Posts for November 16, 2012 -- Grub Street: New York Magazine's Food and Restaurant Blog

Posts for November 16, 2012

11/16/12 at 6:00 PM
Leftovers
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Beer and Brisket at Craftbar; Union Square Café Welcomes Groups

• Chubby Mary's, a hero shop from the guys behind Artichoke, opened last night. The space was previously home to Led Zeppole (also from Artichoke's Francis Garcia and Sal Basille), whose boardwalk-style desserts did not resonate for whatever reason with the beer-soaked crowds roving through the East Village at night. [EV Grieve]

• Union Square Café is looking to attract large parties. For the first time in 27 years, the Danny Meyer restaurant will accept reservations for parties larger than six. The restaurant's front area has also changed. This section is now tablecloth-free, sports a large community table, and there's also a new family-style menu. [Eater]

• Craftbar is teaming up with Shmaltz Brewing Co. to host a four-course dinner on November 27. The meal will consist of American-Jewish dishes, like braised beef tongue and brisket with kasha porridge, paired with Shmaltz Brewing Co. beers. Dinner starts at 7:30 p.m.; e-mail anne@craftrestaurant.com to reserve. [Grub Street]

11/16/12 at 5:40 PM on Grub Street LA
Health Concerns
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Someone’s Getting Fired: Donald Trump Steak House Fails Health Inspection

By Hadley Tomicki

"It's the greatest expired yogurt in the world!"

Symbolic of all the faded luxury once associated with Donald Trump's name, the ferret-haired millionaire's eponymous Las Vegas steakhouse, DJT, was recently shut down by Sin City health inspectors after being cited for 51 code violations. Among them was the discovery of month-old caviar, improperly stored food, parasites in the halibut, aged veal stock, and expired yogurt. The place reportedly reopened with the issues fixed, but we won't believe that until the Donald sends us his complete health inspection certificate by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. [HuffPo]

11/16/12 at 5:05 PM
Relief
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FlatRate Moving Moves Supplies Into Sandy-Affected Areas

The moving service has been busy after the storm, dispatching trucks and hauling supplies to Staten Island, Coney Island, Howard Beach, and the Rockaways. Next week, the company will return to the Rockaways, and separately, will deliver 3,500 Thanksgiving dinners to shelters throughout the city. In addition to their regular work with the Food Bank for New York City, FlatRate Movers is willing to donate trucks and staff to go to places that have supplies for hurricane relief, but no means of moving them into areas affected by Sandy. Interested parties should contact the company here.

11/16/12 at 4:00 PM
Chef Shuffle
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Emma Hearst Has Left the Kitchen at Sorella

By Hugh Merwin

The cookbook is still happening.Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Chef and owner Emma Hearst has left the kitchen of her restaurant Sorella on the Lower East Side, reports Fork in the Road. She has been replaced by Molly Nickerson, Sorella's opening sous-chef, who also cooked at Marea, and at Lincoln under Jonathan Benno. Nickerson's menu will remain focused on Northern Italian dishes, including lasagna for two with braised rabbit with prosciutto cotto bechamel, olives, and fennel. It is not clear what led to the changes, but Fork in the Road says that Hearst, who is traveling, will remain an owner and that she and Sorella co-owner Sarah Krathen are still writing an Italian cookbook. [FitR/Village Voice, Earlier]

11/16/12 at 3:45 PM
Sno Ball Apocalypse
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A Sno Ball’s Chance in Hell: Here Are Some Alternatives to Hostess Cakes

By Grub Street

Blot your tears with Plenty's gussied-up red velvet Twinkies.Photo: Courtesy of Tejal Rao

People are already selling Twinkies on eBay, and everything seems upside down: "Weed legal and twinkies a thing of the past," writes Sam Youngman on Twitter. "It's like a stoner episode of the twilight zone." And now that we've acknowledged that Hostess Cakes (as we know them) will cease to exist and we've said goodbye to Mr. Fruit Pie Magician, the next stage of snacky grief is forgetting all of this Twinkie stuff altogether by moving on with some new cream-filled sponge. That in mind, here are a few substitutes. They may never take the place of your Ding Dongs, but they will certainly take the cake. Because they're made of cake.

A lot of red velvet out there.

