Well, folks, as another man who gained a lot of weight in his late twenties once said, “This is the end.” It's been just about five years since I started Grub Street with then-editor Josh Ozersky, and since then I've written over 7,600 posts — half of them about Momofuku. But it's time to pack my bags, or at least this nice little picnic basket of booze that Lillet sent over. (Thanks, Lillet!) Hopefully this won't be the last time you see me on Grub Street; my colleagues Jenny Miller and Alan Sytsma will surely link to me when I start my new gig in August — right, guys? In addition to them, I’d like to thank all of our past interns and also our present ones (Ray Rahman, Danielle Walsh, Samantha Zalaznick, Mickey Woods, Michelle Marques, and Alice Urmey), our freelancers, copy editors (most recently Alicia Kennedy), photo editors (Mary-Louise Price did the above illustration and Jed Egan has also been a rock), and of course our photographer Melissa Hom, who took my favorite photo in the world. Thanks as well to all the good folks in the restaurant industry who let me be a fly on their wall, and hopefully not too often in their soup. And, of course, you — thanks for reading!

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Filed Under: bye-bye,

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Filed Under: openings, campo, il cibreo, ryan skeen

Yesterday the Times stopped to wonder where all the Tompkins Square Park gutter punks known as “crusties” have gone. Well, this might be a clue: The former sidewalk café of St. Marks yakitori Go Japanese, which closed some months ago, has been renamed CRUSTY HUT, and despite the logo, we’re pretty sure it’s not pizza crust they’re talking about. And we’re thinking that’s not apple juice in there, either.

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Filed Under: crusty watch,

Le Fooding, the roving French festival that celebrates the food world’s enfants terribles, will return in late September in a big way: New York project manager Anna Polonsky tells us the first event, on September 17, will be an outdoor concert at Elizabeth Street Gallery. “The idea is that the food is really bad at music concerts and at the same time, when you go to really good restaurants, it’s sometimes not so fun,” Polonsky tells us. The bands have yet to be confirmed (Thurston Moore has expressed interest), but one thing’s for sure: You’ll see Nancy Whang on the decks while her former LCD Soundsystem bandmate and noted foodie James Murphy cooks a dish alongside “rock-star chef” Inaki Aizpitarte of Le Chateaubriand in Paris. There’ll be Van Leeuwen ice cream, as well as cocktails from Richard Boccato and Sasha Petraske. Meanwhile, the second event, a so-called “pop-up table d’hote,” promises to be epic.

Polonsky tells us the pop-up dinner at the Honey Space (a Chelsea exhibition venue that will be outfitted with a communal table) will be a continuous 48-hour affair going from September 23 at 8 p.m. to September 25 at midnight, with fourteen chefs trading off four-hour shifts. The feast will kick off with Andrew Carmellini and Hugue Dufour, and then, à la French surrealists’ “exquisite corpse” method, “every chef will have to do a little bit of the former chef’s menu,” says Polonsky. So who are the chefs? Confirmed so far is an international roster that includes Kobe Desramaults (In de Wulf, Belgium), Armand Arnal (La Chassagnette, France), Sat Bains (Restaurant Sat Bains, U.K.), Blaine Wetzel (Willows Inn, San Juan Islands, Washington), Fulvio Pierangelini (Hotel de Russie, Italy), Brooks Headley (Del Posto), Mauro Colagreco (Le Mirazur, France), Adeline Grattard (Yam’Tcha, France), Corey Lee (Benu, San Francisco), and Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana, Italy).

Tickets will go on sale sometime in August. Four-hundred of them will be released at $75 to $100 for the concert (the price hasn’t yet been set) and 40 $100 tickets will be available for each four-course seating at the pop-up (that price includes half a bottle of Veuve Clicquot).

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Filed Under: foodievents, adeline grattard, andrew carmellini, anna polonsky, armand arnal, blaine wetzel, brooks headley, corey lee, elizabeth street gallery, fulvio pierangelini, hugue dufour, inaki aizpitarte, james murphy, kobe desramaults, lcd soundsystem, le chateaubriand, le fooding, massimo bottura, mauro colagreco, sat bains, the honey space, thuston moore

While the Fort Greene Park Conservancy looks for food vendors for its summer concerts, another free show in the park is bringing food from neighborhood spots Madiba, Rustik Tavern, Buka, General Greene, and Brooklyn Moon. At the 3rd Annual Fort Greene Festival on Saturday, June 25 from noon till 10 p.m., Rosie Perez will host performances by Mos Def, Res, Sophia Urista, and more. See the full lineup here.

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Filed Under: foodievents, brooklyn moon, buka, fort greene park, general greene, madiba, mos def, rosie perez, rustik tavern

Vito DiTomaso tells us he reopened Luca Bar yesterday, and chalks the seizure due to non-payment of taxes up to “bad accounting”— “New York City is a very tough market,” he says. “You don’t get bills, you get bills, you don’t get bills, and bills get piled up.” He says he plans to “give it more than we were giving before,” starting with a new menu in the coming weeks that will be more like the one that the original Luca Lounge on Avenue B offered in 1997. “We were the first place to bring a Neapolitan personal pizza to the neighborhood,” says DiTomaso. Though he wants the new pizza-focused menu to be “a little bit of a surprise,” he plans to forgo the fancier food he’s been serving lately (“It’s very hard to run a kitchen and hire chefs and cooks and dishwashers—it takes a toll on business”) and “take it back to how we started—very basic, very loving, caring food.”

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Filed Under: reopenings, east village, luca bar, vito ditomaso

Yesterday evening we cruised by Del Posto (home of Manhattan’s most expensive meal, per Bloomberg’s breakdown of prix fixes) and noticed a group across from the restaurant holding signs like "WE LOVE JUST FOOD" and "BATALI, SUPPORT FAIR FOOD." Turns out we were looking at a Fair Food Potluck organized by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York, the group that helped bring a lawsuit against the restaurant. Though Batali and Bastianich sued the ROCNY and scored a restraining order against the protesters back in November, ROCNY co-director Rekha Eanni tells us the restaurant dropped the order a month later, and as a result, “there will continually be actions outside of Del Posto to let the public know what’s going on.”

Eanni says that about 60 to 70 people showed up yesterday, including several of the suit’s plaintiffs, along with members from the Riverside Church, Just Food, WhyHunger, and ROCNY. In the words of the event’s flyer (which includes a link to a petition that’s 580+ signatures strong), they brought “just food” to share. So what’s just food, anyway? “Batali really puts himself out there as a green restaurant and he’s trying to get green restaurant certified, and he’s a big player in the local, sustainable, environmental food movement,” says Eanni. “So last night was about sending the message that sustainable restaurants and businesses are also about having good working conditions and treating workers fairly.”

According to Eanni, no one from Del Posto came out to speak to the protesters, but she thinks they’ll get the message. “They’re going to have to do the right thing,” she says, “because there’s a very public expectation that they will do the right thing.”

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Filed Under: lawsuits, del posto, just food, mario batali, rekha eanni, restaurant opportunities center of new york, whyhunger

Yesterday we told you about La Camelia, the new one from the Maria’s Mexican Bistro team, in the former Junno’s space. Now we have the menu for you. To drink, there’ll be an extensive tequila list, as well as wines from Europe and North and South America. La Camelia will be open for lunch Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. till 4 p.m.; for brunch on weekends, 11 a.m. till 4 p.m.; and for dinner, 5 p.m. till 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and till midnight Friday and Saturday.

La Camelia Menu [PDF]

La Camelia, 64 Downing St., nr. Varick St.; 212-675-7060

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Filed Under: openings, la camelia, maria's mexican bistro

Doughnut Plant (the subject of today’s City Sweet Tooth comic) is expanding its Grand Street location, according to the Lo-Down. No more waiting on the street! [Lo-Down]

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Filed Under: empire building, doughnut plant

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Filed Under: foodievents, eddie huang, le baron

Time Out interviews Peter Hoffman about the life and death of Savoy. He reveals that he was disappointed to lose the Union Square Pavilion restaurant to someone who “has no history of working with the Greenmarket farmers, no relationship with the people who are there and no skill set to amplify the market movement by having the restaurant placed in the middle of Union Square.” He rattles off a list of distinguished Savoy alumni: “Caroline Fidanza, who owns Saltie in Williamsburg. Andy Feinberg at Franny’s, John Tucker who owns Rose Water, Charlie Kiely and Sharon Pachter at the Grocery.” And he talks about Savoy’s replacement: “The second floor is going to be more a fun and festive room to be in. [There may be] communal tables, and some of the menu items will be designed to be eaten as a group.”

Interview: Peter Hoffman [TONY]

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Filed Under: closings, peter hoffman, savoy

In its quest to stir up two Little Italy feuds in one month, the Post interviewed some neighborhood shopkeepers and restaurateurs who didn’t seem too big on Eataly (“Eataly is for the kind of people who'd rather spend $700 on a pair of shoes than $70,” says a restaurateur) and slapped on the incendiary headline "Eataly Pinches Little Italy." First off, there really aren’t more than a few Italian food shops left to pinch in Little Italy, and Eataly is a half-hour walk away — it’s not like they opened right next door. And yet Lou Di Palo, in a photo caption, is described as “one of the Little Italy merchants feeling pressure from the popular Eataly” — even though Di Palo isn’t quoted in the piece and seems to be doing just fine. Not only that, but as we’ve pointed out, Di Palo is a favorite of Lydia Bastinachi’s, who has collaborated with the store (her DVDs are still sold on its website). We weren’t surprised, then, to get an official statement from Di Palo’s rep.

According to the statement, “Lou, who has worked closely with Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali sees them and his fellow Italian food purveyors as colleagues not competitors on the exciting NYC food scene and welcomes their collaboration in promoting Italy and the Italian cuisine in the US.” We’re assured that “not too many sleepless nights are spent worrying about the Italian mecca uptown!”

Eataly pinches Little Italy [NYP]

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Filed Under: beef, di palo, eataly, little italy

Sam Sifton, who’s not exactly known for knocking culinary demigods off their pedestals, has finally gone and taken one of the city’s hallowed institutions down a peg. In a review of Masa that just went online, he strips the restaurant’s fourth star owing to what he describes as “wrinkles in Masa’s fine silk”: They asked him to kindly wait outside when he showed up early (that’s three paragraphs of the review), some of the dishes aren’t explained when they’re served, and the staff doesn’t pay you much attention after dessert. (Someone’s getting fired!) Though he concedes that Masa is “the city’s greatest sushi restaurant,” he thinks the restaurant, with its $450 menu, violates the contemporary dining rule that “culture at its highest must never feel transactional, whatever its cost.” And then there were six: Del Posto, Jean Georges, Daniel, Eleven Madison Park, Le Bernardin, and Per Se are the current crop of Times four-stars. Bruni gave Masa four in 2004, the same year he downgraded Bouley from four to three. The next year, Alain Ducasse at the Essex House was also reduced to three.

Masa [NYT]

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Filed Under: the other critics, masa, sam sifton

Varick Street just lost Village Lobster and Crabhouse in the “cursed space” that most recently held Steak Frites and Lucy Browne’s, but across the street at 64 Downing (the long-vacant space that held Junno’s till it closed back in 2006) the owners of a shuttered Park Slope restaurant, Maria’s Mexican Bistro, are making a comeback.

Photo: Alice Urmey

Eduardo Nacipucha tells us that his wife Maria and their partner Carlos Elias have retained their chef from Maria’s, Alfredo Luna, and together they’re opening La Camelia. You’ll find some old favorites from their previous joint: The table-side guacamole; the duck breast with black mole; the Angus steak, grilled chicken, and filet mignon on lava rocks; and of course the many tequilas (over 200 here). But there’ll also be a wider array of ceviches, plus new dishes like a lamb shank in red-wine reduction with Mexican spice. La Camelia will open for dinner service on Thursday, and within a week hours will expand from noon till midnight, with brunch starting at 10 a.m. on the weekends. We’ll have the menu for you in the next day or so.

La Camelia, 64 Downing St., nr. Varick St.; 212-675-7060

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Filed Under: openings, la camelia, maria's mexican bistro, village lobster and crabhouse

You may have heard that Alex Julian will be doorman at the Dream Downtown’s soon-to-open pool and lobby bars, and you may have heard that acclaimed neurologist-chef Miguel Sánchez is opening a $245-a-meal restaurant in the hotel. Here’s something you haven’t heard: We’re told there will also be a restaurant off of the lobby called Marble Lane, and it’ll be headed by Top Chef alum Manuel Treviño, who will also create menus for the pool lounge, the rooftop bar, and 24-hour room service. Treviño has already left his position at another TAO/Strategic operation, Lavo (the new chef there is Lavo’s Vegas chef, John Deloach), and tells us that his “steak joint and bar” will open early next month.

Marble Bar will be separated from the lobby by a wall and sunken three feet into the ground; it’ll feature marblelike handblown light fixtures, black-leather banquettes, and white-marble tables, with a couch-dotted lounge in the back for bottle service. The menu hasn’t yet been finalized, but Treviño says it’ll be 30 percent steaks ranging from a $30 cut to a $95 porterhouse for two. The meat will be 28-day dry aged; there’ll be a selection of American Kobe; and each steak will have its own twist. True to Treviño’s Mexican roots, the strip steak, for instance, will be done carne asada style, with roasted poblanos and roasted corn pico. That won’t be the only exotic touch on the menu: There’s also a ponzu Kobe hangar steak with shishito peppers and shiitake mushrooms.

“We were originally thinking to go with an American concept,” says Treviño, “and then we had so many different thoughts that we decided to accept them all — French, Italian, Asian, American.” That’s why on the pool lounge’s menu of “hip spa cuisine,” there’ll be a double Kobe patty melt with wild mushrooms and wild onions. Meanwhile, Marble Lane’s menu will also feature fish and chicken dishes (entrees will range from $21 to $28), salads, a raw bar, a weekly pasta, and $10 to $22 appetizers like calamari à la plancha and 24-hour pork ribs.

Marble Lane will open for breakfast and dinner during the first or second week of July, with lunch to follow.

Marble Lane, Dream Downtown, 355 W. 16th St., nr. Ninth Ave.

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Filed Under: openings, manuel trevino, marble lane

It was four years ago that we first told you the Tenement Museum was planning to re-create the saloon that Bavarian immigrant John Schneider ran from 1864 to 1886 at 97 Orchard Street. Gothamist now sits down with museum vice-president of education, Annie Polland, who says that the Shop Life exhibit will finally open in the fall. It’s uncertain whether there will be beer and food samples as originally planned, but starting June 24, the museum is conducting Lower East Side food tours that will stop at Loreley, Economy Candy, Essex Street Market, and Pickle Guys. Just be careful with those pickles: According to Polland, old-time nutritionists “actually said pickles made people excitable, and the Jews are already so excitable that they shouldn't eat anymore pickles.”

