Recently in New York Category

My last Restaurant Week dinner for Summer '10 was at Fishtail by David Burke.  It's a lovely spot in an Upper East Side townhouse.  The upstairs dining room feels like they've set up tables in a space that used to some lucky person's living room.  It's really quite beautiful.

I LOVE Fulton... not only is it beautiful (decor-wise), a yummy fish restaurant (run by the Citarella people), but it happens to be a stone's throw from my house.  I don't go there very often for dinner because it's a bit pricey for a "neighborhood" spot, so it was great that they were participating in Restaurant Week (3 courses for $35, it's kind of like getting your appetizer and dessert for free)!  I went with a friend on Wed. night.



I had the chilled spring pea soup garnished with lobster, creme fraiche, lemon grass and chili oil. Then, the monkfish with charred tomato, mussels and chick peas. I also tasted my friend's organic salmon with spinach, fava and yogurt. For dessert, the strawberry shortcake.

The soup was amazing, it was non-dairy except for the creme fraiche garnish.  It's hard to get really excited about soup but this was exciting, perhaps it was the chili oil that made it perfect?  Wow, it was just delicious and it really did have chunks of lobster in it.  The monkfish was quite good, but not great, but in all fairness monkfish isn't my favorite fish because of its texture. The preparation was excellent though, with the flavorful charred tomatoes.  My friend's salmon was delicious.  The strawberry shortcake was fine, but not great.  I compare all strawberry shortcakes to my Mom's home-made so maybe its not a fair comparison.  (you know, fresh homemade biscuits, with fresh local picked berries and freshly whipped cream with no sugar - heaven)

I was quite impressed by the generous portions too.  You sort of figure that they're thinking all the cheapskates are coming out for Restaurant Week so maybe they'd be slightly less generous with the portions, but this what not the case at all.  Great, great dinner.  And it's not too late, there are couple days left of Restaurant Week!

You can read their regular dinner menu here.  Oh, and their super nice final touch is that on the way out they give you a little bag of sweets.  This one had a cookie and 2 fish shaped chocolates!  How nice is that?

I went to the Carlyle last night for Restaurant Week dinner.  What an elegant affair!  The restaurant is divided into two rooms both have table arranged spaciously so one would never feel crowded.  There are several corner tables that are nice, you sit on the banquet with velvet pillows to lean up against.



The wine list was in general pricey, but they had at least one reasonable choice in each category, which is nice. We had Chateau de Sales Pomerol, I think it was around $70? I had the field greens, scallops and rhubarb tart. The field greens were pretty standard.  The scallops were served with grilled fennel and were quite good. I loved the rhubarb tart because it was just rhubarb, not mixed with another fruit as most places do, so it had that great tart rhubarb flavor. Here is a link to the Restaurant Week menu.  The service was nice, quite proper and not snobby at all.  I thought they might have been since we both ordered from the Restaurant Week menu...  Overall, it definitely felt like a luxury experience... as it should, the Carlyle is a Rosewood property and they certainly know luxury!

Great news for those of us who are sorely missing Payard on the Upper East Side.... Francois Payard will be opening Payard Bakery at 116 West Houston Street.  It is scheduled to open in the late Summer.  Here is a rendering:



It will offer take-out and a casual dining room.  I used to stop by the Upper East Side bistro/restaurant to buy macaroons once in a while... oh, I miss those!!!  They are so good it will be worth a trip downtown!
 

Bastille Day is next Wednesday, just the excuse we needed to go out for some tasty French wine and food!

Fig & Olive serves Mediterranean food with a South of France vibe.  They are offering free rosé wine with their delicious crostinis at their Meatpacking district location!

 
While you're there why not try their prix fixe menu which is a really great value!

NYC Summer Restaurant Week is July 12 - 25.  Start making reservations now so you don't lose out!   Lunch prix fixe is $24.07 and dinner $35.


Some restaurants are participating for only lunch or dinner, but most are offering both.  You can preview selected menus at the NYC Go website and link to reservations on Open Table.  Many top restaurants are participating like: Aureole, Cafe Boulud, Del Posto, Jo Jo, Le Cirque, Nobu, etc. etc.  Also a lot of neighborhood spots.

Tribeca Grill is having a Clambake/Wine Dinner on Wednesday July 28th.  It's $75 for a family style feast with lots of great seafood and wine!  Here's a peak at the menu:


Yummy, yum, yum!!  Call 212-941-3900 for reservations.

I have been meaning to get to Luke's on the Upper East Side (242 E. 81st St. betw. 2nd & 3rd) ever since I read about them in New York Magazine a while ago.  Well, I finally made it yesterday.  They are located in the former Etats-Unis space, but it has been transformed into a Fish Shack.  The lobster roll is $14, or you can get a it with a drink, chips and a pickle for $16 (both + tax).  What interested me the most about this place is that I love lobster, but I HATE mayonaise, and almost everyone mixes the two - but here you can keep your lobster pristine (no mayo or butter!) if desired, or have it with just butter and/or lemon, and spices.  I tried it with lemon and spices... wow, I have to say they don't chintz you on lobster!  I was really impressed with the amount of lobster and gorgeous huge hunks of claw meat. (the claw is my favorite part)  The roll is nothing special, just your basic toasted hot dog roll, I didn't even eat it.  I just ate the lobster out of it with a fork, heaven!!

This is the picture from their website and yes, it really does look like that!



They even deliver, with a $20 minimum.  Check out the full menu here including soups, crab claws and crab and shrimp rolls. I hope they're successful, it's a great addition to the Upper East Side!

New York Magazine Bar Buzz has a great listing of rooftop bars. It's been 90 degrees today, so a rooftop bar is sounding pretty good!

View the list here.  Some of them are opening soon, or later in the Summer.



Shown above: rooftop bar at The Strand, Top of the Stand, 33 W. 37th Street. Wow, great view of the Empire State Building!

One of the best things to do in good weather times is go have a cocktail outside to enjoy the breeze and fresh air (okay, maybe the air isn't exactly fresh)...

Here are two places to imbibe outdoors - and up high!

Press is on the 16th floor of Ink48 (a Kimpton Hotel) in Hell's Kitchen (address: 653 11th Ave at 48th St.)  It is scheduled to open this Friday, April 16th.


