City Room brings disturbing news that a woman was brutally beaten and possibly raped after declining to dance with a man at Social, a midtown bar that now moves even higher up on our list of places we wouldn’t go to for our best friend’s birthday party. [City Room/NYT]

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Filed Under: crime scenes, midtown, nightlife, social

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Now writing for The New York Times Magazine, Frank Bruni profiles Katie Lee, and reveals that although the Food Network didn’t take a liking to a pilot she is said to have shopped them (food-world insiders say Lee’s style wasn’t “catchy” enough), she’s currently working with none other than Brett Ratner (yes, the director of the Rush Hour flicks) on a new show that might be set in the West Village townhouse she snagged after divorcing Billy Joel.

A few months ago I accompanied her to a meeting in Beverly Hills with the two young producers working directly on her pilot. Over peppermint tea on a patio outside the Four Seasons, they and Lee spitballed scenarios for the “Untitled Katie Lee Project.” They envisioned her inviting a small group of girlfriends over to her town house for a “spa night” of healthful eating and facials. They pictured Lee bolting to the home of an acquaintance who is less skillful in the kitchen than she, surreptitiously helping her cook, then dashing away before the acquaintance’s date arrives to a sumptuous meal.
One producer: “The ideas are endless.”

The other producer: “You’re like the girl next door, everybody’s friend. People relate to you.”

The producers said they should ideally show enough of Lee’s life at home so that she could put her stamp on a variety of products — like linens or clothes. “If you’re wearing a sweater, people will want to know what it is,” one of them said. “They should be able to go to a Web site.”

The other: “Yeah, because you’re very stylish.”

Cue Anthony Bourdain: “Just as teenage girls need nonthreatening teen idols, whether they sing or appear in vampire movies, America clearly needs likable people who appear in the kitchen.”

Lee isn’t the only one going after her own show. In a Diner’s Journal pointer to his story, Bruni floats a rumor about Donatella Arpaia, whose first cookbook is coming out: “I’ve heard whispers that Ms. Arpaia, who’s been a regular presence on ‘Iron Chef America’ and ‘The Next Iron Chef,’ will be sautéing for the cameras in the very near future. The cookbook will inform the show, and vice versa, the two commingling to craft a culinary persona.”

How to Cook Up a Food Celebrity [NYT]
The Stove as a Steppingstone [Diner’s Journal/NYT]

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Filed Under: tv land, brett ratner, donatella arpaia, katie lee

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Eater notices that Michael Psilakis will go before Wiliamsburg’s Community Board to plead the case for a restaurant on Driggs between North 10th and 11th. The name of his LLC is Biergarten, so if a lease is signed, Loreley’s Williamsburg “biergarten” will get some celebrity competition. [Eater NY]

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: openings, beer gardens, loreley, michael psilakis, williamsburg

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Dining Out for Life, an annual fundraiser where restaurants donate a third of their proceeds for one night to local AIDS service organizations. The event, which began in Philadelphia in 1991 and has spread throughout the country to 53 cities including Chicago, L.A. Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area, raises close to $4 million annually. To commemorate the big anniversary, the organization rounded up Iron Chef Jose Garces, Food Network host Ted Allen and… Jackie Brown star Pam Grier for a little dinner party-slash-public service announcement. If only we could hear what they were talking about when the cameras weren’t rolling!

This year’s Dining Out for Life takes place throughout the country on Thursday, April 29. In Philly, all Starr Restaurant Organization and Jose Garces’ restaurants are participating – a full list of all of the participating restaurants in Philadelphia is available here.

For information other cities, check the Dining Out for Life website.

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Filed Under: foodievents, actionaids, anniversaries, charity, dine out for life, jose garces, pam grier, ted allen, video

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If it’s beginning to seem like underground apartment parties are the only thing going on, take note: Chelsea wine spot Bar Baresco is reviving its back room (formerly Viscaya) for weekly parties, the first of them to be thrown this Saturday by co-owner Adam Senn. “Rock Room NY” will, naturally, be all about rock music, starting with next week’s live performance by Senn’s favorite band, Tamarama. Bottle service isn’t obligatory, but if you do buy a $200 bottle of Jack, it’ll come with disco fries — and if you spring for Champagne, the fries will be topped with tuna tartar. How fun! And there’ll be mini-pizzas, as well. You’ll recall Adam Senn is a Dolce & Gabbana model with some very pretty friends, so, model hunters, knock yourselves out.