Tenement Museum's Annie Polland Talks History And Pickles [Gothamist]

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Filed Under: foodievents, annie pollard, essex street market, loreley, lower east side tenement museum, pickle guys

A rep for Nick Curtin tells us the former Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar sous is resigning as executive chef at Tribeca tasting-menu newcomer Compose, effective at the end of the month. Reviews for the restaurant, which opened a handful of months ago, were mixed: Julia Moskin of the Times wrote that the 23-year-old Curtin’s cooking belonged “in the haute-foam family, but with the attention to balance that reflects his time in the empire of Jean-Georges Vongerichten.” Jay Cheshes of Time Out found the food “too precious, derivative and short on thrills to merit its exorbitant price tag.” Curtin says in a statement, “I'm looking forward to pursuing other culinary endeavors where I can continue to push the boundaries of cuisine, and explore new combinations of taste, texture, and presentation.”

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Filed Under: compose,

The Fort Greene Park Conservancy tells us it’s looking for food vendors to replace last year’s crop (Asiadog, HNH BBQ, and Steve’s Ice Cream) at its summer concerts (Antibalas on July 12 and Charles Bradley on July 26), as well as at a new Thursday night jazz and spoken word series. Director of programming Amanda Atlas tells us she’s thinking coffee and ice cream for the jazz night, and something along the lines of pizza and hot dogs for the main stage. She’s looking for something “fairly sophisticated or unusual,” but that doesn’t mean she’ll be jumping on the summer’s big trend: “I think a $14 lobster roll is not going to be looked at very well by people from our community — it would just be too hoity-toity for them.” Take a look at the RFP below; the deadline is June 23.

Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Inc.
Request for Proposal
Food Vendor Operations for June and July 2011
Greene Music on the Main Stage and GreeneLeaf Jazz and The Spoken Word

Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Inc. (The Conservancy) is seeking proposals to provide and operate food services for the Greene Music on the Main Stage (Myrtle Lawn) and GreeneLeaf Jazz and The Spoken Word (The Grove) outdoor venues at Fort Greene Park, located in Fort Greene between Dekalb Avenue/Myrtle Avenue and Ashland/Washington Park, in Brooklyn, NY. Please note proposals are due June 23, 2011 by 5pm.

Background
Fort Greene Park is a historic, architectural and horticultural gem that serves as a core organization for Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Downtown Brooklyn and Bedford-Stuyvesant. With its close proximity to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Flea and Pratt Institute, Fort Greene is a culturally significant area for food and the arts. The Conservancy provides free (with a $2 suggested donation), high-quality programming in the park to this multicultural audience.

Greene Music on the Main Stage series was first introduced in 2010. Each show had attendance of 2,500-3,000. We anticipate 3,000-4,000 at this year’s shows. GreeneLeaf Jazz and The Spoken Word, a new series in the Conservancy’s programming initiative will leverage the deep history of Fort Greene/Clinton Hill as a stomping ground for renowned musicians and writers to offer a unique outdoor, cultural experience. We anticipate each performance to attract 400-500 attendees.

For more information about Fort Greene Park Conservancy, please visit:
http://www.fortgreenepark.org

PROPOSALS DUE ON OR BEFORE JUNE 23, 2011
Fort Greene Park Conservancy contact: Jessica Kepler (assisted by Kehinde Ellis)
Jessica Kepler Cloutier, Development & Membership, Email. jessica@fortgreenepark.org AND Kehinde.ellis@gmail.com

1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Conservancy is seeking unique proposals for food operators for Fort Greene Park Conservancy’s Greene Music on the Main Stage and GreeneLeaf Jazz & The Spoken Word. The operators will make a significant contribution to the overall ambiance of the evening while providing a convenient service to attendees.

We are looking for 1 food vendor for the GreeneLeaf Jazz & The Spoken Word series, and 2-3 food vendors for the Greene Music on the Main Stage series.

Commitment is necessary per series.

Greene Music on the Main Stage
Series length: 2 shows
Attendance Anticipated: 3,000-4,000 per show
Dates: Tuesday, July 12; Tuesday July 26
Time: 6.00-9pm

GreeneLeaf Jazz & The Spoken Word
Series length: 6 shows
Attendance Anticipated: 400-500 per show
Dates: Thursdays June 30- August 10
Time: 6-8pm

2. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS
Please submit completed proposals to jessica@fortgreenepark.org AND Kehinde.ellis@gmail.com
Subject: RFP Fort Greene Park Conservancy Food Vendor
Proposals are due on or before June 23, 2011 at 5pm.

Please include a cover sheet with RFP title, proposer’s name and signature and the following:
a. Operating Experience & Qualifications
Proposers should submit:
i. A description of the proposer’s business
ii. A detailed description of the proposer’s professional qualifications, demonstrating experience and record of safety in the industry, including any work with City Agencies, or access to individuals and/or firms with such expertise.
iii. A description of the proposer’s relative experience in operating a similar business enterprise
b. Operations Plan
Proposers should submit a detailed operational plan for the Site:
i. The proposed menu should be submitted, including menu items and prices
ii. The proposal should describe the operator’s plan for number and type of staff
iii. The proposal should describe the operator’s equipment plan.
iv. The proposal should describe the operator’s plan to meet all applicable health and food safety regulations.

3.REVIEW OF PROPOSAL RESPONSES
Final notification of the outcome of the review process is expected to occur on a rolling basis, beginning on June 24, 2011 at noon.

2011 Fort Greene Park Conservancy Performance Schedule
Greene Music on the Main Stage
Tuesday, July 12, 6pm-9pm, Fort Greene Park, Myrtle Lawn
Antibalas with The Stepkids and DJ Frank Gossner (VOODOO FUNK)
Tuesday, July 26, 6pm to 9pm, Fort Greene Park, Myrtle Lawn
Charles Bradley & The Menhan Street Band with Beans And DJ Todd-O-Phonic Todd

GreeneLeaf Jazz & The Spoken Word
Thursdays, Fort Greene Park, The Grove, 6-8pm
June 30- Jane Lecroy is Transmitting & Poet Laureate of Brooklyn Tina Chang
July 7- Ben Perowsky, MSO & Poet/Rapper TK Wonder
July 14- Michael Blake Trio & Writer/Poet Bushra Rehman
July 21- The Charlie Burnham Trio & Writer/Poet Tara Betts
July 28- David Fiuczynski Group
August 4- Ben Perowsky Moodswing & Performer/Poet Velez Moore

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Filed Under: the great outdoors, asiadog, fort greene park, hnh, steve's, summer concerts

The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival returns this year from September 29 through October 2, and tickets for this year’s fête go on sale on Monday, June 20. The big news: This year Whoopi Goldberg will host the Burger Bash in lieu of Rachael Ray, who we’re told will be out of the country for over a year for “personal” reasons. Oh well. Events like Meatball Madness (hosted by Giada this year), Chelsea Market After Dark (hosted by Emeril), and Morimoto’s sushi karaoke will return, and a new event called "Fried" will showcase some of the fried chicken John Besh taste-tested for us (Hill Country Chicken, Peels, Pies-N-Thighs), plus more from Blue Ribbon, Red Rooster, Seersucker, and Michelle Bernstein’s Miami joint. Michy’s. Jacques Pepin will be honored in the festival’s first tribute dinner; Adam Richman will lead a tour of Brooklyn; Ferran Adrià will be the big-deal Times Talk; and there’s way, way more. Check out the full lineup of events to see what else is up.

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Filed Under: foodievents, food network new york wine and food festival, meatball madness, rachael ray

Earlier today, the Post had EMM Group’s seafood restaurant, Catch, opening “by the end of the summer.” Now UrbanDaddy reports that STK, the steakhouse above another one of EMM’s meatpacking properties, Tenjune, is getting a 200-seat rooftop deck on Friday. [UrbanDaddy]

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Filed Under: openings, catch, emm group, meatpacking district, stk, the great outdoors

Eater has a clip of last night’s episode of Treme — Eric Ripert makes another appearance, but the best part is the excessive fawning over the fictional Momofuku restaurant Lucky Peach (“I work in the best restaurant in New York City,” crows one of David Chang’s chefs, “I am at the forefront of a new age of dining — the new paradigm”) followed by a cameo in which Chang half quips, “I’m not fucking happy — who’s happy? I don’t even know what that is.” And speaking of irascible chefs on HBO, tonight is the premiere of A Matter of Taste, the Paul Liebrandt documentary we showed you a clip from earlier. Doing press for the movie, Liebrandt tells Eatocracy that the chef’s life is “a 24 hour a day blessing and curse,” and tells Eater that HBO predicts 5 million people will see the flick. Meanwhile, the film’s director Sally Rowe talks about what changed during the ten years it took to make: For one thing, “The first five years it took [Liebrandt] awhile to warm up, but after that he was, like, 'Oh yeah, that's my shadow.’” And also: “When I started the film, the whole food business wasn't happening.”

Paul Liebrandt: Portrait of the chef as a young artist [Eatocracy/CNN]
Paul Liebrandt on A Matter of Taste, His Chihuahua Spencer, and How Everyone Is a Critic [Eater]
A Matter of Taste's Sally Rowe Reflects on the Distinctive Flavors of Paul Liebrandt [Fork in the Road/VV]

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Filed Under: tv land, a matter of taste, david chang, eric ripert, hbo, lucky peach, paul liebrandt, treme

“I go to this party on Sundays at Sway, it's like a Smiths night thing, and it's usually like a lot of foreigners that come up to me there. So it depends on where you're going. I go eat at Raoul's all the time, nobody says anything, or Omen, nobody says anything. At Veselka, sometimes kids come up to me. I think it's more where the tourists are, maybe?” —Chloë Sevigny on where she does and doesn’t get bothered at dinner. [NYDN]

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Filed Under: celebrity settings, chloe sevigny

According to the Post, the Yankees and Hard Rock Café are expanding their Yankees Stadium restaurant concept, NYY Steak (go ahead and click on that link for the most obnoxious restaurant webpage music ever), and the first outpost will probably be in midtown. But will the “Joe DiMaggio Boudoir Photo” be on the walls? [NYP]

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Filed Under: empire building, nyy steak, yankees stadium

Just last week we were assured that the new wave of Hooters imitators is keeping it classy, and that’s just the case on Long Island, where young Canz-a-City Roadhouse has set up a couple of miles away from the Hooters in East Meadow. All Canz wants to do is poach offer better treatment to those poor Hooters waitresses, and yet Hooters is allegedly doing déclassé stuff like sending its girls into Canz to lure away customers. Hooters, don’t embarrass yourself! Can’t you leave Canz’s customers to watch the Lingerie Football League in peace? Don’t you know you’re part of the old guard of tacky testosterzones, and places like Canz are here to restore some dignity to the breastaurant world? The Westbury location had a bikini party on Sunday — just like Lavo!

Breast-aurant Battle [NYP]

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Filed Under: beef, canz, hooters

Mars Bar has long been awaiting its death date, and Crain's now reports that its building will be demolished in August. Nine longtime tenants will be allowed to buy apartments in the 65-unit complex that will replace it for $10 each, but the article says nothing about whether everyone’s favorite place for Danzig and romancing will return to the new building as previously planned. Sad news to be sure, but don’t worry, East Villagers: If a banner spotted by an EV Grieve tipster on 14th Street between Second and Third Avenues is any indicator, an IHOP is "COMING SOON." Hey, you were warned. Is this the takeover of the flyover?

The great $10 apartment sale [Crain's]
Amd the Hits Keep Coming! IHOP Opening on East 14th Street [EV Grieve]

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Filed Under: closings, east village, ihop, mars bar, the chain gang

Albert Trummer recently hired sociality Patrick Duffy (who just closed) to be his creative director at Theater Bar (to make the place, you know, more theatrical), and tells us he’ll in turn do the drinks list at a private member lounge that Duffy hopes to install in the Chelsea Art Museum. That’s not the only thing new in Trummer’s world: He tells us he’s developed a concept called the Freud Bar, and he’s negotiating with Jason Pomeranc to bring it to one of his downtown Thompson hotels (he’s also negotiating with another party that can’t yet be named). When the first Freud Bar opens as early as August, it’ll be a reservation-only lounge modeled after Freud’s office where Trummer (who is also Austrian) will interview and diagnose about a couple dozen people every two hours. He’ll prescribe cocktails with names like “the Healthy Brain,” which will include ingredients like royal jelly (for hormone balance and cell renewal, Trummer says), grape seed and fish oils (for omega-3), matcha, and ground cocoa beans (at least we think Trummer said cocoa — Freud was, after all, more of a fan of coca-based remedies). “It’s almost like a cocktail day spa,” Trummer tells us. “It’s going to be a step higher than Apothéke, with all my herbs and remedies in a sleek lounge where you can relax.” Sounds like all it needs is lardo massages and mortadella masks.

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Filed Under: empire building, albert trummer, apotheke, jason pomeranc, the freud bar, thompson hotels

Turns out Thai Rock isn’t the only Thai spot that’s new to Rockaway. You’ve already heard about the array of food vendors now doing business on the Rockaway Beach boardwalk, but here’s one that hasn’t been mentioned: Ode to the Elephants is now serving “beach Thai food” in the same boardwalk concession stand, at Beach 96th Street, that Rockaway Taco, Babycakes, Jean Adamson (Vinegar Hill House), and Lindsay Robinson (ex-Diner) share. Chef-owner Kevin Ngosuwan, who operates the stand with designer Kevin Sutavee, learned to cook at his Thai father’s place uptown, Amsterdam Thai, and several months ago opened his own place (also called Ode to the Elephants) in the surfing town of Rincon, in his mother’s native Puerto Rico. His still-expanding menu is similar here, though here he’ll add Thai-style burgers (with spicy basil sauce, pickled mango sauce, and red onions) as well as hot dogs (with papaya, red onion, lime chile sauce, and relish). He’s currently running daily specials and plans to add dishes like bah mee hang (egg noodles tossed with scallions, fried garlic, sugar, and fish sauce). To drink (and you will need a drink to battle the authentic spiciness of the Bangkok street-style som tum) there’s Thai iced tea as well as iced lotus tea and a few other varieties. Current hours are noon till 6 p.m., but when delivery starts, they’ll extend to 10 p.m. Check out today's menu.

