Knives and clogs in the al di là kitchen.

Michael Harlan Turkell, photo editor at Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn and originator of the Back of the House photo series, might be the Robert Capa of the food world. His latest exhibit is up at the Beard House’s Greenhouse Gallery, through October. The images above were shot in al di là’s kitchen.

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Filed Under: exhibits, michael harlan turkell, photo op, photo plates, photography

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From left, Spice Market, Bagatelle, Pastis

Armed with a Canon G10, we headed into the sweltering/crisp Meatpacking district to assess the pulsing lifebeat of New York City nightlife. Oh, it pulses. It pulses real good.

10:15 p.m., Bagatelle: Two pink-shirted outfit twins occupy the window seats, each presiding over competing harems of dyed-blonde women. All tables taken; bar area crowded with men, who outnumber women three to one.

10:17 p.m., Spice Market: Inside tables mostly empty, save for a few groupings of older men. Outside tables are taken by couples on platonic dates.

10:24 p.m., Pastis: Crowd spilling out onto the street, inside and outside packed with European families and good-looking tan people smoking.

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Filed Under: bagatelle, meatpacking district, pastis, spice market, spot check

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The year was 2008. The month was October. And it seemed Trader Joe’s could do anything it pleased, including opening a bi-level store on 72nd and Broadway, in the heart of Zabar’s territory. But that was back in the dewy-eyed, hope-filled fall of 2008. In the harsh afterburn of 2009, Trader Joe’s, it turns out, will not be opening on the Upper West Side and, in fact, is in denial that the whole thing happened. When blogger Westside Independent requested an update, he got this strange response:

We regret to inform you that at this time we have no confirmed plans for a store location in this area,” customer relations rep Nikki K. wrote … “We are always looking for new locations and are open to suggestions and we appreciate the information you have provided. It truly shows us what a great fan you are of our stores when you scout locations for us!”

At any rate, Zabar’s, Citarella, and Fairway can breathe a sigh of relief.

Trader Joe’s Apparently Not Coming to 72nd Street [Westside Independent]
Related: Trader Joe’s to Californicate on UWS [Daily Intel]

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Filed Under: empire building, trader joe’s, upper west side

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Jeffrey Chodorow to Gael Greene regarding his recent nineteen-pound weight loss: “My wife says my you know definitely looks bigger.” Now you know and you know you can never un-know. [Insatiable Critic]

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Filed Under: back of the house, euphemisms, jeff chodorow, you knows

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When Le Cirque closed at the Mayfair Hotel and was later ousted from the Palace, owner Sirio Maccioni blamed the high demands of Local 6 Hotel Bartenders and Club Employees Union. Last year Sirio said, “I never talk about politics or unions, because I hate them both.” Unions, he complained, made it almost impossible to have a profitable restaurant in a hotel. Though they might offer their workers job security, benefits, and a livable wage — all good things — the high wages of a union shop ($23 an hour for dishwashers; $12 for a “food server,” plus benefits) do cut significantly into profitability. So are this season’s newest crop of hotel restaurants facing the same challenges?

John Turchiano of Local 6 says that though the union has nearly 80 percent density in the hotel industry, few of the new boutique hotels are union shops. “If we’re not in the hotel, we’re certainly not in the restaurant,” he says. Neither the Standard (home of the Standard Grill); the Ace (home of the Breslin); the Greenwich Hotel (home of Locande Verde or the Cooper Square (home of Table 8) are unionized. Interestingly, the only hotel with union representation, the Gramercy Park Hotel, was home to the ill-fated and now-closed Wakiya. (Though Maialino may well succeed where Wakiya failed.)

What does this mean? Well, it doesn’t mean any of the non-union places are maltreating or underpaying their workers and it doesn’t mean the presence of union labor is a death sentence. (Blame Wakiya’s seafood toast for that.) But it might be a clue as to why and how restaurants have sprung up so freely in the once no-man’s-land of the hotel lobby.

Related: Hometown Hospitality

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Filed Under: back of the house, labor, locanda verde, maialino, table 8, the ace, the breslin, the cooper square hotel, the standard, the standard grill, wakiya

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The rich don’t disappear during the recession; they simply cower and await the revolution. And while cowering, they still need to eat. Enter Maison Privé, a private-chef service founded by Jennifer Scibelli and James Vellano, two chefs who found love on the line at Per Se and now bring “Michelin quality dining into your home.” They come into your kitchen, charge you money [$70 an hour], cook for you, and no one has to see you eat truffles. Also, it’s a deal.

