Posts for December 17, 2012

PDT Cocktails at Barbour; Lobster Joint Opens in the East Village

• Join PDT's Jim Meehan for a cocktail party at Barbour Soho (the British clothing store) on Wednesday. From 6 to 8 p.m., PDT's head bartender, Jeff Bell, will serve complementary drinks as Meehan signs copies of The PDT Cocktail Book. Shoppers get 15 percent off in-store purchases, and those who also happen to be cocktail servers (bring a business card or check stub for proof) get 25 percent off. [Grub Street]

• Millesime at the Carlton Hotel is serving a seafood vol-au-vent for the holidays. The traditional French dish (puff pastry with fillings like lobster, crayfish, scallops, mushrooms, sea urchin, salmon caviar, and sea beans) is $30 and will be available tonight through Christmas Eve. [Grub Street]

• The East Village location of Greenpoint's Lobster Joint has opened on Houston Street in a spot that previously housed Lina Frey. The grand opening party tomorrow night includes an open bar from 8 to 10 p.m. [EV Grieve]

The world is ending; eat your feelings. »

Game of Thrones Is Getting Its Own Craft Beer

By Hugh Merwin

Ale for what ails you.

Winter is coming, sure, but at the end of that, it'll thaw a bit and you'll be able to sip some cool, Belgian-style, Game of Thrones–branded beer. The Cooperstown, New York, brewery Ommegang will roll out its Westeros-inspired Iron Throne Blonde Ale, the New York Times reports, on March 31, to coincide with the HBO show's season-three premiere. And if you're not feeling King Joffrey in that actual Game of Thrones throne, don't worry: There are, em, three more official George R. R. Martin–approved brews in the pipeline. Now where is Tom Colicchio with some slow-roasted venison haunch when you need him the most? Best pairing ever. [NYT, Earlier]

Introducing the Copper Room, a Pub Made From Old Factory Parts Inside Brass Monkey

By Hugh Merwin

A very handsome Frankenrestaurant.

The great big New York–restaurant-fixture circle of life has a few funny quirks: When Drew Nieporent closed Montrachet in Tribeca, its chairs went to Centrico, and the banquettes ended up at the Redhead. When Alain Ducasse opened Benoit in the old La Côte Basque space, the chef left some of the old landscapes hanging and added many of his own; and when Steve Tzolis opens the Bar Room on the Upper East Side, it'll feature the enormous old mahogany bar built in the 1880s that was once part of Tonic. Now here comes the Copper Room, a beer bar opening inside Brass Monkey on Little West 12th Street. It does all of these other restaurants one or two better.

A bit of Macy's and some Coney Island. »

Now Available: A Better Way to Tap Into All of New York’s Listings

By Grub Street

Feeling like half-shell oysters tonight?

Good news! The entire database of New York's restaurant, bar, and shopping listings is now optimized for mobile devices. It's now easier to sift through the latest menus and check out the magazine's full reviews and reader ratings. Each restaurant and bar listing has click-to-call contact information and even one-tap subway directions. At the end of the day, we just want to make sure you get to dinner, no matter where you are. Tap on over to any listings page and check it out for yourself.

Parm, Coolhaus, Eataly Folks Included on Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ List

Forbes announced its "30 Under 30: Food & Wine" list today, and precocious New Yorkers cleaned up. Jeff Zalaznick (Parm), Spencer Rubin (the Melt Shop), and Rae Cohen Bernamoff (Mile End) all got recognized, which we consider a victory for sandwiches (hurray!). Dessert pioneers Natasha Case (Coolhaus), Kate Wheatcroft (Bien Cuit), and Alexandra Ray (North End Grill) also made the list, as did restaurant critic Tejal Rao from the Village Voice, as well as locals who encourage us to get our drink on: Dan Amatuzzi (wine director at Eataly), Talia Baiocchi (Eater's wine editor), Bridget Firtle (the Noble Experiment), Dave Sands (Grady’s Cold Brew), and the Industry City Distillery guys. Danny Meyer was on Forbes's panel of judges, and the man’s got good judgment — we agree with all his picks. Congrats to all. [Forbes]

7-Eleven, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Subway Shops Are Basically Overtaking the City

By Hugh Merwin

Oh, thank heavens.

The number of of national retail chains in New York City has increased for the fifth time in as many years, according to a new paper published by the Center for an Urban Future. Dunkin' Donuts has 484 locations within the five boroughs, up from 466 last year, and Subway added 24 stores in 2012 and now has 454 locations. Convenience-store chain 7-Eleven is on an aggressive expansion path, adding sixteen new stores this year. Is it all bad news? Plans to colonize and convert existing corner stores into 7-Elevens have hardly been embraced by everyone, however, and a Health Department report from earlier this year that indicated Subway locations were shut down more often than any other fast-food franchise in the city may be a sign that the cold-cut chain is getting ahead of itself. Let's see what happens next year after incoming chains Fatburger and Dairy Queen ruffle some feathers and shake up the city's BMI all over again. [CUF via EVGrieve, Earlier, Related]

Cipriani’s Venice Bar Is Now Too Expensive for Ciprianis

Financial backers of the Cipriani restaurant group have ousted patriarch Arrigo Cipriani at the family flagship in Venice and replaced him with a pair of completely un-fun-sounding "executives," the Guardian reports, because costs have grown so high that the restaurant cannot keep up with its expensive staff. "Their salaries are becoming very high," the elder Cipriani tells the paper. Management duties at Harry's Bar in Venice — where peach bellinis were invented and beef carpaccio was immortalized — will be turned over to two investment fund executives who aim to negotiate with the high-priced floor staff, though the 80-year-old Cipriani says he may still work the dining room, and he probably isn't into sharing tips. [Guardian UK]

Raw-Milk Enthusiasts Sue FDA for Ignoring Requests to Legalize It

By Sierra Tishgart

Spoiled.

