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Pinkberry

  1. The New York Diet
    Novelist Porochista Khakpour Drinks the Kool-Aid at a Hare Krishna Temple In Porochista Khakpour’s debut novel, Sons and Other Flammable Objects, a coming-of-age story that may make its Iranian-American author the next Zadie Smith (the Times Book Review, Radar, and Paper are planning profiles), Khakpour, who grew up in Los Angeles before moving to New York, describes the exasperation of stern father Darius Adam at discovering that his wayward son Xerxes keeps little more than Fruity Pebbles in his Manhattan apartment. “Xerxes offered potato chips,” the passage goes, “which his father looked at as if he had never seen a Pringles can before, awestruck at his son’s supposedly adult living conditions.” Given that the novel is loosely autobiographical, we wondered about the living (and dining) conditions of the young novelist.
  2. User’s Guide
    The New Cold War: Fro-Yo Standoff in FlushingThe Frozen-Yogurt Wars have intensified in Flushing. We spotted two new stores going up a mere 85 feet from each other on Roosevelt Avenue. Does Pinkberry have the advantage, being so close to the heavily trafficked Main Street stop on the 7 train? Or will the discriminating dessert aficionado bypass the throngs (by walking about 40 steps) to Red Mango? Too soon to tell, but we fear New York’s post-apocalyptic future where the only structures standing are bank branches and frozen-yogurt stores. Oh, and the Arepa Lady. —Aileen Gallagher Earlier: Our coverage of the frozen-yogurt invasion
  3. Mediavore
    The Box Back in Action; Smith & Wollensky Sold at LastThe Box is back in action and even hosted a corporate event last night for Virgin America airline, clearly meant to bring the venue one step closer to becoming a “cultural institution.” [Down by the Hipster] The $94.7 million sale of New York–based Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group, which includes Quality Meats and Park Avenue Summer, to the national corporation Patina has been finalized, but there’s still no word on a timetable for Park Avenue’s fall makeover. [Nation’s Restaurant News] Related: The Secrets of Steakhouse Riches Is Top Chef’s Brian into threesomes? Of the kind less celebrated in popular culture? [Amuse Biatch]
  4. User’s Guide
    Frozen-Yogurt Wars: We Have Not Yet Begun to Flurt Last week, Grub Street compiled a comparison chart of different frozen yogurts (and one gelato) found in New York City. We asked readers for thoughts and you responded with frozen gusto. The most popular response was “You missed Flurt!” Indeed we did; the chain (now with two locations) opened in July. So here’s what you need to know: FLURT Country of Origin: New York City Social Aesthetic: Tundralike minimalism. Product Pitch: We’re cheaper than Pinkberry! NYC Locations: Two: Gramercy and Battery Park City. Critical Reception: Unofficial just yet, but commenters on Chowhound offered a “better than Pinkberry” consensus. One reader concurred: “Flurt is a takeoff of Pinkberry, but the yogurt has much better texture. Plus, they offer smoothies and Greek yogurt parfait.”
  5. User’s Guide
    The New Cold War: Frozen Yogurt Invades New York Now that Red Mango — the first big Korean fro-yo chain, and thus the progenitor of the new wave started by Pinkberry, which hails from LA — is coming to New York, it’s time to take stock of the ever-growing number of frosty options. Since Pinkberry first opened its doors here last year, the dessert has descended across the city like a cold curtain. It was only in June that Rob and Robin shortlisted the new frozen-yogurt options, and since then /eks/ and, soon, Red Mango have been added. How to separate the Pinkberrys from the Yolato from the gelatos? We had to make up a chart to parse it all (full disclosure: We cheated a little by including Grom, which isn’t strictly fro-yo — but it is an excellent new gelato spot). After the jump, our guide to the new yogurt culture. What’s your favorite? Email us and we’ll print the results.
  6. NewsFeed
    The Yogurt That Started It All Is on Its Way — But Where? The frozen-yogurt battle between Pinkberry and its competitors (Yolato, Öko, /eks/, et al) is pretty much a big bore by now, but the impending arrival of the grandfather of all Korean yogurt chains, Red Mango, may stir the pot a little yet. In sheer number of living germs or “cultures” as they’re called in the yogurt business, Red Mango claims to have an almost Malthusian population advantage. “To be called yogurt, a typical refrigerated supermarket product needs to have 10 million cultures. Ours has 500,” a Red Mango representative told us. But the big mystery is where Red Mango will land. A Grub Street informant noticed a sign in Flushing announcing a new store. Given the area’s large Korean population, this makes sense. But the company has spoken only of its future Manhattan store, at 723 Eighth Avenue. Just how many Red Mangos are on the way? And why are they called Red Mango when they sell yogurt? When we find out, we’ll let you know.