Not bad, ha?  I bet this place is going to be very popular!

The Rooftop is on the 12th floor of the Empire Hotel (address: 44 West 63rd St. @ Broadway) It has views of Lincoln Center.  The food is done by the China Grill people, so you know it's going to be tasty!  You can look at the cocktail and food menu here. 

Last weekend I found a wonderful new (to me, not new in general) spot on the Upper East Side: Bistro Le Chat Noir on 66th Street between Madison and Fifth.

(Odd Fact - It happens to be diagonally across the street from where Imelda Marcos and all her shoes used to live!)  It is run by the woman who used to manage La Goulue, you can read an interview with her here. 

After a pleasant walk around the Upper East Side on Easter Sunday, a light bite was in order.  They had a really tasty and very Spring-ish lobster salad prepared with 1/2 a lobster, mesclun greens and fresh fennel in a citrus vinaigrette. The baguette they served was quite spectacular, crispy outside with a tender, chewy inside - just the way it should be.  I regret that I didn't ask who their baguette source was. You can check out the entire menu, here at menu pages. For the location, I would say it was a very good value too.

Sherry Lehmann is one of my favorite wine shops in the city. It's a beautiful store and everyone who works there actually knows about wine. Also, it's in a super convenient location (505 Park Ave. at the corner of 59th Street) near Bloomingdale's, Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn.

Here are their wine picks for April:

Over the weekend I went to Esperanto (145 Avenue C at the corner of E. 9th Street). It's a South American bistro.

It was quite good!  We all shared some red sangria. ($35/pitcher).  The wine list offered several very affordable options like a $26 Rioja and a $31 Malbec.  The menu was surprisingly diverse... usually when I think of South American, I think it's going to be really heavy on the meat, but this wasn't. Also, as you would probably expect on Ave. C, the prices were all quite reasonable.  I had a delicious tuna steak with a salsa and rice ($17).  It was perfectly seared (very rare) and the tuna itself was beautiful quality - - not a bit of that stringy stuff you sometimes get with tuna.  My friend had the salmon with mango salsa ($15.50).  She gave me a taste... also delicious!


The interior is a bit quirky, but it works.  It has a cheerful and lively vibe, not dump vibe.
The service was good, a bit slow at times, but nothing dire.  Despite being quite busy by the time we left, they didn't rush us at all.  I was really quite pleasantly surprised.  I'm looking forward to going back!

There's a very good article in this week's New York Magazine about Keith McNally. (The Restaurant Auteur by Benjamin Wallace)  I've always been a fan... I LOVE his restaurants, especially Balthazar and Pastis... (sadly I still have not made it to the Minetta Tavern)

Photo: restaurantgirl.com

The article talks about, among other things, his new restaurant Pulino's Bar & Pizzeria which is opening soon on the Bowery. (282 Bowery at E. Houston St.)  Nate Appleman of A16 and Iron Chef fame is the chef, apparently this is the first time McNally has hired a "celeb" chef. Grub Street has a preview of the menu, here. The pizza is going to be thin and crispy and cooked in a wood-fired oven. Yum!

Photo: Peter van Agtmael/Magnum Photos

I hope they get it open soon, it looks great!  It's already been delayed quite a bit.  Breakfast and lunch are supposed to start on March 15th with opening for dinner following soon.

Starting this Saturday, fresh Montreal bagels from St-Viateur Bagel will be available at Mile End Deli in Brooklyn. They've carried Montreal bagels for a while, but normally they come via courier. What's new is that they are actually driving up to Montreal to pick up the bagels and driving right back so they'll be as fresh as possible! You can reserve some by pre-ordering online, here.

Image Source: New York Times

Montreal-style bagels are thinner than ours and as I recall seemed to have a bit more sugar in the dough. It's been years though since I've had one. I used to go to Montreal a lot since I went to school in Burlington, VT...

I found a City Room blog post from the New York Times that compares the bagels, read full post here. This is what they say about the St. Viateur bagels "They are hand-rolled and baked in wood-burning ovens, something that current New York City regulations would no longer allow. The process gives them a crisp and smoky crust on the outside. The bakers slip tidy lines of bagels in and out on long wooden slats, before flipping them into a bin. Their recipe was slightly different, using malt flour, and they are boiled in water with honey. And since they are skinnier, the hole is more pronounced."

There's a cute place on my block that I walk by at least two times every day... and I've been meaning to stop in for AGES... so I finally did.  The place is B. Cafe (240 East 75th St. between 2nd & 3rd).  It's a very cute Belgian cafe.  I think I was turned off a little bit because I thought it was a beer bar, and it sort of is.... but it's more than that also.

Of course they have the expected... various beers on tap and moules frites... but they also have some rather unexpected things like a roasted butternut squash salad with parmigiano reggiano and mache, seared scallops with parsnip puree, a lovely tarte tatin made not with apple, but pear...

It's quite a nice find!!  The bar is very pleasant, it even has the hooks underneath to hang you bag.  They also have a garden in back which would be pleasant in good weather.

They don't seem to have a website, but you can look at the menu and read reviews, here, at menupages.

I took this image from Google street view:

See, it's just a tiny slice of a place. It's cute though, they normally have 2 umbrellas up out front so you can't miss it...

I had dinner at Orsay on Saturday night - - as the snow was coming down outside - - thankfully I live two blocks away!

I love Orsay, it totally reminds me of Paris!  ... the tile floors, dark woods, cozy banquets, art nouveau style chandeliers, etc.

 

I had a fabulous salad of baked artichoke with corsican cheese and walnut vinaigrette on baby arugula.  Wow, just delicious!  And for a main, the seabass crusted with parmesan and orange, fennel puree and a dollop of tomato confit on top.  I didn't taste the orange in the crusting at all, which is fine with me because it seems perhaps unnecessary to the success of the dish (sorry chef!).  It was also quite good - I'm a sucker for anything with fennel!  They have a tarte tatin on the dessert menu, it's fine, but not a traditional preparation. (I am still on a quest for the perfect tarte tatin!) You can view the whole dinner menu here.

They're having a nice New Year's Eve menu, the 9 pm second seating is a bit pricey but it looks very good (entrees like lobster salad and bison steak au poivre).

