Center Cut to Serve Just That; Maxim Just What Meatpacking DeservesSo why is Jeffrey Chodorow’s new Lincoln Center meatery to be called Center Cut? Because it will be devoted to the center cuts of meat! There will be center-cut steaks, center-cut pork chops, center-cut venison, and so forth, says the chef’s rep Karine Bakhoum. We are flabbergasted. Such a proposition sounds insanely expensive and is also silly, since the first two ribs off the shoulder (ribs 1 and 2 in the trade) are by far the best ones, with the biggest portion of the spinalis dorsi muscle, also known as the “lip” or “deckle.”
NewsFeed
Maxim Prime to Contain First-Ever Tequila Sommelier?The Times today confirms that this summer Jeffrey Chodorow will open a steakhouse, Center Cut, in the Empire Hotel and — the real horror show — a Maxim-magazine-branded steakhouse to replace Ono in the Gansevoort Hotel in late March. Will it be a “breastaurant” combining boob tubes and tube tops à la Hooters, or will Chodorow go for something a tad bit more refined? Below, our predictions for the experience.
Mediavore
Demi and Ashton Not the Box’s Favorite Patrons; PM Closing for JanuaryBox owner Simon Hammerstein is happy one of his performers spilled a drink on Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher this week. [NYP]
2008 probably won’t be the year that sees the establishment of a large, indoor public market along the lines of London’s Borough Market or San Francisco’s farmer’s market. [NYT]
Related: Batali Shows a Little Leg to Sex Up New Amsterdam Public
Gael Greene puts forth her list of culinary predictions for the New Year, including this gem: “Jeffrey Chodorow and Frank Bruni will have a food fight in Madison Square Park televised by the Food Network. If Bruni loses he will be required to review restaurants in Des Moines for six months. If Chodorow is the loser he will be forbidden to open a new restaurant for three weeks.” [Insatiable Critic]
Back of the House
Ten Moments to Remember From 2007
“Life fades … vision dims … and all that remains is memory.” Such are the haunting first words of The Road Warrior, and we can’t help but think of them as we look back, through heavy lids, at the year that was. 2007 was a memorable restaurant year in so many ways, but there are a few that stick out in our minds. Our favorite moments of the last year would definitely have to include:
NewsFeed
Chodorow Confirms Wild Salmon Closure
Jeffrey Chodorow today confirmed Eater’s speculation about the end of Wild Salmon. “Regrettably,” he said in a statement, “we will be closing Wild Salmon after the new year. We were excited about bringing the food and wine of the Pacific Northwest to New York, but, unfortunately, our efforts were unsuccessful.” Too bad. Can we now count that space as officially cursed? Maybe it’s time to get a bank in there.
Mediavore
Psilakis Moving Kefi to Better Space; Chodorow Moving Wild Salmon to a BetterMichael Psilakis is moving Kefi into a bigger and better space not far from its current location. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Jeffrey Chodorow’s plagued seafood endeavor Wild Salmon is rumored to close before the New Year. [Eater]
A list of restaurants for Christmas Eve and day dining includes traditional picks like the Café at Country and Allen & Delancey, and more unique options like a Scandinavian Christmas Eve feast at Aquavit and dim sum from Chinatown Brasserie. [Restaurant Girl]
Mediavore
Where to Eat on Black Friday; Last-Minute Turkey DinnersMichael Psilakis plans to open his “Dona redux,” at 58th Street between Second and Third, by early January. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
Related: Psilakis Seeks Site for a Late-Night Downtown Restaurant — and a New Dona
Satisfying post-shopping eats are invaluable because “when you no longer feel loaded is the perfect time to get loaded.” This comprehensive list covers midtown, Herald Square, the meatpacking district, and Soho. [NYP]
New tip for turkey: Carve it like a butcher, not like a chef. [NYT]
NewsFeed
At Chodorow’s New Steakhouse, Less Is MoreJeffrey Chodorow has been pretty tight-lipped about his new steakhouse in the Empire Hotel (and given what happened with his last steakhouse, who can blame him?). But General Chod got to chewing the fat with us recently, and let us in on one of the basic concepts of the place. “It will be a classic New York steakhouse, but with one improvement: The whole menu will come in small and large portions,” he says. “Everybody doesn’t want to eat immense portions, especially in a neighborhood restaurant. I’ll have half a lobster, a twelve-ounce sirloin, and I can maintain the quality and at the same time bring the price point down.”