Vegetable spring rolls - 4

Shrimp and chicken spring rolls - 7

Calamari - 6
(with homemade chili plum sauce)

Chicken satay - 4
(with prawn sauce and cucumber salad)

Moo ping - 4
Marinated pork skewers

Som tum - 6
Papaya salad

Massaman curry - 11
Chicken, onion, and potatoes

Yumpla - 14
Filet of sole, red onion, scallion, papaya, tomato, lime chili sauce

Gai yaerng - 11
Grilled chicken quarters with curry rice and lime chili sauce

Ode to the Elephants, Boardwalk at Beach 96th St., Rockaway Beach, Queens

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Filed Under: openings, babycakes, jean adamson, kevin ngosuwan, kevin sutavee, ode to the elephants, puerto rico, rincon, rockaway beach, rockaway taco, thai, vinegar hill house

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Filed Under: foodievents, gluttny

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Filed Under: now delivering,

The Rockaways might the “butt of a cheap joke” as far as McDonald’s is concerned, but the food scene keeps getting better. Case in point: The spicy lemonade and “Hardbody” burger we enjoyed at Rippers on the boardwalk today — two Meat Hook patties, two slices of cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, pickles, and a whole lotta special sauce. Meanwhile, over on the Jamaica Bay side of the peninsula, Robert Kaskel and his wife Metta just opened Thai Rock, the waterfront Thai spot we told you about back in February.

Service is still getting up to steam (you can currently order about 70 percent of the menu during dinner hours only), but by next week, it should be open from 11:30 a.m. till as late as 4 a.m. The music is already in full effect: Karaoke (with live band) on Mondays, a variety night on Tuesday, crooning on Wednesdays (eventually there’ll be a horn section), rock cover bands later in the week, and jazz on Sunday. The real perk for Rockaway residents: There’ll be shuttle service and valet parking — initially on weekends only and perhaps eventually on weekdays as well. A fifteen-seat van will make runs anywhere from the Beach 73rd Street area to Breezy Point. Of course, there’s also the option of docking your boat and walking onto the back deck, which you can see in our slideshow.

Thai Rock menu [Official Site]

Thai Rock, 375 Beach 92nd St., nr. Beach Channel Dr., Rockaway Beach, Queens; 646-455-3991

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Filed Under: slideshow, openings, rippers, rockaway beach, thai, thai rock

Speaking of French bistros in Williamsburg, Zeb Stewart of drink dens Hotel Delmano and Union Pool has hired a new chef, Charles Brassard, to helm the kitchen at his other place, Cafe Colette. Brassard worked under Bill Telepan at Judson Grill, and was sous chef at Michael Lomanaco’s Porter House, and, more recently, at Little Giant. Check out his new menu, which went into effect last week, and click through our slideshow to see some of the dishes.

Cafe Colette menu [PDF]

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Filed Under: chef shuffle, charles brassard, hotel delmonico, little giant, porter house, union pool, zeb stewart

Apologies for not relaying this information a couple of days ago when Jeremiah’s Vanishing first reported it, but we’re still in shock: Our beloved Poppy’s Terminal Restaurant has been sold after three decades, and shall heretofore be known as the Highline Gourmet Deli. It’s uncertain just how long the baseball cards and retro wood paneling will remain on the walls, but we can at least take solace that, according to JVNY’s account, “Poppy Livanis still works there [and] the interior is mostly the same as before, minus one taxidermied deer head.” Does that mean the above BREAKFAST sign is still hanging? Someone please tell us if it is — as you can see from the photo below, Poppy’s was shuttered when we stopped by around 6:30 p.m. the other night to assess the damage. Meanwhile, just around the corner, the Friends of the High Line and Tom Colicchio have opened a formidable beer garden, The Lot on Tap.

Photo: Daniel Maurer

Until September 30, the empty lot at 30th Street and Tenth Avenue will have two bars serving the beers and wines listed below, plus picnic table seating for 350. At $7, beers are like four times more expensive than they were at Poppy’s, but hey, you can’t get High Line Elevated Wheat (brewed by Brooklyn Brewery with wheat from New York State) anywhere but here. The food will come from trucks: Red Hook Lobster, Taim Mobile, The Taco Truck, Coolhaus, and Kelvin Natural Slush Co. The Lot on Tap will be open from noon till 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and till 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday; and from 11 a.m. till 11 p.m. on Saturdays, and till 10 p.m. on Sundays.

Wine ($9 each)

2010 Chardonnay — North Fork Long Island, NY

2010 Dry Riesling — Finger Lakes, NY

2010 Rosé (Syrah) — Washington

2009 Zinfandel — California

Beer ($7)

Brooklyn Brewery Highline Beer — German/Belgian Hybrid wheat beer

Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55 — English Pale Ale

Sixpoint Sehr Crisp Pilsner — German Pilsner

Victory Summer-fest Lager — "Copper Lager"

Captain Lawrence Liquid Gold — Belgian Pale Ale

The Lot on Tap, 30th St., nr. Tenth Ave.; 212-206-9922

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Filed Under: closings, food trucks, friends of the high line, poppy's terminal restaurant, the high line gourmet deli, the lot on top, tom colicchio

The good news for Painkiller is this: After being named one of Esquire’s "Best Bars in America," it now gets some love in Time Out's epic "State of the Cocktail" package (the bar’s Jet Pilot cocktail is one of the 41 best drinks). Plus, Tales of the Cocktail just nominated the tiki bar for World’s Best New Cocktail Bar (you can see the rest of the 5th Annual Spirited Awards nominees below; winners will be announced July 23 in New Orleans). The bad news is this: As the result of a lawsuit settlement with Pusser’s Rum Ltd., Painkiller has had to change its name to PKNY.

The Lo-Down reports that the 31-year-old rum company holds the copyright for the brand name “Painkiller” — not only does the bar have to change its name, but it can’t put a Painkiller cocktail on the menu unless it’s made with Pusser’s Rum. And this isn’t the only pain PKNY is feeling: The Lo-Down also reports that the bar tallied up 101 violation points during a health inspection last week. Someone pour these guys a Penicillin — oh, wait a minute, that name isn’t exactly legal either.

American Bartender of the Year
Eric Alperin, Los Angeles, California
Kenta Goto, New York City, New York
Misty Kalkofen, Boston, Massachusetts
Sam Ross, New York City, New York
Joaquin Simo, New York City, New York

Best American Brand Ambassador
Colin Asare-Appiah, U'luvka Vodka
Jacques Bezuidenhout, Partida Tequila
Jamie Gordon, Absolut Vodka
Jim Ryan, Hendrick's Gin

Best American Cocktail Bar
Clover Club, New York City, New York
Drink, Boston, Massachusetts
Employees Only, New York City, New York
The Varnish, Los Angeles, California

Best Bar Mentor
Wayne Collins, London, England
Steve Olson, New York City, New York
Audrey Saunders, New York City, New York
Dushan Zaric, New York City, New York

Best High Volume Cocktail Bar
Eastern Standard, Boston, Massachusetts
Flatiron Lounge, New York City, New York
Florida Room, Miami, Florida
Rickhouse, San Francisco, California

Best Cocktail Writing - Non Book
BarlifeUK.com
Imbibe USA
Liquor.com
Tasting Panel Magazine

Best Cocktail Writing - Author
Toby Cecchini, New York City, New York
Camper English, San Francisco, Francisco
Darcy O'Neil, London, Ontario
Naren Young, New York City, New York

Best International Brand Ambassador
Ian Burrell
Claire Smith, Belvedere Vodka
Dan Warner, Beefeater Gin
Angus Winchester, Tanqueray Gin

Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book
Fix the Pumps by Darcy O'Neill
Left Coast Libations by Ted Munat & Michael Lazar*
Punch by David Wondrich
Speakeasy by Dushan Zaric and Jay Kosmas

Best New Product
Bank's Rum
Cocchi Americano**
Smith & Cross Rum
Tequila Calle 23

Best Restaurant Bar
The Drawing Room, Chicago, Illinois
Eleven Madison Park, New York City, New York
Hawksmoor Seven Dials, London, England
Hix, London, England

International Bartender of the Year
Erik Lorincz, London, England
Dre Masso, London, England
Sam Ross, New York City, New York
Dushan Zaric, New York City, New York

World’s Best Cocktail Bar
69 Colebrooke Row, London, England
Dry Martini, Barcelona, Spain
Employees Only, New York City, New York
High Five, Tokyo, Japan

World’s Best Cocktail Menu
Artesian at The Langham, London, England
Eau de Vie, Sydney, Australia
Mayahuel, New York City, New York
Sanctuaria, St. Louis, Missouri

World’s Best Drinks Selection
Artesian at The Langham, London, England
Cure, New Orleans, Louisiana
Eau de Vie, Sydney, Australia
Employees Only, New York City, New York

World’s Best Hotel Bar
Artesian at The Langham, London, England
Clive's Classic Lounge at Chateau Victoria Hotel, Victoria, British Columbia
Clyde Common at The Ace Hotel, Portland, Oregon
The Savoy, London, England

World’s Best New Cocktail Bar
1534, New York City, New York
Dram, New York City, New York
Eau de Vie, Sydney, Australia
Painkiller, New York City, New York

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Filed Under: lawsuits, nightlife, painkiller, pkny, pusser's rum ltd., tales of the cocktail

A little over a year after it replaced a Starbucks, the New York Film Academy Café (one of the city’s more spacious and relaxed outdoor spots) will close to make way for development. The Local East Village reports that it’ll shutter after June 30 so the adjacent Cooper Union Engineering Building can be torn down. Alfresco scribes, we’d tell you to take your laptops down the block to the lovely back garden at Bull McCabe’s, but the city closed that down last fall, and a bartender there tells us the owners are still in court trying to reopen it. In the meantime, take advantage of the bar’s handful of sidewalk seats — sure, you’ll have to switch from coffee to beer, but a new study shows that coffee makes you hear things anyway!

As 51 Astor Falls, A Cafe Will Close [Local East Village/NYT]

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Filed Under: closings, new york film academy café, starbucks, the great outdoor

If you happen to miss Casanis on the Lower East Side (and before that, on East 1st Street), worry not: Yesterday that bygone bistro’s chef-owner Sebastian Maczko opened a French joint right across the bridge, on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. He’s teamed up with his partners in Chloe 81, Mike Townsend, Brooke Smy, and M Kouger (known to most as simply M), and together they’ve opened Morgane. As you can see here, the menu is straightforward French, with a few Schiller’s-esque comfort-food additions like the Cuban sandwich and macaroni and cheese. Other nods to McNally include design touches that seem to come straight from Balthazar, as well as baguettes and pastries that actually do come from Balthazar Bakery. Morgane has one thing none of McNally’s restaurants have, though — a lovely back garden. It’ll be open for lunch as well, in the coming days.

Morgane Restaurant & Bar, 340 Bedford Ave., nr. S. 3rd St., Williamsburg; 347-599-0699

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Filed Under: openings, casanis, chloe 81, m kouger, mike townsend, morgane, sebastian maczko, williamsburg

Days after the sexual-harassment lawsuit against Mark Birnbaum hit the net, the Daily News reports that six current and former employees of the Central Park Boathouse have filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that one manager fondled a female employee and made others view naked photos on his cell phone, while another supervisor “talked openly about which waitresses and patrons he wanted to take to bed.” A Boathouse spokesman denies the workers ever complained to higher-ups. [NYDN]

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Filed Under: lawsuits, central park boathouse, sexual harassment

With all the hype that Brooklyn picklers like McClure’s have been getting (Brooklyn Brine just popped up in Hong Kong!), you gotta figure old-timers like Vlasic have been feeling a little bit unhip. And that’s why we weren’t exactly surprised to hear that tonight at David Burke Kitchen, Vlasic will host a “unique farm-to-table journey” — a private tasting of its new “artisanal pickle” line, “Farmer’s Garden.” The publicist’s tease didn’t say much about the pickles other than that they’re “hand-picked, hand-packed, all natural” (oh, and these are “aspirational pickles”), so we got Stefan Aps, the director of marketing at Pinnacle (Vlasic’s parent company) to tell us just what’s so aspirational about these cukes.

Unlike Vlasic’s regular line, says Aps, these contain no preservatives, artificial colors, or artificial flavoring. The cucumbers come from Michigan farms in the summer and from southern states like Florida in the other seasons (and maybe from Mexico if demand should exceed supply). They’re delivered to manufacturing facilities in Michigan and Delaware. Within a few days, they’re packed (for the sake of “color vibrancy and flavoring”) with “visual inclusions” that include whole garlic cloves, pepper strips, whole peppercorns, and carrot slices. Those go in first, then the brine and cucumbers are added by hand as well (there are, of course, assembly lines and conveyor belts involved in this process). There’s a two-to-three-week “calibration period” as the cucumbers absorb the flavor of the vinegar, garlic, and such, and then it’s off to your local supermarket, where we’re told the bottles will sell for a suggested $5.49 — anywhere from 75 cents to $1 more than the usual Vlasics.

As you can see, the jars have a bit of a Brooklyn Brine look, though 24-ounce jars of Brooklyn Brine go for just a little bit more — $10.50 at Marlow & Daughters. So what do you think, Brooklyn jarheads? Will you give these “aspirational pickles” a chance?

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Filed Under: pickle,

In what might be the most horrifying Post headline we’ve read that doesn’t involve a quadruple homicide, the paper declares that “bottle service is back, baby!” In fact, Lavo will soon offer a $10,000 bottle of rosé. And that’s not all its daytime brunches are getting: We’re told that every Saturday at 2 p.m., Lavo will host a “bikini brunch” for dudes who want to leer at scantily clad females but find that out-and-out strip clubs just don’t part them with nearly enough of their money.

That’s right: Guests will be encouraged to dress in bikinis (that means you, ladies!) or “beach chic” (shirts are required for the gents, but sandals are fine). Oh, and you know the hired dancers who normally strut around in gold lamé and get carried around in bath tubs while they throw rose petals? (Please tell us you don’t.) Well, they’ll now be in bikinis and “sexy lifeguard” uniforms. We’re told there’ll even be a real lifeguard stand — though don’t expect anyone to rescue you when you get in way over your head by ordering a $10,000 bottle of rosé. Instead, some guy dressed as a superhero comes out (not kidding here) and congratulates you for being the biggest dumbass in New York City. “F**k the Hamptons,” reads the invite, but you know what? F**k Lavo and its organic corn flakes! You’ll find us over at the Dew Drop Inn from One Crazy Summer.