On Saturday night I went to Perry St.  My friend and I had a 9:30 reservation because that was all that was available.  We arrived on time and they brought us right to our table. The room is a bit bland, modern and clean looking, but not particularly interesting.  It has a spacious feel which is nice, since so many places try to cram in tables wherever possible.

After we picked out a wine (a delicious Pinot Noir from Burgundy), they brought us an amuse-bouche.  It was a tiny cup of a creamy celery soup, served warm. It was good.

The bread was certainly disappointing.  I love bread and it is always really exciting to have exemplary bread (like at Commerce for example), but this bread was not up to par. It was a served by the slice, a white variety with a well cooked crunchy crust, too dry and not much flavor.  No second slice for me, thanks.

We decided to share the black pepper crab dumplings with sauteed sugar snap peas ($14). They are steamed (yay); I personally hate it when a nice dumpling is ruined by being fried. They were filled with all crab and the black pepper sauce on top was outstanding. It was tempting to order more!

I had the cod with lemon crumbs with sweet garlic broth and broccoli rabe ($24). I was worried about the garlic broth because I'm not a huge garlic fan, the waiter offered to bring it on the side, so that was perfect. Anyway, I needn't have worried - it was a delicious sauce with the right amount of garlic.  Not a garlic festival (as I like to call over-garlicked dishes).  The fish was a beautiful square and thick piece of cod with a nice amount of crispy lemon bread crumbs on top, balanced on top of a small mound of broccoli rabe. It was really quite delicious!  My friend had the slowly cooked salmon with passion fruit olive oil emulsion, spinach, jalapeno and black olive. She gave me a taste and the flavors of the passion fruit, jalapeno and black olive were really amazing, just what you expect from Jean Georges. I think we both picked very well!  Other menu items include a tuna burger, fried chicken, lamb chops...it's a rather eclectic menu.

For dessert, we ordered the twice baked butter cookie with coconut cream and raspberries on the recommendation of our waiter.  I had been leaning towards the fig tart, or the poached pear but they were all out of the poached pear anyway.  They seemed to forget our dessert though, so when they finally brought it out, they also brought a complimentary chocolate pudding with fresh cream and crystallized violets.  Neither of us are "chocolate people" so we never would have ordered the chocolate pudding, but I am so glad they gave it to us!  The crystallized violets were amazing and unique, and the fresh cream was un-sugared. The flavors worked so well together... In comparison I think we were both a bit disappointed by the cookie.  It was good, but not great.

Appetizers: $10 - 29

Entrees: $18 - 36.50

Desserts: $8 - 10

Overall the service was good, not snobby at all. But as mentioned above a bit uneven, we had to ask about our dessert after probably about 30 minutes...  I would go back for sure.  I thought the food (other than the bread) was all delicious and well prepared. And I'll know to get the chocolate pudding next time!

Danny Meyer's Maialino, perhaps the most anticipated opening of Fall 2009, opened last week.

There's a good interview with Meyer, here, in "The Moment" the New York Times blog. It covers the collaboration with David Rockwell on the design, the trattoria concept and opening in an Ian Schrager hotel among other things.

In today's NY Times dining section, Sam Sifton reviews the re-opened Aureole now on 42nd Street in the new Bank of America tower, A Kiss to the United States of Burgers, Fries and Sugar.  He gives it one star, "good".

Since Aureole used to be a classy affair tucked into an Upper East Side townhouse, it is very apt that Sifton calls the move south to 42nd Street "a Las Vegas event restaurant airlifted into Manhattan". 

It has a glizty look and large scale much more in common with the Aureole in Las Vegas than the New York original.

Sifton warns us that the dining room is uneven, "...It is nice in that dining room, quiet, and if your order goes well with the kitchen, you can have a good meal. If it doesn't, you'll be staring down a listless Wiener schnitzel, pale and greasy beneath a thick lemon-caper sauce, with too-tart applesauce."

The bar area is raucous. The bar menu features "an extremely good" hamburger.

Other dishes Sifton recommends are: sea scallop sandwich, sliders, pan-roasted shrimp, lobster and anything pork-bellied.

He sums up the review: "The restaurant is a love letter to an America we see reflected back at us in unflattering light: relatively happy, unthinking, desirous mostly of sugar and fat. That's Vegas for you. It's not New York."

Eek, that's not very flattering...

If you want to go to Vong (200 East 54th Street) one last time, you've got until Saturday.  Jean Georges announced today the closing after 17 years.

In today's NY Times Dining Secion, Sam Sifton gives Le Relais de Venise L' Entrecote a one star (good) rating.  (article: Hop Off the Wheel and Taste Paris)

The restaurant has no menu. It's salad and steak frites.

He describes the salad: "It is a pile the size of a softball, mixed green and red lettuces draped in a mustardy vinaigrette that in early days here was nearly as thick as a mayonnaise. Lately it has thinned out into something closer to silk. Walnuts are strewn across the top, rich and oily."

And the steak: "Your steak comes in two stages, on a relatively small plate: you eat your portion of meat, sauce and fries and then are served seconds. The beef is fine, sliced thin across the grain and as tender as cheap meat gets, a perfect midweek dinner with a friend. The fries rate higher on the crazy-good scale: salty and crisp, with tender interiors that aren't mushy even when soaked in the sauce."

The ingredients of the sauce are kept secret. Sifton desribes it as "perhaps a variant on the gravy poured out at Café de Paris in Geneva since the 1940s: butter, basically, infused with herbs and mustard and cream, with a metallic tang of chicken liver running right through its middle. Whatever it is at L'Entrecôte, you could pour the stuff over a boot and still have an excellent dinner."

Cheeses and desserts including profiteroles are available if you have room...

I have been going to Lucien in the East Village (1st Ave. between 1st and 2nd Streets) for over 10 years.  It may seem odd in a city with so many superb restaurants of different cuisines and levels of formality, but Lucien is my favorite!

The atmosphere, in all fairness, is nothing special... but it has a rustic charm that I love. I prefer to sit in the front section.  The best table is the one along the banquet that is closest to the bar, that way you can use the edge of the bar to hold some of your (tiny) table's contents... like the wine bottle or the bread basket.

Every time I go, I get the same thing.  It's terrible that I do that, but I just can't help it.  There are many other tasty things that I'd like to eat... but I have to get my regulars: endive salad, scallops grenobloise and cinnamon ice cream for dessert!  For wine, it has to be Champagne or Bordeaux (red).

