Posts for February 19, 2013 -- Grub Street: New York Magazine's Food and Restaurant Blog

Posts for February 19, 2013

2/19/13 at 6:00 PM
Leftovers
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Tickets on Sale for 3rd Annual Tasting Brooklyn; The Living Room Will Survive Through April

• Tickets go on sale today for the 3rd Annual Tasting Brooklyn, set for April 16. This year’s event will celebrate culinary diversity with a variety of the borough’s restaurants, including Fletcher’s BBQ, DuMont, and Clover Club. General admission is $50. Tickets and more info can be found right here. [Grub Street]

• L.I.C. Bar is paying it forward; this Saturday, the bar will host a fund-raiser for the Who’s U.S.-supported charity, Teen Cancer America. Tickets are $20 and include a performance by cover band Who’s Next. LIC organized the event as a thank-you to the band, who rescued the bar by arranging to replace Sandy-destroyed music equipment. [Grub Street]

• Greek eatery Boukiés launched a prix fixe menu as well as a new main menu yesterday. The Lower East Side spot will focus on seafood dishes, such as psito ktapodaki (marinated grilled octopus with lemon caper dressing) and peskandritsa a la polita (monkfish tails, sautéed with white wine, saffron, and herbs). [Grub Street]

2/19/13 at 5:45 PM
Coming Soon
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Long Island–Based Thin-Crust Pizza Chain Skinnypizza Coming to FiDi

By Hugh Merwin

Half the pizza, half the carbs.

Good news for people who like eating at restaurants with the word skinny in their name: The Roslyn Heights, Long Island–based chain Skinnypizza will open this September at Brookfield Place, the sprawling, food-heavy retail complex formerly known as the World Financial Center. The mini-chain, which boasts that it has "perfected pure goodness," specializes in low-calorie thin-crust pizzas, organic tomato sauce, and the like. Last month, BatteryPark.tv speculated that Brookfield's first "big" tenant for the space would be the second location of anticipated L.A. import Umami Burger. All told, there are fifteen "casual dining outlets" slated for the site. [Pizza Marketplace, Earlier]

2/19/13 at 5:20 PM
Video Feed
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Check Out the Trailer for the Oscar-Nominated Redemption, a Film About Can Collectors

By Hugh Merwin

"Everybody used to have a job," explains a collector of discarded and stray water, beer, and soda bottles in the short documentary Redemption, "now getting a job is like hitting the lotto." The film, directed by Jon Alpert and Matt O’Neill, follows the growing ranks of New York's "canners," who roam the streets with overstuffed bags in search of recyclables; it's up for an Academy Award this Sunday. "Jon and I were really amazed that a Chinese immigrant in her sixties was able to haul around 100 pounds of cans around the city and outrun me, at 34, with my camera," O'Neill tells the Playlist. Read on here for a fascinating behind-the-scenes look, but first, check out the trailer, straight ahead.

2/19/13 at 5:00 PM
Commercials
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Grey Poupon to Ruin Classic ‘Pardon Me’ Ad

By Sierra Tishgart

Don't call it a comeback.

Is nothing sacred? It's been sixteen years since the "Pardon Me" Grey Poupon commercial aired, and in an effort to boost sales and compete with the cooler condiments, Kraft is reviving the spot and adding a bunch of twenty-first-century crap. The new commercial, which will debut during the Oscars on Sunday, begins in the same way as the original, with two fancy men exchanging mustard. But then, "the scene continues with the second car speeding off without returning the mustard. A wild car chase through a golf course and city streets ensues, complete with explosions to make the spot look like a trailer for an action adventure movie." Did Michael Bay direct this mess? Pass the ketchup. [AP]

Apple Tattooing Is a Very Real Thing

By Sierra Tishgart

Does Che look better on a Gala or a Pink Lady?

Edible Geography explores the history of the apple stenciling subculture; people around the world are branding innocent fruit with everything from Che Guevara's face to the Apple computer logo. A Japanese pop star even put his picture on apples to give out as presents, which we're pretty sure is the fruit equivalent of a tramp stamp. So how does this work? First, apples are covered in wax paper bags during the growing season, producing a pearly white skin. Then, they're adorned with stencil stickers that block the sunlight. It's basically the same thing that happens when you accidentally tan while wearing sunglasses. Apple tattooing isn't a recent phenomenon; it stems back to nineteenth-century French fruit-growers. But for the past few years, it's actually been on the decline. Your move, people of Williamsburg. [Edible Geography]

2/19/13 at 4:15 PM
Foodievents
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Empellón’s ‘Push Project’ Series Continues With Red Medicine’s Jordan Kahn

By Hugh Merwin

Alex Stupak, chef and co-owner of Empellón Cocina — a newly announced James Beard Award semifinalist — sends word that the restaurant will host the second of its Push Project dinners early next month. For round two, Stupak will cook a nine-course meal with Jordan Kahn, chef of Red Medicine in Los Angeles. The two chefs, who happen to go way back, will mix up the sweet, savory, and perhaps even bittersweet with a menu that promises a lot of new material, but also a good look at their past experiences at restaurants like wd~50, the French Laundry, and Alinea. Dinner is $125 per person; all the details you need are here. [Empellón Cocina, Earlier, Related]