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Filed Under: nightclubbing, lavo

First quote from Ken Friedman in an Eatocracy piece about celebrity dining: “The first rule at my restaurants is don’t talk about who’s eating at my restaurants.” Last quote: “Plus who wants to sit on stools all the time? I don’t; neither does Charlie Rose.” [Eatocracy/CNN]

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Filed Under: quote of the day, ken friedman

Daily Intel hears from would-be host Matt Damon that a fund-raiser for Anthony Weiner at Almond, the restaurant Anthony’s brother Jason co-owns, has been canceled. A real shame — they could’ve served (yes, it was bound to happen) Anthony Weiner “crotch shots.” [Daily Intel]

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Filed Under: what to drink, almond, anthony weiner, jason weiner

Food & Wine reports that Ryan Skeen (most recently of Fishtag) is doing a pop-up at 10 Wavery Place starting July 13. At TBD (not to be confused with recent pop-ups LTO or JBF LTD), Skeen will do a $50 three-course prix fixe, with guest chefs like Nate Appleman, Katy Sparks, and Michael Psilakis to follow. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]

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Filed Under: openings, jbf ltd, lto, ryan skeen, tbd

A month after Tortilleria Nixtamal opened at Municipal Plaza, the shaved-ice stand we also told you about, Wooly's Ice, has opened as well. Actually, the operator, Danny Che — who’s from the family that owns Deluxe Food Market in Chinatown and is opening it with two cousins who’ve also been involved in that business — is calling his product “snow ice,” since it’s a cross between Hawaiian shaved ice (he uses a Hawaiian machine that cuts ice blocks into thin sheets) and the Taiwanese version, which is loaded with toppings and drizzles. Che’s ice (available in green tea or sweet milk flavors) contains milk, though he says that since it’s still 90 percent water, it’s low calorie (he’s currently working on a non-dairy recipe for lactose-intolerant customers). You can top your “wooly” size ($4) or “mammoth” size ($6) ice cup with ingredients that include Fruity Pebbles, brownie bites, mochi, or fruit (mango, strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi), as well as with a choice of syrups — strawberry, chocolate, or milk. Look for the cart (as shown below) at Duane and Centre Streets, where outdoor seating abounds, until 4 p.m. on weekdays.

Photo: Daniel Maurer

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Filed Under: openings, the great outdoors

Sure, lawmakers are cracking down on nutcracker (first Four Loko and now this, right?), but take heart: While we were perusing the State Senate database, we noticed that a couple of weeks ago, the Senate and Assembly voted to pass a bill, the text of which you can read here, that allows unlicensed venues to sell frozen desserts that contain up to 5 percent wine. A law that did the same for wine ice cream went into effect a couple of years ago, but once this update is signed into law by Governor Cuomo, it’ll expand the desserts that are considered nonalcoholic to sorbet and sherberts (but what about Jell-O?). You can even sell pints of wine sorbet so long as you label it properly. So there you go, nutcracker man — this might be the time to get into the wine-sherbert business.

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Filed Under: booze news,

While Ice-T bemoans the “slushie hustle,” lawmakers are hard at work trying to snuff out another form of liquid sweetness — nutcracker. As DNA Info points out, the New York State Senate has voted 60–0 to pass a bill that would increase penalties for selling booze without a license. The bill, which you can read here, states that “several barbershops, bodegas and other stores are selling illegal and potent alcoholic beverages to minors as young as 14.” If the “nutcracker bill” is passed into law by the state assembly, barbers (as well as others) would now have their licenses revoked, plus face stiffer fines and anywhere from 60 days (it was previously 30 days) to a year in jail. That’s fine by us; we get our nutcracker on the subway anyway.

'Nutcracker Bill' Cracks Down on Booze Sales to Minors [DNA Info]

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Filed Under: booze news, nutcracker

Brian McGrory tells us that he’s hired Christopher Rendell, the chef de cuisine at Double Crown (and before that a sous-chef at Public) as executive chef of his two restaurants, Highlands and Mary Queen of Scots. Rendell is an Australian who picked up an affinity for Asian cuisine while working under another Aussie, Thai food guru David Thompson, but here he’ll be returning to the sort of “modern British” cooking he specialized in as head chef at the Mews of Mayfair in London. He’s not the only Double Crowner that McGrory (himself a Double Crown alum) has picked up: Pastry chef Ryan Butler is also coming aboard. Check out the new menus at Mary Queen of Scots below; Highlands will get a menu update next week.

Mary Queen of Scots Dinner Menu [PDF]
Mary Queen of Scots Dessert Menu [PDF]

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Filed Under: chef shuffle, brian mcgrory, christopher rendell, double crown, highlands, mary queen of scots, public, ryan butler

We recently rounded up some ice-cream news, but if you prefer your sweet treats in gelato or fro-yo form, this post is for you. First, a press release informs us that this summer, popular Greek yogurt brand Chobani will open a 550 square-foot frozen-yogurt shop in the former Swatch store at 150 Prince Street and West Broadway. Midtown Lunch tells us about a new gelato store at Sixth Avenue and 36th, and DNA Info reports that Screme will at some point launch its third outpost, a food cart, on Verdi Square at West 72nd Street and Broadway. We’re also told that Ba’al Café is now serving gelatos and sorbet from Laboratorio. Gelato flavors include pistachio, mission fig, vanilla, and dark chocolate; sorbet flavors include pomegranate, lime mint, and lemon basil. There’s also an olive-oil gelato, so if you’re bummed it's missing from the GelOTTO cart this year, there you have it. (You may also want to know that Ciano is serving asparagus gelato.) Finally, the Wandering Eater had a look inside Amorino, the Italian import we told you about earlier.

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Filed Under: what to eat, amorino, ba'al cafe, chobani, gelato, il laboratorio del gelato, screme

Entrepreneur magazine is the latest to remind us that while sales at so many other chain restaurants are sagging, breastaurants like Hooters are doing perky business. Except the latest ones aren’t all trashy and “blue collar” like Hooters is! Nosirree. The owner of the “Hooters-goes-to-Scotland concept,” Tilted Kilt, says “we are sexy classy, sexy smart or sexy cute. Not sexy stupid or sexy trashy.” An important distinction. And the owner of the lodge-themed Twin Peaks, which according to its website is celebrating “car wash season,” says, “I thought Hooters had taken the low-brow route, and we're taking the high road. We have higher-quality food, and the uniforms on our girls are more finished.” Plus, the waitresses are trained to ask beer drinkers if they “want the man size or the girl size.” See how classy? In all fairness, is Hooters really the lowbrow option if eighth graders are being taken there on field trips, and gentlemen sometimes even meet their dearly beloved wives there? Check out this video, on the Huffington Post today, from the wedding of just such a classy couple.

'Breastaurants' Ring Up Big Profits [Entrepreneur]
Best Man Ruins Wedding (VIDEO) [HuffPo]

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Filed Under: trends, breastaurants

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Filed Under: openings, bed-stuy, do or die

As previously mentioned, the Hester Street Fair plans to open on Sundays for food blowouts along the lines of the Brooklyn Flea’s Smorgasuburg, and the first one, we’re now told, is this weekend. At the Sunday Summer Picnic, there’ll be 25 communal picnic tables, plus Ping-Pong, badminton, and music from the Red Hook Ramblers. New vendors will include Peels pastry chef Shuna Lydon, who’ll be asking $4 for a Peels graham cracker accompanied by the S’More Cake you see here (it’s a Devil’s Food cake frosted with a milk-chocolate ganache and topped with vanilla-marshmallow swirl). Ryan L. Jordan of the Clerkenwell (and before that, the Breslin) will be serving currywurst in a New York pretzel roll. Brooklyn Farmacy will team with Adirondack Creamery to make floats with carrot spice and coconut ice cream, and Purple Yam will be doing their pork spare ribs adobo. Meanwhile, the Pofferjtes Man (who debuted at Hester Street Fair last weekend) will be making mini-Dutch-pancakes that can be topped with strawberries and whipped cream. Check out the rest of the lineup below.

The Teaologist
Melt Bakery
Guss' Pickles
Robicellis
Adirondack
The Jam Stand
The Shaved Ice Shop
P&H Soda
Spatzi
Macaron Parlour
Cemita
Arancini
Clerkenwell
Les Enfants Terribles
The Poffertjes Man
Athni's Greek Food
Daisy Dukes BBQ
Purple Yam
La Sonrisa
Fresh Ginger Ginger Ale & Baos by Bruce Cost
Mighty Balls
La Newyorkina
Brooklyn Farmacy
Peels
Dora

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Filed Under: foodievents, hester street fair, the great outdoors

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Filed Under: financial woes, luca bar

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Filed Under: the other critics, sam sifton

Apartment brokers do the damndest things: We’re currently looking for a one-bedroom apartment downtown (know of anything? E-mail us!) and recently saw a listing that said almost nothing about the apartment but chirped, “Dine at Wo Hops!” First of all, we’ve bought at least five T-shirts from Wo Hop (as it's correctly spelled), but we’re not sure we’d pay $2,000 a month for the privilege of “dining” there ($1,800, maybe). Either way, this apartment complex, Lex Lofts, has taken the whole “steps to all your favorite bars and restaurants!” thing to another level by putting a giant placard on the sidewalk advertising its proximity to Dos Caminos, Rodeo Bar, and — oh yes, our favorite place in the world — Tonic East. That’s right: no photos of apartment interiors or anything, just shots of these highly coveted neighborhood institutions. (In actuality, the building in question is located in Curry Hill — why not hype Chennai Garden or something? Decent South Indian food is pretty hard to find in this town!) Anyway, if you want to “indulge yourself” by being stumbling-in-heels distance from Tonic East, you now know where to live. Studios are $2,600 and one-bedrooms are are $3,800, so have daddy’s checkbook handy, mmkay?

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Filed Under: marketing gimmicks, tonic east, wtf

We didn’t think the culinary offerings of Seaside Heights could get any better (Chipstix, dude — Chipstix), but Wafels & Dinges tells us that it has set up a shop at the entrance of the Big Top Arcade at 1020 North Boardwalk; it’s now open weekends, and starting June 15 it’ll be open daily through Labor Day from 10 a.m. till midnight. Will this lure weekending foodies away from the Rockaway boardwalk? Not exactly a “shore thing,” but who knows …

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Filed Under: other cities, seaside heights, the great outdoors, wafels & dinges

Midtown Lunch reports that Eddie’s Pizza Truck, the go-to for thin-crust bar pies, is launching a cart that will go for test runs in midtown and on the Upper East Side next week. [Midtown Lunch]

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Filed Under: cartography, eddie's pizza truck

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gail Dosik of One Tough Cookie has decided to publicize defend the name of her Greenwich Village bakery by suing the Food Network, which is developing a “baking reality show” called Tough Cookies. [Esq./HR]

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Filed Under: lawsuits, one tough cookie, tough cookies

After we spent yesterday obsessing over lobster rolls, Oceana executive chef Ben Pollinger wrote in to tell us that he has teamed up with local lobster wholesaler Homarus and they’ve been quietly selling rolls at local street fairs. Throughout the summer, they’ll be offering up rolls inspired by Maine (with light lobster mayo and thinly sliced celery), Connecticut (with warm butter and sea salt), and, uh, Saigon (the “lobster bánh mì” features sweet chile sauce, cucumber, daikon, carrots, and cilantro). Greatest Lobster Roll has already reviewed the Maine and Connecticut rolls; try them yourself this Saturday at Third Avenue around 80th and 81st Streets, and next Saturday in Brooklyn at the 7th Avenue Street Fair.

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Filed Under: foodievents, ben pollinger, homarus, lobster rolls, oceana, street fairs

The New Amsterdam Market kicks off its summer season this Sunday and continues most Sundays till September through December, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A few things of note: Maryland crab cakes start-up National Crab will try to steal some attention from Maine lobster rolls; Greenpoint’s Bellocq Tea Atelier (currently selling its full-leaf, organic teas only by appointment but soon opening widely) will be pouring iced Thai basil-lemongrass tea; Pie Corps will sell sweet pies (rhubarb, etc.) as well as savory ones, such as a fried-chicken pie with buttermilk gravy and greens; P&H Soda will team with La Newyorkina to introduce ice-cream sodas (and in other ice-cream news, Early Bird Cookery will be serving goat-cheese-and-walnut ice cream as well as other flavors — including perhaps hay! — starting June 12); and finally, sometime this month Brooklyn Brine will be frying lightly pickled seasonal produce.

We’re told the fried pickles paired with seasonal condiments like ramp aïoli and garlic scape oil are a preview of what’s in store when Brooklyn Brine, which has been sharing kitchen space with Mile End, opens a brick-and-mortar location later this summer, in a location that has yet to be announced (safe to say it’ll be in Brooklyn). As for the New Amsterdam Market’s 40-plus other vendors, check them out here.

Correction: Brooklyn Brine will be previewing the brick-and-mortar location sometime this month, not this weekend as stated in a previous headline.

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Filed Under: foodievents, new amsterdam market, the great outdoors

It really is the time of year for lobster launches: We told you about the latest roll vendor earlier today, and just hours ago, Lobster Joint announced it's opening in Greenpoint. You can see some interior shots and the menu by chef Justin Ernsberger (formerly executive chef of Walter Foods and Mermaid Inn, and a consultant at Lure Fishbar) by visiting its Facebook page. Meanwhile, check out our slideshow of the fifth Luke’s location (that count includes the recent truck) and you’ll see the beach-shack aesthetic is in full effect here, with the addition of a takeout window for lobster rolls. Lobster Joint is open till 2 a.m., but Luke's is keeping earlier hours: It'll be open weekdays from 10:30 a.m. till 9 p.m., and (initially) from noon till 8 p.m. on weekends. The menu is below; beer is “coming soon.”

Luke's Lobster menu [PDF]
Lobster Joint menu [Facebook]
Lobster Joint drinks list [Facebook]

Luke’s Lobster, 26 South William St., nr. Broad St.; 212-747-1700
Lobster Joint, 1073 Manhattan Ave., nr. Eagle St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn; 718-389-8990

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Filed Under: slideshow, financial district, greenpoint, luke's lobster, openings, the lobster joint

Hugue Dufour tells Edible Queens that although he likes Korean fried chicken, he probably won’t be doing it at M. Wells anytime soon, since “everyone’s doing fried chicken”; he does, however, want to get a gyro spit so he can make sandwiches consisting of “all sorts of meats stacked up, even with foie gras on top leaking all over the meat.” Meanwhile, Josh Ozersky (who just announced the next phase of Ozersky.tv) tells us that not only is Eddie Huang (currently stinting at LTO) joining the roster of Meatopia on July 23 (he’ll do a “Taiwanese Ultra-Meat Mix” of oxtail, pig feet, and beef cheeks over rice), but a handful of the previously announced chefs have unveiled their dishes for the event. Here’s a partial list of what to expect, including a “Jewish Bánh Mì” from Noah Bernamoff of Mile End.

