Can Vegans Eat Honey?; Lobster Cheap in MaineSoft drinks to introduce “controversial herb” flavoring, ordering the cheapest bottle, stricter food-industry oversight, and more, in our morning news roundup.
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Bar Boulud to Expand; Mia Dona DeliversPlus lobsters probably can’t feel pain when you cook them, making bacon at home, and more, in our morning news roundup.
The Roasted Lobster at Gotham Is Still Standing TallAlfred Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill is one of the pioneers of what used to be called the New American cooking. His style, a combination of dramatic vertical presentations, French technique, and urban pizzazz, perfectly encapsulated the energy of the movement in the eighties and nineties. All these years later, Portale is still at Gotham, and still turning out some of the city’s best food, minus the towering drama of old. “As for all that verticality, once it became very trendy and talked about, that’s when I began to back away from it,” Portale says. “My style has changed and evolved.” At least one dish still reaches for the stars: Portale’s roasted lobster, a constant on Gotham’s menu. Scroll over the different parts of the dish to see it described in the chef’s own words.
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Catherine Zeta-Jones Waitressed at Fiamma; Great New Pizzeria DiscoveredIf Catherine Zeta-Jones had just stuck with it, she could have succeeded as a waitress, or even a line cook, at Fiamma. [NYP]
There’s a new top pizzeria in town, Isabella’s Oven on Grand Street — and it even has a garden. [Slice NY]
The copyright carousel goes round and round: First Daniel Boulud lays it on humble DB Bistro in Forest Hills, then gets laid into by CBGB. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
At the Greenmarket
Lobsters Roll In, Fiddleheads Advance, and Ramps RetreatCool weather and rain have made for a slow growing season thus far, while also creating the ideal conditions for fiddlehead ferns, which sprout in damp, wooded areas and more than compensate for sun-bathing weather in our book.