NewsFeed
Jeffrey Chodorow Begins Investing in the Little GuyNews that Borough Food and Drink was being taken over by Zak Pelaccio had some Chodorow watchers scratching their heads. How could China Grill Management be involved in a restaurant and not control it? General Chod tells us that, far from being a departure from his operating system, CGM’s boutique operation is just his latest innovation. “There’s 20th Century Fox for big projects, and then also Fox Searchlight Pictures. That’s what this would be like,” he says, crediting Pelaccio with the analogy. (How long did he mull that one?)
Mr. Snitch
Restaurant Titans Descend on Primehouse for a NightHere’s the thing about restaurateurs: They don’t really care about who has the best ramen in the East Village. They’re not really that interested in where Paul Liebrandt’s restaurant will be, and they find avant-garde desserts about as compelling as algebra. But when Steve Hanson opens a restaurant? That, that is something they’re interested in. The fine art of making money via replicable concept restaurants is one at which Hanson is an acknowledged master, and that helps to explain why the main room at Primehouse last Thursday looked like a who’s who of big-time restaurateurs.
Back of the House
Jeffrey Chodorow Still in the Steak Game With Latest RestaurantThe Observer has the dope on Jeffrey Chodorow’s latest restaurant in the Empire Hotel: It’s to be a “classic American steakhouse.” Not a surprising choice, given how hassle-free, popular, and profitable steakhouses are — when they’re not Kobe Club, anyway. Jay-C is in Italy for a week, but as soon as we can get ahold of him, we’ll have the details. Given the ambition of his latest ventures, we’d be surprised if this is just another meatery.
Chodorow to Open ‘Classic Steakhouse’ in Empire Hotel [NYO]
Mediavore
Big Dreams for Chodorow’s Next Showstopper; Perv Attacking Women Outside the BoxCuozzo fantasizes about the possible successes Jeffrey Chodorow could develop if he signs a lease on the enormous space at Broadway and 63rd Street. They include stellar risotto, traditional dim sum, and haute Lebanese — if only he doesn’t “blow it on another howler like Rocco’s or a limping dud like Kobe Club.” [NYP]
A Queens dumpling celebrity, a chef in northern China before transplanting to the U.S., has been persuaded to supply her specialty to TKettle on St. Marks Place. Get there early, though; she’s only agreed to hand-make 1,000 per day for the bubble-tea shop. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Two young female patrons of the Box have been abducted from outside the club and raped on separate occasions in less than a month, and the predator has not been apprehended. [NYP]
Neighborhood Watch
Lady Chefs Reign Over on Flatiron; East Village Pizza Csar on Finding theBoerum Hill: The Brooklyn Inn owner hates bloggers and if you want to know what he’s doing with his legend of a bar you should go ask him yourself. [Lost City]
East Village: Una Pizza Napoletana czar Anthony Mangierei on finding the perfect pizza: “The place should smell slightly smoky (that’s from the oven) and like a really good bakery (that’s the dough cooking). But you don’t want to smell grease. I know a lot of people associate that aroma with a slice, but trust me, it’s not the sign of an amazing pizza.” [Slice]
Flatiron: Patti Jackson, Anne Burrell, and Gramercy Tavern pastry chef Nancy Olsen will take part in a five-course dinner held at Prince George Ballroom on 27th Street at Fifth Avenue to support culinary education for women. [Restaurant Girl]
Midtown West: Chodorow insists that “not only is Kobe Club not closing, but we’re opening more of them, first in Miami.” [Eater]
Times Square: Mandler’s Sausage Co. is closed. Union Square location remains open to satisfy all your sausage needs. [Midtown Lunch]
NewsFeed
Borough Food and Drink Solves a Sudden Chef CrisisEarlier this month, Frank Bruni assailed Borough Food and Drink for its service, referring to it as “loopy, stop-and-go befuddlement.” How did that happen in a Jeffrey Chodorow restaurant? Turns out chef Paul Williams took ill and Bruni visited during his absence. Williams has taken a temporary leave from the restaurant, a publicist says, and the kitchen is now under the control of former Asia de Cuba chef Robert Trainor, an old Chodorow hand. No word yet on when Williams will return, but we hope it’s soon.
