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| Tables Available at Annisa, One If by Land; Rainbow Room Fully Booked |
 It’s 4 p.m., and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Romance. Read More » |
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| Sadly Disappointing: The ‘Chip n Cheese’ Dog at Munchies |
 You probably haven’t heard of Munchies unless you’re a Lower East Side drunk (it’s open till 6 a.m. on weekends and serves comfort food like “nach yo cheese,” funnel cake, sloppy joes, PB&Js — you get the idea). The takeout and delivery joint was met with deafening silence when it opened two months ago, though it clearly intends to become a Papaya-style chain from the looks of its goofy signage. Nevertheless, when we discovered that it serves a “chip n cheese dog,” we knew we 100 percent had to go. Sadly, we’re going to have to declare this thing a fail. It’s a Papaya-style wiener covered with three-cheese fondue and... Read More » |
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| A First Look at Brookvin: Pour Park Slope |
 If you own a wineshop, you may as well open a wine bar. (Worked out for the Jake Walk.) Aaron Hans of Big Nose Full Body has opened Brookvin, which serves glasses starting at $6 and sausage made by former Savoy cook Dave Townsend. Click through the slideshow to get a look at the place. Restaurant Openings: Week of December 15 [en] Read More » |
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| Le Cirque Vet Pierre Schaedelin Leaves Martha Stewart for Benoit |
 After replacing Tony Esnault with Joel Dennis at Adour, Alain Ducasse now takes care of business at Benoit, demoting Sebastien Rondier to chef de cuisine and installing Le Cirque veteran Pierre Schaedelin as executive chef. According to the Times, Schaedelin, who will be a partner, plans to change about half of Benoit’s menu. It’s hard to see this luring back Platt, who didn’t do backflips over Schaedelin’s cooking at Le Cirque (“Le Cirque 2000 wasn’t an exceptional restaurant when it closed,” Platt opined in his review, “and this isn’t an exceptional restaurant either”), but it will definitely get the place some Martha Stewart appearances. Schaedelin has been Martha’s personal chef... Read More » |
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| Nolita Fondue Frenzy: Café Select and Jacques Get Cheesy |
 We’re told that Jacques Ouari is getting ready to open that fondue lounge under his French-Moroccan bistro, Jacques, this week, maybe next week. It’ll be called La Cave des Fondus, and will serve three varieties of the melted stuff: Cheese (a blend of Swiss, aged Emmental, and aged Comté); Court Bouillon, or Chinoise-style (thin slices of beef cooked at the table in simmering bouillon and dipped in a selection of sauces); and Valrhona chocolate. There will also be cheese plates and charcuterie. Even if it doesn’t open this week, you’ll still have a fondue option on Sunday, since Café Select just launched its Fondue Night — $45 gets you and... Read More » |
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| Angelo Sosa’s St. Marks Project Delayed Till Next Year |
 In case you were wondering, Seoul Station, the new joint serving sandwiches and buns on St. Marks, is not the one Angelo Sosa was planning to open around this time on St. Marks. That operation, which will serve food inspired in part by his travels in Bangkok and Hanoi (including, yes, buns and sandwiches), has been delayed till late January at the earliest. But between these two and Baoguette, can we officially call Asian-street-food takeout joints a trend? Read More » |
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| Baywatch: Jean-Georges Vongerichten Edition |
 Also in its upcoming issue, Food & Wine accompanies Jean-Georges Vongerichten and his business partner, Phil Suarez, on one of their bromantic vacations to St. Barts (actually, they bring the wife and kids, too). Apparently Vongo only takes two weeks off per year, which might explain why he’s kind of (um) intense even in paradise — “He yells at people on the beach,” says his cousin-in-law James. “He says to them, ‘Why are you lying on the beach when the water is out there?’” Read More » |
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| A First Look at Bar Breton and Its Breakfast Menu |
 "You may be tempted to call what Cyril Renaud is serving at his new Bar Breton crêpes, but you’d be wrong," wrote Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld in this week's magazine. Instead, the restaurant serves galettes, made from buckwheat and stuffed with goodness ranging from eggs, ham, and Gruyère to tomato confit. For now, Bar Breton only serves breakfast, but look for a lunch menu to appear at the end of the week. Click through for another photo and the entire breakfast menu. Read More » |
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| Marlow & Daughters [en] Is a Total Trendsetter |
 Some New York spots get name-checked in Food & Wine’s “50 Trends to Try,” which appears in the next issue and isn’t yet online. Trends include gourmet food courts (Danny Meyer at Citifield, Alex Raij at Terminal 5), wursts (boudin noir at Irving Mill, the “vertical” sausage at Dogmatic), goat (Anthos), and of course the haute-uniform trend we’ve pointed to. And there are chefs who butcher, such as Tom Mylan at Marlow & Sons — or as F & W calls it in a Freudian slip and soon Marlow & Daughters! Related: Cheap, Sharp, Lasts Forever [en] Read More » |
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| Padma Lakshmi’s Food Demo a Little Easier Than ‘Top Chef’ |