Here is the endive salad.  I love how they don't mess with tradition... it's just endive, walnuts, and bleu with some traditional dressing.

Here's one of those things I should be trying... but I always end up getting the super delicious scallops grenobloise.

The tarte tatin is good... but the cinnamon ice cream is the best thing on the plate, so I've just started skipping the tarte and having them bring a martini glass of cinnamon ice cream.  It's not on the menu, but they are always happy to do it.

In today's NY Times Restaurant review, 'Culture, Staged on a Plate', Sam Sifton gives Marea 3 stars.  Marea is in the former San Domenico space on Central Park South.  The chef is Michael White, formerly of Fiamma and Vento. He and his partner Chris Cannon also have Alto and Convivio. 

In the review, Sifton recommends: Ricci; lobster and burrata; slow-poached egg; fusilli; spaghetti; Dover sole; steak; langoustines.

You can take a look at the full menu here.

Pictured Below: the Dover Sole and Fusilli with Octopus braised in red wine.

Images: Michael Falco for the New York Times

I've been going to Fiorello's (1900 Broadway, betw. 63rd and 64th) for so long I can't even remember the first time... For a while I had the great fortune of living about a block away, so I got to the know the place very well.

During warmer months they have a large outdoor eating area directly across from Lincoln Center so it's a wonderful place for the view and people watching. What I love the most though is eating inside at the antipasti bar.  The amazing team back when I used to go there all the time was Richard, Cleber and Elvis... they treated their regulars so well, always so welcoming and gracious.  You start with perhaps a proseco or a quartino of white wine... then they bring the bread basket!  Oh, the bread basket... with focaccia and this super thin paper-like crispy bread, YUM.  The antipasti bar itself is just amazing, they have vegi, seafood and meat items.  I'd always have the vegis and the seafood. My favorite thing on the antipasti bar is the shrimp and scallop salad with endive and radicchio.

The thin crust pizza is also FABULOUS.  It can be hard to eat at the bar though unless you get the prime corner spot (the one further from the door) that gives you a bit more space.  The pizza is a bit pricey at $25 for a margherita -  - but it is made with real buffalo mozzarella.  It's super, super thin - I love that!

They have a great wine list, and as mentioned above they serve the glasses in quartinos, so it's nice, a glass + a bit more.

Between the delicious antipasti and the pizza, I hardly ever made it to the real main courses!  Oh, especially because you must leave room for dessert!  As far as I'm concerned they have the BEST profiteroles in the city.  They bring out a little copper pot of hot dark chocolate sauce and pour it on right in front of you... MMMMmmmm!!!   Here's a link to the dinner menu.

I'll be going back soon!

Luke's Lobster has opened in the East Village at 93 East 7th Street. Opened by a father and son from Maine, they're bringing us some seriously insane lobster rolls!

Photo: Lee Clower for The New York Times

They use only the claws and knuckles which in my opinion is the best part of the lobster... the tail is not as tender.  The roll has 4 oz. of lobster and is $14.  The most brilliant thing about it is that they offer them with butter, mayo and seasoning OPTIONAL!  Fabulous... there is nothing worse than beautiful lobster meat smothered in mayonaise!  They also have a smaller 2 oz. version for $8.

Cafe Boulud (20 East 76th Street at the Surrey Hotel) reopens today for dinner. It had been closed for renovations.  Starting October 9th it will also be open for lunch.  The interior is a refreshed contemporary design and will feature a new bar area - Bar Pleiades and also two new private salons for up to 14 guests each.

So glad to see they've reopened - who'd have guessed that Chanterelle, who also closed for renovations, would never reopen...

The New York Times reported this morning that Conde Nast will be closing Gourmet magazine!

This is rather shocking news!  Conde Nast also has Bon Appetit, and to me, Gourmet has always seemed to be the better magazine.  Also, Ruth Reichl (the former New York Times food critic), happens to be the editor in chief of Gourmet magazine.  For real foodee people, Gourmet is THE food magazine.  This is very sad, I guess my subsciption and everyone else's will get converted into Bon Appetit.

Wow, can you believe it's 4th quarter already?  This year is going by so quickly...

The end of the year is a big gift-giving season, from the holidays to hostess gifts, I think it's good to have some extra gifts on hand for "emergency gifts".

Here are some sets available at Sherry Lehmann that are great gifts.

Veuve Clicquot Traveller's Gift Case (Yellow Label Brut 750 ml with 2 glasses) $59.95

The travel case with handles can be used  for wine, or you can remove the inner lining and use it as a bag for other things.

They also make this adorable rose version with a half bottle (no glasses) $39.95.

And this one by Pommery, Brut Royal Gift with two glasses, $32.95.

(picture with flutes not available)

Cheers!

Saturday I was running around getting errands out of the way, you know the annoying things like getting watch batteries replaced and finding special lightbulbs at Home Depot... it was 6 pm and I was finally on my way home walking up Third Avenue and I realized I was STARVING, having had nothing but a grande skim latte all day...

So I stopped in at Accademia di Vino (Third & 64th) for a quick bite at the bar.  I have walked by this spot a thousand times and thought it was certainly time to give it a try.

The bar was surprisingly full and loud (music) for the early time.  The bar area in the front is the only part of the restaurant that is upstairs, the dining room is downstairs which is why I think this space has been challenging for restaurants in the past. The bar is a bit small but nice, it has bar stool seats and several high tables with seats which are good for eating with a small group. The bar has hooks for you to hang your bag on, which I think is a great thing. It's amazing how many bars forget this small (and inexpensive to provide) detail.

I got a seat at the bar and ordered a glass of wine.  I think the wines by the glass were a bit overpriced, but they had a fairly nice selection.  I got the carpaccio di manzo, which was delicious except that I hadn't read the menu carefully enough and it had raw red onions on it which I don't like.  Otherwise the preparation with very lean beef, shaved fennel, a tiny bit of fresh mint, parmigiano and black truffle vinaigrette was wonderful.  I just pulled the onions off. 

The menu is very nice. They offer 3 different carpaccios, all $15, the others are salmon and tuna. They also have salumi and cheese boards, each 3 choices for $15. They have some nice salads, among them: escarole with hazelnuts, mint and pecorino and a classic endive salad with gorgonzola, walnuts and apple.