Related: Dining Briefs [NYT]
NewsFeed
Jean-Georges Schools Chodorow in the Art of BloggingSo it’s not anywhere near as dishy as Chodorow’s site, but it seems Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s two-week-old blog is at least sticking to its promise to update us every Tuesday on “what I’ve been cooking, where I’ve been traveling, and what I’ve been thinking.” (It’s a Blogger site with a pretty standard template — did Jean-Georges make this himself?) Even if he isn’t slamming Bruni and Platt, Vongo is at least confessing to cooking with a machine developed for Kentucky Fried Chicken (scandalous!) and getting his daughter’s birthday cake from a bakery instead of from his dessert man Johnny Iuzzini (c’est impossible!). Another shocker: “I love eating in New York. From the tacos and margaritas at Los Dados (where I often stop after a night of cooking at Spice Market).” Jean-Georges is still cooking at Spice Market?
Jean-Georges Vongerichten [Blog]
NewsFeed
A (Near) Gary Robins Sighting Nothing against the articles, but it’s the ads in the Times dining section that we’re obsessed with. First there was Jeffrey Chodorow’s “Dear Mr. Wells” rant, followed by Jeffrey Chodorow’s “Dear Frank” letter, and now this intriguing tidbit buried at the bottom of an ad for a Macy’s Cellar cooking event in the August 29 edition:
Thursday, September 27, Executive Chef Gary Robins from the legendary and romantic restaurant One if By Land, Two if By Sea, prepares a perfect meal for special occasions!
Mediavore
Chodorow and Valenti Scope UWS Hotel; Ramsay’s Culinary Reputation WaningJeffrey Chodorow and Ouest chef Tom Valenti may both open restaurants in the boutique hotel On the Ave at Broadway near 76th Street. [NYP]
Has Gordon Ramsay spread himself too thin? Harden’s annual guide has dethroned Ramsey’s eponymous flagship as its pick for highest overall rating in food, service and ambience. [The Guardian]
Lower East Side neighbors were duped by the Box — they believed it was to be a “cultural institution.” Well, sort of depends on your definition of “culture.” [NYDN]
NewsFeed
Gastropub Trend Winds South, Touching Down in Orlando Soon
Orlando is a swell place to travel (preferably in a cherry-red Corvette) if you’re craving hash browns all-the-way at Waffle House, but what about Floridians who want a taste of the big city? Until recently, a restaurant called Babbo (unrelated) was one of their only options, but now it’s being renamed Nonna! (Too confusing?) Don’t worry — this fall comes The Ravenous Pig: An American Gastropub, opened by a student at New York’s own Culinary Institute of America (or so the place’s MySpace page seems to indicate). Could this be the most egregious Spotted Pig knockoff since Chodorow’s ill-fated Spotted Dick? Either way, the Orlando Weekly hilariously assures: “If ‘gastropub’ sounds unappetizing, never fear. It just means upscale food served in a relaxed, pub-like setting.” And with that, Orlando’s culinary innocence is dead.
What’s Cooking [Orlando Weekly]
Profile: The Ravenous Pig [MySpace]
Related: The Pig and the Pudding [NYM]
Mediavore
Whole Foods’ Master Plan Revealed; Chodorow Back on the WarpathWhole Foods’ master plan for local domination, code-named (no kidding) Project Goldmine, is accidentally released to the public by federal regulators. [NYT]
Jeffrey Chodorow’s war against Frank Bruni continues with another Times ad. [Eater]
Buddhists buy $7,000 worth of eels, frogs, and turtles from Chinatown markets and then release the fortunate animals into the Passaic River. Where they immediately died from toxic shock. (Okay, we made the last part up.) [NYP]
Beef
The Mets Scored Shake Shack. What Will the Yankees Do?
Now that the Mets seem to have a lock on New York’s most coveted hamburger business, we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop: What will be the Yankee response? Clearly, it won’t do for the Bronx Bombers to let their National League rival upstage them like this. We fully expect the Yankees to open the vault in hopes of attracting a major free-agent restaurateur. But who?
NewsFeed
Health Department Takes Out China GrillWhile we can’t wait for the Health Department’s regulatory rampage to end, let it at least be said that it treats the great and the obscure alike. Jeffrey Chodorow’s flagship restaurant, China Grill, was closed this afternoon by the DOH for the walk-in refrigerator being warmer than rules permit and a few other ticky-tacky offenses (according to a hastily issued press release). China Grill Management, Chodorow’s corporation, will no doubt pour out some money and have the place up and running in a couple of days, if not sooner. But Chodo, like everyone else who has felt the whip of the city’s clipboard-wielding inspectors, knows who’s boss now.