Sean Brock, Husk (SC): An Ossabaw pig will be cooked over Wood Embers and Pig Bone Charcoal
Ignacio Mattos, Uruguyan grill master: whole roasted veal rib cage, with sweetbreads and chimichurri
Akthar Nawab, La Esquina: Crispy duck parts w/ pumpkin seed “mole,” aged cotija cheese, and chocolate
Noah Bernamoff, Mile End: Jewish Banh Mi - Petcha, ground veal, garlic chopped liver
Aaron Sanchez, Centrico: Whole Goat Monterey-Style Tacos with Pickled Onion
Nate Appleman, Chipotle: Chorizo Tostadas with Tomatillo Salsa and Queso Fresco

Tickets are, of course, available here.

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Filed Under: foodievents, eddie huang, hugue dufour, m. wells, meatopia, mile end, noah bernamoff

The question of the week isn’t “who owns the Chiefs?” but rather “who owns Stumptown?” Finally, Diner’s Journal gets founder Duane Sorenson and new investor Alexander S. Panos to comment on the nature of their arrangement. Sorenson says, “I still own Stumptown,” and Alexander S. Panos confirms: “He controls the company. I’m just an investor.” Here’s the interesting part: Oliver Strand reports that Stumptown “plans to open two coffee bars in Brooklyn, add a bottling facility to its roaster in Red Hook for its cold-brewed coffee and, Duane Sorenson, Stumptown’s founder, says the company will try to open roasters in Chicago and San Francisco.” The Brooklyn bars will open this fall.

Stumptown Expands With the Help of a Powerful Investor [Diner's Journal/NYT]

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Filed Under: empire building, duane sorenson, stumptown

The meat-slingers over at Bowery Beef tell us that their shop was broken into last night and then robbed again this morning. As far as restaurant disasters go, it doesn’t hold a candle to the fire that recently befell Bruce Buschel’s Hamptons restaurant, but it’s a sign the old Bowery still has some fight left in it. Ray LeMoine e-mailed to tell us about the “bold junkies” at work.

In the last few months since opening Bowery Beef, a cafe and roast beef sandwich shop, we've seen some spectacular bum crime. Like the time a guy in a Minor Threat shirt and plaid pants with green hair tried stealing a dude's bike at the Irish pub nextdoor and got caught and broke a window, before getting pummeled by staff. The crusty started crying, dropping a girl's Louis Vutton purse he'd snatched that was full of weed (score!).

Most notably, in the last week nights our register has been robbed three times. By the third attempt the take was approximately $6 in coinage--pretty baller. Last night they just took the whole register. This morning, just after opening, another cool junkie snatched aniPod from behind the counter while our barrista used the bathroom. In the last seven days crime has cost us over $1000. Of course, we are a unique operation. Our cafe is the entryway to the Bowery Poetry Club, known for open mic poetry slams, sweet late-night funk fusion concerts and "Ladies in Free B4 11"-style ragers. But they post a security guard in the cafe. So these are some bold junkies.

Strangely, the shop’s copy of The Shape of Medieval History was spared.

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Filed Under: crime scenes, bowery beef, ray lemoine

Luke’s Lobster will open its financial district location at 26 South William Street tomorrow morning (we’re told the twenty-seat space will have a “lobster roll express window” that opens onto the street for lunch crowds!), and believe it or not, that might not be the most exciting lobster news we have for you today. That’s because Elena Scotti, a former advertising entrepreneur who got to know the lobstermen of Mount Desert Island, Maine, while she ran a community center there for three years, has started Lots O’ Lobstah (LOL for short). You may indeed be tempted to laugh out loud at the fact that she’s selling her rolls at city street fairs along with gyro and sausage vendors like this clown, but Scott is truly serious about giving New Yorkers a “fresh, truly direct-from-the-sea product.” So serious that she’s having a small pound in Mount Desert Island ship lobsters to her overnight, so she can stuff split-top buns (also from Maine) with a mix of claw, knuckle, and tail meat. At $15, she says her rolls are cheaper than they are at her supplier’s place up north.

Not only that, but in addition to the cold, mayo-slathered variety (no hot butter here), she’s experimenting with a “spicy New York City” roll that’s sprinkled with chives and celery rather than parsley, plus another that's dressed with vinaigrette. Ultimately, Scotti is hoping to be chosen as a Parks concessionaire. She tells us she’s “not that crazy about the food truck craze because of the pollution levels,” and adds that her M.O. will be “much more low-key and higher quality.” For the moment, that means weekend street fairs — this Sunday, she’ll be on Third Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets from 11 a.m. till 4 p.m., and next Saturday she’ll be at Broadway between Prince and Spring Streets. After that, you can keep up with Lots O’ Lobstah via Facebook.

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Filed Under: openings, lobster rolls, lots of lobstah, luke's lobster, this is how we roll

Dallas BBQ has always made interesting marketing decisions, like that giant photo of a shrimp cocktail. And yet when we saw this latest advertisement gracing the East Village location we thought, Wow. Just, wow. What, you ask, is a Blue Crush? We’re told it’s a twenty-ounce frozen Long Island Iced Tea with a float of Bacardi 151 and “blue syrup.” So the tagline, “It’s intoxicating”? Unlike the time BBQ tried to pass off Spike Lee as the auteur of its frozen apple martini, this is probably not a case of false advertising.

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Filed Under: badvertising, dallas bbq

Thomas Kelly of Mexicue confirms a Real Deal report (mentioned by the Lo-Down but apparently not online) that the truck will be opening a store at 106 Forsyth, near Broome Street. “As part of our plans to expand Mexicue this summer, we are indeed renting kitchen space at 106 Forsyth St. and we're very excited to be joining that vibrant community,” Kelly tells us over email. “At some point, we will be opening a restaurant in that space, but for now we're focusing our efforts on the restaurant opening this summer at 345 7th Avenue, between 29th and 30th.” You heard right: Two Mexicue stores are in the works, and the Chelsea one is coming this summer. Keep posted on that store’s opening date here.

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Filed Under: openings, mexicue, truckin'

Sazon owner Genaro Morales is suing the city, the State Liquor Authority, and Community Board 1 for denying his request to stay open later. According to NY1, “Morales alleges the complaints and the restrictions put on his restaurant by Community Board 1 are racially motivated, because his establishment brings in a minority clientele to the upscale neighborhood.” (NY1 also reports that workers at Upper West Side Mexican joint Gabriela’s are suing the owners for sexual harassment, age discrimination, and failure to pay overtime.) Meanwhile, in what may end up being another legal battle, the State Liquor Authority, according to Eater, has revoked the liquor license of John Fraser’s pop-up What Happens When. Which finally answers the question: What happens when a liquor licensee allegedly allows someone who’s not on the license to sell booze without informing the SLA? Fraser, who is appealing, says that for the remainder of the pop-up, he and his team “will not be serving any alcohol and are unable to accommodate BYOB.”

Two Manhattan Latin Restaurants Enter Legal Battles [NY1]
SLA Revokes What Happens When's Liquor License [Eater NY]

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Filed Under: booze news, jon frasier, nightlife, sazon, what happens when

Remember when Mulberry Street’s Il Piccolo Bufalo hoisted a gigantic dog above its door? The mutt scampered off, and now, two years later, this is on the sidewalk. (Apologies for the Blackblurry photo.) Was it the most bizarre thing we saw in Little Italy yesterday evening? No — that would be this swarm of bees. But still: File this one alongside that weird thing that was outside of Downtown Cipriani.

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Filed Under: trimmings, wtf art

We still haven’t heard back from Stumptown regarding rival roaster Todd Carmichael’s assertion that “Duane Sorenson, the founder of Stumptown, the Che Guevara of the rock-star barista movement, sold his life's work to the highest bidder.” But a Stumptown rep tells Willamette Week that “Duane has a friend who’s invested some money into Stumptown to help us grow — to open up a couple of cafes, maybe a market.” Based on documents the Portland weekly has unearthed, that friend would seem to be Alexander Stavros Panos of TSG Consumer Partners, which has invested in Vitaminwater and Voss Water in the past. That said, Sorenson is “still very much in charge of the company,” so all you folks who’ve been saying that Stumptown is turning into Starbucks for over a year now, chill out.

State Documents Show Shift Atop Stumptown Coffee [Willamette Week]

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Filed Under: coffee talk, duane sorenson, stumptown

As mentioned yesterday, the Finger on the Pulse barbecues are back. At the first one (at Good Co. on June 15, from 7 p.m. till 10 p.m.), Buddakan co-executive chef Brian Ray will be on the grill, and D.J.'s Pocketknife and Picture House will be on the decks. Advance tickets (which get you guaranteed admission and other perks) are available here for $10, or just show up and get in free. Elsewhere in Brooklyn, over in Gowanus, the waterfront patch of grass at 400 Carroll Street that was formerly BKLYN Yard has been reborn as Gowanus Grove, and Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin from Sunday Best have started hosting Mister Sunday parties there. Those advance tickets are $10 as well and available here. From 3 till 9 p.m. on Sundays, there’s beer, wine, and sangria, plus food from Mile End, Country Boys, and Botanica.

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Filed Under: the great outdoors, finger on the pulse, foodievents, gowanus, gowanus grove, mister sunday, sunday best

This just in: Smashburger’s first New York City location, originally slated to hit downtown Brooklyn in April, now has an official opening date of June 9, less than a month after being beaten to the punch by Jake’s Wayback Burgers nearby.

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Filed Under: the chain gang, smashburger

Just in time for summer, Stumptown has introduced its cold-brewed house blend in 10.5-ounce “stubby” bottles — perhaps the best thing to happen to bottled coffee since Manhattan Special. According to Ristretto, the stubbies will be available here by July 1. In the meantime, New York Press reports that Stumptown growlers are being sold at Nolita Mart. Yes, that’s 64 ounces of cold-brew for $3.99 (cost of the growler) plus $13.99 (cost of death by caffeination). As huge as that news is, it apparently isn’t the biggest thing happening in Stumptown’s world: Over at Eat Like a Man, La Colombe owner and coffee-world rabble-rouser Todd Carmichael writes that “some days ago... Duane Sorenson, the founder of Stumptown, the Che Guevara of the rock-star barista movement, sold his life's work to the highest bidder.”

Though Carmichael says he’s “legally bound” against giving details, he accuses the roaster of “selling itself to Wall Street,” and says it’s now “a big-money ‘brand,’” though he also says that Sorenson will “remain as frontman.” It’s all very nebulous and Carmichael ends up plugging La Colombe as a Stumptown alternative, so who knows what’s going on here; we have a call in to Stumptown and will let you know if they confirm, deny, or fill us in.

The End of Stumptown, America's Hippest Coffee Brand [Eat Like a Man/Esquire]
Ristretto | Stumptown Stubbies
[Ristretto/NYT]
The New Cool [NY Press]

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Filed Under: coffee talk, la colombe, stumtown

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Filed Under: openings, bronx, nicky’s bbq & beer garden

The Limelight Marketplace is changing concepts, and by fall it’ll be simply Limelight — a Barneys-like department store that won’t have so many retailers. Other than Grimaldi’s, it’s uncertain which food vendors will stay. “One of the things we're starting to do,” operator Jack Menashe tells The Wall Street Journal, “is to add a level of sophisticatedness to it, if that's a word.” Indeed, the Limelight reached a whole new level of “sophisticatedness” when Todd English’s CrossBar opened there last Wednesday. Here, English is showcasing a “modern interpretation of head-to-tail pork cooking” (how very Fergus Henderson of him!). That means everything from puffed pig ears to suckling pig dinners for you and several of your friends (available 48 hours in advance). The wines are divided into “Old Testament” and “New Testament,” and the cocktails (courtesy of Doug Draper — no relation to Don) include housemade bitters and ingredients like smoked root beer. As for the beer beer, you can sip the cask-conditioned variety — on the 80-seat patio, or in the upstairs or downstairs dining rooms. See the menus below.

CrossBar Lunch Menu
CrossBar Dinner Menu
CrossBar Beverage Menu
CrossBar Bar Menu

CrossBar, 47 W. 20th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-359-5550

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Filed Under: openings, crossbar, grimaldi's, limelight marketplace, todd english

The Times reports that Los Angelinos are already lining up for the week-old location of Papaya King; Grub Street Los Angeles ran a slideshow of the location last week, including its sign: “WE’RE 100% NATURAL BUT WE THINK WE’LL FIT IN L.A. JUST FINE.”

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Filed Under: other cities, los angeles, papaya king

Frozen yogurt is so 2008, but the design firm Dune is trying to make it all 2010: A Space Odyssey. BlackBook has a look at the “visionary design” behind Flavaboom, a new Union Square spot that despite its name, was not opened by Flavor Flav. Truth is, aside from a somewhat futuristic décor and the Champagne served at its opening party, the place looks pretty much the same as other fro-yo shops. When is someone going to open one where the machine blends the toppings into the yogurt for you? They do this at the Ice Cream Café in Orleans, Massachusetts, and man is it good — look into it, people!

Flavaboom Brings Visionary Design to the Fro-Yo Game
[BlackBook]

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Filed Under: openings, flavaboom, frozen yogurt

With crowds swelling at the Frying Pan, you’re going to need a few fallbacks for outdoor carousing, and here’s one of them: the Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club, nestled in the corner of South Street Seaport that formerly belonged to Water Taxi Beach. As we mentioned when we showed you the menu and shared all the deets, this one opens today. Yay! Have a look around via our slideshow.

The Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club, 89 South St., north side of Pier 17, nr. Beekman St.

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Filed Under: slideshow, beekman beer garden beach club, openings, water taxi beach

While the literary set clamored to get into Elaine’s last night, a less seasoned crowd of Ray-Ban wearers queued up for the Frying Pan. Seen here is the epic line (which continues onto the gangplank) after the barge and boat reached capacity around 7 p.m. yesterday. It was over 100 strong, and if you don’t believe it, take a look at the photo below, taken near the front of the line.

Photo: Daniel Maurer

Golly, jeepers! Remember the days when you could take over the boat for your birthday for a few hundred dollars? Now you’re lucky if you get onto it at all.

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Filed Under: spot check, the frying pan

So if Graydon Carter is no longer interested in buying Elaine’s ("if you live downtown, 89th and Second Avenue is really a serious hike,” he explained to the Observer), then who is? According to the Post today, the owners of P. J. Clarke’s are “negotiating to buy Elaine's and reopen it as part of their chain.” Earlier today we recounted the final night — Elaine’s regular and PIX 11 reporter Marvin Scott also has video footage from the scene. Dr. Ruth was there (!), and Alec Baldwin says, “I want to know what’s going to come here after this. That’s what I’m curious [about]. Because this spot isn’t going to die. It just can’t. That’s just ridiculous.”

