Yesterday as dusk turned to night, 27 chefs gathered on a strip of sand in South Beach to wage war, medium rare. It was the fourth annual Burger Bash, hosted by Rachael Ray, who sauntered around the tent surrounded by four large men in black suits with earpieces. The tent filled with smoke and the smell of blood on the grill.

As in bashes past, defending champion Spike Mendelsohn was there with poor hot, nearly naked girls shivering in the Miami night. This year, Jeffrey Chodorow jumped on the lady train, too, planting a shivering scantily clad lady next to his “beach burger.” To be fair, there was also a shivering topless man there, too. The girls helped neither.

The evening came down to competing ideologies. The judges — expert, urbane, and mostly arrived that day from New York — chose a burger that would happily feed New York’s hunger for culinary simplicity. Michael Schwartz, representing Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink in Miami, cooked what he said was “the perfect bacon cheeseburger.” It was as pared down as a bacon cheeseburger could be: house-smoked bacon, white Cheddar, heirloom tomato, and local lettuce on a homemade brioche bun. He took home the Golden Grill Award.

Cleveland’s Michael Symon won the People’s Choice award for understanding that his audience was filled with transplanted New York Jews. Symon’s burger, the Fat Doug, was awash with Swiss, pastrami, and coleslaw — a half-burger, half-Reuben chimera that channeled Katz’s Delicatessen while still technically being a burger. Symon’s margin of Victory, said Ray, was Bush v. Gore slim.

View our slideshow to see a sampler of the burgers and their chefs.

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Filed Under: burgers, burger bash, hamburgers, micahel schwartz, michael symon, slideshows, south beach wine and food festival

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Dan Barber (center) with Food Inc. producers Robert Kenner and Richard Pearce.

Blue Hill’s Dan Barber and his wife were at Monkey Bar last night to celebrate Oscar-nominated documentary Food Inc. with Martha Stewart. The chef, who spoke at Davos last month, took a break from serious talk of food politics and agribusiness. After sending his wife to the bar — “I need to get sauced,” he said — we talked about salt, Lent, and TV cooks.

Lent starts tomorrow, what are you giving up?
You are asking an Upper East Side Jew. What are you even supposed to give up on Lent? Lent is you give up fish, right? [Ed. note: Nope.]

The other question is about the Bloomberg’s salt jihad …
Nice dude, “jihad.”

As someone in the industry, are you offended by it?
The salt thing, I don’t know what to say. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? I don’t know.

You’re answering a question with a question?
I’m like the Oracle of Delphi. I feel like the intentions are good. Do I feel like it’s a smart thing? I don’t know. How’s that for ambivalence? I feel like there are other things to go after. Do you know what Ducasse said when he was asked by Charlie Rose what his ideal meal was? He said, “A piece of fish — he said this in French, so it was much more poetic — sans sel san poivre without salt or pepper.” Because it would be so fresh it wouldn’t need salt and pepper.

Imagine if Bloomberg tried to retell that parable in French.
He’d never get a fourth term, man.

What are America’s chances for the Bocuse d’Or?
I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t end up doing much better, which isn’t saying a lot. The thing that people don’t understand is that countries like Norway make it into a day of celebration for the country. What people don’t understand is that over years, it becomes part of the culture. We’ll get there at some point, but it’s not a reflection on the quality of food in America.

What’s your take on all the competitive-cooking shows on television? Is it good or bad for cooking?
The question is whether competitive-cooking shows make us better cooks. It’s a little like saying that sitting at home and watching football makes you a better football player.

I used to watch the Food Network obsessively when I was a line cook and I’d get home at 2 in the morning. The shows were fucking amazing. Sissy Biggers was the shit and Alan Richman had a show back then with some supermodel. [Ed. note: It was Nina Griscom.] Sissy had a show where chefs would compete with other chefs. It was the precursor of Iron Chef, but it was done in a very subdued way. And then this was pre-Ming Tsai. This was Batali when he first did his show. I used to watch from 2 to 4. Now I literally don’t know anyone who is on.

Do you watch any shows?
I do Mad Men. Who doesn’t want to be 30 in the sixties?

How’s Sam Sifton doing?
Are you fucking crazy? Are you recording this?

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Filed Under: back of the house, chefs, dan barber, salt

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Daniel Boulud and Gavin Kaysen together last month.

“More people want to be on Top Chef than the Bocuse team,” Daniel Boulud said somewhat ruefully yesterday afternoon while announcing the dozen semifinalists for the U.S. Bocuse d’Or team. “We received seventeen applications, which was more than we thought we could get,” he added. The paltry number of applicants might have something to do with the fact that chefs must raise their own dough until they reach the final round of competition. (Gavin Kaysen represented the U.S. in 2007, but for a price: “I had to spend $250,000.”)