Food Safety News reports that Organic Pastures, the nation’s largest raw-milk dairy, is suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for ignoring its request to change the 1987 law banning the sale of raw milk across state lines. The raw-milk cult sure is feisty: It's endured armed raids, paranoia, jail time, and diarrhea. Raw milk is legal in 30 states that include California, Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Utah, and it's explicitly banned in twenty states. Organic Pastures farmer Mark McAfee, who’s basically the food world’s L. Ron Hubbard, wants to legalize interstate commerce of raw milk between states in which the FDA already allows it to be produced and sold. It boils down to this problem: Demand is high for raw milk in Arizona, but the state only has two raw-milk dairies. McAfee wants to send a shipment of raw milk from California, where it’s so ubiquitous that it’s sold in retail chains.

But raw milk could be fatal. »

Lunch Lady Who Fed Hungry Kid Gets Her Job Back

Dianne Brame, the Missouri elementary-school lunch lady who was allegedly fired from her job last week because she gave a fourth-grade boy two months' worth of free lunches, is now back on the job, KSDK reports. Brame told the television news station she had been confronted by Chartwells, the food-service company that has a cafeteria contract with the school district, after her co-worker reported that she had been giving away free food. Brame acknowledged breaking the rules but said she was just trying to prevent other students from bullying the unnamed boy, whose enrollment in the school's program had lapsed. Chartwells tells the TV station that Brame hadn't been fired and she was back on the job at Hudson Elementary School, adding in a statement that the company was "pleased to have resolved this misunderstanding." [KSDK, Earlier]

Domino’s Founder Sues Government Over Mandatory Contraceptive Rule

By Hugh Merwin

MonaghanPhoto: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Tom Monaghan, the 75-year-old Domino's founder who supplemented his pizza empire by establishing a number of conservative and Catholic-affiliated organizations, is now suing the federal government for requiring his company to provide mandatory contraceptive coverage for employees at Domino's Farms Corporation, an office space complex in Michigan. Lawyers from the Thomas More Law Center, a nonprofit that "defends and promotes America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and moral values, including the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life," filed the 40-page lawsuit in Michigan Federal District Court on Friday.

"The Government forces Christians to choose between violating their religious beliefs and violating the law." »

Darjeeling Tea Offered E.U.-Protected Status

Call it the Darjeeling Limited, P.D.O.: For the first time, the European Union will recognize the authenticity and uniqueness of tea grown in Darjeeling, India, the Times reports, extending the same place-of-origin protections afforded to brandy from Cognac, grainy cheese from Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Champagne. Welcome to the P.D.O. club, Darjeeling tea! This means that nothing other than the famous tea produced in the thin air of West Bengal, which accounts for about one percent of India's annual two-billion-pound output, can be sold as such in Europe. Darjeeling dates to 1841, when a British surgeon planted a tea nursery in the hills, so while offering protection may seem like a coda to colonialism, it's really all about free trade and defining the market for bubbly: "sparkling wines from other places can be sold legally in India as 'champagne,'" the Times reports, noting it is "a practice that the European Union wants ended." [NYT]

First Look at Tufino Pizzeria, Bringing Wood-Fired Pies to Astoria

By Bradley Hawks
View Slideshow

Stephen Menna has been cooking pizzas for twenty years with his father, Stephen Sr., and most recently worked at Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint. While pie people were flocking to the newly opened Juliana's in Dumbo over the weekend, Stephen and his wife Maria were putting the finishing touches on Tufino Pizzeria Napoletana, which opens Tuesday on Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria. Each of the menu's eighteen pizzas bears a personal story: The Nonna incorporates Menna's grandmother’s meatball recipe, while the Pistachianco — made with pistachios, fior di latte, and ricotta — is a shout-out to Chris Bianco in Phoenix. Yet another is named after his neighbor, who suggested combining raisins and prosciutto on a pizza.

Fior de latte, pistachios, and honey pie. »

Miami’s Yardbird Expanding to New York

By Beth Landman

The Miami location.Photo: Courtesy of Yardbird

Yardbird co-owner John Kunkel is taking his popular Miami concept and bringing it to New York. The restaurant's chef, Jeff McInnis, first hinted about it at the Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival. "It's a project for the coming year,'' Kunkel confirms to Grub. "We are very conscious of finding the right location and have been riding around with real-estate agents, looking at spaces, and getting a feel of the neighborhoods."

Park Slope, perhaps? »

Eat Well: Roasted Broccoli, Kale Pie, and Sweet Tofu

By Kate Lowenstein

Danny Kim/New York Magazine

A new week means another look at the great food around town that just so happens to be good for you. This week, that means hearty veggie meatballs with a side of broccoli at the Meatball Shop, artichokes at Il Buco Alimentari, and light options from Chelsea newcomer Willow Road. With Christmas coming up, it's not a bad idea to take it easy this week.

A "twenty greens salad" and more ahead. »

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