11/16/12 at 3:00 PM
We Pop Champagne
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Soho Neighbors Say Greenhouse and W.i.P. Have ‘Gotten Worse’

By Mary Reinholz

Two Soho residents blasted Greenhouse and its sister nightclub W.i.P. as a "total zoo" at a hearing of Community Board's 2 SLA committee last night, asking members to reject the renewal of their shared cabaret license in the wake of a brief but bloody Nebuchadnezzar-tossing brawl that took place in June between Chris Brown and Drake's entourages. "It's gotten worse," said local Sylvia Musto Beam, who added that clubgoers are making noise, dealing drugs, and even threatening neighbors on the sidewalk that separates their limousines and the club's entrance. The clubs reopened in July after lawyers challenged the NYPD and the SLA in court. "There has been a police patrol outside every night since we reopened," owner Barry Mullineaux tells Grub Street this afternoon. "And there have been no incidents since the celebrity [brouhaha] in June." The committee will take action on the matter at its forthcoming meeting.

11/16/12 at 1:55 PM
Openings
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First Look at Bill’s, John DeLucie’s Classic Midtown Steak House in the Old Bill’s Gay Nineties Space

By Hugh Merwin

With his partners Sean Largotta and Mark Amadei, John DeLucie has opened Bill's, an update of the former Bill's Gay Nineties, the 88-year-old former speakeasy which closed on 54th Street in March. Jason Hall, formerly the chef de cusine at Gotham Bar and Grill and Crown, is cooking a menu that includes three dry-aged steaks; a smoked bacon chop with sauerkraut; lobster-spaghetti fra diavolo; and an immense veal shank for two, which is braised in soffrito and garnished with gremolata. Ben Scorah has contributed a cocktail menu of classics based on recipes from classic bartender's manuals, including a house rickey with vodka and ginger-lemon soda; a Sazerac made from rye, aged cognac, and gingerbread flavors' and another called the "Hanky Panky," which contains the NY Distilling Company's Dorothy Parker gin, vermouth, and Fernet Branca. Check out the space, and the menu, ahead.

The menus.

11/16/12 at 12:50 PM
Privates
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Yes, April Bloomfield Okay With Eating Penises

By Hugh Merwin

Who wants to know?

It all depends on the circumstances: The Spotted Pig chef and venerated "whole beast" poobah Fergus Henderson (they're sort of besties) sat down for the Evening Standard and talked all about organ meat, white truffles, and FergusStock, their annual team-up dinner series that invariably draws in a staggering amount of admiring food people to each chef's restaurant. It turns out the nose-to-tail godfather draws the line above the belt, sort of.

Balls are okay.

11/16/12 at 12:15 PM on Grub Street Boston
Munchies
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Astoundingly Skinny Matthew McConaughey Contemplates His Ultimate Burger Binge

By Kara Baskin

Give this man some mayo.Photo: Josiah Kamau/BuzzFoto/FilmMagic

He's shedding pounds for an upcoming role as an eighties-era HIV patient in The Dallas Buyer's Club, and like any dutiful dieter, Matt McConaughey's dreaming about food — and he has some very specific ideas about what he'd like to eat. Toppings-laden cheeseburgers, for instance.

11/16/12 at 11:50 AM
The Feeding Tube
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Buy the Brooklyn Home Where Bobby Flay Is Filming His New Show

Attention all you Food Network aficionados/stalkers: You can now buy this renovated Clinton Hill townhouse where Bobby Flay has been shooting his new series, called America's Best Home Cooks inside this 1899 Clinton Hill townhouse. We're not real estate agents, but the layout — all exposed brick, beams, stone, and hardwood — looks beautiful. According to Zillow, production has the whole thing rented out until the end of November, but after that, at $1.65 million — a song and a spatula — it's all yours. Flay not included. [Douglas Elliman via Zillow]

11/16/12 at 11:20 AM
Openings
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Court Street Grocers Is Opening a Red Hook Shop, Needs Your Help

By Hugh Merwin

Let's make this happen.