The semifinals are a two-day affair held at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park on February 5 and 6. “Chefs will have three hours to prep on Friday and three hours on Saturday,” explained Jerome Bocuse, son of the contest’s founder and legendary chef, Paul. The semifinals will replicate the contest’s setting in Lyon, France, from the proteins (salmon and lamb) to a noisy auditorium filled with screaming chefs.

Boulud, who chairs the Bocuse d’Or Foundation, desperately wants an American chef to place this year. “Last year, we were very stressed for time and Timothy [Hollingsworth, who placed sixth] had very little time. We are ahead of this game this year.” Kaysen was equally optimistic about our chances, predicting that Team USA will “touch the podium” in January 2011. “We used to be the Jamaican Bobsled team,“ he says. “Now, we’re not.”

Earlier: A Dozen Hopefuls for Bocuse d’Or 2011*

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Filed Under: bocuse d’or, daniel boulud, gavin kaysen

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Daniel Boulud and Gavin Kaysen together last month.

“More people want to be on Top Chef than the Bocuse team,” Daniel Boulud said somewhat ruefully yesterday afternoon while announcing the dozen semifinalists for the U.S. Bocuse d’Or team. “We received seventeen applications, which was more than we thought we could get,” he added. The paltry number of applicants might have something to do with the fact that chefs must raise their own dough until they reach the final round of competition. (Gavin Kaysen represented the U.S. in 2007, but for a price: “I had to spend $250,000.”)

The semifinals are a two-day affair held at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park on February 5 and 6. “Chefs will have three hours to prep on Friday and three hours on Saturday,” explained Jerome Bocuse, son of the contest’s founder and legendary chef, Paul. The semifinals will replicate the contest’s setting in Lyon, France, from the proteins (salmon and lamb) to a noisy auditorium filled with screaming chefs.

Boulud, who chairs the Bocuse d’Or Foundation, desperately wants an American chef to place this year. “Last year, we were very stressed for time and Timothy [Hollingsworth, who placed sixth] had very little time. We are ahead of this game this year.” Kaysen was equally optimistic about our chances, predicting that Team USA will “touch the podium” in January 2011. “We used to be the Jamaican Bobsled team,“ he says. “Now, we’re not.”

Earlier: A Dozen Hopefuls for Bocuse d’Or 2011*

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Filed Under: bocuse d’or, daniel boulud, gavin kaysen

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The twelve semi-finalists for this year’s Bocuse d’Or team were announced at Daniel minutes ago. More details are coming, but here’s the list!

Jennifer Petrusky, Chicago, Charlie Trotter
Christopher Parsons, Winchester, MA, Catch
Mark Liberman, West Palm Beach, FL, Roxy’s Black Sheep,
James Kent, New York, Eleven Madison Park
Luke Bergman, New York, the Modern
Kevin Gillespie, Atlanta, Top Chef finalist
Percy Whatley, Yosemite, CA, The Ahwahanee
Michael Clauss, Burlington, VT, Daily Planet
Danny Cerqueda, North Carolina, Carolina Country Club
Andrew Weiss, Las Vegas, The Chef’s Workshop
Jeremy Tomczak, New York, instructor at the French Culinary Institute
John Rellah, New York, New York Yacht Club

*Clarification: The Bocuse d’Or will be held in January 2011. The U.S. contest to determine our national representative will be in 2010.

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By Saturday afternoon, most New York City chefs had already been slow-roasted in the seemingly endless tide of champagne and meat products offered by the New York Wine & Food Festival’s many sponsors. A couple of them, however, were still relatively together enough for a panel discussion on cooking in New York City at Soho House. For the five panelists — Anita Lo, Scott Conant, Anne Burrell, Michael Lomonaco, Joey Campanaro, and Mikey Price — cooking in New York had been both lucky and unlucky.

The Unlucky:
Anita Lo: Quiet and slumped in the corner, Ms. Lo has clearly not had the best year. Annisa burned down in a fire. Bar Q closed. “I’ve had a lot of contraction,” she said mournfully. “After Black Monday, we lost 70 percent of business at Bar Q, and we had a terrible fire at Annisa right before I appeared on Top Chef Masters. It was devastating. So any money I thought we’d bring in, we didn’t.” Nevertheless, Lo predicts Annisa will reopen in November.

The Lucky
Scott Conant: Scarpetta king Scott Conant has of course been affected by the economic downturn, but not so much that he won’t be expanding in 2010. “We had two projects in Las Vegas but the whole thing went bankrupt,” he said. “We had to close in Miami for one day a week, but we’re opening Scarpetta Toronto in April, so it’s a balance of contraction and expansion.”

Those With Mixed Luck
Anne Burrell: “The downturn has pushed back my plans to get into the restaurant business,” said the chef. Her Food Network show — ironically titled Secrets of A Restaurant Chef — is doing well.