They also have grilled pizzas ($16-19), pastas ($19-25), and entrees like herb crusted salmon with lentils ($29) and rack of lamb with roasted tomato and black olive conserva ($38). Other entrees are between $26 and $64 for a prime aged ribeye for two. You can looks at the full menu here.

I am surprised to hear that the New York Culinary Experience (Oct. 3 & 4) is almost sold out!  It's a very pricey event at $1,395.  You'd think it may be a tough sell since we're still coming out of the recession.  It is an exciting prospect however to be able to cook next to famous chefs!  The schedule includes sessions like "The New American Table" with Marcus Samuelsson (Aquavit), "Modern Italian Cuisine" with Scott Conant (Scarpetta), "Chocolate Creations" with Jacques Torres (Jacques Torres Chocolate) and "Holiday Dinner" with David Waltuck (Chanterelle).  There are also Q&A sessions with Ken Friedman (Spotted Pig), Sirio Maccioni (Le Cirque), Joe Bastianich (Babbo, Lupa, etc) and Dan Barber (Blue Hill). Quite a line-up!

It's a great event if you can afford it!  Buy tickets here.  The price includes classes, breakfast, lunch and a closing reception each day.  If you buy 2 or more tickets, you get $100 off each ticket. The event takes place downtown at the French Culinary Institute (462 Broadway).

Harvest in the Square at Union Square Park is next Thursday, Sept. 24th from 7:30 - 9 PM (6 pm for VIP entrance).

It features tastings from participating restaurants, NY microbreweries and wineries (both NY state and non-NY).  This year a ton of great restaurants are participating including: BLT Fish, BLT Prime, Blue Smoke, Blue Water Grill, City Crab, Gramercy Tavern, Olives, Union Square Cafe... (and many more).  North Fork wineries include: Bedell, Corey Creek, Paumanok..

Tickets are $115 in advance and $125 at the event (if available), purchase online here.  The VIP admission is $400, purchase here.   The event is put on by the Union Square Partnership and proceeds will go towards the ongoing beautification of the park.

 

Ed's Chowder House will be opening tomorrow in the former Center Cut space at the Empire Hotel, across from Lincoln Center.  I love a good chowder!  Growing up in New England it's kind of a classic thing, my Gramma made a fabulous corn chowder and we'd get some great fish chowder in Portsmouth, NH.  I'm more of a red chowder girl now (Manhattan or Baltimore Crab).... anyway, the prospect of a new chowder house is certainly good news.

Ed's Chowder House is a Jeffrey Chodorow (of China Grill and Asia de Cuba fame) restaurant. The Ed is Chef Ed Brown.  The chowders available will be: sweet corn, new england, manhattan style blue crab, and "Ed's loaded" shellfish chowder.  YUM!

Interesting appetizers include savory lobster crumble, smoked Chatham cod cakes and scallop ravioli.  Mains include peppered tuna steak frites, herb crusted skate with horseradish mashed potatoes, jumbo lump crab cakes, Chatham cod with potato chip crust, spinach and mustard sauce.  They also have a bunch of simply grilled fresh seafood.  You can take a peak at the full menu here.  It's a seafood lovers dream!!

The design of the place looks a bit too sleek for a "chowder house" to me, but pleasant anyway.

I can't wait to try it!

The New York Times reported today that Nate Appleman, fomerly of San Francisco's A16, will be taking the helm at Keith McNally's new Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria. (McNally of Balthazar and Pastis fame)

Appleman is young, only 30, but has already earned serious praise including Rising Star Chef from the James Beard Foundation and Best New Chef from Food & Wine magazine.

Pulino's will be at Bowery and Houston and will feature a brasserie style dining room.  It is under construction, which is due to continue through December. You can check out some construction photos at Bowery Boogie, here. Hopefully it should open in mid - late December.

The U.S. Open is in full swing now.  For many New Yorkers this is the quintessential end-of-summer event.  The website Metromix New York has a fabulous food tour slide show of the Open's food offerings along with fairly detailed descriptions of each. They interviewed Michael Lockard, executive chef of Levy Restaurants, who is overseeing the entire U.S. Open dining program. As New Yorkers, we don't really know the Levy Restaurant Group because their restaurants are in Chicago (Bistro 110, Spiaggia, etc.), Los Angeles, Orlando and a few other cities.  But they have been doing the food at the U.S. Open since 2005.  (Kind of funny, you'd think a New York restaurant group would do it...)

Here are some tasty looking highlights:

Food Court - Lobster Roll (no mayo! special sauce with chili sauce, tarragon and scallions - yum!)

Food Court - Crepe with gruyere, spinach and caremelized onions

Wine Bar - Tomato Bread with manchego and serrano ham

Aces - Charred Salmon Entree with mixed beans and black sesame vinaigrette

OMG, seriously good food, right!  How often can you say that at a sporting event?  The U.S. Open is like a food festival and a sports event... I guess that's part of why I love going.

 

The New York Times reported yesterday that the Upper West Side's old stogy standby, Cafe des Artistes will close.  They had already been closed for summer vacation and were due to reopen Sept. 14, but have decided not to reopen due to a union lawsuit and the recession.

As of today, their website is still up if you want to take a peek and reminisce.

The restaurant opened in 1917. The nymph murals on the walls were painted in the '30s by restaurant patron and artist Howard Chandler Christy. He was also a resident of the building, the Hotel des Artistes, which was actually not a hotel but a residential building favored by artists.

The restaurant had been very popular over the years, but had been on a downward tilt over the last 20 years or so, since the city has had an amazing food renaissance with many excellent new restaurants and chefs.

Their menu was a bit tired.

Anyway, it is sad to see another New York classic go... 

Danny Meyer will be opening a new restaurant this fall in the Gramercy Park Hotel called Maialino (which means little pig in Italian).  The name comes from the nickname he was given while working in Rome as a tour guide during college (it evolved from Meyerino into Maialino thanks to his liking of suckling pig) .

