Elaine’s Crash PadA panoramic view of Elaine Kaufman’s Upper East Side apartment.
ByDaniel Maurer
The Inn Crowd
Credit Where Crudité Is DueGraydon Carter confesses he may have borrowed here and there when he opened the Waverly Inn.
ByDaniel Maurer
Ask a Waiter
Former Elaine’s Bartender Brian McDonald Tells AllIn ‘Last Call at Elaine’s,’ Brain McDonald, who tended bar at the Upper East Side saloon-cum-salon from 1986 to 1997, recalls his time as a recovering alcoholic, trying to stay sober in one of the city’s most glamorous drinking dens.
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Elaine’s Turns 45; Chefs Cursing Too $*$@% MuchLiterary hangout Elaine’s turned 45 on Sunday, Tom Colicchio doesn’t think profane language is appropriate for chefs, and “Big Lou” Elrose enjoys his moment in the sun and smoke.
Momofuku Ko Hoping to Open in Two Weeks; No Malice Palace PrevailsDuring last night’s CB3 meeting, partner Andrew Salmon would reveal only that Momofuku Ko will hit capacity at fourteen, with no waiters and with fixed menus changing daily. “You sit directly across from the cook,” Salmon told the board. He kept the “vaguely Asian” food quiet, conceding only that it would include “all local ingredients … all sustainable development.” Unfortunately, he didn’t take the time to make sure a petition was including in the application, so no motion could be passed. Projected opening date: two weeks’ time!
Celebrity Settings
Kobe Dines on Kobe at Kobe; Nobu Gives Manning a Standing OFashion Week brought the usual celebrity infestation to town last week for glitzy after-parties, but we’ve already covered those. The real question is, where did the “normals” catch a bite? And of course by normals we mean billionaires, Nobel Prize winners, and Super Bowl champs, all of whom made the scene this week.
Celebrity Settings
‘Scruffy Loner’ Heath Ledger Ate Solo at Grotta Azzurra
As our sister blog Daily Intel has pointed out, this week was all about Tom Brady and Eli Manning sightings, with Tom and Gisele hitting the town (what else is new?) and Eli making it a quiet week. Michael Strahan also found a moment to sip chowder (question being, was it New York or New England style?). On a somber note, the Daily News uncovered Heath Ledger’s haunts in Soho: Spring Street Natural and Miro Café among them. The sighting we were most intrigued by, however, occurred in Park City, Utah: Sirio Maccioni eschewed trendier restaurants to hit Burger King. Now there’s a Whopper freakout we’d pay to see.
Celebrity Settings
Ben Stiller Crashes a Party at Fiamma, Penélope Cruz Makes Out at
Every Friday a notable New Yorker tells us where they’ve been eating, but where are the rest of them chowing down? Starting this week we’ll sort through the gossip columns à la Ils Vont (RIP) to tell you who’s been seen where (casual sightings only — boring galas, vodka launches, and pluggy appearances don’t count). We’ll eventually compile a ranking of restaurants most often visited by celebs. Not that you care about that sort of thing! Oh, but if you do, won’t you please leave your own sightings in the comments?
The Gobbler
Congratulations: You’re Headed to Siberia!During the course of a recent breakneck tour of restaurants in London, the Gobbler found himself paying Kobe-beef-like prices for taxi rides and eating, among other things, more pig’s head than he ever thought humanly possible. Unlike in New York, the maître d’s of London weren’t lying in wait for the Gobbler, and photos of his giant mug weren’t plastered in every kitchen. So he also found himself dining in that vast restaurant wasteland known as Siberia. He was seated by the great yawning kitchen doors at a hot new restaurant in Piccadilly, among tourists from Singapore at Gordon Ramsay’s newest place, and next to a giant flower pot at the Connaught Hotel. The experience prompted the Gobbler to compose another one of his lists. You know you’re sitting in Siberia when …
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A Haute Barnyard Ethics Crisis; KFC Rats Hit the Big TimeElaine Kaufman, the beloved proprietress of actor hangout Elaine’s, has seen a lot of Oscar parties and talks about them in this Q&A. [NYDN]
An Haute Barnyard ethics crisis: Blue Hill’s Dan Barber on the day he added almond oil to his carrots. [NYT]
Related: The Haute Barnyard Hall of Fame [Grub Street]
The rats running around that KFC-Taco Bell have become a tourist attraction. [NYT]
Related: Oh, Rats [Daily Intel]