Citywide Truffle Shortage; A New Eastside Fro-Yo FoeA citywide truffle shortage can explain why “the Waverly Inn jacked up the price of its infamous truffle-topped mac & cheese from $55 to $85. The dish was an amusing punch line at $55; at $85, it’s just obscene.” [NYP]
Related: Le Cirque Bids High for Monster Truffle
Bruni eschews all the courtesies one suffers at the dinner table, which he refers to as restaurantspeak: “Would I ‘enjoy coffee with dessert?’ I don’t know; it depends how good the coffee is. I’ll have some, yes, then we’ll see.” [NYT]
FR.OG has now lost Jean Georges alum chef Didier Virot to the Plaza’s new restaurant-to-be, the Palm Court, set to open later this year. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
In the Magazine
It’s August, and the Eating’s Easy
It’s August, cheap-eats time, when you should be gobbling down raw artichokes, Cuban sandwiches, tapas, and pasta. It’s time to chill out, in other words. And that’s the idea behind this week’s food coverage.
What to Eat Tonight
We’ve Got Oceana’s New Menu — and Word of a Special ServedThe man Ben Pollinger succeeded as executive chef at Oceana in October, Cornelius Gallagher, was one of the city’s top toques, and much of the kitchen left with him. Finally, though, Pollinger has settled in and after much tweaking of the original, finally introduced his own menu (which we’ve filed into our flourishing playground of a database). Says the chef: “Oceana’s menu reflects my vision for what I wanted to do here: a kind of global seafood, with a simultaneous awareness of classic American cooking.”
Neighborhood Watch
BondSt Sushi Burns; Coffee Shop Closing Averts Bad DateConey Island: Surf Avenue LLC has just purchased nearly 16,000 square feet across from the Cyclone, possibly on which to build a chain restaurant, maintain a parking lot, or create another “Shoot the Freak.” [Gowanus Lounge]
East Elmhurst: La Guardia gets fancy with Michael Navarro’s Deluge. Getting drunk before a flight finally gets a classy gloss. [Gayot]
East Village: Photos of the electrical fire that scorched BondSt sushi at dawn. [Eater] $500,000 in damages predicted. [Gothamist]
Midtown West: Italian, Asian, French, and Latin cuisine coming together at 4Fusion on West 58th Street. We suggest the burger. [Gayot]
Park Slope: Former Oceana chef Jared King no longer involved with Alchemy, but the menu’s holding steady. [Gothamist]
Tribeca: Will a fancy new bus stop at the entrance of Bouley spur the rich people’s interest in public transportation? [Curbed]
Union Square: Coffee Shop’s closing saves pretty waitress from a date with sleazy customer. [NYS]
Openings
Park Slope Gastropub Serves Guinness on Tap — and as a Foam!
A few months ago, we alerted you that the “gastropub” phenomenon, deftly explored by Rob and Robin, was infiltrating Park Slope. Well, on February 21 the eagle lands in the form of Alchemy, the love child of former Lucky Strike barkeep Kevin Read and Jared King, previously a chef at Peacock Alley, Windows on the World, and Oceana. Their collection of antique jars isn’t the most impressive in town (guys, how could you let Simon Hammerstein beat you? Those things come so cheap at the Seventh Avenue flea market), but the menu, available for you here exclusively, is nothing to scoff at. Hanger steak served with bone marrow? Scallops with acorn-squash purée and Guinness froth? Cuttlefish with chorizo-oil mayonnaise? O’Connor’s across the street better step up its game — bar nuts ain’t going to cut it anymore. —Daniel Maurer
Earlier: The Slope Gets Gastropub — With Garden, Perfect for Six Months From Now
What to Eat Tonight
Nantucket Bay Scallops, Ripe for the Shucking
Rob and Robin recently described, in mouthwatering detail, the nuances of Peconic Bay scallops. Our thoughts quickly turned to their Nantucket Bay cousins, which are currently appearing on some of the best tables in the city.
Openings
The Slope Gets Gastropub — With Garden, Perfect for Six Months From NowKevin Read, former barkeep at Lucky Strike, has given a post-Victorian makeover to a Park Slope hardware store, trucking in a 100-year-old bar, and will soon open Alchemy, a bar-restaurant inspired by his time in the townhouse gastropubs of Hempstead, London. Chef Jared King — formerly of Windows on the World, Oceana, and most recently, Peacock Alley — will cook $12 to $25 entrées of roasted chicken, ravioli, seasonal stews, and a hangar steak in red-wine reduction, plus more adventurous specials made with game and organ meat. Ingredients will be largely local, organic, and free-range, and come spring the patrons will be free-range too: There’s a garden in the back.
Alchemy, 56 Fifth Ave., nr. Bergen St.; Park Slope, Brooklyn— Daniel Maurer
