Come Fly With Us in This Week’s IssueWith all New York offers, it’s still not enough. Our appetite for change and novelty is insatiable and voracious. Good thing we have this week’s magazine! Why bother with traditional Thanksgiving, when there are so many global options here? We have recipes for Chinese Thanksgiving from Joe Ng of Chinatown Brasserie, Mexican Thanksgiving from Aaraon Sanchez of Centrico and Paladar, African Thanksgiving from Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit, and more. And if all that isn’t novel enough, and you have to jet out of town, we can tell you where to eat while you’re waiting – both in the airport, and in the surrounding areas. Finally, if you’re sticking close to home, the Underground Gourmet suggests where to get a proper hero.
Back of the House
Who Will Be Cut Next on ‘The Next Iron Chef’?
Nothing can replace Top Chef in our reality-TV affections, but we have to say, The Next Iron Chef is pretty good. We only started watching this past week, being understandably resistant to another show built on the identical format of Top Chef. The premise Next Iron Chef is that, rather than just having the next Iron Chef selected by Food Network suits, the nation’s most celebrated chefs should compete, with the winner given the dubious honor of cooking in weekly battles in Kitchen Stadium. (You would think chefs would be fighting to avoid such a fate, but such is the pull of fame.)
The New York Diet
Drew Nieporent Hardly Ever Eats Like a Restaurant Mogul
Let’s say you were the city’s most famous restaurateur, the man who more or less invented Tribeca, and still owned three or four of the city’s most popular restaurants in Tribeca Grill and the three Nobu restaurants, not to mention Mai House and Centrico. Let’s say you were also seriously overweight. What would having complete command of four restaurants within one block of your office — not to mention the red carpet at every other restaurant in town and an essentially bottomless food budget — do to you? Drew Nieporent used his resources to go on the ultimate New York diet and lost 70 pounds in the process.
Neighborhood Watch
Thor Struck Down on the LES; Bruni Rides the Bull in Midtown West?Clinton Hill: Recent openings: Manee Thai from the owners of Myrtle Thai and Nuevo Latino spot Tamboril. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Coney Island: The world’s largest “lollypop” has been installed by an artist to commemorate Philip’s Candy (1930–2001). [Kinetic Carnival]
Long Island City: LIC Bar at 45-58 Vernon Boulevard is hosting a BBQ and free concert with local bands this Sunday from 4 to 7:30 p.m. [Joey in Astoria]
Lower East Side: Thor gets gutted with no warning. [Eater]
Midtown West: Frank Bruni contemplated riding the bull at Johnny Utah’s. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Prospect Heights: Rye with fresh blackberries, mint, and ginger beer, and gin with peaches and homemade thyme syrup are among cocktails available at Flatbush Farm Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. during a farmer’s-market tasting event. [A Brooklyn Life]
VideoFeed
Tour the Red Hook Ball Fields With Chef Aaron Sanchez
The ad hoc Latin American food court at the Red Hook ball fields is one of New York’s great cultural centers, a place where anyone can go to experience South and Central American home cooking. The ideal person to guide you through it is Aaron Sanchez, one of the city’s top Latin chefs (Centrico, Paladar) and the author of La Comida Del Barrio: Latin-American Cooking in the USA. Aaron gave us an insider’s tour. If this doesn’t inspire you to get out to Red Hook this summer (here’s a map!), consider the following: The permit for the ball fields, which has been given to the vendors for many years, will be opened up by the Parks Department for bids from all comers in the fall. That means this summer could be your last chance to taste some of the best Latin American food in the city.
Related: The Threat to Red Hook Unites New York’s Foodies
Neighborhood Watch
Sam Mason Is Hiring in SohoChelsea: Taste from over 400 wines plus eats from Alfama and Tintol at Vini Portugal, tonight at Pier 60’s Lighthouse. [Slow Food USA]
Columbus Circle: Bouchon Bakery to beef up its menu starting tomorrow with the addition of Waygu sliders. [A Hamburger Today]
Park Slope: Whole Foods marks its toxic territory. [The Gowanus Lounge]
Soho: Sam Mason is hiring [Eat for Victory/VV]
Tribeca: Mai House will launch a late-night menu of dishes under $10 served after 10 p.m. starting April 25. [Myriad Restaurant Group] Tonight, Centrico is closed for a private party. [Grub Street]
Back of the House
Most Influential Young Chefs Named, Presented With Tchotchkes
Move over, Bouley! Step aside, Jojo! You’re so over. There’s a new generation of “emerging tastemakers,” at least according to Food Arts magazine and their friends at Sterling Meats. Sunday night, meat purveyor and magazine jointly fêted ten young chefs who, they predict, “will be influencing what, where and how we dine out on a national level.” The chefs were presented with framed, diploma-like certificates and envy-inducing Masamoto cobalt-steel knifes.