Hundreds Turnout, Tempers Flare For Elaine's Last Call [WPIX]
Elaine's Finale [NYP]
Earlier: Lipton, Lapham, Talese, and Others Have One Last Drink at Elaine’s

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Filed Under: closings, alec baldwin, dr. ruth, elaine's, p.j. clarke's

Speaking of rapper-restaurateurs, Flavor Flav (who recently admitted to blowing $2,600 a day on drugs and owning over 100 clocks) tells The Daily that he wants to bring his troubled chicken joint to NYC: “Hell yeah, I’m bringing FFC home, I’m doing that s*** here.” [Daily]

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Filed Under: empire building, dare to dream, flav's fried chicken, flavor flav

Memorial Day is upon us, and that means it’s time to drag out the ol’ Weber and grill your eyebrows off. To that end, Gourmet has released a special grilling issue that features 96 recipes broken down by category, plus a grilling primer, and Food Network Magazine chimes in with a special issue that includes a backyard get-together with Guy Fieri’s family and all that jazz. Online, Esquire’s blog presents the 2011 Eat Like a Man Grilling Awards, featuring tips from Jake Dickson of Dickson's Farmstand Meats, Michael Schwartz of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami, and some 16-year-old kid with a fried-pickle recipe. The Feast has a "Competitive Pitmasters’ Guide to Mastering The Grill," featuring precious advice from our man Ed Mitchell: “Pair your barbecue with Moonshine. MOONSHINE!" Over at Food Republic, Alton Brown has some gear advice (he uses his wife’s hair dryer). Eatocracy has some tips as well, and Serious Eats has a slideshow on grilling “Flintstone-sized double-cut bone-in big-enough-to-serve-two-fully-grown-Thundercats ribeye steaks.” That site also has general primers on kettle grilling and smoking, plus ten grilling tips and a rundown of regional barbecue sauces available by mail.

Meanwhile, on the bookshelves, Lourdes Castro has followed up Simply Mexican with Latin Grilling: Recipes to Share, from Patagonian Asado to Yucatecan Barbecue and More, featuring 90 recipes arranged by ten Latin American countries’ style of cookouts. The publisher of that $22 book, Ten Speed Press, has also published The Japanese Grill: From Classic Yakitori to Steak, Seafood and Vegetables, written by Japanese Hot Pot authors Tadashi Ono (executive chef at Matsuri) and food writer Harris Salat. And finally, Aussie chef (and New York Diet alum) Pete Evans has written My Grill: Outdoor Cooking Australian Style, featuring 100 recipes — including cocktails. Some of them are included in yet another grilling issue, from Food & Wine. That issue also includes Joel Stein on how barbecue made him a man, and some barbecue tips from Chris Lilly.

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Filed Under: other magazines, alton brown, bookshelf, dickson's farmstand meats, latin grilling, lourdes castro, my grill, pete evans, the japanese grill

Last year we ran a neon-splashed slideshow of the fried Oreo, funnel cake, and chicken-on-a-stick stands at the Kings County Fair (despite its name, it’s actually a traveling carnival from Florida). Last night, a glowing Ferris wheel on the horizon alerted us that the fair is back, and it’ll be at Floyd Bennett Field through the weekend. We’re happy to report the mobile mini-mart that sells sneakers in a bag is also selling pickled sausages, one of our favorite things in life — find it right next to the tent of wonders where you can see a chupacabra skeleton (fake) and a two-headed cow (real!). Also on site from 5 p.m. till around 10 or 11 p.m., when the fair closes, is Kinfolks BBQ.

Photo: Daniel Maurer

Pitmaster Sylvester English tells us he opened the Tallahassee-based mobile catering unit about five years ago, and since then he’s been in about 200 competitions and even taken home a few trophies. During the four months he’s in Florida, he sells ’cue at FSU games; the rest of the year, he travels with a couple dozen fairs (he’ll also be appearing at Floyd Bennett Field’s Native American Heritage Festival from June 3 till 5). English says he’s best known for putting a “Flordia-style deep smoke” on his ribs, which can be topped with Carolina-style sauce. He’s also smoking chicken with cherry wood, and brisket and pork butts with oak and hickory. Check out the rest of his menu below, and rest assured portions are generous.

Ribs - $7 sandwich, $10 platter
Chicken - $7 sandwich, $10 platter
Pulled Pork - $7 sandwich, $10 platter
2 Meats - $10 sandwich, $12 platter
3 Meats - $12 sandwich, $14 platter
Half Slabs - $14 sandwich, $16 platter
Whole Slabs - $24

Fried tilapia - $7
Ox tail dinner - $12
Fried jumbo shrimp - $10
Fish & shrimp combo - $12
Jumbo smoked turkey legs - $8

Sides
Cole Slaw
French fries
Collard greens
Mac & cheese
Yellow rice
Baked beans

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Filed Under: foodievents, barbecue, florida, kinfolks, kings county fair, sylvester english, tallahassee

Competitive-eating fans, if you missed last week’s pickle-eating contest at Carnegie Deli, swallow your tears: The Go! Go! Curry Eating Championships will be live-streamed this Saturday at 5 p.m. and a finalist from Japan will go up against the American finalists. Meanwhile, according to Major League Eating, the New York qualifier for the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Championship takes place at Citi Field on June 4; contestants will of course be competing for a chance to eat at the big one on July 4.

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Filed Under: foodievents, carnegie deli, competitive eating, go! go! curry, nathans

The Hester Street Fair tells us that in addition to its usual vendors (shown here is a heaping helping from the Shaved Ice Shop, formerly Bao Bing), it’ll be inviting one truck per week to perch at its gates, starting with the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck this Saturday, then Sweetery on June 4 (when Leah Cohen will also be serving her Southeast Asian street food at a booth), Schnitzel & Things on June 11, Bistro Truck on June 18, and Bian Dang on June 25.

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Filed Under: foodievents, hester street fair, truckin'

Last night a tipster sent word that Nikki Cascone’s restaurant, Octavia’s Porch, had closed after just six months. We haven’t yet heard back from reps, but a post on EV Grieve would seem to confirm it: A sign on the door regrets to inform that the global Jewish spot is “no longer operating.” [EV Grieve]

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Filed Under: closings, nikki cascone, octavia's porch

Oh, here’s another outdoor food festival: Meatopia is back! Organizer Josh Ozersky won’t be working with Jimmy Carbone this year (he has his hands full with the Brewers’ Pic-NYC this weekend); instead, he tells us he’s teamed with CREaM, the producers of Rachael Ray’s Burger Bash: “Believe me, they weren’t cheap.” In fact, Sir Cutlets predicts the blowout will be “horrifically expensive,” since he’s paying each chef $1,000 and also providing product — including whole lambs for Seamus Mullen and (we can tell you exclusively) whole Greek lambs for Michael Psilakis. Another thing he’s working on? Getting whole buffalo for Mike Cirino of A Razor, A Shiny Knife. “I’m trying to see whether it’s in his power to fabricate a cage to cook an entire whole buffalo on site,” Ozersky says. “It’s a piece of specialty equipment — you can’t just go to the barbecue store and get something to cook a buffalo in.” True, true. Another exclusive reveal: L.A.’s Ludo Lefebvre will be there, on hanger-steak duty, and he won’t be the only out-of-town chef; in fact, we’re told this will be a “summit of the great meat chefs in the country.” Here, then, is the lineup.

THE CHEFS:

Naomi Pomeroy, Beast (Portland, OR)

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal (Los Angeles, CA)

Sean Brock, Husk (Charleston SC)*

Michael White, Osteria Morini (New York, NY)

April Bloomfield, The Spotted Pig (New York, NY)*

Nate Appleman,Chipotle Mexican Grill (New York, NY)

Floyd Cardoz, North Fork Grill, (New York, NY)

Chris Hastings, Hot and Hot Fish Club (Birmingham AL)

Joey Campanaro, the little owl (New York, NY)

Joe Ng Red Farm (New York, NY)

Seamus Mullen, Tertulia (New York, NY)*

Aaron Sanchez, Centrico (New York, NY)*

Adam Sappington, The Country Cat (Portland, OR)

Amanda Freitag, formerly of the Harrison (New York, NY)

Eduard Frauneder, Edi & the Wolf (New York, NY)

Anthony Goncalves, 42 (Westchester, NY)

Franklin Becker, Abe & Arthur’s (New York, NY)

Harold Moore, Commerce (New York, NY)

Ron Silver, Bubby’s (Brooklyn, NY)

Serafim Ferdeklis, BZ Grill (Astoria, NY)

Yuhi Fujinaga, Bar Basque (New York, NY)*

Julia Jaksic, Employees Only (New York, NY)

Robbie Richter, Fatty Cue (Brooklyn, NY)

Charles Grund Jr, Hill Country (New York, NY and Washington, DC)

Ricky King, Hundred Acres (New York, NY)

Philippe Massoud, ilili (New York, NY)

Akhtar Nawab, La Esquina (New York, NY)

Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, The Meatball Shop (New York, NY)

Noah Bernamoff, Mile End Delicatessen (Brooklyn, NY)

Fred Donnelly, Mo Gridder’s BBQ (Bronx, NY)

Eric Johnson, Mr. Bobo’s Traveling BBQ Allstars (Albany, NY)

Brad Farmerie, Public (New York, NY)

Scott Smith, RUB BBQ (New York, NY)

Bobby Hellen, Resto (New York, NY)

Robert Newton, Seersucker (Brooklyn, NY)*

Orhan Yegan, Sip Sak and Bi Lokma (New York, NY)

Sam Barbieri, Waterfront Ale House (New York, NY and Brooklyn, NY)

John Schafer, Wildwood BBQ (New York, NY)

Craig Koketsu, Quality Meats, Park Avenue Summer and The Hurricane Club (New York, NY)

*Denotes “Whole Animal Chef”

And several special guest chefs to be announced later!

Tickets for the event, which takes place at Brooklyn Bridge Park July 23, are going for $85 (for unlimited tastings), $130 (for that plus unlimited beer and a T-shirt), and $195 (for that plus an hour of early access and VIP access). Find out more here.

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Filed Under: foodievents, meatopia

News from LTO today: The one and only Eddie Huang of Baohaus and Xiao Ye will be replacing current pop-up chef Leah Cohen when her stint ends there (by the way, tonight as well as tomorrow and on Friday, Cohen is offering a $55 three-course dinner in addition to the five-course option). From June 3 till 9, Huang will serve a five-course family-style dinner that’s $88 per head, with the additional option of pairing courses with Four Loko beer, Champagne, and a Pimms Cup. The feast, as you can see from Huang’s explanation as well as the menu, is centered around blue crabs, and Huang isn’t the only one doing the crab thing: The Mermaid Inn has announced that from Sunday till next Tuesday, all three locations will be offering a crab boil complete with the bibs and mallets. $24 gets you a bucket of Maryland Blue Crabs, cornbread, red bliss tomatoes, and grilled corn on the cob. Here’s Huang on the LTO dinner, plus a video documenting the Fatty Crew’s recent stint at the restaurant.

Born in the DMV, raised in Florida, made in NY, this is what American food looks like to me. Go into any Chinese person's home on Thanksgiving and you probably have turkey with fried rice and some sort of horrible Great Wall Wine. For chinos near the Potomac, blue crab season was better than thanksgiving. We'd catch crabs with raw chicken on a rope and steam them with old bay. You took the crabs out on the back porch and every thing was eaten over the Sunday Post. While neighbors ate them with corn and potatoes, we'd pair it with homemade pickles, cold noodles, and maybe even sliced beef tendon. This June at LTO, we're gonna do a blue crab dinner inspired by the Chinese South. In New Orleans, you see Vietnamese people bringing their flavors to crawfish and po boys. In Atlanta, Koreans set up shop alongside Waffle Houses. Well, this Chinaman came to New York, and this is what he eats.

Fresh Off the Boat Dinner

First Course

Icebox Duck Wings

Fried Oyster Po Baos w/ Pate

Hunan Corn Kernels w/ Leeks and Ham Hock

Chino Boudin Sausage

Second Course

Sesame Liang Pi Salad

Salt Cod and Chinese Broccoli Fried Rice

137 Fried Gator Tail

FOB Chicken

Third Course

Hush Puppies

Shanghai Steamed Blue Crabs

DMV Steamed Blue Crabs

Fourth Course

Soy Caramel Bread Pudding a la Mode

$88/person Served Family Style
Pairing: $55
Champagne, Gruner, Juicy Red, Beer, Pimm’s Cup

Fatty 'Cue at Limited Time Only, NYC from ListenIn Pictures on Vimeo.

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Filed Under: foodievents, bauhaus, eddie huang, lto, mermaid inn, xiao xing

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Filed Under: ferran, el bulli, sam sifton

Remember all those screeds about how foodies are just so annoying? Add a couple more to the pile. Esquire’s food correspondent John Mariani speaks out against locavores, because no one has done that recently: “What I don't love is how self-described locavores believe they are a new breed of cult-like idealists who have adapted the word coined by Jessica Prentice at the 2005 World Environment Day in — where else? — San Francisco and now make themselves out to be missionaries for a concept with a large ‘duh?’ factor.” Take some deep breaths, Johnny boy, because you’re not alone: On Jane magazine’s blog, Jessica Olien feels compelled to tell us why she “hate[s] foodies, especially foodie men, who somehow making even preparing simple foods a macho, one-sided event,” and who “want to linger at farmer’s markets are like obsessive teenage boys at a vinyl shop.” Hey, maybe these guys should go on a date — at McDonald’s.

Men I’m Over: Foodies [XO Jane]
Locavore, Shmocavore [Eat Like a Man/Esquire]

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Filed Under: rants, foodies, john mariani, locavores

For a while now, we’ve heard whispers that Kingston, New York’s destination butcher shop, Fleisher’s (where Julie Powell, Tom Mylan of the Meat Hook, and other local sustainable meat mavens famously cut their teeth), is opening a store in Park Slope, and now an announcement on their site makes it official: It’ll open in September across from Bierkraft, at 192 Fifth Avenue. Jessica Applestone tells Brooklyn Based, “The offerings will be no different from what we offer in Kingston but we have more prepared frozen entrees. We already offer pot pies, shepherd’s pie but there will be more options like that.” The shop will have “a really old-fashioned, old-school butcher feel,” and there will be delivery.

It’s a busy time for Jessica and her husband, Josh: Next Thursday they’ll celebrate the release of their new book with Alexandra Zissu, The Butcher’s Guide to Well-Raised Meat, at Powerhouse Arena from 7 till 9 p.m. RSVP here.

