Andy Warhol’s Andy-Mat: “The restaurant for the lonely person.”

Opening a restaurant in New York City ranks right up there among the world’s most difficult jobs: You have to deal with endless streams of red tape, near-constant cash-flow problems, contractors, critics, egos, and a city full of very fickle diners. New York might have 24,000 restaurants, but plenty of ideas go bust long before the front doors open. The grander the scale of the project, the more fun it is to speculate about what could have been. In that spirit, we’ve put together a list of ten projects that, had they opened, would have changed New York’s culinary landscape — some for the better, some for the worse (unless you’re a fan of huge theme restaurants in Times Square). Here are ten of the biggest projects, in terms of scale, scope, or ambition, that came thisclose to happening in NYC.

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: what could have been, lists, slideshow

• 0 Comments

The Aviary could be landing in New York very soon.

Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas are, at the moment, putting the finishing touches on the upcoming El Bulli menu at Next, but Achatz tells us that the year ahead means probable expansion for the duo’s Chicago cocktail bar, Aviary: “Nick and I looked at 2012 and made a list of places where we’d want to open, including New York, Miami or South Beach, L.A., Shanghai, Singapore, and Las Vegas. After hearing about some spaces in New York, we literally jumped on a plane, flew to the city and looked around.”

Aviary, of course, has been known for its boundary-pushing drinks since it opened last spring — toddies are percolated table-side; a dark ‘n’ stormy arrives in a sealed, brown-bagged bottle. The place has been such a success that Chicago Reader critic Mike Sula even went so far as to say that a visit to the bar “could become one of those rare but essential activities that, along with a game at Wrigley, a trip up the Willis Tower — or dinner at Alinea — are defining Chicago experiences.”

But Achatz says Aviary is actually the easiest concept to reproduce outside of the Windy City: “We’ve learned a lot from running Alinea, Next, and the Aviary. If there’s any one concept that’s scalable, it’s the Aviary.” Achatz adds, “The thing with making drinks is that they are consistent around the world. If you buy Beefeater gin in Des Moines, for example, it’s going to be the same Beefeater you buy in Singapore. That consistency of product is huge.”

The team hasn’t nailed down a location yet, but Achatz says he’s seen several spaces, including one in the Flatiron Building. “It’s been exciting trying to envision being a part of the New York restaurant community,” Achatz says. “New York has always been intriguing. I think this would be a lot of fun.”

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: coming soon, achatz, aviary, nightlife, the aviary

• 0 Comments

What could it be?

Hold on to your demitasse spoons, residents of the West Village: The Real Deal reports you will soon meet a short, dark cup of espresso when an unnamed European espresso franchisee takes over 2,500 square feet of prime coffee-bean brewing space at 504 Sixth Avenue and 13th Street, once home to Cosi and Rockography. But what could it be? The site reports that the franchise “has no other New York City locations” at the moment, but plans to open more after this first one is up and running. The space’s monthly rent is reportedly $34,500, so we’re guessing the chain in question has to be one of the bigger ones, like the UK-based Caffè Nero. Either way, between this and the new Stumptown opening about six blocks away, looks like the neighborhood is about to get a whole lot perkier. [TRD, Earlier]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: coming soon, caffe nero, coffee buzz, espresso, european coffee franchise, stumptown

• 0 Comments

Chew carefully!

An MTA employee alleges that earlier this month, the JFK Fried Chicken in Sunset Park served him a big piece of metal with his lunch. Lajzer Grynsztajn, who drives a city bus, says he ordered a two-piece combo at the fast-food chain on January 9 and choked on a two-inch coil that he says was cooked into the chicken. The wire was later removed from Grynsztain’s throat at Lutheran Medical Center. It was lodged so deeply in his throat, the Daily News reports, Grynsztajn had to be anesthetized first; the case is now going to supreme court. In the meantime, the city bus driver says he’s brown-bagging his lunch these days, while the News quotes an employee who answered the phone at JFK Fried Chicken as saying, “I think this guy is bullshitting us.” [NYDN]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: takeout mishaps, jfk fried chicken, lawsuits

• 0 Comments

This is not pulled pork — don’t eat it! It’s a famous painting!