 Though her cookbook Tangy Hot Tart and Sweet came out more than a year ago, Padma Lakshmi appeared at Whole Foods Bowery on Saturday for a signing and, echoing last week's Top Chef elimination challenge, did her own demo. Padma made a sweet-potato-and-lima-bean dish, which the author herself described as “really forgiving.” Good choice for a demo, though it certainly wasn’t as pressure-filled as the one on Top Chef: Padma’s presentation lasted about twenty minutes, and she had an assistant to manhandle the stove. (And to terrify — a few times, Padma leaned over and micromanaged the assistant’s stirring.) During the audience Q&A, Padma reiterated her love for La Esquina... Read More » |
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| Bouley Bakery Reopens As Bouley Market |
 Bouley Bakery settled into its new West Broadway home in the former space of Bouley's flagship just last week (the restaurant has already reopened at 163 Duane Street), but the transformation into a full-blown market is still under way. In addition to the breads and hot food already available, a gourmet grocery list is on Bouley's Website. Expect raw fish and meat from Kumamoto oysters to organic lamb chops; prepared sauces; bread and cookie dough; and house-made ice cream (quark cheese, green-tea white chocolate, espresso bean) and sorbet (cassis, Riesling, vanilla-peach). The shop opens daily from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Whole Foods nearby has nothing to worry about, but... Read More » |
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| ‘Tis the Season: Xmas Excess at Metropolitan Fish Market |
 Above, one of many restaurants and markets that are going all out this season, this one in Williamsburg. To your right: A plastic snow globe (complete with fake snow) containing a snowman, Santa, and such. To your left: Santa’s workshop. And just for good measure, some nutcrackers and some Korean, Dominican, Israeli, and Italian flags. Stay tuned for more. Read More » |
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| That Weird Place With the Giant Dog on It Has Closed |
 Over the weekend we noticed that one of our points of obsession, Spots' Cafe, has called it quits. But probably not for good. We’ve seen that newspaper before — back when the original joint, Good Dog, reinvented itself. Obviously Spots is giving Kurve a run for its money in East Village opening-closing moodiness, though that papier mâché dog probably didn’t cost quite as much as Kurve’s flashy interior did. Our suggestion to Good Dog/Spots: Maybe reopen as a pet-food store? Related: Good Dog Rolls Over and Dies Read More » |
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| Saigon Grill Still Popular, Especially With Mexican Wrestlers |
 According to the Observer, the Saigon Grill is still bustling even after the owners were hauled away in handcuffs: “The owners may be crooks, but the Tom Xao Gung is delicious.” That sentiment is echoed by a gentleman by the name of the Mexican Wrestler, who does video reviews of random restaurants like the Skylight Diner (yes, food blogging has gone too far). The Mexican Wrestler gives Saigon three out of five stars from a food perspective and a negative star from an ethics standpoint. If you trust a guy in a cape. Read More » |
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| Our Weird Bill Murray Sighting Was Just the Tip of the Iceberg |
 In an issue that (oops!) tells readers to “do brunch” at the Neptune Room despite the fact that it’s closed for the rest of the year and may reopen as something else, Page Six Magazine examines Bill Murray’s supposed midlife crisis, which entails “hanging out with rock stars [en] hitting on twentysomething women at bars.” Though it fails to mention our bizarre encounter with the man at BEast, it does tell the story of a drop-in at the Half King. Read More » |
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| Ryan Skeen Is Metromix’s Chef of the Year; NYC Hotel Bars Still Great |
| •Pork reigns supreme in Metromix's Year in Dining: Irving Mill's pig enthusiast Ryan Skeen takes Chef of the Year, and popular trends include single-item restaurants like Porchetta, as well as whole-hog dining. [en] • Although hotel bars in general aren't as good as they used to be, New York institutions like the Pierre and the St. Regis can still make very fine cocktails. [en] • Après-ski-themed bars include the clubby Gstaad and the cozy Camp. [en] • Despite New York's recent reputation as a barbecue-loving city, the newly relaunched McRib will not be available here. [City Room/NYT] • Contrary to what some New Yorkers think, brunch doesn't have to be... Read More » |
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| Girl Drink Drunks on the Rise; Eat Out of a Wood-Burning Oven in Vinegar Hill |
 In the magazine this week, Alex Morris examines the rise in alcohol use — and abuse — among women. The Underground Gourmet reviews Vinegar Hill House, the new Brooklyn restaurant dominated by a wood-burning oven. "It’s Little House on the Prairie crossed with Freemans," writes the UG, who awarded three stars. In this week's openings, Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld preview Michael Psilakis and Donatella Arpaia's renovated Kefi; a new wine bar, Brookvin, in Park Slope; and a French gelette restaurant called Bar Breton. Rob and Robin also mapped the coffee-shop explosion in the West Village, so keep it handy if you need something hot or an emergency Wi-Fi fix... Read More » |
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