Delis Are Dying, But Not Katz’s; Per Se Staff Is on the ClockThe classic New York deli is on the way out, thanks to aging owners, waistline-conscious eaters, and general apathy — but, we learn, Katz’s should stick around. An owner, as we predicted he might, goes on record saying, “If we did sell, we’d want to somehow tie in keeping the place — they could literally build on top of us.” [TONY]
Related: Mother of Mercy! Is This the End of Katz’s?
Per Se’s notoriously high-pressure kitchen apparently works under the shadow of a clock with Paul Bocuse’s name on its center and the words “Sense of Urgency” underneath. [Gawker]
Coney Island has its own beer, and while we’ve never tasted a bottle, it has what may be the greatest label of all time. [NYDN]
Mediavore
Battle of the DBs in Forest Hills; JFK to Get the Gourmet TreatmentNever you been to Daniel Boulud’s new restaurant in Forest Hills? That’s because there isn’t one. But Danny Brown’s db wine bar and restaurant sounds close enough to db bistro moderne that the great chef’s copyright is threatened. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Travelers at JFK airport won’t have to get by on chili dogs much longer – a Todd English eatery, a wine bar, an oyster bar, and more high-end venues are on the way. [NYP]
Seamus Mullen is more at home with the elevated cooking at Suba than the rustic style at Boqueria: “It was like getting back to basics that I never really had.” [Restaurant Girl]
Staffers at Charlie Palmer’s Kitchen 22 found out the place was closing yesterday via a cell-phone call telling them they were now out of a job. Nice. [NYP]
Katz’s may be threatened by condo development, but pastrami still has secure fortresses in the outer boroughs. [Gothamist]
Related: Mother of Mercy! Is This the End of Katz’s? [Grub Street]
The Other Critics
Cuozzo Hammers the Shake Shack; Much Hodgson Love for InsiemeSteve Cuozzo uses his bully pulpit in the Post to come down hard on the Shake Shack, calling the place out for insanely long lines and “a hamburger that’s an also-ran at best.”
[NYP]
Related: Kyle Dureau Wants Shake Shack to Be Open 24/7 As Much As You Do [Grub Street]
Having weathered a major two-star review by Adam Platt, Insieme finally gets its first three-star one, from Moira Hodgson, who is impressed by how perfectly executed every dish is, lavishing special praise on one of the place’s more overlooked features, co-owner Paul Grieco’s wine list. [NYO]
Related: Italian, Old and New [NYM]
The Times gives Katz’s the full Frank Bruni treatment, and the place comes out of it with one star, much loving description, and an eerie semi-confirmation of our earlier report that the place might be sold. [NYT]
Related: Mother of Mercy! Is This the End of Katz’s? [Grub Street]
NewsFeed
Mother of Mercy! Is This the End of Katz’s?
Katz’s Deli is about as close to a sacred space as we can think of. Forget landmark status; the place is a shrine, the soul of what remains of New York Jewish-American culture. So the rumors we have been hearing about its imminent purchase by condo developers are disturbing — and not any less so for being a little more persuasive than the ones we’ve heard in the past. Katz’s management denies the move, but ubiquitous restaurant Realtor Alex Picken tells us that he’s getting some specifics through the grapevine.
Mediavore
Ilan Hall Gets His Bling On; Chodorow Seeks His White WhaleTop Chef winner Ilan Hall is seen walking in the airport with paired Louis Vuitton bag and belt, white Nikes with pink laces, and a $12,000 Patek Philippe diamond watch. [Snack]
Jeffrey Chodorow offers an Ahab-like reward for the first employee who spots Frank Bruni, promising him a Caribbean vacation. [NYP]
Related: We Ask Jeffrey Chodorow If He’s Been Feeling Well Lately
The Gobbler Responds to Mr. Chodorow’s Broadside [Grub Street]
The social scene at Morandi is predictably exclusive: “When Keith McNally opens a restaurant, the famous will come. The fabulous will follow. The walk-ins will wait.” [Bloomberg]
Related: Keith McNally on Why Morandi Will Be His Last Restaurant Ever
Back of the House
The 2 Percent of the ‘Saveur’ 100 That Matters
It was with trembling hands that we opened up the Saveur 100, Saveur magazine’s annual roundup of their 100 favorite food-related things and people in the world. We were soon shocked — shocked! — to discover that just two entries cited the New York food scene. And what would they be? A blurb on Wylie Dufresne? A shout-out to Katz’s Deli? Nope. The honors go to a Dominican juice drink in Brooklyn and the Hungry Cabbie, a blogger. We appreciate Famous Fat Dave, as the cabbie misleadingly calls himself, and the Morir Soñando at Reben Luncheonette, at 229 Hevemeyer Street in South Williamsburg, sounds pretty good. But are they really New York’s equivalent of Beijing’s Peking duck as made by celebrated Chinese chef Da Dong? Then again, we understand. This is New York — Saveur has to overcompensate on behalf of the rest of the world.
Openings
One ‘Cheesesteak Factory’ Takes the CakeSix or so months ago, we heard about a Queens restaurant calling itself the “Cheesesteak Factory” that naturally had been sued by the Cheesecake Factory. We didn’t give it another thought until one day recently, when we were walking dejectedly to Katz’s for a stukel pick-me-up and noticed another place called the Cheesesteak Factory, open and doing business on the same block for all the honest world to see. Soon enough, our day brightened.