2/19/13 at 3:45 PM
Paletas for All
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Holy Paletas: La Newyorkina Has Reached Its Kickstarter Goal

By Hugh Merwin

Summer is coming. Seriously, it is.Photo: Hannah Whitaker/New York Magazine

Fany Gerson announced on Twitter earlier today that her post-Sandy Kickstarter campaign has hit its goal. The baker and sweets-maker lost her Red Hook production kitchen during Hurricane Sandy, prompting an outpouring of support from her peers. In addition to being able to continue supplying Big Gay Ice Cream in the West Village with doughnuts, palmiers, and pies, Gerson will be able to buy the paletas-making machine of her dreams, which can turn out 800 to 1,000 of the ice pops per hour. Planned new flavors include piloncillo-roasted peaches and strawberry jalapeño, and summer cannot come fast enough. Congratulations, Fany! [Kickstarter, Earlier]

2/19/13 at 3:25 PM on Grub Street Boston
Beer Me
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Samuel Adams Will Finally Be Available in Cans

By Kara Baskin

A Sam Can mock-up.Photo: The Boston Beer Company

The Boston Beer Company announced this morning that, after two years of meticulous ergonomic and sensory research, they'll offer twelve-packs of their Samuel Adams Boston Lager in cans, starting in early summer. (Until now, Sam Adams has been sold exclusively in bottles.) CEO Jim Koch, never a fan of cans until spending millions to develop what he says is his own superlative vessel, believes that "cans have changed," per a release. Craft brewers, like Brooklyn's Sixpoint, long ago proved that good beer can indeed be found in cans. The logically named "Sam Can" will differentiate itself with a flared lip and wide top, designed to let those luscious hoppy aromas waft freely from can to nose. More important, it'll probably be just as easy as other cans to hide at the beach. [Official site]

2/19/13 at 2:40 PM
Mock-Tales
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Pranna’s Owner Swears Pranna Is Not a Nightclub

By Mary Reinholz

There may be music, but don't call it a nightclub,Photo: Melissa Hom

"This is damaging to us," says Rajiv Sharma, the owner of Pranna in flatiron. "We are a restaurant and a lounge, not a nightclub." Last week, however, citing complaints of loud music, fights, "illegal dancing," and other disturbances, the full board of Community Board 5 voted to recommend the State Liquor Authority modify the conditions of Pranna's existing liquor license. Sharma is now on the defensive and argues that his corporate clients wouldn't book the facilities if Pranna were the kind of place where people lined up outside every night to dance. "We have private parties here," he says, by way of offering explanation. "We celebrate sweet sixteens and anniversaries."

What's with all the noise complaints?

2/19/13 at 1:50 PM
Lists
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GQ Names the ‘12 Most Outstanding Restaurants of 2013,’ Includes La Vara, Central Kitchen, and Vedge

By Sierra Tishgart

Richman doesn't care if his waiter smells.

It's a big day for lists! GQ critic Alan Richman dropped his roundup of the country's top twelve restaurants, which are places he identifies as "casual, kindhearted, original, and a little too loud." Richman deems fine dining a "democratic institution"; his idea of a perfect night out includes eating off cutting boards and waiters wearing dirty T-shirts — not wild foraged ingredients or twenty-course prix fixe menus. And by omitting Mission Chinese Food, his list is by default different than most others of its kind. Last year, L.A.'s ink took the top spot, and the crown now goes to Little Serow, a Thai restaurant in Washington, D.C. Check out where else to go if you want to feel "coddled, welcome, and well fed," ahead.

St. Anselm and Bäco Mercat made the cut.

2/19/13 at 1:15 PM
Interviews
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Building a Better Mocktail: Leo Robitschek on Innovation and No-Alcohol Drinks

By Carl Swanson

Robitschek.Photo: Nathan Rawlinson

Leo Robitschek, the bar manager for the NoMad and Eleven Madison Park, is one of the city's best barmen. (The bar at the NoMad is a semifinalist for outstanding bar program in this year's James Beard Awards.) But lately Robitschek finds himself spending more and more time on soft drinks — not soda, but bespoke proof-free cocktails stemming from growing customer demand. "I ran the numbers last year from the previous year and the sales went up 400 percent," he says. "Just in one year alone." We sat down to talk about how he got started, the recent surge in alcohol-free drinking, and why booze-free cocktails are so damn harder to make.

"You’re outside of your comfort zone."

2/19/13 at 12:50 PM
Good to the Last Drop
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Blue Bottle Will Help Oslo Coffee Roasters Rebuild

By Hugh Merwin

This Friday, February 22, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Blue Bottle in Williamsburg, fierce baristas will throw down and try to top each others' latte art in an effort to raise funds for Oslo Coffee, whose Bedford Avenue location burned down last month. The door is a $10 minimum, but if you're at all excited about the prospect of "single elimination latte pours" — and you should be — attendees are encouraged to dole out a few more singles to help the cause. Foam on. [Sprudge, Earlier]

2/19/13 at 12:35 PM
Awards
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Here Are 2013’s James Beard Restaurant and Chef Semifinalists

By Sierra Tishgart

Congrats!