BREAKING: China Grill Shuttered by Dept. of Health [Eater]
Openings
Zak Pelaccio Goes on a Shopping Spree for Borough Food and Drink
For city gastronomes (we won’t say chowhounds), there are three reasons to be excited about Borough Food and Drink, the Jeffrey Chodorow and Zak Pelaccio gastropub opening this week. First, there’s Z-Man’s return to the kind of freewheeling, Eurocentric fare that he used to do at Williamsburg’s Chickenbone Café, back before he became an Asian-food guru. (Pelaccio created the menu and trained the staff but will not be cooking at the restaurant.)
Restroom Report
Wild Salmon: The End-All and Pee-All?
Last week we continued our restro-spective of Jeffrey Chodorow’s tinklers with a look at Ono. We half-expected Chodorow’s blog to carp over our five-star review, but no — his latest entry shows that the man is still pissed off, this time at Adam Platt, whom he considers a piss-poor reviewer for handing a measly star to Wild Salmon. This got us to wondering about the restaurant’s facilities.
The Gobbler
About Chodorow’s Latest Screed …Two weeks ago, it was Mario Batali who bared his considerable fangs and lashed out at the Gobbler in a most unseemly way. Now, this week, comes word of another anti-Gobbler screed penned by the aggrieved and suddenly blog-happy restaurateur Mr. Jeffrey Chodorow. Mr. Chodorow takes issue with the Gobbler’s not entirely unkind, one-star review of the restaurateur’s giant fish-themed restaurant, Wild Salmon. To which the Gobbler can only say, “Thank you, Mr. Chodorow!” As we said last week in this space, a critic isn’t doing his job unless fat cats like Batali and Mr. Chodorow occasionally become unhinged. Restaurateurs know their own businesses intimately, after all, and we professional critics only peddle subjective opinion. If Chodorow chooses to take issue with our opinions, he’s more than entitled to it.
The Other Critics
Cuozzo Hammers the Shake Shack; Much Hodgson Love for InsiemeSteve Cuozzo uses his bully pulpit in the Post to come down hard on the Shake Shack, calling the place out for insanely long lines and “a hamburger that’s an also-ran at best.”
[NYP]
Related: Kyle Dureau Wants Shake Shack to Be Open 24/7 As Much As You Do [Grub Street]
Having weathered a major two-star review by Adam Platt, Insieme finally gets its first three-star one, from Moira Hodgson, who is impressed by how perfectly executed every dish is, lavishing special praise on one of the place’s more overlooked features, co-owner Paul Grieco’s wine list. [NYO]
Related: Italian, Old and New [NYM]
The Times gives Katz’s the full Frank Bruni treatment, and the place comes out of it with one star, much loving description, and an eerie semi-confirmation of our earlier report that the place might be sold. [NYT]
Related: Mother of Mercy! Is This the End of Katz’s? [Grub Street]
Mediavore
Chodorow and Tom Valenti Team Up; Rum RenaissanceJeffrey Chodorow is opening a restaurant with Tom Valenti right next to his new restaurant with Zak Pelaccio; also, a new Rickshaw will open in the Village. [Eater]
Related: Chodorow and Pelaccio Planning a ‘Malaysian Coffeehouse’ [Grub Street]
We’re in the middle of a rum renaissance, with “heavy, thick and funky” British varieties and “smooth and sugary” Spanish-Caribbean ones. [NYDN]
Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club defends itself against charges of unfair labor practices: “Everyone makes the minimum wage at the club.” [NYDN]
Mediavore
Chodorow, While Still Bitter, Lifts Ban on PlattAdam Platt and Frank Bruni are no longer banned from Jeffrey Chodorow’s restaurants. Even though, says the restaurateur, Platt “missed the whole point of Wild Salmon.” [Restaurant Girl]
Related: Salmon Cured? [NYM]
In a revealing interview, Marco Pierre White takes a stand against the star-chef game: “Can you imagine: You take your wife out to my restaurant for dinner, and I’m not behind the stove. You find out I’m in America — how would you feel when you’ve just done $1,200 for dinner? It’s a sour taste, isn’t it?” [Salon]
Thomas Keller announces that he isn’t really the man at Per Se: “I [speak] as someone who is somewhat detached from it because it is a Jonathan Benno restaurant.” [MSN]
NewsFeed
Chodorow and Pelaccio Planning a ‘Malaysian Coffeehouse’Fatty Crab may not be coming to the Upper West Side, but locals need not fret — we’ve learned that Jeffrey Chodorow and Zak Pelaccio are in discussion to do a Malaysian place called Kopi Tiam in the neighborhood. A kopi tiam is what Chodorow calls a “Malaysian coffeehouse,” and this one would occupy the 77th Street space that formerly housed Fishs Eddy. Kopi tiams, Chodorow tells us, “are popular throughout Malaysia and frequently serve both Malaysian and Western foods…this restaurant would be very different from Fatty Crab.”
