greedy glutton. He called the police on the restaurant and, according to CNN, “plans to picket the restaurant every Sunday until something changes.” Yes, as others point out, it’s like that Simpsons episode where Homer does pretty much the same thing. So congratulations, Bill Wisth, you’ve made your point while at the same time becoming a cartoonish symbol of America’s ever-growing obesity epidemic. We just hope for his sake he doesn’t plan on driving to the picket line each week! [CNN via KLTV]

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Filed Under: publicity stunts, obesity

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On the hot seat.

What’s GQ critic, Husk-hater, and recent James Beard award winner Alan Richman up to tonight? A rep from the men’s mag writes in to let us know that they’re celebrating Richman’s 25 years of GQ service with a roast at Le Bernardin. As in, comedy roast. It isn’t open to the public, just press, but as you’ve no doubt gleaned from the headline, the roasters will include Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain, and Dave Chang, who has probably picked up at least some comedy tips from his buddy Aziz Ansari.

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Filed Under: the other critics, alan richman, anthony bourdain, david chang, eric ripert, other magazines

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Setting up shop.

It was only a matter of time: Guy Fieri will open a restaurant in Times Square later this year. A tiny write-up in the Times this morning didn’t offer much in the way of details, aside from dropping the name: Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar. (Was “Big Bite Buffet” taken?) But Team Fieri writes in to Grub to drop some more, crucial intel: The place will be in the Times building, it will be fucking enormous, and it will be as full of booze as it will be of tourists.

What to expect: three floors, 500+ seats, three full bars, and “a variety of private dining options.” Heartland Brewery CEO Jon Bloostein is a partner in the project, and, as such, there will be “an extensive draft beer program featuring signature beers craft brewed for Fieri right in New York City,” all of which will no doubt pair well with the “wide-ranging menu full of the big, bold flavors Fieri is known for.” That had better mean the barbecue-stuffed sushi rolls Fieri serves at his California joints. Without those, this place runs the risk of just becoming some kind of farce.

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Filed Under: coming soon, guy fieri, guy’s american kitchen and bar, times square

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This building is 108 years young.

The “mellifluously named” bistro is the latest restaurant to pull the historical-pricing publicity move, but it’s tough to argue with an unoriginal idea when the deal sounds this good. On Thursday, diners can get an oyster (Rockefeller-style), chicken Marengo or lamb stew, and an ice cream sundae, all for $1.25, the price it would have cost in 1904, the year the building housing the restaurant first opened. The deal’s good during lunch or dinner, but there shall be no reservations, so expect long lines, obv. [NYT]

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Filed Under: deals, millesime

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He’s a Harvard man.

Next Tuesday, Jamie Oliver will head to Boston to pick up an award from the Harvard School of Public Health “for his substantial achievements in working to end the childhood obesity epidemic,” according to a press release. The school awards the so-called Healthy Cap Award “to an individual or group that has made significant contributions to public health and nutrition through acts of good will, charity, leadership, innovation, policy change, or the vigorous promotion of a healthy lifestyle.” Among Oliver’s contributions to that cause: his show Food Revolution. Taking advantage of this branding opportunity, Oliver’s organization is also working to celebrate Food Revolution Day, urging people to “stand up for real food” on May 19. [Harvard, Boston Globe]

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Filed Under: honors, harvard, jamie oliver

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The scene last night.

Oops! Around 10:30 p.m. last night, a truck full of Chobani Greek yogurt overturned on a stretch of I-88 near Binghamton, spilling 36,000 pounds — that’s eighteen tons, or 576,000 little cups — of the stuff all over the highway. [WBNG via NYDN]

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Filed Under: go-gurt, spills, yogurt

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Perfecto!

We usually leave the look-book beat to our friends over at the Cut — because most chefs spend so much of their time in white jackets and toques. But at the James Beard Awards gala, attendees go all out with their sartorial choices, and this year’s show wasn’t any different. Plus, a red-carpet roundup feels appropriately awards-y. With that in mind, check out the looks from last night’s ceremony, straight ahead.

Related: And the James Beard 2012 Winners Are: Daniel Humm, Christina Tosi, Michael Anthony, and More
Earlier: How Chefs Dress Up for Their Awards Show

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Filed Under: sharp!, james beard foundation awards 2012, slideshow

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The dining room.

We learned earlier this week that Wylie Dufresne, a.k.a. the Susan Lucci of the Beard awards, would soon overhaul the entire menu at wd~50 in favor of a tasting-menu-only approach and, well, here’s the menu. Diners will get thirteen courses for $155, and drink pairings, which are always inspired here, are an extra $85.

As is Dufresne’s wont, the menu just lists each dish’s main ingredients, so it’s impossible to know exactly what form any of these will take, but the chef’s penchant for jokey dish names — i.e., pho gras — and unexpected flavor mash-ups are on full display. We’re particularly interested in a dish called “sole, black licorice-pil pil, fried green tomato, fennel” because we can’t even begin to imagine what that all tastes like together.