Fleisher's Park Slope coming this Fall! [Fleisher's via Brooklyn Based]

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Filed Under: openings, bierkraft, fleisher's, julie powell, kingston, park slope, tom mylan

When the West Village Gray’s Papaya started serving 99-cent slices, we thought, Okay, weird, but whatever — just don’t raise those hot-dog prices again. Well, now the Upper West Side location is set to do just that: West Side Rag notices a sign in the window that reads: “MURDER! We are getting killed by the galloping inflation in food costs. Unlike politicians we cannot raise the debt ceiling and are forced to raise our very reasonable prices. Please don't hate us.” Hate you? Never. We’re just … disappointed. [West Side Rag]

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Filed Under: price check, gray's papaya, hot dogs

Now that everyone’s done stressin’ about Prime 6, a couple of other establishments near the Barclays Center are catching heat. For one, Scott Alling of Social Eatz is hoping to open Player’s Gastro Pub and Sportsbar at Pacific and Flatbush, with food from Angelo Sosa as well as Mamoun’s. According to the Park Slope Patch, which had previously reported that the space’s landlord is seeking “’Dave and Busters’ type entertainment,” Alling has had to reassure neighbors that there won’t be dancing and the place won’t be open past 2 a.m. Meanwhile, right next to the address, a new eatery called Machavelle Sports Bar & Lounge managed to open without apparently going through the community board (Machiavellian indeed!), and neighbors don’t like the fact that it has tinted windows: “It’s a mystery with the windows all dark,” says a neighbor who considers the place “loud and trashy”: “It makes you wonder what’s going on in there.” Maybe go in, buy a beer, and find out?

Player’s Gastro Pub Agrees to Community Concessions [Park Slope Patch]
Another Sports Bar for Atlantic Yards Area - And This One’s Already Open [Park Slope Patch]

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Filed Under: openings, angelo sosa, machavelle sports bar & lounge, mamouns, nightlife, player’s gastro pub and sportsbar, social eatz

Hey, Brooklyn? Those fancy new coffee bars Subway is opening? You might just be getting one. Last year we made a discovery as nauseating as the chain’s patented “rotten butthole” odor: There are more Subway sandwich shops in New York City than there are subway stops. (Fun fact: Subway’s BMT sandwich originally stood for Brooklyn Manhattan Transit — it now stands for Biggest, Meatiest, Tastiest.) Now the Post shares some news that’s harder to swallow than a foot of stale bread stuffed with limp lettuce: “We are going full tilt on expanding in Brooklyn,” says Satan’s Subway’s Brooklyn development agent. What does "full tilt" mean? Well, they’re aiming to open 100 stores by 2012, and then, says this scary man, “There will be a new goal for 2015.” And that goal will be putting a Subway on top of Grand Army Plaza, blasting bread funk all over the Greenmarket, and just laughing at you, Brooklyn — just laughing at you.

Subway Series [NYP]

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Filed Under: the chain gang, brooklyn, subway

The owners of Vinegar Hill House give the Post a little bit more about their next-door café: Sam Buffa says the twenty-seat spot will be on the casual side — a “place to get coffee or get lunch” by day and a place “to relax at night.” Yesterday they reported that Emma Hearst of Sorella and Stellina is planning to open a “small steak-driven eatery” serving beef from her family’s cattle ranch — perhaps on the block that she calls “a little bit underdeveloped” (Fork in the Road takes issue with that).

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Filed Under: openings, emma hearst, sam buffa, sorella, stellina, vinegar hill house

The Villager reports that neighborhood activist Janet Freeman has died of lung cancer at the age of 60. Some considered Freeman “an unrecognized Lower East Side heroine” for her championing of tenant rights, but as the title of an Observer profile had it, she was also considered the “Queen Busy Bee of Elizabeth Street” by the brokers and operators whom she butted heads with in community board meetings. Her biggest success there was her stand against Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce, the club that was slated to go around the corner from her Elizabeth Street apartment of over 30 years (that apartment is shown here). Freeman’s services were yesterday.

Janet Freeman, 60, tenant activist [Villager]

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Filed Under: r.i.p., community boards, forty deuce, ivan kane, janet freeman, nolita

We’ve seen the food and art worlds collide many times before. Tomorrow, Jiminie Ha of Chinatown gallery W/ ——— is teaming up with Leong Leong Architecture to release the first issue of White Zinfandel, a twice-yearly magazine that charges artists and writers to create works inspired by certain menus or meals. The first issue is based on Food, the pioneering restaurant that Gordon Matta Clark opened in Soho in 1971 along with fellow artists and dancers. “The menu items are a combination of words that are really interesting and very metaphoric,” explains Ha. As a result, she says artist interpretations ranged from literal (one artist re-created the assigned dish and photographed the dinner party where it was served) to abstract (Peter Sutherland’s take on Mock Chicken Drumsticks consists of stills from PETA casting videos showing sexy vegetarians).

Tomorrow, the issue’s editors and sponsors (Absolut backed the magazine’s production) will convene in the lobby of the Woolworth building, where Momofuku Ko chef Jonathan Ory will offer up his interpretation of Food’s “bone dinner” (it consisted of oxtail soup, marrow bones, and frogs’ legs), while Ko sommelier Beth Lieberman pours the wine. The dinner is private so we have no idea whether white zinfandel will be served, but you can pick up White Zinfandel the magazine for $20 at Project No. 8, the New Museum, and other locations. The table of contents is below. Oh, and we’re told the next issue will be inspired by TV dinners!

White Zinfandel [Official site]

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Filed Under: bookshelf, art magazines, jiminie ha, jonathan ory, momofuku ko, white zinfandel

Folks, food TV may have hit rock bottom (at least we hope this is rock bottom) with Extreme Chef, a Food Network show premiering June 30. Think of it as Top Chef meets Fear Factor meets GAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! From the press release: “Hosted by TV veteran and seasoned world traveler Marsh Mokhtari [They couldn’t get Curtis Stone?], each episode pushes three chefs to their physical and mental limits as they must adjust to extreme conditions and unpredictable curveballs such as swimming across a lake for ingredients and using a car engine as a makeshift stove.” A preview video (below) shows chefs killing bears and rattlesnakes! Milking cows! Cooking in rain and dust storms! Getting handcuffed! And generally running around acting like seasoned pros tweaked-out court jesters. The press release doesn't even bother to tell us who the contestants are because, really, who cares, but the judges will include Marco Canora, as well as food writers Simon Madjumdar, Josh Ozersky, and Candice Kumai.

CHEFS GO TO EXTREMES IN NEW FOOD NETWORK SERIES EXTREME CHEF [PR Newswire]

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Filed Under: tv land, candice kumai, extreme chefs, josh ozersky, simon madjumdar

Sigh of relief: According to Neither More Nor Less, Ray’s Candy Store is back in business after its brush with the health department. Slum Goddess celebrates the reopening but worries that Mars Bar (which just got a new mural) “seems to be on the verge of possible shutdown” now that the demolition permit has been approved. [Slum Goddess, Neither More Nor Less]

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Filed Under: reopenings, mars bar, ray's candy store

The magazine offers a slew of new alfresco drinking and dining options this week, and drizzle be damned, we’d like to add one more: Pachanga Patterson, the locavore Mexican spot that Astoria’s farm-to-table standouts Vesta opened a couple of weeks ago, just added this cedar patio adorned with flowers, herbs, and umbrellas. Not a bad place to enjoy its new brunch menu, which you can see here.

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Filed Under: the great outdoors, outdoor dining, pachanga patterson

Add another food writer to David Chang’s shit list: After J. Kenji Lopez-Alt got charged a surprising $5 plus tax for Coke (yes, the kind you drink — albeit the Mexican kind) at Momofuku’s new casual duck lunch (casual meaning he had to go up to a counter and order it — it wasn’t even served to him in a golden goblet), Lopez writes, “That's ballsy, even for Chang.” Most Serious Eats commenters agree that $5 is too much for a Coke, but David Chang is sticking to his guns via Twitter. His tweets in chronological order:

kenji please stick to catering. mexican coke = hard to obtain in nyc + costs $.

maybe if @momofuku & @momomilkbar get sponsored by the terrible National Pork Board as @seriouseats once did we can subsidize our costs?

i see but, @seriouseats essentially attacks on one of my kids, he knows how pricing runs in restaurants, he knows better.

would love to see list of sponsors that have paid @seriouseats, lots of smiles to your face and knives in your back. watch ur back chefs.

funny all this time @seriouseats wants @momofuku @momomilkbar to contribute to their sandwich & cookie hall of fame party this summer...no

For the record, according to MenuPages, Mexican Coca-Cola is $3 at Papacitos, Paulie Gee’s, and Le Gamin; $2.50 at d’espresso, Cabana Social, and Taco Chulo; $2 at Yola’s Café and Alcatraz; and $1.95 at Coppelia.

Is $5 Too Much To Pay For a Coke? [Serious Eats]

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Filed Under: price check, beef, david chang, j. kenji lopez-alt, momofuku, serious eats

In a tale about his last supper at El Bulli (LSAEB) that will appear in next week’s issue of New York, Adam Platt acknowledges that many an “I Ate at El Bulli” piece (IAAEBP) has been penned before him, but somehow Platty’s write-up of “the mother of all boondoggles” seems to beat them all — maybe because it involves a helicopter, Heather Graham, and lines like this: “As the waiter hoisted the orb to the table, the assembled gastronomes pawed and peered at it, looking, it later occurred to me, like those apes in the famous Kubrick movie when the humming obelisk appears in their midst from outer space.” So what did our jaded critic make of Adrià’s “elaborate, even exhausting, magic show”? Read on to find out.

Last Supper of the Food Hacks [NYM]

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Filed Under: adios ferran, adam platt, el bulli, ferran adria

P & G, the Upper West Side fixture that moved to Columbus Avenue a couple of years ago, has announced to its Facebook fans that it “will be closing May 31st, reopening asap, Hopefully June 1st as a new business.” A bartender tells Gothamist, “We're not going out of business, we're reopening right away but under different people.” [Facebook via Gothamist]

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Filed Under: temporary closings, p&g

Uh-oh, our A-train ride home is about to get way less tolerable: DNA Info reports that the 34th Precinct (policing Washington Heights and Inwood) has vowed to stamp out nutcracker, the sickly sweet bootleg concoction that tastes like ass and will have you lying on your own. [DNA Info]

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Filed Under: health concerns, nutcracker, nypd

As EV Grieve live-blogs the reinspection of the shuttered Ray’s Candy Store and Neither More Nor Less worries that Ray is getting hit hard by the “soulless ravenous beast of a city administration” (that would be the Health Department), we’ve gotten word that a couple of days ago, the Eighth Avenue location of Mexican joint Mary Ann’s was shuttered owing to the vermin and food-protection violations enumerated in the inspection report below. An employee at the restaurant says they’re renovating and hope to reopen for dinner on Monday.

Violations from 05/18/2011 Inspection
Tip! "Critical" violations are displayed in red.

Violation points: 53

Establishment Closed by DOHMH. Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.

Sanitary Violations
1) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.
2) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.
3) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
4) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.
5) Pesticide use not in accordance with label or applicable laws. Prohibited chemical used/stored. Open bait station used.
6) Food contact surface not properly maintained.
7) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.

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Filed Under: temporary closings, health concers, mary ann's, ray's candy store

Florent: Queen of the Meat Market premiered at the New York Film Festival last summer; tonight it opens at Cinema Village, and next month it’ll be available on iTunes. If you’re thinking of seeing it, Logan Hill has reviewed it for Vulture: “Florent is less a chronicle of an era than a loving scrapbook: It has the amateur feel of a video guestbook, signed by all of Morellet’s friends. And really, the scattershot approach perfectly captures the restaurant's lovably garish vibe.”

Movie Reviews: Louder Than a Bomb and Florent: Queen of the Meat Market, Two Docs That Won’t Depress You! [Vulture]

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Filed Under: at the movies, florent morellet, florent: queen of the meat market

Brooklyn Based snapped this fun photo of a Greenpoint liquor store displaying all sorts of fake weapons full of alcohol. Whoa. This shop might just be our new favorite along with the one on Brighton Beach Avenue that, as Flickr photos show, sells liquor in bottles resembling Santa Claus, peeing children, Cossack types, and menorahs — oh, and there are a few bottles that are not safe for work. (Meaning if you’re drinking at work, stick with Dan Aykroyd’s skull vodka — while it’s still legal!)

Wanna Do Shots [Brooklyn Based]

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Filed Under: friday funnies,

Looks like the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation made its decision about Pier 6: According to Diner’s Journal, Bark Hot Dogs will be serving hot dogs there starting May 28, and next month it’ll "move to a terrace cafe on the pier with 200 seats and will start serving beers from Sixpoint Craft Ales and wine” on weekends. [Diner's Journal/NYT]

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Filed Under: the great outdoors, bark hot dogs, brooklyn bridge park, pier 6

Earlier this week, when we alerted you to the soft opening of the Highliner and showed you the forthcoming full menu, Charles Milite was still being shy about letting photographers in. Who can blame him: The closing of the Empire Diner touched off a fair amount of chatter about whether change would be a good thing. Milte respectfully preserved the diner’s exterior, but as you can now see in our slideshow, the interior is quite a bit brighter than it was pre-renovation. So what do you think: yay or nay? Comment away!

The Highliner, 210 Tenth Ave., nr. 22nd St.; 212-206-6206

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Filed Under: slideshow, charles milite, empire diner, the highliner

Owing to yesterday’s rain, Zagat postponed its Food Truck Frenzy till Monday. Meanwhile, we have details on two other food blowouts. First, the Brooklyn Flea has announced the lineup for SmorgasBurg, its May 21 all-food event in Williamsburg, and the folks at deal site InBundles chime in to tell us the site’s founder, Danny Lyu, is debuting a food stand there. Called Cemita’s, it’ll serve up (you guessed it) cemitas — sandwiches that combine avocado, white cheese, pickled onions, papalo, mayo, beans, salsa, lettuce, tomato, and meat (including the option of panko-fried chicken) between a sesame-seed egg rolls. Cemita’s is just one of the 100-plus vendors that will join the Flea’s usual food vendors for the event — see the full roster here, and see the vendors that the Flea is especially excited about below, including new projects from chefs at Queen's Hideaway, Txikito, Momofuku Noodle Bar, and more. Also, Jimmy Carbone of Jimmy’s No. 43 writes in to reveal the lineup for Brewers’ Pic-NYC, a food and beer fest coming to Governors Island May 29 to 30, from noon till 5 p.m. both days. That festival’s lineup is also below.

SmorgasBurg highlights
Queen's Dahn Tu: Liza Queen, formerly of Greenpoint's Queen's Hideaway, returns from 2 years in Vietnam studying street food to debut her banh xeo (a Vietnamese crepe-style omelette), banh trang tron (a shredded rice paper, green mango, and hard-boiled quail egg salad), and bun (rice vermicelli with grilled meat or vegetables).