The Gramercy Park Hotel is a super cool place itself, an Ian Schrager property with interiors by Julian Schnabel.  This restaurant will be the most recent from Danny Meyer since opening The Modern in 2005.  It will be a Roman style trattoria overlooking the park. Design will be by the Rockwell Group, the concept is a contemporary twist on the traditional warm, comfortable atmosphere of a trattoria.  It will feature warm colors, wood plank floors, etc. They will also be taking over all of the F&B for the hotel including room service and the roof bar. It will open in November and will surely be one of the hotest reservations of the Fall!

Above: lobby of the Gramercy Park Hotel

New York Magazine's website has a good feature up right now, a convseration between NY Magazine's restaurant reviewer, Adam Platt and the newly departed from the Times reviewer, Frank Bruni.

'Adam Platt Talks Shop With Frank Bruni', take a look here.

It's funny, they talk about rotundness, disguises, worst restaurants etc.

Frank's book, "Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-time Eater" released today.

Congratulations to Eleven Madison Park who got elevated to 4 stars today by the New York Times food critic, Frank Bruni.

Four stars is "extraordinary".

Bruni recommends: Prawn roulade; farm egg with Parmesan foam; goat's milk ricotta gnocchi; halibut; lobster; duck for two; chicken for two; suckling pig; vacherin; peanut butter and chocolate palette; chocolate tart with caramel.

Bruni also wrote a Diner's Journal blog post with further thoughts about the elevation.

This week the New York Times announced the replacement for restaurant critic Frank Bruni. The lucky person is Sam Sifton.  He has been with the Times since 2001.  Most recently he has been the Times' cultural news editor. Before that he was deputy dining editor, dining editor and deputy culture editor.  He is 43 and went to Harvard.

I could only find this tiny picture of him. 

The Times seems to have removed the pictures on their website that had been up previously. Of course, the critic is supposed to be sort of undercover when dining, but I don' think that always works out.  There is a discussion about critics and anonymity in the Diner's Journal blog.

Sam will take over in October. 

On October 26, 2009, the National Pasta Association (NPA) and the International Pasta Organization (IPO) will present "World Pasta Day 2009," a conference of the world's leading pasta manufacturers to present the latest nutritional and scientific research on pasta to the industry at large. Since 1995, World Pasta Day has been an international celebration of pasta -- a food consumed all over the world in varying cuisines. World Pasta Day 2009's focus will be "Pasta Meals on Every Family Table."

Conference presentations organized by the Oldways Preservation Trust, a nonprofit education organization, will include a scientific update on nutritional aspects of pasta for families, research on the effect of the Mediterranean Diet on Alzheimer's, and a summary of recent research on carbohydrates. The annual event, set this year in New York City, will also include demonstrations from world-class chefs on preparing appetizing and healthy pasta recipes. World Pasta Day 2009 will take place at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in Times Square from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

"We are extremely proud to host World Pasta Day in the U.S. this year," said Mark Vermylen, chairman of the National Pasta Association. "We look forward to showcasing the increasingly wide range of pasta's health and economic benefits for today's families around the globe--it is a winning component of any meal."

World Pasta Day 2009 Program Topics Include:

• Scientific Update: An expert panel will summarize the scientific evidence to support why pasta is recommended to regularly appear on family and restaurant tables. The panel will also present brief summaries of new carbohydrate and Mediterranean Diet research reports.
• Pasta, The Mediterranean Diet and Alzheimer's: Feeding Your Brain: New studies find those who closely follow the Mediterranean Diet, which includes pasta, have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's and cognitive decline.
• The State of Research on Carbohydrates: A summary will be presented highlighting the most note-worthy published studies on carbohydrates over the past five years.
• Culinary Panel Discussion: Pasta Memories and Pasta Cook-Off: Food writers and cookbook authors will recount their most memorable family pasta meals. Culinary stars will create 10-minute pasta meals for a live audience. Members of the audience will vote for their favorite recipe and preparation.
  

Confirmed Speakers Include:

• Dr. Nikos Scarmeas: Speaker, The Mediterranean Diet and Alzheimer's
  

PhD, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Columbia Medical Center

• Dr. Joanne Slavin: Speaker, The State of Research on Carbohydrates
  

PhD, Professor, Food Sciences and Nutrition, University of Minnesota; Chair, Carbohydrate Committee, 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

• Melissa Clark: Moderator, Culinary Panel and Pasta Cook-Off
  

Award-winning author and food writer. Books include, "Chef Interrupted: Delicious Chefs Recipes You Can Actually Make at Home"

• K. Dun Gifford: Moderator, Scientific Update Panel
  

President and founder, Oldways Preservation Trust

World Pasta Day 2009 is an industry event closed to the general public. Media interested in attending should please contact Stephanie Fraiman at 212-297-2129. For more information on World Pasta Day 2009 please visit www.worldpastaday.org.

World Pasta Day 2009 is generously sponsored by: American Italian Pasta, Barilla, New World Pasta, A. Zerega's Sons, Buhler, Canadian Wheat Board, Dakota Growers Pasta, Fava, Horizon Milling, International Pasta Organization, IPACK-IMA, Italgrani USA, Landucci, Maldari & Sons, Miller Milling, North Dakota Wheat Commission, Pavan, Philadelphia Macaroni, Rembrandt Foods, ST Specialty Foods and Strom Products

Love seafood but need help selecting what's right for you? FreshDirect is here to help with its Daily Seafood Rating System. Introduced this week, the Daily Seafood Rating System takes the guess work out of choosing high-quality seafood and eliminates the need to speak with a fishmonger to find out what's best that day.

Utilizing a star system similar to that used in its Daily Produce Rating System, FreshDirect's in-house experts inspect its seafood stock each morning to provide customers with recommendations that are accurate for deliveries on the day following the ranking. If soft shell crabs scored a 4-star rating on the Web site Tuesday, they are one of FreshDirect's top selections -- guaranteed to be great for next-day deliveries on Wednesday.

Judging by smell, look and feel, the way experts at the fish docks and neighborhood fish vendors do, FreshDirect can now advise customers on a broader range of seafood items that are the best choice for their dinner tables. This is particularly useful during the summer months when customers can take advantage of FreshDirect's local fish catch including wild black sea bass, wild swordfish and wild mahi mahi. The Daily Seafood Rating System also helps identify first-of-season catches on short seasonal fish like wild Alaskan salmon and shad.