  7. Neighborhood Watch
    Prepare to Pose With Dumplings in the East VillageEast Village: Pose with your favorite dumpling! The Rickshaw Dumpling Bar opening on East 8th Street will feature a black-and-white photo booth. [Eat for Victory/VV] Hell’s Kitchen: Burgers and Cupcakes has opened Mitchel London Pizza next door. [Eater] Lower East Side: Sam Mason may have plans to serve brown-butter whiskey at Tailor. [Down by the Hipster] Soho: Yes, that is a yo-yo in the pocket of Balthazar executive chef Riad Nasr, and he plays with it between platings. [Downtown Express] West Village: Pinkberry accused of seeking world domination for plans to open not just a new location on Sixth Avenue, but two others in the city in addition its four already thriving stores. [Gothamist]
  8. Neighborhood Watch
    Free Tequila in Tribeca TonightAstoria: The Greek Orthodox feast of St. Irene Chrysovalantou began on Thursday but will continue through the weekend with celebrations and copious amounts of street food. [Joey in Astoria] Harlem: House of Seafood may be the next victim of “adverse possession,” by which small business are being pushed out by property managers to make way for gentrification. [Amsterdam News via Uptown Flavor] Meatpacking District: 4foodies, an online community site, is launching with a dinner Tuesday at 5 Ninth that includes a meet-and-greet with the chef. [4Foodies] Midtown East: The new Pret a Manger on Madison between 48th and 49th Streets is giving away a limited supply of free prepackaged lunches today to promote Monday’s official opening. [Grub Street] Sherry-Lehmann wine store is orchestrating a move from its longtime home at 679 Madison Avenue to Park and 59th; the plywood covering the construction is a fabulous shade of plum. [Lost City] Prospect Heights: Vanderbilt Avenue now boasts an old-fashioned ice-cream shop, the Old Brooklyn Parlor, that offers contemporary flavors like ginger crème brûlée. [Eat for Victory/ VV] Tribeca: Tonight at Brandy Library from 6 to 8 p.m., David Suro hosts a free tasting of Tequilas Siembra Azul. [Brandy Library] Upper East Side: Multiple local bars are registered for BuyYourFriendADrink.com, a service that allows you to purchase drinks and bar tabs in advance online. [Upper East Side Informer] Williamsburg: A new Pinkberry clone joins the fro-yo fray on Driggs Avenue near North 9th Street with a mango lassi flavor standing in for green tea. [Eater]
  9. Neighborhood Watch
    ‘Top Chef’ Open Call to Be Held in SohoAstoria: French-Asian restaurant Bistro 33 serves beer, wine, sake, and cocktails now that its liquor license has gone through. [Joey in Astoria] Boerum Hill: Smith Street may be getting a McDonald’s. [Curbed] Financial District: For $10, you can add an illegal lap dance to your lunch at Cordato’s Deli. [WCBSTV] Hell’s Kitchen: Port Authority’s 7-Eleven has transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart for the remainder of July to promote the new Simpsons movie and is even selling Blue Woo Hoo! Vanilla Squishees and KrustyO’s cereal. [7-Eleven] Soho: Pinkberry open at 41 Spring Street! [Eater] Open call for the next season Top Chef will be held at the French Culinary Institute on July 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. [Bravo]
  10. In the Magazine
    Choose Your Food Group Wisely: Which Side Are You On? There are four restaurant-related stories in this week’s issue, and they ask you to take a side. Are you a New Yorker who glories in the freshness of newly arrived strawberries and seasonal cooking in general? Or are you an atavistic who prefers to sit in air-conditioned steakhouses, consuming red meat in 90-degree weather? This week, at least, Adam Platt is clearly the latter, dining in the Freon fortress that is Landmarc and finding only the heaviest, most beef- and bacon-laden foods worthy of (faint) praise. Those of us who have fathers like him are enjoined, in one of this week’s Short Lists, to visit various steakhouses with our dads. On the side, there is more cool, natural frozen yogurt than ever to be had, enumerated in another Short List, and this week’s In Season features a recipe for delicate pasta with strawberries from Sfoglia.