Shorty Tang & Sons: Casey and Gilley Tang revive the cold sesame noodles their father Shorty made famous at his East Broadway restaurant Hwa Yuan.

La Buena: Alex Raij of El Quinto Pino and Txikito takes her famous gazpacho to market, to eat and to go.

King's Crumb: John Husby, a Momofuku Noodle Bar chef, Shane Feirstein, a Prime Meats bartender, and Mark Goldman debut their homemade biscuits, served with clotted cream and seasonal jams in the morning and fried chicken in the afternoon.

Nana's: Cecile Dyer, pastry chef at Pie 'n' Thighs, covers frozen bananas in chocolate, with coconut, sprinkles, or sea salt.

Tin Mustard: Tin Dizdarevic, a veteran of Craft and La Esquina, launches his new whole-grain mustard.

Speedy Romeo: Justin Bazdarich, a veteran of the Jean-Georges empire, debuts his hand-pulled mozzarella, with toppings such as salsa verde, fig-honey-almond, and oven-dried tomato-basil.

Brewers Pic-NYC lineup
Desi Truck
Familia Camarena
Tequila & Taco Truck
Joy Ride
The Taco Truck
Luke’s Lobster
Pizza Truck NYC
Sour Puss Pickles
Bent Spoon Ice Cream
Jimmy's No. 43
Mexicue Taco & Sliders Truck
Rickshaw Dumplings
Izze’s Soda
Pizzamoto
East Corner Wonton
Gotham Arisanal Sodas
Joy Ride
East Village Meat Market
The Crepes Truck
Sour Puss Pickles
East Corner Wonton

For more information, visit the Brewers’ Pic-NYC and SmorgasBurg sites.

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Filed Under: foodievents, brooklyn flea, cemita's, inbundles, jimmy carbone, smorgasburg

The Canal St. Newsstand is one of Manhattan’s most lovable convenience stores. It’s smaller than a studio apartment and is located on a fairly quiet block at 52 Canal Street (at the base of the budding OrBeCaBroo micro-microneighborhood). And yet among its obligatory cans of Spam and Easy Cheese, you’ll find an idiosyncratic array of goodies — pints of Van Leeuwen ice cream; squeezable bottles of Kewpie mayo; Spanish olive-oil crackers; Fentimen’s soda; a variety of instant curries, rices, and noodles; and Japanese bean-paste treats resembling mini-hamburgers.

Owner Lily Fong tells us that since she opened in 2006, her stock has constantly changed with customer requests: “One of our customers suggested Orgain and I’m like, ‘What the heck is this?’” But she has dutifully started carrying the Muscle Milk alternative. And now the place is doing growlers. The jugs will be $4, and initially at least, fills will be $9.99. After the first three selections (Sixpoint Sweet Action, Kelso IPA, and Allagash White) are tapped out, they’ll be rotated out for others. The Chinatown growler revolution continues!

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Filed Under: booze news, canal street newsstand

Back in February, it was announced that August’s chef Terrence Gallivan was leaving to be chef at Chris Cannon’s Alto. Now the folks over at August tell us that Jordan Frosolone quietly took over a few weeks ago. Frosolone cut his teeth at a trio of acclaimed Chicago restaurants (Coco Pazzo, Blackbird, and Nomi) and then spent several years with Marco Canora; we predicted great things for him after he became chef de cuisine at Hearth in 2007. As he did at Hearth, he’ll have access to a wood-fired oven here. And beverage director Christian Post will have access to hard liquor! (The restaurant upgraded its license from beer and wine in April.) Here’s a look at the new dinner menu — brunch will include a choice of Alsatian, Roman, or Andalusian baked eggs, plus challah bread French toast with strawberry compote and toasted almonds.

APPETIZERS

Mixed Lettuces 10
Beets, asparagus, potato chips, red wine vinaigrette

Chilled White Gazpacho Soup 10
Almonds, cucumber, grapes

Farro Salad 11
Marinated white anchovies, scallions, parsley root

Pickled Spanish Mackerel 12
Marinated red peppers, castelvetrano olives, grapefruit

Scallop Carpaccio 14
Sea urchin, watercress, vanilla

Wood Oven Fired Pizza 10
Tomato, mozzerella, basil

Potato Gnocchi 15
Rock shrimp, peas, beech mushrooms

Beef Consomme 12
Bone marrow, gruyere dumplings, chives

Roasted Sweetbreads 14
Onions, macadamia nuts, pickled ramps

Tarte Flambe 14
Alsatian onion and bacon tart, creme fraiche

ENTREES

Pecorino Tortelli 22
Fava beans, pine nuts, onions, basil

Spaetzle 22
Wild mushrooms, ramps, smoked gouda

Macaroni 23
Pork sausage, ricotta, basil

Shellfish and Saffron Soup 26
Hake, fennel, onion, garlic aioli

Grilled Columbia River Sturgeon 27
Braised lamb neck, artichoke, golden raisins

Whole Stuffed Bream 29
Crimini mushrooms, swiss chard, oven dried tomato

Roasted Chicken Breast 25
Leg confit, shiitake mushrooms, almonds, spring vegetables

Grilled Dry-Aged Sirloin 34
Potatoes, escarole, hen of the woods mushrooms, red wine sauce

Seven Course Chef Tasting Menu 75
Inquire with server for wine pairing

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Filed Under: chef shuffle, alto, august, chris cannon, christian post, hearth, jordan frosolone, marco canora, terrence gallivan

As promised, the buzzy taqueria and its rooftop bees returned today. Rock!

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Filed Under: reopenings, rockaway taco

There’s a Union Square Café cookbook, a forthcoming Eleven Madison Park cookbook, and now, finally, Gramercy Tavern will get its due. Former dessert chef Claudia Fleming published The Last Course in 2001, but surprisingly enough, there’s never been a savory cookbook. Reps tell us The Gramercy Tavern Cookbook, to be published by Clarkson Potter in 2013, will include 125 recipes for Michael Anthony’s savory dishes and Nancy Olson’s desserts, plus 150 photographs, as well as narrative essays.

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Filed Under: bookshelf, claudia fleming, gramercy tavern, michael anthony, nancy olson

A Midtown Lunch tipster spots another new food truck, the Sunrise Grill, which will give Yvonne’s some competition in the Jamaican category: “We tried the oxtail and the curry goat, and both were freakin fantastic.” Meanwhile, another ML tipster gets wind of a Cuban truck, Bongo Bros.

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Filed Under: truckin', bongo bros., sunrise grill, yvonne's

A couple of months ago, we discovered that Yorkville’s Bohemian National Hall would soon hold an upscale Czech restaurant. Now we get word that Hospoda (Czech for “pub”) will open on Monday. If you’re expecting chef Old?ich Sahajdak’s plates to be loaded with roast pork, dumplings, and sauerkraut, you better Czech yourself (sorry, had to do it). Instead, he’s offering a daily changing seven-course tasting menu of lighter “contemporary Central European” dishes, employing seasonal and local ingredients (as you can see below, à la carte and two-course options are also available). Operator Tomáš Karpíšek, head of what’s said to be the largest restaurant group in the Czech Republic, has hired Lukas Svoboda as “draught master” to oversee a beer program in which Pilsner Urquell brews will be poured four different ways, with varying degrees of head, consistency, and flavor. As you can see in our slideshow, kegs are chilled and displayed in a custom-built glass bar, and a glass floor looks down onto the beer cellar. Dinner is from 5:30 till 10:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with lunch on the way.

Hospoda Dinner Menu [PDF]
Hospoda Tasting Menu [PDF]
Hospoda Beer Menu [PDF]

321 E. 73rd St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-861-1038

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Filed Under: slideshow, czech, hospoda, lukas svoboda, oldrich sahajdak, pilsner urquelle, tomáš karpíšek

Community Board 8 had tried to keep food carts away from Central Park, but reps for Rouge Tomate tell us that the restaurant will have a cart at 64th Street and Fifth Avenue starting June 15. To make sure the so-called Rouge Tomate Cart in the Park is low-impact, it’ll have solar panels for electricity, will be made from recycled materials, and will use biodegradable paper products (hence its certification from the Green Restaurant Association). The ingredients that will go into the salads, sandwiches, and seasonal soups will be largely local and sustainable (the BLT’s bacon and lettuce, for instance, will come from tristate farms). A final menu is still in the works, but tentative plans at one point included seasonal juices, and homemade ice cream and fruit soda.

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Filed Under: openings, central park, food carts, rouge tomate

After she left Centro Vinoteca, Top Chef’s Leah Cohen (whose mother is Filipino) spent more than a year touring Southeast Asia. Since returning to town, she’s mostly been doing private dinners (you’ll recall she had a night at What Happens When). Now Gabriel Scott-Dicker tells us that Cohen is teaming with his company, PPX Hospitality, and this fall, they’ll open a still-unnamed restaurant serving “upscale Southeast Asian street food” in the former Sal Anthony’s space at 17th Street and Irving Place. Wait — Southeast Asian? Hey, it worked for another Top Chef alum, Harold Dieterle. As it happens, you can preview some of the items that will likely be on the menu (mostly Thai dishes with Malaysian and Filipino touches, we’re told) when Cohen stints at LTO next week.

From May 23 through 27, she’ll serve a five-course, $85 menu. Reservations are available via OpenTable, and seatings are from 6 till 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and till 11 p.m. on Friday. If you haven’t yet made it to LTO, here’s a video produced by Angelo Fabara, documenting R.J. Cooper’s pop-up there. The guy did say he liked mushroom jazz.

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Filed Under: openings, centro vinoteca, leah cohen, lto, ppx hospitality, southeast asian

The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party is no stranger to awkward promotions. You’ll recall the late Billy Mays plugging OxiClean a couple of years back, and the National Pork Board has also set up a tent to promote “the other white meat.” But this is something else entirely: According to a press release that really did terrify us for a second, Ed Mitchell is teaming up with Butterball to bring turkey barbecue (the “other, other white meat,” per his Raleigh restaurant’s menu) to the BABBP this year. Never mind that Butterball is a strange pick for a man who prides himself on using local, free-range, hormone-free pork — our real concern is: Does this mean he won’t be serving his coveted whole-hog sandwiches? Actually, it turns out Mitchell will still be chopping pig and laying on the vinegar, so don’t you worry; you will be seeing this sight again this year. And oh what a beautiful sight it is.

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Filed Under: disaster averted, butterball, ed mitchell

The Brooklyn Brewery’s Brewmaster’s Reserve series has taken its inspiration from cocktails in the past (you’ll recall its Manhattan Project), so it’s no surprise that its latest was inspired by the Penicillin — a libation containing Scotch, ginger-infused honey, and lemon juice that Sam Ross created at Milk & Honey. Called the Tonic rather than the Penicillin (we all know how touchy the federal government can be about beer names), the limited-run draft-only beer will be available in select bars early next month. Meanwhile, just a handful of blocks away, Brooklyn Winery also has news: In mid-June, it’ll roll out its first barrels of house wine.

The winery, which opened its doors in September but has yet to serve its own wines, will begin offering nine varietals at its wine bar, as well as selling $25-and-up bottles of six of the varietals both on site and in a select number of wine shops (and perhaps farmers' markets). As outlined below, the wines are made with grapes that select California and New York vineyards ship to Brooklyn for production. For the next crush, we’re told winemaker Conor McCormack is working with a Chilean vineyard. Here’s what to expect next month.

First Barrels - Spring 2011

1) Riesling, Nutt Road Vineyard, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York. 2010
Stainless Steel, No Malolactic Fermentation

2) Riesling, Nutt Road Vineyard, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York 2010
Neutral Barrel Fermented. Commercial Yeast Strain Inoculation. Partial
Malolactic fermentation. Unfiltered and Unfined

3) Riesling, Nutt Road Vineyard, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York, 2010
Native Barrel Fermentation, Full Malolactic Fermentation, Unfiltered and Unfined

4) Chardonnay, Nutt Road Vineyard, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York, 2010.
Stainless Steel Fermentation and Aging. No Malolactic Fermentation.

5) Chardonnay, Nutt Road Vineyard, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York, 2010.
French Oak Barrel Aged, Partial Malolactic Fermentation

6) Chardonnay, Nutt Road Vineyard, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York, 2010.
Natural wine. Full skin contact fermentation, Native yeast. No SO2.
Neutral Barrel aged. Full Native Malolactic fermentation.

7) Chardonnay, Chalk Hill, Sonoma, California 2010.
French Oak Barrel Fermentation, Full Malolactic Fermentation,

8) Rose', California Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Stainless Steel.

9) Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California, 2010.
Barrel Aged on French Oak

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Filed Under: booze news, brooklyn brewery, brooklyn winery, the tonic

In the summer of 2009, Alfama left Hudson Street after almost a decade, leaving Bobby Wehane of dell’anima to open Spasso in its place (speaking of dell’anima, yesterday Eater reported that they’re going after the Bowery Wine Company space). Now Alfama rises again. Owners Miguel Jerónimo and Tarcisio Costa will open in midtown east (!) on Monday. As you can see in our slideshow, Alfama 2.0 is a bi-level space with a sleeker look thanks to leather banquettes and a backlit map of Portugal during its glory days. Chef Francisco Rosa’s menu (below) carries over classics like the caldo verde, mariscada, and cod gratin, and also introduces a section of “petiscos” (Portuguese tapas) such as pork trotters and rabbit meatballs. Once the liquor license comes in (hopefully in a week or so) there’ll be wine (including a good selection of ports and Madeiras) as well as seasonal cocktails. Alfama will open for dinner only, and about a week later hours will expand to 11 a.m. till 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. till 11 p.m., and till midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Alfama Lunch Menu [PDF]
Alfama Dinner Menu [PDF]

Alfama, 214 E. 52nd St., nr. Third Ave.; 212-759-5552

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Filed Under: slideshow, alfama, midtown east, miguel jerónimo, openings, portuguese, tarcisio costa

Time to close yet another chapter in the Ryan Skeen story. This morning we heard from a source that the ex–Irving Mill, ex–Allen & Delancey, ex–5 & Diamond, and ex-Twitter chef was dismissed from FishTag last night. Skeen has yet to confirm, but reps for the restaurant send us the following statement.

Executive Chef Michael Psilakis has confirmed that Ryan Skeen, formerly Executive Chef de Cuisine at FISHTAG (222 West 79th Street), is no longer working at the restaurant. Skeen originally joined FISHTAG to assist Psilakis in the launch of the restaurant which opened in November 2010. The Kitchen will now be overseen by Psilakis and FISHTAG former Sous Chef Stan Matusevich. Psilakis and Skeen remain in touch and hope to work together again in the future.

Like Jay-Z says, it’s on to the next one.

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Filed Under: chef shuffle, fishtag, michael psilakis, ryan skeen