Frankies UpsizesThe tiny Lower East Side Italian favorite is doubling in size.
ByDaniel Maurer
NewsFeed
Coming Soon: ‘Edible Manhattan’We’ve been longtime fans of Edible Brooklyn, a very cool magazine we wrote about a while ago. Edible Brooklyn doesn’t publish restaurant news as much as articles and essays about the life of the borough’s food culture, written by the people who love it. And now Manhattan will get the same treatment in Edible Manhattan, which will come out bi-monthly starting in the fall and is already accepting subscribers.
NewsFeed
Carroll Gardens to Get ‘Fine Dining Without Being Fine Dining’Ryan Angulo, the talented chef de cuisine who has helped Chris Santos make Stanton Social such a hit, is taking his knives and heading off to make his own show in Carroll Gardens. The as-yet-unnamed restaurant will be going in to 458 Court Street, down the street* from Frankies 457 Spuntino, and aims to serve “upscale, well-developed food that’s still kind of casual…fine dining without being fine dining,” Angulo tells us, mentioning Prune, Frankies, and San Francisco’s Zuni Café as models for the kind of thing he wants to do. “We don’t want to price anybody out. We want to make sure to get the neighborhood clientele included.” The place is looking at a possible mid-March/early-April opening.
*Correction: The original version of this item said Angulo’s restaurant would be across the street from Frankie’s 457.
The New York Diet
Comedian Aziz Ansari Won’t Stand for Gourmet Chicken and Waffles
Since being named Rolling Stone’s “hot stand-up,” Aziz Ansari has risen to still more prominence as — quite memorably — the racist fruit vendor on Flight of the Conchords and a star of MTV’s Human Giant (now filming its second season). One of the latter show’s memorable skits has Aziz taking a blood oath with his co-stars Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel to visit the fictional BBQ joint KC Rib Tickler’s (having grown up in South Carolina, Aziz is indeed a barbecue fan). Though they have yet to actually shed blood over it in reality, Aziz and his co-stars are passionate about checking out newly opened spots (using Adam Platt’s reviews as a pointer, we’re happy to hear!). We asked him where he’s been this week.
Mediavore
It Isn’t Easy Being Green; Grayz on the Stun LineThere are a few basic steps that restaurants and bars can follow to be considered “green,” but they don’t happen automatically.[TONY]
Steve Cuozzo leads Gray Kunz’s new cash cow to the slaughter, calling Grayz a draw “for suits wanting a slicker sandbox for babe-wrangling than nearby Connolly’s.” [NYP]
Related: Gray Kunz Finds a Sweet New Business Model
The Frankies of Spuntino fame have a third restaurant planned in Brooklyn and a new cookbook on the way. [Eater]
Foodievents
Celebrity Judges Wary of Hamptons Beach Burgers
Dateline: Amagansett. The scene: Your typical summer share house. The occasion: The first annual Burger Bloodbath, a competition between three mere mortals to create the “best beach burger” on the Hamptons, as judged by three of New York’s most esteemed palates: Frank Falcinelli, co-owner of Frankies Spuntino , New York Times $25-and-under critic Peter Meehan (whose visage has been obscured to protected his dining anonymity), and David Chang, the downtown legend behind Momofuku and Ssäm Bar. Co-hosted by Hampton Style, Hamptons blog the Beach, and food blog Eater, the showdown was played for little more than sheer glory.
The New York Diet
Writer-Rocker Darcey Steinke Downs Jell-O With NunsIn her new memoir Easter Everywhere novelist Darcey Steinke recounts her life as a minister’s daughter, traveling the country and picking up tastes for regional dishes like fried okra. “When you get it right,” she says, “It’s like crack.” Though her Prospect Park neighborhood has yet to yield the perfect fix, she’s fond of the jerk chicken, and as a survey of her most recent week of eating reveals, she also knows where to find exceptional sauerbraten, redemptive sticky-toffee pudding, and a classic Waldorf salad with marshmallows — which she enjoyed with an order of nuns.
The New York Diet
Comedian David Cross Likes His Peanut Butter and Pretzels With a Glass of Wine
When David Cross, whose comedic musings on the senselessness of electric kitchen knives are legendary, gave New York his advice on approaching a celebrity, he admitted, “I’ve always been (and always will be, until I need an operation) a big fan of the free beer.” This week we caught him shortly after a dalliance with the South Beach Diet, which meant (operation be damned) he was free to consume succulent pork fat, three helpings of ramen, what he says is one of the best three pots of chili you’ll ever have, and more than a few pints of beer. Whether or not the latter was purchased for him by one of his fans is unclear.
Mediavore
Pelaccio Opens in London; Hotel Gansevoort BoycottedZak Pelaccio’s new London restaurant (first announced here) finally opens and issues a press release with a menu. [Snack]
In a recent post, we called Michael Ruhlman a mandarin and critiqued his hauteur. Count us wrong on both counts: This response, titled “Grub Street Wankers,” and the vitriol that follows in the comment section, isn’t exactly high-minded. [Ruhlman]
Related: In Defense of Rachael Ray and the Food Network [Grub Street]
The big billboards erected on Hudson Street by the Hotel Gansevoort are so ugly that Pastis’ Keith McNally and 5 Ninth’s Joel Michel are refusing to take hotel reservations in protest. [NYP]