The James Beard Foundation just announced its annual restaurant and chef semifinalists, and per usual, the list is a behemoth. Some highlights: Danny Bowien's nominated for Rising Star Chef; and Andrew Carmellini, David Chang, and Marc Vetri are going head-to-head for Outstanding Chef. In the coveted Best New Restaurant category, Empellón Cocina is facing stiff competitors like Chicago's Balena and Grace, San Francisco's Rich Table and State Bird Provisions, and Vernick Food & Drink in Philly. Last year's winners included Chicago's Next, Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park, PDT, and Boulevard in San Francisco. Check out the massive list of semifinalists ahead, and stay tuned until March 18, when the Foundation will reveal the lucky finalists.

Will Outstanding Bar Program go to the Aviary or the Bar at the NoMad?

2/19/13 at 12:00 PM
Sorry
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Milano Market Apologizes for Frisking Forest Whitaker

By Sierra Tishgart

When the actor stopped by the Morningside Heights deli on Friday to buy some yogurt, an employee accused him of stealing and publicly frisked him. Whitaker was justifiably upset after the patdown; frisking people without evidence is a rights violation. But he responded like a gentleman: "Forest did not call the authorities at the request of the worker who was in fear of losing his employment," his rep told TMZ. "Forest asked that, in the future, the store change their behavior and treat the public in a fair and just manner." Milano's rep has now responded, saying that a "misguided" employee is to blame, and that the management doesn't believe race was a factor. Plus: Milano is retraining its employees and offering to make a donation to the charity of Whitaker's choice. [TMZ]

2/19/13 at 11:15 AM
Big Scoop
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Benjamin Netanyahu Has a $2,700-per-Year Ice Cream Budget

By Hugh Merwin

"Who used the scooper last?"

Dude, that's a lot of literal and figurative Rocky Road: In the midst of increased scrutiny and the implementation of austerity measures, it seems as though the prime minister of Israel has been eating an unhealthy amount of expensive ice cream.

Cup or cone, Mr. Prime Minister?

2/19/13 at 10:35 AM
Video Feed
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Watch Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jim Beam Commercial

By Sierra Tishgart

In an international ad for Jim Beam Bourbon, Jack Dawson chips away at a block of ice, showing us how he could have single-handedly saved the Titanic from sinking. Our friends at Vulture noticed that he only says four words in the seventeen-second spot. But we think he mouths "wow" six seconds in, so let's make it four and a half.

Never let go.

2/19/13 at 10:15 AM
Closings
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Little Italy’s SPQR on Mulberry Street Has Closed

By Hugh Merwin

No more Sunday gravy: Condos coming soon.Photo: Melissa Hom

The 14,000-square-foot ground-floor space at 133 Mulberry Street, which has been different iterations of SPQR restaurant and catering hall for at least the last 30 years in the ever-displaced heart of Little Italy, has closed. Numerous attempts to contact its proprietors have been unsuccessful, but the restaurant's telephone is disconnected, its online reservations system is defunct, and its contents were auctioned off yesterday as part of a debtor-in-possession sale.

The new owners.

2/19/13 at 09:35 AM
Openings
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First Look at the New Meatball Shop, Now Serving Liquor and Bratwurst Balls in Chelsea

By Sierra Tishgart

The Meatball Shop's Chelsea location, which opened last night, is about to become its most popular; it's the first New York outpost to have a full liquor license. At first glance, the restaurant looks and feels similar to the 60-seat Lower East Side and West Village spots, but underneath this space is "Underballs," a twenty-seat, first-come-first-serve bar that will offer the full menu (and it's also available to rent for private parties). Expect the usual meatball sliders, smashes, and mismatched ice cream sandwiches, as well as an opening-week special of Bratwurst Balls, which are made of housemade sausage and paired with a beer mustard sauce. Take a look at the food, drinks, and space, ahead.

The Meatball Shop, 200 Ninth Ave., nr. 22nd St., (212) 257-4363

2/19/13 at 09:00 AM
Coming Soon
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Sweetleaf Teaming Up With Dutch Kills’ Richard Boccato on New LIC Location

By Hugh Merwin

They'll keep you in cocktails and coffee.

Single-origin espresso stalwarts Sweetleaf will collaborate with cocktail maestro Richard Boccato of Dutch Kills on a third Sweetleaf that will open next month at 46-15 Center Boulevard in Long Island City, Diner's Journal reports. Sweetleaf already has one shop in Queens, and a second that opened in Williamsburg last year. The new location will not only be a serious coffee bar by day and bar-bar by night, but will also serve cocktails that combine the best of both worlds, such as the Long Island City Special, which, made with blackstrap rum, coffee liqueur, agave, and seltzer, seems like a spot-on update of the classic Manhattan Special soda. [Diner's Journal/NYT, Earlier]