Mikey Price and Joey Campanaro: The team behind Market Table were the panel’s serious ones, especially Mikey Price who had the best line of the event. When asked how the recession has affected him, he said: “We are in the hospitality business. If you only started being hospitable after the downturn, you’re probably already closed.” According to Joey Campanaro, “I don’t make nearly as much money as I used to, but that doesn’t change the way I cook.” In fact, Mikey Price is adding more. “I’m trying to give some added value to the plate,” he said. So, tables still packed but profit margins down. All in all, the guys are doing well.

Mike Lomonaco: The chef is offering more and more off-market cuts at his UWS resto Porter House. “Not as many people are coming in and ordering top-dollar prime product, but we have a range of other lower-end cuts like strip and hanger steaks. We even have a roast chicken.” We suggest he throw that chicken in the fryer.

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Filed Under: anita lo, anne burrell, joey campanaro, mike lomanaco, mikey price, new york wine and food festival, scott conant

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At one of the least-attended panels of the New York Wine and Food Festival, chefs and writers — Gabriella Gershenson of Time Out, Andrew Carmellini of Locanda Verde, Kate Krader of Food & Wine, Daniel Boulud, and Andre Soltner, formerly of Lutece — pondered the future of fine dining. But an unnamed sixth panelist hovered over the proceedings: Mr. David Chang.

In keeping with every navel-gazing panel discussion, Gershenson began by asking what exactly is fine dining? General credence was given to the idea that it’s about the food, not white tablecloths. Boulud said that “There is a difference between fancy dining and fine dining. Fine dining is about ingredients. Today we find fine dining in restaurants that aren’t necessarily high end.” The wizened, benevolent Soltner agreed: “Fine dining is simplicity. A very simple restaurant can be fine dining.” Kate Krader asserted that fine dining is something experiential and Andrew Carmellini chimed in, “Whether you are making fried chicken or something fancier, the intention, the attention and the passion is the same.” Well played, panelists! If fine dining just means good food, perhaps its prognosis will be better.

The elephant in the room — and pretty much at every panel discussion of the festival — was David Chang. Though rarely alluded to by name, he was frequently cited as a warrior against fine dining. Carmellini made repeated reference to the replacement of fine dining establishments with hybridized versions involving “backless chairs and punk rock music.” (Both signatures of Chang’s empire.) With a hint of disdain, Daniel Boulud mentioned in passing that “David Chang is the baby of Andrew Carmellini” (whom Chang worked under at Cafe Boulud). Andre Soltner woefully brought up the very good point — one often overlooked by those ensconced in the eat-out-a-lot bubble of bourgeois Manhattan — that for many people, visiting a fine dining restaurant is a big event, something they may do only once in their lifetime. “And they don’t,” said Monsieur Soltner, with a Gallic sniff, “want to be next to someone wearing blue jeans.” It should be noted here that Soltner was the only panelist in a suit.

Though Chang might be changing the game, all agreed that the end of traditional white tablecloth, geisha-like service in New York coincided with Alain Ducasse’s failure at Essex House. “The public pulled back from that sort of excess,” said Soltner. Everybody nodded ruefully. As for the future? “Fine dining won’t go away,” said Boulud. “After all, it’s a very affordable luxury.” Perhaps David and Karen Waltuck from recently-shuttered Chanterelle or Cyril Renaud from Fleur De Sel, or even Ruth Reichl, might have provided a less sanguine outlook.

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Filed Under: andre soltner, andrew carmellini, daniel boulud, david chang, gabriella gershenson, kate krader, new york food and wine festival

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In honor of the New York Michelin guide’s fifth anniversary, chefs gathered last night at Rockefeller Center to celebrate new stars or mourn their loss. They were also grieving the sudden death of Gourmet. We took the opportunity to ask the city’s kitchen elite what losing an iconic title means for their industry.

Fabio Trabocchi, The Four Seasons: “I’ve been a Gourmet [reader] for as long as I can remember. It is going to feel strange when I don’t receive it in the mail. I’m sure it’s a tough decision; I hope that they tried to find ways to save it. As chefs, we always look forward to the October “Restaurant Issue.” It’s not only a vehicle of getting your restaurant known, but to know what else is going on. It’s a tremendous loss for the industry.”

Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Jean Georges: “I found out Gourmet was shutting this afternoon. I was supposed to do the Today show on Wednesday for the Gourmet Institute, but the show’s producers called to say it was canceled. So I called Susan Magrino who does PR for the magazine. Everything is canceled, she said. I was very shocked. It was the first international food magazine I bought back when I was in Bangkok. It was 1980 and I was 23. There was no Internet so I read it to stay informed. Gourmet was not the Bible but people read it. But the world changes. It’s big and sad news.”