In the Magazine
A Journey Through the Food Groups, and Thence to Bed
The typical New York diner (to say nothing of the typical New York reader) will generally get around to all the major food groups in the course of a week. There is the fish group, represented this week by Adam Platt’s one-star review of Wild Salmon, and the southern Italian sea bounty of Bar Stuzzichini, Rob and Robin’s lead opening. The meat group is well served by Prime Burger, the Insatiable Critic assures. The vegetable tribe appears courtesy of Mark Ladner’s spring-onion flan in In Season. Finally, after all this eating, all most of us would want is a bed to lie down in, and Rob and Robin provide some tips for that as well.
Restroom Report
Bathroom Beef: Quality Meats vs. Kobe Club
On limo-lined 58th Street, two nouveau steakhouses face each other in a bizarre game of Spy vs. Spy. The white spy: bright, cheery Quality Meats of the Wollensky empire, designed by the whiz kids at AvroKO. The black spy: Chodorow’s infamous Kobe Club, a noirish trip that resembles a Tarantino stage set. Each has its bag of trick s— QM’s meat-hook chandeliers! KC’s samurai swords!— but the nukes in their arsenals are, of course, the restrooms. After you’ve finished a 64-ounce growler of Quality beer or a $225 bowl of Kobe punch, you’re going to need to use ‘em. So let’s take a look.
Neighborhood Watch
Fatty Crab, Upper West Side Edition?Carroll Gardens: Faan has average food but festive décor, and it’s the only decent delivery in the neighborhood. [Brooklyn Record] But a new French bistro is coming to town. [Lost City]
Fort Greene: The Greene Grape showcases its rosé selection with a series of tastings tonight through Sunday. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Midtown East: A photomontage of Bon Chon’s Korean fried chicken. [Gothamist]
Union Square : Mario Batali will team with Crocs, the maker of his trademark rubber clogs, and come up with an even more durable line to debut later this summer. Until then, the regular versions are available at Paragon Sports. [The Food Section]
Upper West Side: Could the Chodorow-Pelaccio agreement culminate in a Fatty Crab taking over the old Fish’s Eddy space? [Eater]
The Other Critics
Wild Salmon Starts Its Upstream Journey Strongly; Craftsteak UpgradedAlan Richman has a few qualms about Wild Salmon – its reason for being, for example – but likes both the food (except for the sauces) and the service (when it’s not too friendly). Given how ready Richman is to knock restaurants, owner Jeffrey Chodorow has to feel pretty good about this one. [Bloomberg]
Related: Wild Salmon Swims Into View. Yes, ‘Pun Intended’ [Grub Street]
The newly revamped Craftsteak and Craftbar get rereviewed by Bruni, who awards the less than the white-hot former a much-needed second star, and the latter, “more or less back on track” after earlier troubles, a (borderline) single star. [NYT]
Time Out’s Randall Lane lays four stars (out of six) on Gilt, finding Chris Lee’s cooking admirable all around, if less risky than that of his predecessor, Paul Liebrandt, who still keeps popping up whenever the restaurant is discussed. [TONY]
Related: Gramercy Rehab [NYM]
Mediavore
Car Plows Into Hop Kee; Neroni Keeps SpinningA car plows into the venerable Hop Kee restaurant in Chinatown. The restaurant is damaged, and one person is hurt. [Downtown Express]
Izakaya invasion! The city now boasts everything from simple sake joints with food to full-blown small-plate restaurants. [NYDN]
The official Times take on the Neroni Affair includes this classic quote, in defense of the Desperate Chef: “If Marco didn’t want anyone signing checks, including Jason, he should have put the checkbook in the safe.” [NYT]
VideoFeed
You Bet We Have Video of Folks Giving Opinions on Wild SalmonGrub Street’s restaurant coverage takes a historic leap forward this week as we introduce video (or what we were taught to call moving pictures). Daniel Maurer visited Jeffrey Chodorow’s newest restaurant, Wild Salmon, on opening night Friday and got first reactions from diners, including their take on the Chodorow-Bruni feud and the challenges of exiting the place after a few drinks. Let us entertain you.