According to James, “Everything is completely custom, to make sure they get exactly what they want. We do our best to source organic, sustainable products, but some people don’t care, so then it’s much cheaper. It can be as low-end as you want — hamburgers and cheeseburgers or high-end.” Below is a fourteen-course meal the two prepared for a recent dinner party in Greenwich, Connecticut (obvi!). Cost per person: $260. Compare that to the Per Se Tasting menu, and you get five more courses for fifteen fewer dollars. Most important, you don’t have to expose yourself to the scorn of the masses!

Chilled Summer Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho
peppadew peppers, lime pickle, Spanish olive oil

Salmon Caviar
yukon gold potato blini, chive mousseline, scallion salad

Sardine in Saor
golden sultanas, toasted pine nut, sherry vinegar

Tempura Pink Shrimp
tamari glaze, hen-of-the-woods mushroom

Cauliflower Panna Cotta
Kumamoto Oyster

Wagyu Beef Tataki
daikon kimchi

Hearts of Palm Salad
summer citrus, celery, cilantro, sauce vierge

Crispy Skin Florida Snapper
fennel confit, nicoise olive crumble, basil coulis

Butter Poached Lobster Tail
crispy bacon, braised romaine, tomato marmalade

Whole Roasted Quail
fig relish, Satur Farms Tokyo Turnips, mizuna leaves

Flying Pigs Farm Crispy Pork Belly
poached apple, brussel sprout leaves, grain mustard

Fourme D’Ambert
bing cherry compote, crunchy walnuts

Mascarpone Sorbet
persimmon pudding

Dark Chocolate Cake

milk chocolate cremeux, olive oil emulsion

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Filed Under: dinner parties, per se, tasteful spending, the recession, the rich

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Nine months after losing its right to use the name, Buddha Bar has reincarnated itself as Ajna Bar. In a bid for relevance, it’s also hired Top Chef winner Hung Huynh to redo the menu. Ajna, as any yoga-mat-toting hippie can tell you, is the sixth chakra. According to the book From Om to Orgasm, Ajna manifestations include David Korresh, Charles Manson, Jim Jones, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Buddha Bar Changes Name, Hires Top Chef’s Hung [Eater]

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Filed Under: ajna bar, buddha bar, hung huynh, reincarnations, taxonomy, top chef alumni newsletter

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If you’re looking to party with “bartenders, cocktail waitresses, bar backs and lounge lizards from all over the Big Apple and Long Island,” and really — circle of trust, guys,who isn’t? — you should really go to P.D. O’Hurleys at Pier 84 on September 14. It’s the FIRST ANNUAL NYC BARTENDERS BALL-END OF SUMMER BASH, le majuscule obligitoire. They’re celebrating the ball-end of summer! Oh, and also “the hospitality industry.” It’s hosted by celebrated mixologist WABC TV anchor Ken Rosato. Tarry not; tickets are $50 and available here. But if you’re not going, the least you can do is vote. Categories include: Bartender Who Shows the Most Skin, Easiest Place to Hook Up, Coldest Beer, and Biggest Attitude Behind Bar. Democracy at work, folks!

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Filed Under: bartenders, bartenders ball, beer me, foodievents, nightlife

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According to a calm, cheery voice on its answering machine, Irving Mill is on vacation from August 29 to September 8. A tipster adds: “Their website’s menu page is empty and they have no slots on OpenTable for days.” There’s no scandal there, really. Many of us go on vacation this time of year (cf: Daniel Maurer). The only difference? The restaurant is embroiled in a costly and contentious lawsuit with former chef John Schaefer, who, among other things, claims Irving Mill’s owners, Suzanne, Mario, and Sergio Rivas, not only fired him unjustly but, more important for the issue at hand, used restaurant monies to pay for private parties, comps, and babysitters. And then, poof, just like that, Labor Day vacation.

Suspicious omens abound if you’re looking for them. The Menu section on the website, for instance, is eerily empty. But right now, we’re stuck like the wife whose husband is working late but soon might never come home. Dinner is steaming on the table; in a few hours (or, in our case, on September our fears may evaporate. Irving Mill will return, tan and refreshed. On the other hand, it’s a thin line between vacation and a fugitive’s flight — just ask Giuseppe Cipriani.

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Filed Under: irving mill, lawsuits, temporary closings

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Hector Santiago and Robin Leventhal are blown away by canned goods.