The seafood will be rated with stars, based on the following chart:

Five Stars: Never Better - Simply outstanding; the best of its kind

Four Stars: Great - A don't-miss, peak-season product

Three Stars: Good - A dependable product, sure to please

"Knowing that not all seafood lovers are seafood experts, FreshDirect's Daily Seafood Rating System lets our customers know which items are the catch of the day and the best seasonal picks," said Marc Sirois, seafood expert, FreshDirect. "Customers can be confident that we are offering them knowledgeable recommendations on all seafood items, allowing them to safely venture out and try exotic fishes as well as enjoy seasonal favorites."

Sherry Lehmann's Unsung Heroes of Bordeaux are always tasty and inexpensive wines.  Each season they offer a sampler with 12 different unsung hero bottles.  The 2009 Summer Sampler features bottles all from the highly rated 2005 vintage.

The wines included are:

Château Beynat "Cuvee Leonard" 2005

Château Haut du Peyrat 2005

Château Jouanin 2005

Château Labatut Bouchard 2005

Château Lascaux 2005

Château Mayne Vieil 2005

Château Maison Neuve 2005

Château Peyraud 2005

Château Roquefort 2005

Château Thebot 2005

Château Thieuley 2005

Château Vieux Dominique 2005

 

The case is $159.95.  And if you're in New York, you get free shipping too.

For me, strawberry shortcake brings back memories of summers in Vermont where I grew up.  My mom would bake her delicious baking powder biscuits and we'd have fresh stawberries that we'd have picked ourselves (berry picking was a favorite activity!).  My mom would crush up some of the berries and add sugar, but I didn't like mine like that... I just used cut up fresh berries, and fresh homemade whipped cream with no sugar.  (I'd take my whipped cream out before the sugar was added for everyone else)  Oh SUBLIME......

It looks like there's a nice contender available on the Upper East Side at Flex Mussels.

Now that looks pretty darn good, doesn't it?  I doubt the biscuit is as good as my Mom's though...

Frank Bruni wrote up Flex Mussels a few weeks ago in the Times, here is the link.

This is a great dessert for the 4th of July if you just add a few blueberries!  Cheers and Happy Fourth!

Good news for foodees in Midtown, Aureole is offering 15% off all menus during their soft opening period (now - Sep. 15th).  In a dramatic departure from the Upper East Side townhouse setting of the old space, the new Aureole is housed in the brand new Bank of America Tower on 6th Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets, diagonally across from Bryant Park. 

The atmosphere is now more like the Aureole in Las Vegas... with the dramatic wine racking on view, and a more modern aesthetic.  It's also more approachable...  with huge glass windows at street level, it's more inviting and the format also encourages more casual visits.  The restaurant now has a bar room and the formal dining room.  The bar room features an a la carte menu and the dining room a prix fixe.  It also has seasonal outdoor seating.  The bar room is "smart, casual" and has table service for 64 and an 18 seat bar.  The dining room seats 54 and is more formal; it was designed to evoke the feeling of the former townhouse space with warm colors and luxurious textiles.  The outdoor terrace seating is on "Anita's Way" which is the pedestrian walkway connecting the 42nd and 43rd street sides of the building. The interior design was done by Adam Tihany.

Personally, I'm looking forward to trying the crispy soft shell crab with endive and granny smith apple and branzini with artichokes, capers and black olives in the bar room! 

Very bad news came today, Payard has closed earlier than expected.

Apparently, they are looking for a new space... so hopefully we won't have to wait long... and hopefully (for me at least) the new space will also be on the Upper East Side.  It's such a shame because the current space was so beautifully built-out, it really made you feel tranported to Paris... The unfortunate closure is due to a rent dispute... the landlord was asking for a very large increase.  Very sad.

I'm glad I made in it last week to pick up some macarons, it may be a while until I get more...

Green Canteen has opened in Williamsburg at 106 N. 6th Street. The new restaurant (by the same people behind Dogmatic Sausage System) is based on the simple philosophy that you can savor the great taste of fresh, delicious food and feel good afterwards. The "Eat Well. Feel Well" menu consists of Mediterranean inspired food and American classics prepared in an innovative way.

Green Canteen offers dishes using super fresh, high quality ingredients. These include fresh antipasti, flatbreads made in an earth-stone oven, fresh salads with grilled seafood, chicken or meats, hummus bowls with skewers of meats and vegetables, handcrafted mini burgers, freshly made soups and chilis, plus homemade sodas, shakes and desserts.

The menu allows you to feel good because the food is clean and wholesome. The ingredients are sourced locally wherever possible, and are free from hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, artificial flavors, sweeteners and hydrogenated fats. Their chefs seek out sustainably grown food and free-range meats.

You can enjoy all of this in a cozy booth or at a community table. Its a friendly, non-stuffy envirnoment where you can just hang out and relax.

Green Canteen is the first New York State restaurant to be SILVER LEED Certified. In addition to the reclaimed wood for the community table, all other woods are certified from the Forest Stewardship Council. Green Canteen features many other eco-friendly innovations: solar panel hot water system to provide hot water, low-flow plumbing fixtures and has committed to 100% wind energy usage. Most of the design and construction materials for Green Canteen have been sourced form local manufacturers, suppliers and vendors.

It's already getting good reviews.  A New York Magazine reader says "Food was really, really good and reasonably priced. We ordered several dishes for the table and it was more than enough food...the flatbreads were fantastic; my wife loved the shrimp hummus dish...definitely going back there!"

Sounds great...  Their website is not up yet, nor are they listed on Menu Pages, but I am sure they will be soon.  Cheers.

Mark Your Calendars for Thursday, October 8th - Sunday, October 11th

Festival Founder and Director Lee Brian Schrager, in collaboration with Southern Wine & Spirits of New York, is pleased to announce tickets will go on sale June 15th, 2009 for the second annual Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine and Travel+Leisure magazines.

Taking place this Columbus Day weekend, all the proceeds from the Festival will again benefit the hunger-relief organizations Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength. "After a record-breaking year at the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, we are excited to return to New York City with a one-of-a-kind program," says Schrager. "In these hard times, hunger-relief organizations need our help even more and these two valuable organizations excel at putting these proceeds to good use. We are honored to be working with them to bring awareness to this issue and help families in need."