Overheard: Wild Salmon Opening [Videos]
Related: In Season: Wild Flounder [Videos]
Earlier: Wild Salmon Swims Into View. Yes, ‘Pun Intended’
In the Magazine
This Week: Contents Under PressureThis week’s food section is all about pressure: A pastry chef has to cook every night for a president who hates pineapples and will send him packing at the first hint of progressive dessert-making; Vinh Nguyen, a first generation Vietnamese-American, rolls the dice with his Williamsburg restaurant Silent H, and, as far as Rob and Robin are concerned, comes up lucky seven; Jeffrey Chodorow, fresh off his battle with Frank Bruni and Adam Platt, opens a big new restaurant and hopes for the best; and four new restaurants open, surely hoping for the best as well. Even this week’s In Season is rife with tension, calling as it does for a delicate filleting operation that could easily destroy a beautifully roasted flounder. The New York food world is not for the faint of heart.
Openings
Wild Salmon Swims Into View. Yes, ‘Pun Intended’We wouldn’t pull your leg: Jeffrey Chodorow’s newest restaurant, Wild Salmon, opens tomorrow. Will it be a Kobe Club of the sea, leading the restaurateur to further screeds? Or will it redeem his reputation as a hit maker? Judging from this image and the place’s menu — that’s right, menu — we’re inclined to say that he’s headed in the right direction.
Neighborhood Watch
A New Menu for the Next Time You’re in the Financial DistrictBoerum Hill: Brooklyn Inn on its way out. [Eater]
Clinton Hill: Credit the blogosphere if the brewery on Waverly Avenue opens this summer as a beer garden. [Gothamist]
Financial District: We’ve got the menu for the new Dublin-European bistro Stella Maris. [Grub Street]
Flatiron: Markt has relocated to Sixth Avenue and now serves breakfast. [Grub Street]
Greenpoint: Starbucks cabaret may be opening soon. [Curbed]
Harlem: Wine store to replace Back in the Day antique shop. But will it have as cutesy a name? [Harlem Fur]
Midtown East: Jeffrey Chodorow’s Wild Salmon replaces English Is Italian on Friday; we look forward to his review [NYT]
Morningside Heights: Order pinot at Vino Fino wine shop, opening soon. [Harlem Fur]
Times Square: Only two more days until you can sing Journey like everyone else at karaoke joint Spotlight Live. [NYS]
West Village: Alexandra swallowing nearby storefronts for wine bar to be filled by nonexistent waiting customers. [Eater] Newly opened Central Kitchen offering 10 percent off its menu through Sunday. That’s as much as a “European-style” tip. [NYS]
Mediavore
Chodorow Makes Bold Claim on ‘Today’; Central Park BoathouseThe Central Park Boathouse has allegedly been scamming the city — hiding money and giving away meals. [NYP]
Ollie’s Grill workers, claiming they are paid only $1.44 an hour, bring a federal lawsuit against the place. [NYS]
Jeffrey Chodorow is back to business, promoting Kobe Club on the Today show. The highlight? “This beef actually lowers your cholesterol.” [MSNBC]
Mediavore
Openings for Dieterle, Pelaccio; Strange Beard BylawsZak Pelaccio and Top Chef’s Harold Dieterle open new restaurants. [NYT]
Related: Harold Dieterle’s Perilla to Open … on Jones Street! [Grub Street]
And Jeffrey Chodorow’s new Malaysian restaurant, for which Pelaccio was consulting chef, opens in London. [This Is London]
Related: Has the Food Over There Really Become Edible? [NYM]
The rat expert who instructed the Department of Health says the city is a rodent’s paradise. [WP]
NewsFeed
Chodorow Redeemed? Spotted Dick Out, Zak Pelaccio InJeffrey Chodorow had done a lot of not-so-smart things lately, but planning a restaurant called the Spotted Dick was not one of them. The eatery, which will occupy the let’s-not-say-cursed space that formerly housed Rocco’s and Caviar & Banana, looks to be one of Chodorow’s coolest ventures: His company confirms that it will be a New York gastropub called Boroughs, helmed by none other than Zak Pelaccio. (And here we thought Jeffrey was done with name chefs.)