Last night’s Top Chef managed to combine the irksome, the noble, potatoes, whining, winning, and slab bacon. You knew it would be a good episode when the Quickfire involved a man named Mark Peel and a magic mountain of potatoes — Russian banana fingerling! Purple! Sweet! — and still the producers resisted the temptation to make some sort of pun with his last name. At any rate, chefs were asked to harness the inner essence of a potato. Jennifer Carroll won the challenge, predictably, because she’s the best chef. But the real winner was Ash Fulk who, for once successfully passed off unset ice cream as custard — and the judge bought it. Then it was off to the hangar.

The Elimination Challenge consisted of cooking for 300 airmen and their families, stationed at the Nellis Air Force Base. Chefs knew neither their ingredients nor the equipment with which they’d be cooking. Bearded Southern angel Kevin was in ROTC and says he knew there would be canned goods and no ranges, but during a midnight plenary session the night before he kept his mouth shut. Instead, it was the world’s worst man, Mike Isabella, who came up with the good idea to split into teams of two and anoint Jennifer Carroll as executive chef. Maybe the only good idea ever to come from that guy.

In the morning, contestants were driven to Nellis — “It was so cool, it was like going to war,” enthused Isabella — where they discovered everything was in cans. Preeti mentions that 9/11 made her want to be a chef. “When it happened,” she says, “all I wanted to do was cook.” Clearly the woman was being set up for a fall. Those who chose braised and roasted meats did better. Michael V. treated slab bacon like pork belly, braised it, and blew Tom Colicchio’s mind. Kevin and Ira made potato salad and pork shoulder. Those who made stupid things for a hot day did not do nearly as well. Piteous dunderheads Ron and Jesse — the fat kids no one wants — made chowder. The producers could find only one soldier who liked it; he was from Boston. Preeti and Laurine made pasta salad. Mike Isabella followed Voltaggio’s slab bacon with a cockamamie Greek shrimp salad. The troops, however, seemed to like everything. There was much warming of the heart.

Mind-blown, Colicchio tapped M. Voltaggio as the winner as Isabella vainly tried to take credit for the dish. Slow-motion Lakshmi then asked baby-mind Isabella to come back with the other losers, Preeti and Laurine. Criticisms included that (a) the dish was pasta salad, (b) the dish was bland pasta salad, and (c) a reiteration of the dish being pasta salad. The judges collectively tried to get either Laurine or Preeti to throw the other under the bus, but the women held up admirably. Laurine acted the penitent, saying she wasn’t happy with the dish. Preeti, however, defended her dish, like a good soldier would. Mike Isabella swayed a lot and acted in general like a buffoonish little kid who got in trouble (which he did, and which he is). In the end — and this is also the entire premise for our justice system — remorse counted more than maintaining innocence. Mea culpa crying Laurine was left to muddle on another day while Preeti “Let Me Die in My Footsteps” Mistry packed her knives and went back to the Google cafeteria, bowed but not broken.

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All-around class act and former George editor Richard Bradley tears up remembering the night he spent at the shuttered Café des Artistes with Bono: “We sat down in a booth and ordered and talked and drank a couple of bottles of wine. Bono, it’s safe to say, consumed a larger percentage of them than I did.” [Daily Intel]

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Archie, redheaded comic Lothario, recently came to New York City. Strangely, both Betty, his scorned lover, and Veronica, his soon-to-be bride, are with him. That’s awkward. Even more strange, they end up at Tavern on the Green and talk about it … a lot. Not only is TotG a strange place for a bunch of 17-year-olds to brunch, but also, why do they broadcast moving panegyrics about the place’s menu for an entire page? Shouldn’t they be getting trashed at Max Fish? Ruth Graham at Public Road investigated.

I called up [Archie artist Hal] Lifson to ask him. “I write about the things I love,” he told me this morning. In addition to writing many of the comics, Lifson does PR for the Archie brand, so he’s been searching for ways to get his comics some press attention. He said he just uses brands he likes (and sometimes has had professional relationships with), and he gets permission to use their names and logos in the comics, instead of masking them in the comic’s usual practice. (”Hey, gang, let’s head to Cavern on the Spleen!”) “Archie has been around since 1941, and it has never really featured brand names much at all,” Lifson explained. “What I’m doing is very, very different. But I’m being selective — I’m not turning Archie into an advertising bonanza.”

Graham notes that Tavern on the Green didn’t pay for the placement, and though the place might not last for much longer, old-timey 9-year-olds are going to be clamoring to get in.

Why Is Archie Andrews Gushing Over Tavern on Green [Public Road]

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Filed Under: how your archie gets made, product placement, tavern on the green

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