Anyway, as the Times first reported, the menu will make its debut a week from today and will also include the option of a shorter $75 tasting menu called “From the vault,” which plays like a short greatest hits retrospective. That means lovers of deep-fried mayonnaise cubes — a group Grub Street counts itself among — can rejoice.

Also worth noting: If you’re eating at the bar, you can get any two items off either menu for $25, with the option to try any other dishes you want for $15 each.

New wd~50 Menu [PDF]
Related: Wylie Dufresne Doesn’t Really Mind Never Winning a Beard Award

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Filed Under: menu changes, wd-50, wylie dufresne

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The government doesn’t want to hear it.

In case you missed it, a coalition of chefs banded together in hopes of overturning California’s forthcoming foie gras ban. And what did the state legislature think about the move? They didn’t care, and actually made a point of saying they weren’t going to review the ban because they had more pressing issues. [AP/SFGate via Grub Street SF, Earlier]

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Filed Under: food politics, foiemageddon

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Don’t lick those fingers just yet.

And you probably thought the Double Down was the most dangerous thing on KFC’s menu: A judge ordered the chain’s parent company to pay one Australian family $8 million AUD ($8.3 million USD) after one of its Twister chicken wraps gave a girl permanent brain damage.

The girl, Monika Samaan, ate the sandwich seven years ago. According to Reuters, she and her entire family were then hospitalized with salmonella poisoning. The rest of the family recovered, but Take Part says Monika wasn’t so lucky:

Monika was diagnosed with salmonella encephalopathy, a brain injury linked to food poisoning; it infected her blood and sent her into septic shock. She didn’t recover.

Now, per the same Take Part report, she “suffers from severe cognitive, motor and speech impairment and spastic quadriplegia.”

Meanwhile, KFC (who you’ll remember also encouraged Thai residents to pick up some buckets of chicken during a tsunami warning) is doing exactly what you’d think a responsible, cash-rich company would do: They’re appealing the court’s decision.

KFC Ruling: Fast Food Chain Ordered To Pay $8.3 Million To Australian Family For Salmonella Poisoning [Reuters via Take Part]
Earlier: Let the Colonel’s Herbs Protect You

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Filed Under: the chain gang, kfc, lawsuits

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Another year, another set of restaurants jockeying for the top spot.

What’s interesting about The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, put out each year by Restaurant Magazine in the U.K., is how quickly it’s become shorthand for referring to great restaurants. Witness Noma, which almost everyone calls the best restaurant in the world, as if it were an objective fact, not the result of this particular list’s rankings. Well, good news for Noma: Today it upheld that ranking for the third year in a row, and is still the best restaurant in the world. (Which means it’ll probably still keep cranking out stagiaires.)

Other things worth noting: Thomas Keller picked up a lifetime achievement. List-makers knocked the Fat Duck down to thirteen after it held places in the top five since 2004, though Heston Blumenthal’s London spot, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, debuted at number nine. David Kinch’s Manresa breaks into the Top 50 this year, arriving at the 48 spot. Ssäm Bar bumps up from 40 to 37 (still down from the 26 spot it held in 2010). Daniel Boulud’s flagship, Daniel, plummeted from 11 last year down to 25 this year. Does this mean any of these restaurants are really any better or worse than they were last year? Not really, since all these chefs and restaurants are absolutely fantastic, and if you go to any one of these places you’ll have a very, very good meal, possibly (probably?) one of the best of your life.

1. Noma, Denmark
2. El Cellar de Can Roca, Spain
3. Mugaritz, Spain
4. D.O.M., Brazil
5. Osteria Francescana, Italy
6. Per Se, New York
7. Alinea, Illinois
8. Arzak, Spain
9. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, U.K.
10. Eleven Madison Park, New York
11. Steirereck, Austria
12. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, France
13. The Fat Duck, U.K.
14. The Ledbury, U.K.
15. Le Chateaubriand, France
16. L’Arpege, France
17. Pierre Gagnaire, France
18. L’Astrance, France
19. Le Bernardin, New York
20. Frantzén/Lindeberg, Sweden
21. Oud Sluis, Netherlands
22. Aqua, Germany
23. Vendome, Germany
24. Mirazur, France
25. Daniel, New York
26. Iggy’s, Singapore
27. Les Creations de Narisawa, Japan
28. Nihonryori Ryugin, Japan
29. Quay, Australia
30. Schloss Schauenstein, Switzerland
31. Asador Extebarri, Spain
32. Le Calandre, Italy
33. De Librije, Netherlands
34. Fäviken Magasinet, Sweden
35. Astrid y Gaston, Peru
36. Pujol, Mexico
37. Momofuku Ssäm Bar, New York
38. Biko, Mexico
39. Waku Ghin, Singapore
40. Quique Dacosta, Spain
41. Mathias Dahlgren, Sweden
42. Hof Van Cleve, Belgium
43. The French Laundry, California
44. Amber, China
45. Vila Joya, Portugal
46. Il Canto, Italo
47. Bras, France
48. Manresa, California
49. Geranium, Denmark
50. Nahm, Thailand

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Filed Under: lists, s. pellegrino 50 best, the other critics

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