  11. Openings
    Öko Enters the Yogurt Wars Armed With Green PowerIn the heat of the current gelato-and-frozen-yogurt wars, you might not think there was room for another major frozen-dessert concept. But while Grom, Pinkberry, Yolato, and the rest compete in Manhattan, Öko, a greener-than-green business serving two flavors of Greek-style frozen yogurt in a store in which nearly everything is biodegradable, has tailored itself for Park Slope. The walls and counter are made of compressed sunflower seeds; the spoons and straws, from potato starch. Even the plates, though seemingly made of transparent plastic, are actually composed of processed corn. The toppings are also all-natural, mostly fruit — blackberries, mango, kiwi pieces, and the like — along with dry toppings like shaved coconut, sliced almonds, dark-chocolate chips, and dried Turkish apricots. “This is just our first store,” general manager Mateo Braghieri tells us. “We want to open more.” Because, you know, there aren’t enough high-powered frozen-yogurt chains around. Related: An Interactive Tour of the Country’s Greenest Food Business
  12. NewsFeed
    Hear the Pinkberry Jingle, Attempt to Get it Out of Your HeadWe went to the Pinkberry site to see how the bi-coastal yogurt slinger is dealing with a lawsuit claiming its star product comes from some sort of dry-powder mix. And now we can’t concentrate, on this or anything else, because of the Pinkberry song. “Sorry, ice cream,” raps a petulant, girlie voice, “but I’m thinking of a different dessert.” And off we go: “Succulent mango! Tangy kiwi! It’s an obsession! Simple and delightful! And guilt-free! Yummy!” The lyrics, which sound translated from Japanese or Martian, ride a kind of reggae-lite beat that wouldn’t be out of place on a Lily Allen number (the singer is actually, and awesomely, the Lady Tigra, of L’Trimm fame). About as far from a focus-grouped jingle as you can get, the thing sounds like it was tossed together in two minutes during a bout of Pinkberry-induced brain freeze. Ad hoc remixes are already popping up on Web boards. Frozen yogurt? Milk powder? Who gives a crap, we’ve got a hit on our hands! Pinkberry song [Pinkberry.com]
  13. Mediavore
    Pinkberry Isn’t Yogurt, Suit Claims; Yankee Stadium Gets Latino at LastA lawsuit filed against Pinkberry claims the chain isn’t actually serving yogurt but some kind of powdered mix. [Defamer] Zagat surveyors, asked to rate the nation’s fast-food options, declare Wendy’s the No. 1 burger, Outback Steakhouse top full-service restaurant, and Panera Bread Co. the top fast-food outlet overall. [MSNBC] Yankee Stadium finally wakes up to its massive Latino customer base and starts serving foods like empanadas and papas rellenas. [NYT]
  14. The New York Diet
    Actor Josh Hamilton Plays a Clam Digger, Doesn’t Eat Shellfish Josh Hamilton has appeared in everything from indie classics such as Noah Baumbach’s Kicking and Screaming to studio flicks such as The Bourne Supremacy to TV shows such as Sex and the City. In Diggers, out today, he plays a Long Island clam harvester. Ironically, Hamilton wasn’t eating any shellfish at the premiere party, since he’s a “don’t-ask-don’t-tell vegetarian”: “I’m sure I eat chicken stock sometimes,” he says, “because I just don’t bother to ask. I know that must sound wildly hedonistic.” As it turns out, Hamilton’s latest week of eating was rather indulgent — even as he was performing in Tom Stoppard’s Coast of Utopia, he somehow found time to hit more restaurants than most of us do in a month.
  15. Mediavore
    Openings for Dieterle, Pelaccio; Strange Beard BylawsZak Pelaccio and Top Chef’s Harold Dieterle open new restaurants. [NYT] Related: Harold Dieterle’s Perilla to Open … on Jones Street! [Grub Street] And Jeffrey Chodorow’s new Malaysian restaurant, for which Pelaccio was consulting chef, opens in London. [This Is London] Related: Has the Food Over There Really Become Edible? [NYM] The rat expert who instructed the Department of Health says the city is a rodent’s paradise. [WP]
  16. Openings
    Hollywood Desserts and Soho GoblinsThis week in the magazine, Rob and Robin track two openings: the wildly successful Hollywood frozen-yogurt chain Pinkberry, and Goblin Market, a new Soho eatery named after lascivious young men in a poem by Christina Rossetti. Pinkberry, they report, is “the talk of the L.A. food blogs.” We tracked down a few of those blogs.