Ciao to Hip Hop Chow, Hello Nori
We admit we never set foot into Hip Hop Chow, much as we do love us some chicken and waffles — nonetheless we were slightly bummed to see it replaced recently by yet another Japanese restaurant off St. Marks Place. Still, the new owner and namesake Nori Nishida, previously a manager at Takahachi in Tribeca, is optimistic. “People told me to be careful,” he says, “but no matter where we go, there must be competition.” Nori says he’s still experimenting with unusual dishes such as the flounder burger. Good thing, because he’s going to need them to lure us away from the bull’s penis at Kenka, the deep-fried alligator at Natori, and Yakitori Taisho’s mysterious “chicken chunck” [sic]. Mmmm, chicken chunck.
Nori menu
Neighborhood Watch
Green Coke in the Bronx a Good Thing; Eat a ‘wichcraft Sandwich, Save theAstoria: New Mexican restaurant Luna de Juarez at 25-98 Steinway is ready to be sampled. [Joey in Astoria]
Bronx: Coca-Cola’s added a handful of hybrid-electric trucks to its 90-vehicle delivery fleet based in the South Bronx. [NYP]
Cobble Hill: Sahadi’s has put up a new sign, possibly in preparation for the onslaught of Trader Joe’s. [Lost City]
East Village: A sushi bar called Nori will refill the Hip-Hop-Chow space on Second Avenue in hopes that this more banal concept will survive in the space for more than a few months. [Eater]
Meatpacking District: Paparazzi aren’t the only ones not allowed to photograph the hallowed spaces of Socialista; civilians were hampered from shooting as well. [Down by the Hipster]
Rockefeller Center: An eggplant sandwich “invented by three teenagers from New York City who spent a summer learning about the food business as part of a program connected to the Fresh Air Fund” (which will also snag some of the proceeds) has been added to the menu of ’wichcraft’s newest location at 1 Rockefeller Plaza near 50th Street and will be available at ten other locations by next week. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
The Annotated Dish
Picholine’s ‘Oceanic’ Sea-Urchin Panna Cotta“I have a personal interest in this dish,” he says, “and I wouldn’t let it go.” That’s Picholine chef Terrance Brennan on his sea-urchin panna cotta, one of only two items from the restaurant’s previous incarnation that he continues to serve today. The dish, which the chef describes as “all about the taste of the ocean, and nothing else” is the first course of an $80 three-course prix fixe menu, and one of his signatures. As always, simply scroll over the arrows on the large image to see quotes from the chef.
