Pizza, Pretzels, and Bourbon — Sounds DreamyA major new pizzeria in the East Village, where to find delicious pretzels, and the scene at a Prospect Heights bar — all in this week’s magazine.
Merkato 55 Not Knocking Them Out; Chop Suey ChoppedMerkato 55 takes it on the chin from the Sun and Post, Bruni stops into La Sirene, a place you’ve likely never heard of, and Alan Richman wishes they would just leave him alone at South Gate.
Mediavore
Chef Counters on the Rise; Chefs Put in Their Time on the LineAs chefs and cooks take on more roles of service, they cut out more costs and create a more intimate dining experience, especially at restaurants with counters overlooking the food preparation. [NYT]
Related: Ringside Seats at the Chef’s Counter
Apparently, restaurants’ hanging of red velvet curtains in colder months signals metaphors of birth and womblike spaces for diners. Ew. [NYO]
Chefs like Akhtar Nawab of Elettaria and Josh Eden of Shorty’s.32 both spent years cooking on the line before being able to fly solo. [TONY]
The Other Critics
Another Triumph for Dovetail; Another Disappointment for Bar BouludCiting cleverness, finesse and his own “hugely positive” experiences eating there, Frank Bruni gives Dovetail three stars to go along with Adam Platt’s. [NYT]
Related: This Dove Flies
Poor Bar Boulud, on the other hand, continues to get pilloried. Randall Lane gives it only three stars (of six), and no doubt it would be a lot worse if not for the world-class charcuterie. [TONY]
Related: Daniel Disappoints
Restaurant Girl, too, got her licks in on BB, giving it two stars (of four) for Syrah-heavy sauces, unreliable service, and mishandled snails and tartare. This has got to be killing Boulud. [NYDN]
NewsFeed
Jonathan Waxman to Open a New Barbuto UptownBarbuto, Jonathan Waxman’s Haute Barnyard outpost in the Far West Village, has always been a restaurant noted as much for its unique space as for its menu. That might not be the case for the new Barbuto, which we hear is planned for next year in the Columbus Circle area. The Susan Magrino Agency, which handles Barbuto’s PR, wouldn’t proffer any details just yet but confirmed that the restaurant had a target opening date of September 2008.
Neighborhood Watch
Calling All Casseroles; Jonathan Waxman to Cook Southern on the UWSGreenpoint: Casserole fanatic turned cookbook author Emily Farris is hosting a cook-off at Brooklyn Label on October 16. Register now! [Brooklyn Based]
Midtown East: The Tao formula should fit right in on Lincoln Road in South Beach. [Down by the Hipster]
Tribeca: Bubby’s owner Ron Silver is finally giving up his pie recipes in a cookbook out this month. [NYS]
Upper West Side: Barbuto chef-partner Jonathan Waxman turns to southern fare this fall when he opens Madaleine Mae on Columbus Avenue at 82nd Street. [NYT]
West Village: In comparing Bay Area restaurant trends to those in New York, critic Michael Bauer concedes: Blue Hill chef Dan Barber “does Chez Panisse one better by growing most of the food at his farm in Hudson Valley.” [Between Meals/San Francisco Chronicle]