The more foodie, less moody side of the late, iconoclastic artists Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner will be remembered and honored next week at the Four Seasons. Pollock would have turned 100 over the weekend, and to commemorate the occasion, Super Chef reports, the restaurant will roll out some of the artist’s favorite (and fantastically old-school) foods, like onion soup en croute, lobster and shrimp Newburg, rack of lamb, and Meyer lemon pudding. The director of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center will be on hand with some artwork and stories about Pollock, and everyone will break bread with loaves baked with the artist’s own white and rye recipe. Dinner is $200 per person; call the restaurant for more information and reservations. [Super Chef]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: foodievents, jackson pollock, the four seasons

• 0 Comments

Not guy-appropriate.

A few years ago, David Arrick, a one-time Wall Street corporate type, was just so sick of all those gossamer-glazed, Chantilly-doodad-sprinkled cupcake shops that seemed to be popping up in every other NYC storefront. So Arrick scraped together some money and opened Butch Bakery, on online business with a “guy-friendly” menu, inspired by things only guys like, like “beer and whisky-infused cupcakes.” Now he’s got a cookbook out, but since everybody knows dudes don’t read, we’re holding out and waiting for him to turn it into a Playstation game. [NYDN]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: cupcakes are butch, butch bakery, cupcakes, macho cakes

• 0 Comments

Brisket, not from David’s. Bring back the real thing!

Over at Fork in the Road, Robert Sietsema reports that David’s Brisket House on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn has seemingly closed for good. The critic visited for his “usual bimonthly roast beef brisket sandwich on rye with gravy” last week, only to find the gates down and confirmation that the restaurant has been closed for two months; a phone call to the restaurant yielded only a disconcerting “Happy New Year” message imploring would-be customers to “just keep calling back.” The message indicated David’s was just waiting on a FD inspection of their new kitchen hood, a claim that matches a Buildings Department filing from late December for the restaurant’s ventilation to be replaced. Plus, the Bed-Stuy home of giant beef sandwiches aced its most recent DOHMH inspection, so no worries there.

Sietsema points out that the restaurant was one of the early milestones of the modern Chowhound era, and “one of [Chowhound founder] Jim Leff’s original ‘finds,’ from a sainted list that also included DiFara Pizza.” Bed-Stuy barkeep (and famous actor) Anthony Mackie last year called David’s entry-level pastrami “the best sandwich meat I’ve ever had.” Brisket, come back!

David’s Brisket House Seemingly Bites the Dust; Early Jim Leff Find and Chowhound Fave [Fork in the Road/VV]
Earlier: Anthony Mackie Will Personally Serve You a Drink at His New Bar, Opening This Week

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: closings, anthony mackie, bed-stuy, brisket, david’s brisket house

• 0 Comments

All the answers are in the cappuccino foam.

London’s long-awaited Keith McNally restaurant, planned for the old Theatre Museum in Covent Garden, may not be a Balthazar after all. Food site Hot Dinners speculates that the project, which will apparently open in the fall (though we can’t find any information corroborating that claim), may not be an outpost of the ever-popular bistro, saying that another team of restaurateurs have already announced their own plans to open a similar brasserie this year, and suggesting McNally will go the game-changer route with his own project, instead of simply starting a war of baguettes, cultured butter, and multi-tiered raw-bar platters.

“It may not actually open as Balthazar,” the blog says. Or, if it is a Balthazar, “it will not be identical to the one in NY.”

The whole thing is very speculative, and not terribly informative, but it does seem to jibe with rumors we’ve been hearing that suggest McNally is actually now planning to open a restaurant that hews closer to Minetta Tavern. And we bet the Black Label burger would play just as well on the other side of the pond as it does in the Village.

Keith McNally confirms he’ll open in London this Autumn. But will it be Balthazar? [Hot Dinners]
Earlier: Export Report: Checking In on Old Homestead, Balthazar, and Momofuku

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: export report, balthazar, coming soon, keith mcnally, london, minetta tavern, richard caring

• 0 Comments

When it was Viceroy.