Guests will be delighted to savor the selection of exciting new events that have been added for the 2009 Festival. The fresh program begins on Thursday, October 8th with Bacon, Bourbon and the Blues hosted by Thrillist with the following innovative programming continuing throughout the weekend:

• Beloved and controversial New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni will hold a culinary discussion to share insights from the field and discuss the highly anticipated release of his book "Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater" (Penguin, 2009)
• An unprecedented dinner series in conjunction with the James Beard House will include:
  • The intersection between food and fashion will be examined at the highly anticipated dinner hosted by fashion designer Zac Posen with Giada De Laurentiis (Giada at Home) and Marcus Samuelsson
  • 2009 James Beard Award "Best Chef New York City" Gabriel Kreuther of The Modern hosting an Oktoberfest Dinner
  • An unprecedented dinner with Alain Ducasse and his chefs who will cook in the Beard House kitchen for the first time
  • A decadent Jacques Torres & Friends Chocolate Brunch
• TimesTalks presented by New York Times will feature a new line-up of discussions with Ina Garten, Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, and Anthony Bourdain
• The Festival's interactive wine and spirits seminars and cocktail clinics will return, taking place at Festival headquarters, The Standard, New York with new headliners like Kevin Zraly, Tony Abou-Ganim, Andrea Robinson, Anthony Giglio and Josh Wesson
• Not-to-be-missed wine seminars at the Astor Center, featuring in-depth discussions with brand aficionados including Boisset, Perrier-Jouet Fleur led by Agnes Laplanche, and Chateau de Beaucastel led by fifth generation owner and winemaker Marc Perrin
• Delta presents Dim Sum & Disco Brunch hosted by Ming Tsai, featuring talent such as Shang's Susur Lee and Chinatown Brasserie's Joe Ng at China Grill
• An all-day affair Flavors of the Farm: A Day with Stone Barns Center and Blue Hill at Stone Barns
• Hill Country will play host to the queen of Southern cuisine and her friends as Paula Deen hosts Down South Up North with boys Bobby and Jamie Deen; featuring the latest creations from the Lee Bros., along with Art Smith, Chris Lily and Katie Lee Joel
• Closing out the weekend is an unprecedented tribute to Little Italy's most iconic dish the "meatball", with Meatball Madness hosted by Giada De Laurentiis at la venue at the Waterfront

Returning Festival favorites include the kick-off event Chelsea Market After Dark presented by Food Network and hosted by Guy Fieri (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) and Sandra Lee (Sandra's Money Saving Meals); the Blue Moon Burger Bash presented by Allen Brothers hosted by Rachael Ray held under the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO; the chic neighborhood-wide tasting Meatpacking Uncorked; RED hosted by Tom Colicchio with Paul Bartolotta; the celebration of sugary delicacies known as Godiva Chocolatier presents SWEET sponsored by Perrier-Jouet, hosted by Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes); and the unparalleled tasting of food, wine and spirits found in the Grand Tasting presented by ShopRite at Pier 54 in Hudson River Park.

SOURCE Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival

Frank Bruni reviewed Keith McNally's new place, the Minetta Tavern, on Wed. and gave it three stars (excellent).  Here is a link to the full review: Beef and Decor, Aged to Perfection.

McNally et al must be thrilled with the review, Bruni goes so far as to call it "the best steakhouse in the city".  The review explains that the beef is grain-fed Black Angus from Creekstone Farms that is aged in a special aging room and aged for six to seven weeks. The results... Bruni calls the cote de boeuf a "sublime hunk of glorious meat that you dream about hours later..." etc.  Wow.  I'm not a big meat person, but still Wow.

Of course the interior has that fabulous lived-in, warm patina that McNally is known for. With red nailhead banquettes, pressed tin ceilings and black and white tile floors.

The website for the restaurant is still under construction, but it will be here.

113 Macdougal Street (Minetta Lane), Greenwich Village; (212) 475-3850.

Vacationers and locals basking in the sunny Hamptons this summer will once again enjoy delicious, high-quality groceries, courtesy of FreshDirect, one of the nation's leading online gourmet food purveyors and delivery services. Beginning May 14, 2009, FreshDirect will resume its Hamptons summer service, offering the freshest seasonal and local produce and foods, including barbecue-ready fresh foods, competitively priced groceries and bulk items, for the ultimate in summertime convenience.

From local, fresh fruit and vegetables to high-quality meat and sustainable seafood, FreshDirect provides hundreds of options to satisfy the cravings of hungry Hamptonites. Those looking to keep their summer bodies in shape will love FreshDirect's organic and all-natural selection, including locally grown leafy greens, asparagus and fruit juice. For those looking to stock-up the summer house, FreshDirect also carries the essentials, including bulk items, health and beauty products, cleaning supplies and frosty beverages delivered right to your door. Avoid the nuisance of packed grocery stores and enjoy more fun in the sun!

"Summer is a great time to unwind with friends and family and enjoy fun outdoor activities -- from picnics at the beach to barbecues with friends -- and our Hamptons service is designed to help customers maximize this precious time," said Steve Druckman, Chief Marketing Officer, FreshDirect. "Our tasty, chef-prepared meals, sustainable seafood and local produce will only add to this summer's enjoyment."

Whether it's a Kansas City rib barbecue or a veggie wrap and tuna nicoise salad picnic, FreshDirect's seasonal menu is packed with a variety of delicious fresh foods that are the perfect companion to a wide range of summer activities and a healthy, on-the-go lifestyle. FreshDirect provides fresh, convenient solutions that match this way of life.

FreshDirect will commemorate Memorial, Independence and Labor Day with weekly top picks destined for tasty celebrations, all on sale. This year's Memorial Day picks include full rack grill-ready ribs, boneless rib eye steak and Karl Ehmer chicken bratwurst, all 50% off. Visit freshdirect.com today for a complete list of holiday picks and special offers.

Delivery zones include full service in the towns of East Hampton, Amagansett, Southampton, Bridgehampton, Westhampton, Sag Harbor, Hampton Bays and select surrounding areas. Customers residing in these towns can schedule home deliveries between noon and 8 p.m. each Thursday and Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each Saturday. Existing FreshDirect customers can easily add their Hamptons address to their account at checkout. Orders must be complete by 7 p.m. on the previous night.

More details about FreshDirect's products and services can be found on its Web site: http://www.freshdirect.com/.