Jeffery Chodorow, China Grill Management: “Gourmet closed? What? That’s a shame. It’s a sign of the times, I guess. We’re on food overload. There’s so many magazines and blogs available for free, why would you pay for it? The good news is you can’t eat over the Internet.”

Marc Forgione, Marc Forgione: “It’s a very sad day. The first Gourmet I read was the one I was in. It was a double review of me and Scott Conant, who is now a good friend. I was so proud to be in Gourmet.”

Gregory Brainin, chef, Jean Georges Group: “Gourmet closing is scary and sad. To be so well established. David Chang wouldn’t be David Chang without Gourmet. I’m not saying it made him, but you can’t deny that the magazine was a catalyst.”

David Chang, Momofuku Ko: “Losing Gourmet is fucking sad. It’s fucking horrible.”

André Soltner, Dean of Classic Studies at the French Culinary Institute: (via phone) “The first time I heard of Gourmet magazine, I still was in France. Then when I came here in 1961, I bought Gourmet magazine right away. I was very impressed. Gourmet was always very objective, and not destructive. When I had my restaurant [Lutèce], the review was written by Jay Jacobs. It was very positive. Restaurants, back 40 years ago, were not so known by television or the New York Times, so Gourmet helped a lot. It brought us customers. It was not just a thing for a week. We had customers coming in for a year because of Gourmet.”

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Filed Under: closings, gourmet, other magazines

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Sitting in the lobby bar of the Ace Hotel, where his new restaurant, the Breslin, is slated to open next month, restaurateur Ken Friedman reflected on the recent (temporary) death of the John Dory, his Far West Side fine-dining fish restaurant. “It was my fault,” he admits, sipping a glass of Chardonnay. “It should have been a bar, or at least a restaurant with a huge bar component, like a Spotted Pig/Rusty Knot–esque bar scene. Bar scenes are what we do well. The place was so small we needed every bar stool for people eating dinner.” Friedman picks up a clump of April Bloomfield’s caramel popcorn (available in the rooms of the Ace and at the bar) and adds, “I wanted to show everybody April Bloomfield could cook. So we made it a restaurant.”

But the restaurant was on a bleak strip of Tenth Avenue already infested with them: Morimoto, Del Posto, and Craftsteak. “The Highline didn’t help at all. Everyone is struggling there,” Friedman says. “It was just impossible in that tiny space. The landlord tried to get us more space, lower our rent, tried to make us happy. But we just felt we needed to move.” With the John Dory in remission, Friedman has managed to rescue almost all of the staff — they’ve moved en masse to the Breslin — and the fish — they’ve moved en masse to House of Fins in Greenwich, Conn., and now is biding his time. “April and I really, truly believe we will move early in the new year to a bigger space in a much busier neighborhood,” he explains. “If the John Dory fails there we’ll know that it was just a dumb idea from the start.”

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Filed Under: april bloomfield, closings, ken friedman, the john dory

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Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack, a place with longer lines than the DMV and much better burgers, is expanding to three other unnamed New York locations, will slowly spread across the country, and finally, will land in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Eater reports that Sheik Meyer will be opening seven new outposts in the Middle East. No timeline is given, nor business plans for Ramadan, when the majority of the population fasts during the day. No matter — Islam Haz Cheezburger, and that’s a good thing.

Shack Attack! Shake Shack Expands to Dubai, Saudi Arabia [Eater]

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Filed Under: burgers, danny meyer, empire building, hamburgers, shake shack, the middle east

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It’s been a long, hard road for Jody Wiliams, once the chef at Gusto, then Morandi (fired), and now Gottino. Abbe Diaz, whose boyfriend used to own Gusto and who has no love lost for Ms. Williams, gleefully reports that Gottino’s Michael Bull has sued Jody Williams for misappropriating “$95,000.00 of company money.” According to Diaz, Bull said: “The gloves are off and the fight is on … I will close [Gottino] down if I have to,” which seems dubious, unless he’s some sort of Sam Spade film-noir antihero. [Ed. note: He's not.] However, a phone call to Gottino seems to confirm that Bull has indeed entered into litigation with Ms. Williams

Grub Street: “I’d like to talk to Michael Bull about the litigation he’s in with Jody Williams.”
Answer: “Oh, yes … ummm, he’s not here.” [click]

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Filed Under: gottino, jody williams, lawsuits, michael bull, rumors

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[In the voice of Don LaFontaine] “In a world of açai and gentiles, where the pastrami sandwich is the twin victim of anti-cholesterol fanatics and anti-Semitic zealots, one man has decided to save the great but endangered institution, the deli.” That man is David Sax. Young Sax created a blog called Save the Deli, and now has a book, also called Save the Deli. Sax, who’s written for nymag.com, has even made a video trailer of the book of the blog. Coming on October 19 to a bookstore near you.

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Filed Under: bookshelf, david sax, delis, mitzvahs, save the deli, the jews

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