‘Epic Chef’ April Bloomfield Breaks for Tea and Biscuits“I remember a time I ate Shepherd’s Pie at the Spotted Pig. It was so delicious, I ate so much of it that I couldn’t move. And I felt so sluggish and all I wanted to do was curl up by the stove.”
Danny Meyer: ‘You Can Stand Under My Umbrella’Jill Santopietro, recipe editor and food stylist at the Times, isn’t crazy about the service at Danny Meyer’s restaurants, but she loves the free umbrellas.
Danny Meyer Has One Last Feast at FlorentHis restaurants range from Eleven Madison Park to Shake Shack, and his diet ranges from pâté de campagne to protein shakes.
Mediavore
Momofuku Ko to Open Next Week; Wheat Prices to Affect Pizza and Bagel LoversMomofuku Ko is scheduled to open on March 12, and once the friends-and-family period ends, the only way to get in will be through online reservations. [Eater]
Café Boulud still has the power to draw big names like Tom Ford, Barbara Walters, and Bruce Springsteen. [WSJ]
The same I.D. scanners that help keep out underage drinkers at nightclubs are also helping police track down the various shooters and stabbers that frequent these places. [NYP]
Back of the House
Jay Rayner Paints the New York Restaurant World in a Few Broad StrokesThe Man Who Ate the World, British restaurant critic Jay Rayner’s tour of the planet’s great restaurant cities will be coming out soon, as Gawker noted yesterday. Its piece lingered over Super Mario’s latest profanity-laced anti-blogger tirade, which was almost as enjoyable as his last one. But having read the New York chapter, we were hit by how much other good stuff was in it.
Neighborhood Watch
Condos Eating Up Ethnic Restaurants; Eleven Madison Park Chef Bringing SomeAstoria: The café Oleput at 31-13 Ditmars has reopened, and they might have a liquor license. [Joey in Astoria]
Clinton Hill: Krumbs (or whatever the bakery will soon be called) is now open at 154 Vanderbilt between Willoughby and Myrtle, and mini–carrot cakes seem like a hit. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Flushing: The legendary Chinese food court at J & L mall may be closed for good after a brief shutter this summer. The condo curse strikes again. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Hell’s Kitchen: Kyotofu’s hosting a winter sake pairing Monday with the theme “An Evening at an Izakaya, a traditional Japanese Pub.” It includes real food like miso-grilled ten-grain yaki-onigiri rice balls and shiitake-and-pork-yuba dumplings. [Grub Street]
Park Slope: A new reason to join the CSA: Find a tiny frog in your lettuce and get a hilarious feature in the Daily News. [Gothamist]
Upper East Side: A San Francisco restaurant critic goes to Park Avenue Winter and other top-billed New York restaurants and admits being “struck by a trend that seems to be taking root [here]: Market-driven menus. Of course, this is common to the Bay Area.” [Between Meals/San Francisco Chronicle]
Upper West Side: Eleven Madison Park chef Kerry Heffernan has outfitted the old Cafe Botanica with mirrors and glass to prepare for the opening of South Gate, his new restaurant slated for a mid-February opening. [Restaurant Girl]
Back of the House
Batali, Bastianich Dip From the Same Cookie Jar for Different CandidatesAfter Nino Selimaj was ordered to take down his photo of Chelsea Clinton at Osso Buco (it’s still hanging), we got to wondering where other restaurateurs fall on the political spectrum. All we had to do was run some names through the Huffington Post’s FundRace 2008 search engine to find out, for starters, that Mario Batali gave $1,000 to John Edwards while his business partner Joe Bastianich gave $2,300 to Rudy Giuliani (this could get ugly). So who are other restaurant honchos like Drew Nieporent, Danny Meyer, Siro Maccioni, et al backing?
The In-box
Eye Candy: Where to Eat With an Interior DecoratorDear Grub Street,
My interior-decorator friend is visiting soon, and I’d like to take her to see some interesting places. We can’t really afford to eat at Per Se et al, but maybe we could get a drink at some of the super fancy places. My concern is not to sacrifice taste with décor. Where would be good places to be wowed visually and orally? Where would be good for dessert or a drink just for their interiors? Thanks!!
Grace
Back of the House
Take Off Your Toque: Partying With Daniel Boulud
There have been a flurry of Chef Q&As in the blogosphere lately, but Gothamist’s sit-down with Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park really stood out for us. Part of it was the chef’s unabashed enthusiasm for three-star European chefs nobody has ever heard of. (Nobody, that is, who reads blogs.) Then there was this tidbit, which interviewer Hugh Merwin saved for last: After this year’s James Beard Awards, Humm threw an informal party at Eleven Madison. The highlight was 80 drunken guests pouring into the kitchen, where Daniel Boulud made scrambled eggs with truffles. This just highlights an important food rule: Always follow Boulud. Last year, the highlight of the after-party at Thor was Boulud jumping up on the bar and spraying everyone with champagne at three in the morning. If you can’t hang out with the man, at least read about it in Gothamist.
Daniel Humm, Chef [Gothamist]
Neighborhood Watch
Pegu Club Shaking More Than Just Cocktails in SohoForest Hills: The layout for Trader Joe’s coming to 90-30 Metropolitan Avenue. [Forest Hills 72]
Midtown West: Sample cuisine from more than 50 restaurants including Aquavit, Buddakan, and Eleven Madison Park at tonight’s Taste of the Nation at Roseland Ballroom; tickets are $200 and benefit the fight against childhood hunger. [Cakehead]
Soho: Pegu Club accused of shaking down its customers by pouring drinks that haven’t been ordered. [Majikthise]
South Hampton: Dune should pick up the slack where Cain left off. [Down by the Hipster]
Upper West Side: The lobby lounge of the Mandarin Oriental now has a cart offering $75 flutes of Dom Perignon, but at least the price includes dried fruit. [NYS] Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe hopes to see a bidding war over Warner LeRoy’s Tavern on the Green between top “concessionaires” including Dean Poll of the Boathouse and Danny Meyer. [NYO]
West Village: Awkward zoning prevents Camaje bistro on Macdougal Street from setting up outdoor seating, though it’s allowed for virtually all its dining neighbors. [NYP]