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Filed Under: party time excellent, adam senn, bar baresco, rock room ny, tamarama, viscaya

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Today the Post drops a feature on Mike’s apartment. It doesn’t add much to what we’ve already reported, other than to reveal his last name (Herman) and show a photo of the $2,000-to-$3,000-per-month, 900-square-foot studio in question (Mike’s parties may be a “glimpse into a time gone by,” but his rent certainly isn’t). Meanwhile, over in Brooklyn, another house-party host, South Brooklyn Pizza and PJ Hanley’s owner James McGown, is under fire for throwing “extreme parties” involving stripper poles and “fire massages” at his Tribeca condo. It’s uncertain whether Axl Rose has been spotted.

The man behind NYC’s secret hangout [NYP]
TriBeCa party apt. under fire [NYP]
The Eurotrash Have Found a New Way to Entertain Themselves [Daily Intel]

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Filed Under: party animals, james mcgown, mike herman, pj hanley’s, south brooklyn pizza

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• Wall Street Journal critic Raymond Sokolov is leaving the paper, which he claims will no longer review restaurants. [Diner's Journal/NYT]

• Florida’s deep freeze led Tropicana to raise prices on orange juice. [NYDN]

• The makers of Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper are teaming up to remove soda from schools. [Crain's]

• At North Carolina’s Sticks and Stones Clay Oven, every menu item is named after a Ryan Adams song. [Spinner via Eater National]

• A string of high-profile museum restaurants recently opened in Paris. [NYT]
Previously: Upscale Restaurants Barely Alive While Downscale Restaurants Thrive?

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Filed Under: mediavore, michael huynh, museum restaurants, raymond sokolov, ryan adams, south brooklyn pizza, tropicana

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Some days a service person turns a decent meal into a fabulous one. That was Jamie, our waitress at Rosa Mexicano!

Rosa Mexicano

9 E 18th St, New York

(212) 533-3350

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I used to like this vegetarian restaurant. I’ve been here with my mom a couple of times throughout the years. (My mom…

House of Vegetarian

68 Mott St, New York

(212) 226-6572

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Cobble Hill: Brick-oven pizzeria Casa Tua has moved into La Pizzetta’s old Atlantic Avenue home. [Brownstoner]

Dumbo: Choice Market is now open until 11 p.m., with an expanded menu and more drink options. [Dumbo NYC]

East Village: A freshly renovated Bua will reopen on March 12. [EV Grieve]

More signs point to a new 7th Street Porchetta location. [EV Grieve]

Park Slope: Moutarde (of Julie & Julia fame) is temporarily closed for renovations. [Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn]

A bagel café will replace former neighborhood favorite Park Slope Farm. [Brownstoner]

Upper East Side: Kick off your St. Paddy’s Day celebration this Friday with a $35 historic beer class and tasting at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden. [TONY]

West Village: Bar Henry is now serving brunch, including oysters, caviar, and eggs mole. [Grub Street]

Read more posts by Stefanie Roberts

Filed Under: neighborhood watch, bua, cesare casella, choice market, degustibus cooking school, dumbo, east village, mount vernon hotel museum & garden, moutarde, park slope, park slope farm, porchetta, salumeria rosi, upper east side

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More bad news for the LeRoy family: Per Diner’s Journal, a Southern District Court judge has ruled that Warner LeRoy “made deliberate misstatements and omissions” when he fraudulently acquired the Tavern of the Green trademark (valued at $19 million) in 1981. The restaurant had been known as Tavern on the Green for 40 years before LeRoy came onboard, something he neglected to mention to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As a result, the city gets to keep the name if and when the restaurant reopens under Dean Poll.

Judge Rules the City Owns the Name Tavern on the Green [Diner’s Journal/NYT]

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Filed Under: lawsuits, dean poll, tavern on the green, warner leroy

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from Grub Street San Francisco

Watch out or your sensitive gourmand palate could be lost for days.

“Pine nut mouth” — a mildly allergic reaction to Asian pine nuts which, until recently, had not been widely available in the U.S. — appears to be a growing phenomenon, reports the Oakland Tribune. The main symptom: a strongly bitter and metallic taste on the tongue after eating food that lasts for several days. The cause: imported pine nuts from China sold at Trader Joe’s, Costco, and elsewhere. Trader’s hasn’t issued any warnings, but a European journal first reported the reaction back in 2001. [Oakland Tribune]

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Filed Under: health concerns, allergies, fyi, trader joe’s

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