Beef
Chodorow Roars Back!A breakdown of Jeffrey Chodorow’s long-awaited, just-posted first response to Frank Bruni’s recent reviews:
• First line: not entirely coherent. “Fortunately, (or maybe unfortunately in the case of Robert’s) I didn’t have to follow Frank to either Momofuku Ssam Bar or Robert’s; I have already been to both of them.” We think he means he’s already been to both restaurants because he likes them. A generous (or ungenerous) opening.
Mediavore
Your Move, Jeffrey ChodorowIt’s now been a week since Jeffrey Chodorow decided to take on the world — Frank Bruni and Adam Platt, to be specific — and if it wasn’t evident before, it’s now quite clear that his hubristic quest to correct for the failings of the critics and recover his image has only humiliated him further. He has yet to update the blog that he announced in the Times ad, and the flurry of think pieces that have come down pretty much dismantle the guy piece by piece.
Mediavore
KFC–Taco Bell Inspector Suspended; Whole Foods Ain’t What It Used toCity suspends the rookie health inspector that passed KFC–Taco Bell, promises to teach its inspectors how to recognize rodent infestation. [NYP]
Whole Foods has gotten bigger but not better, losing focus on food quality and its moral mission. [NYT]
Here’s a pretty detailed retelling of the Chodorow saga, sympathetic to the restaurateur, but also giving the critics their say. Drew Nieporent speaks on behalf of the hapless restaurant owners. [NYS]
Related: We Ask Jeffrey Chodorow If He’s Been Feeling Well Lately
The Gobbler Responds to Mr. Chodorow’s Broadside [Grub Street]
Mediavore
Ilan Hall Gets His Bling On; Chodorow Seeks His White WhaleTop Chef winner Ilan Hall is seen walking in the airport with paired Louis Vuitton bag and belt, white Nikes with pink laces, and a $12,000 Patek Philippe diamond watch. [Snack]
Jeffrey Chodorow offers an Ahab-like reward for the first employee who spots Frank Bruni, promising him a Caribbean vacation. [NYP]
Related: We Ask Jeffrey Chodorow If He’s Been Feeling Well Lately
The Gobbler Responds to Mr. Chodorow’s Broadside [Grub Street]
The social scene at Morandi is predictably exclusive: “When Keith McNally opens a restaurant, the famous will come. The fabulous will follow. The walk-ins will wait.” [Bloomberg]
Related: Keith McNally on Why Morandi Will Be His Last Restaurant Ever
Chodorow Blog Lets Slip the Foodies of WarThe Chodoblog’s first two posts just haven’t been enough to sate us. Thanks heavens, then, there are so many comments being posted.
Beef
We Ask Jeffrey Chodorow If He’s Been Feeling Well LatelyThe food world has been abuzz over Jeffrey Chodorow’s paid full-page rant in the New York Times. The restaurateur claimed that Frank Bruni wasn’t qualified to be a food critic and declared that from now on he intends to hold Bruni and Adam Platt accountable on his blog by reviewing the same restaurants. Not wanting to risk a pummeling by meeting him in person, we got Mr. Chodorow on the phone.
The Gobbler
The Gobbler Responds to Mr. Chodorow’s BroadsideThe Gobbler’s first reaction upon opening today’s dining section of the Times (after wiping his bleary eyes and buttering his morning English muffin) was a mild though not unpleasant twinge of envy. There, in a huge full-page ad, was Jeffrey Chodorow’s measured, slightly apoplectic broadside against the Gobbler’s esteemed colleague Frank Bruni. (Here’s the PDF.)
Back of the House
Restaurant Sues Critic and Wins; A Study of Pizza for PesosGood news for Jeffrey Chodorow: A restaurant owner in Ireland has successfully sued a critic’s publication for giving him a bad review. [BBC]
A Texas pizzeria riled anti-immigration types with a pesos-for-pizza stunt. This subsequent essay is part marketing communications, part sociology. [NYT]
Fun interview with Drew Nieporent. Question: Is his favorite low-end restaurant really the random Benito’s II in Little Italy? [NYT]
NewsFeed
Josh DeChellis Dodges a Bullet, and Hits a BullseyeWhen Josh DeChellis parted ways with Jeffrey Chodorow’s Kobe Club in November (as you may remember reading here), it seemed like the Sumile Sushi chef had missed a major opportunity. But now, with Kobe Club battered by the critics (with one notable exception), DeChellis smells rosier by the minute.