Well-loved Carroll Gardens larder, sandwich shop, and Friday night fixed-price dinner spot Court Street Grocers is opening an annex at 116 Sullivan Street in Red Hook. The former Diego's and El Huipil space was set to serve as a commissary kitchen for Court Street's growing operations and also serve as a takeout sandwich spot until Hurricane Sandy's storm surge flooded its galley kitchen with five feet of water. Because the Red Hook LLC hadn't yet filed its first tax return, however, owners Eric Finkelstein and Matt Ross are ineligible for various forms of disaster aid, and have instead started a fund-raising campaign on Smallknot. They're trying to raise $25,000, and the incentives are pretty great: $75 gets your picture on the wall, while $2,000 investment gets you a sandwich a day for a year. [Smallknot]

11/16/12 at 10:45 AM
Video Feed
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Time to Mourn: Watch Sixteen Vintage Hostess Commercials

By Grub Street

Today's news that Hostess will close has almost instantly prompted Twinkie mourning and nostalgic missives. Sure, another company will likely buy up the brands, but things just won't be the same. To help you cope with the loss, we've rounded up some truly retro ads from over the years — remember Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Pies? — that you can watch while you wallow in your cream-filled sadness.

11/16/12 at 10:25 AM
Celebrity Settings
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Leo Celebrates His 38th Birthday at the Darby; the Biebs Tries to Win Selena Back at Morandi

By Monica Burton

Tony Danza: Steak house boss.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/2012 Getty Images

This week, New York celebrities were back at their usual pre-Sandy wining/dining activities, and, having come through the storm safely, there was a definite sense of seize-the-day romance in the air. Justin tried to woo back Selena at Morandi, Chelsea Handler cozied up to ex André Balazs at Monkey Bar, and on-again couple Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart drew stares (and jeers) at Beatrice Inn. All this, plus all you wanted to know about Leo's epic birthday bash, straight ahead in our weekly roundup of celebrity dining.

11/16/12 at 10:00 AM
The Chain Gang
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Obamacare Isn’t Forcing Restaurants to Cut Employees’ Hours

By Margaret Hartmann

Photo: Spencer Platt/2012 Getty Images

Several restaurant CEOs have suggested recently that since President Obama is keeping his job, their employees' jobs might be in danger. Owners of chains like Papa John's, Olive Garden, Denny's, and Applebee's say that because of the Affordable Care Act, they'll be forced to reduce employees' hours since they can't afford to provide more full-time workers with health insurance or pay the fines for leaving them uninsured. Online Obamacare supporters called for a boycott of the restaurants, and opponents argued that the law will hurt restaurant workers as well as all who turn to them for a cheap, greasy dinner that isn't served in a paper wrapper. However, the claim that the health-care law is worsening conditions for restaurant employees is dubious.

11/16/12 at 09:25 AM
Cling Film and Food Rap
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Action Bronson Really Likes Rapping About Food

We already knew that Queens-based Action Bronson loves to eat and rap about food, and even has a great recipe for grilled branzino topped with red onion, weed, caper and olive oil vinaigrette that does the same work as smoking 20 blunts. His new album comes out today as a free download, and helpfully, the Village Voice has put together a master list of all its food references. It's time to open up the abalone, smoke the macaroni, and eat the cannelloni, that is if you're still hungry. [VV, Earlier]

11/16/12 at 09:00 AM
The Grub Street Diet
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Times Writer Julia Moskin Eats Her Thanksgiving Leftovers a Couple Weeks Early

By Alan Sytsma

Moskin, outside Nom Wah.Photo: Melissa Hom

It's been a busy week at the Times Dining Section: In addition to Pete Wells's review read 'round the world, it's also Thanksgiving, the biggest food week of the year. "With the hurricane, and the recipe testing for Thanksgiving, this week was very ramped up," reporter Julia Moskin says. "But I feel very fortunate." That's not even the only thing Moskin had to worry about — she's also been traveling to let people know about CookFight, the new book she co-wrote with Kim Severson. (If you're in Atlanta, where Moskin was last week, she highly recommends the fried chicken at the Busy Bee Cafe.) See how Moskin balances it all and still manages to work in a rooftop beef barbecue in Soho, a dim sum feast at Nom Wah, and lots, lots more in this week's New York Diet.

11/16/12 at 08:35 AM
Farewell Cream Filling
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The (Possible) End of Twinkies: Hostess Will Close Forever

By Alan Sytsma and Kevin Roose

Time to stock up, armageddon-style.Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Start hoarding those Cupcakes: Hostess — the company that makes Twinkies, Cupcakes, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, and all the other little plastic-wrapped cake-y things you begged your mom for when you were little — will shut down.