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]
Foodievents
A Hotel’s ‘Chocolate Covered Weekend’If Rob and Robin’s gifts for chocoholics weren’t extravagant enough for you, the Exchange Hotel is offering a “Chocolate Covered Weekend” — and starting Saturday, December 16, the price drops from $1,200 to a mere thousand. What does a grand get you? According to the hotel Website, the deal includes a two-night stay in a suite (typically a winter rate of $289 per night); a three-hour tour of Christopher Norman Chocolates, Vosges Haut-Chocolat, Kee’s Chocolates, MarieBelle, and Jacques Torres; and Mexican chocolate mojitos or non-alcoholic Aztec iced chocolate in the on-site lounge. (The visit to the high-end chocolatiers is led by a guide from Zoom Chocolate Magazine.) General manager Rani Carr tells us that the package launched earlier this fall through a partnership with the Chocolate Show, but the word is just starting to spread. “It’s so new that we haven’t had anyone actually book it and confirm it,” she explains. — Lori Fradkin
Calling All Chocoholics! [Exchange Hotel]