Sounds like the old Viceroy space in Chelsea, which closed last June after eighteen years in business, will very soon be home to a new full-service restaurant called Pounds and Ounces. Julian Hitchcock, a broker over at Kamenitzer Real Estate, tells us NYC restaurant veteran Etai Cinader — who’s worked as wine director at Tao, as well as manager at Co. and Dos Caminos — has just inked the deal for the “American Eclectic” restaurant. Pounds and Ounces will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a late-night menu. Also in the works: a “wild brunch,” outdoor seating, and a second P&O, which will be in West Hollywood. More details as we get ‘em.

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: coming soon, etai cinader, pounds and ounces, viceroy

• 0 Comments

The Biker Chef, cat included.

For all the food shows that actually make it onto TV, many obviously don’t, which is too bad because a lot of them sound way, way better than Fat Chef: For example, check out the (not-embeddable) trailer for Biker Chef, which looks exactly as kick-ass as something called Biker Chef should look. It may make your day, weekend, or month depending on just how much awesome your heart can tolerate.

Biker Chef follows “one road warrior … and a cat” who hit the road to discover “the tastier side of America.” The pilot was shot in New Mexico maybe six years ago, and the road warrior in question is Christopher Coppola, a self-described “experimental cook and social alchemist” (the cat in question is Otto). (There’s another amazing clip here.) The show is basically Guy Fieri’s show meets Easy Rider meets Ghost Rider — plus a Burmese cat.

Oh, and speaking of Ghost Rider, it’s no coincidence that Coppola’s voice sounds a lot like Johnny Blaze’s onscreen personage: Biker Chef’s IMDb page reveals he’s the brother of … Nicolas Cage (née Nicolas Kim Coppola). What more do you want, Food Network?! Where else are you going to get someone who rolls up to an organic goat-cheese-maker’s front door and says, while flipping his helmet visor like some goodwill version of the Terminator, “I’m Biker Chef. We’re here to talk about cheese“?

Fortunately, there may yet be hope for Biker Chef: Coppola has been uploading all sorts of sizzle reels and digital projects to Vimeo during the last few days, all in advance of some kind of big new website launch that evidently takes place this evening. Please, please, please let it have something to do with forks, bikes, and cats.

Biker Chef Trailer [Vimeo]
Earlier: Meet Frank DiMattina, the Caterer and Reality-TV Hopeful Accused of Mob Ties, Intimidation

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: the feeding tube, and a cat, biker chef, christopher coppola, video feed

• 0 Comments

Half of the culinary odd couple.

In a cute profile, The Wall Street Journal’s magazine, WSJ., tries to nail down the finer points of the sometimes cranky, sometimes lovely, and usually innovative collaborative relationship between the chef David Chang and writer Peter Meehan. The collaborators on the fantastic 2009 book Momofuku and newfangled food magazine Lucky Peach first met, apparently, at a Hold Steady concert in Greenpoint. Recounting the origin story of their friendship, Meehan says they were both really drunk and Chang gave him a beer. “I do occasionally regret knowing David Chang,” Meehan says, “but I do not regret taking the beer.” [WSJ, Earlier]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: other magazines, david chang, lucky peach, momofuku, peter meehan

• 0 Comments

Dom DeMarco, making a pie not intended for the president.

Apparently twelve pizzas (including sausage- and pepperoni-topped ones) and as many cannoli were delivered to President Obama’s hotel suite in Las Vegas on Wednesday, the Review-Journal reports. They came from the two-month-old Dom DeMarco’s Pizzeria & Bar, the Sin City outpost brought to you by the extended family of Midwood’s sainted pizza man. DeMarco’s says its pizzas are the same as Di Fara’s — “carefully handcrafted using closely guarded recipes and quality imported ingredients” — so, you know, by extension, it’s sort of like the president ate at Di Fara Pizza; take that, NYC DOH! [Las Vegas Review-Journal, Earlier]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: presidential pizza, di fara pizza, dom demarco, president obama

• 0 Comments