While Demi is in rehab, Rihanna goes blonde, and Madonna rehearses for the big, sexy halftime show, New York had a couple lovely, if unscandalous, celebrity sightings this week. The dapper Anderson Cooper brunched, the bald Howie Mandel dined, and everybody's favorite classical music guru, Philip Glass, celebrated his birthday. This, and more celebrity sightings, straight ahead. ACME: Zachary Quinto enjoyed a Friday evening dinner at ACME last week, and was therefore not shooting the new Star Trek movie. But really, this flick is never going to get made if he keeps putting his personal life first. [Grub Street] Filed Under: celebrity settings, acme, catch, la lanterna di vittorio, le poisson rouge, rao's, work in progress |  |
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The deer hunter. Last night, at the Bushmill's "Since Way Back" event held at The Wooly, Grub Street got to grab a few minutes with Justin Vernon, the man behind Bon Iver. Since the mood at the party was so whiskey-saturated, we naturally wondered how Vernon whet his whistle while he was famously secluded in a Wisconsin cabin recording For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver's debut. And the diet was about as rugged as you might expect. "Leinenkugel's," Vernon said was his beer of choice. "And whatever whiskey my dad had around that I could steal. And venison." Hold up, did he have to hunt his own? "Me and my brother always hunted growing up, but I wasn't actually living there during the hunt." Still, Vernon says meat from that year's deer was in the cabin. "I ate a bunch because I didn't have any other food." Nothing at all? Well, Vernon admits, his dad — who he describes as the "Kurt Vonnegut of North Woods" — would "would drop in once in a while and get, like, eggs and, like beer and milk and stuff." Read more posts by Nisha Gopalan Filed Under: interviews, bon iver, extreme diets, justin vernon |  |
Euro-Maki hits midtown Manhattan. This weekend, New York gets its first taste of Sushi Shop — a concept that has revolutionized Sushi take-out in Europe for fourteen years. The meticulous two-story space is located on Madison Avenue, featuring self-service and takeout by day and in-restaurant dining at night. With 150 choices of maki-style rolls, "crossovers" like foie gras sushi and fish tartares, macarons (by Mille-feuille Bakery), and booze, it sounds like quite the party. [NYT] Sushi Shop, 536 Madison Avenue (54th Street), (212) 840-5555. Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky Filed Under: openings, sushi shop |  |
Change is afoot at Untitled. Not long ago, Danny Meyer's Untitled at the Whitney launched a $46 three-course farm-to-table dinner three nights a week. But nine months later, they're changing it up again. Instead of the fixed-price, no-additions, no-substitutions meals, chef Chris Bradley will offer an expanded dinner menu with about six appetizers and six entrees — all with a focus on what's seasonal and local. Offerings will change weekly according to Greenmarket wares. In addition to hearty mains like braised short-rib or ricotta gnocchi, there will also be lighter fare — some of the familiar sandwiches from the lunch menu will reprise after dark, and new ones might rotate in. Unless they sell out at lunch, daytime desserts from Four and Twenty Blackbirds and Betty Bakery will be on the menu, in addition to housemade sweets, a concession to diners who would specially request those items on top of their prix fixe portions. Dinner hours won't change, so it's still only Thursday through Saturday nights, but Upper East Siders will have more flexibility to dine as they choose. Look for the new program to launch later this month. Read more posts by Edna Ishayik Filed Under: menu changes, danny meyer, the whitney, untitled, upper east side |  |
Bourdian, no doubt during one of the films. Anthony Bourdain is obviously a man who rarely holds his tongue when he has a distaste for something, and it's usually fun to hear him spew his bile. But over on the Times' carpetbagger blog he's speaking out against Midnight in Paris and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (again): About the former, he opines, "It’s everything bad about Woody Allen" (so it's a movie about marrying Mia Farrow's adopted daughter?), and he says he "beyond loathed" the latter movie. We won't defend either film's merits, but do you think Bourdain has ever just sort of not liked something? Or even been nonplussed? Now that would be a story. [Carpetbagger/NYT] Read more posts by Alan Sytsma Filed Under: tony tony tony, anthony bourdain |  |
Pictured with Scott Conant, Richard (right) loves chefs, kisses, jewels, chocolate cake, and NYC. While Todd English practiced self-restraint at last night's Vegas Uncork’d presented by Bon Appétit, Michel Richard gloriously showed no such restraint. He wouldn't touch the sliders ("Too big! Like me!"), but Richard exuberantly chatted with Grub Street about love, lust, Daniel Boulud's little bistro, which he thinks is called "BCBG," and oh yeah, some breaking news. You seem like the kind of man who would have very romantic Valentine's Day plans ... Sounds very ... That's the kind of night that belongs in New York City, not D.C.! Might you join Ripert and Boulud here, professionally? What would you call it? Another Central? Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky Filed Under: passion, bon appeit, michel richard |  |
It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze in a couple for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Adour Alain Ducasse (Menu) Boulud Sud (Menu) Bouley (Menu) Daniel (Menu) Le Bernardin (Menu) Lyon Bouchon Moderne (Menu) Filed Under: two for eight, |  |
Coming soon to Soho. If juice bars were publicly traded companies, Grub Street would invest in them: Not only is Organic Avenue going gangbusters, but the Juice Press is poised to open its fifth location, at 250 Mott Street in Soho. We happened to pass by last night and saw the lights on, some coolers visible, and work permits posted on the doors. The shop looks slightly smaller than the one on East 10th Street, and we hear the opening is about two weeks out. Related: The Big Squeeze [NYM] Read more posts by Jenny Miller Filed Under: empire building, juice bars, juice press, soho, the juice press |  |
Just when you thought the market for Neapolitan pizza had reached saturation, along comes Kesté’s Roberto Caporuscio and his old mentor Antonio Starita, who’ve teamed up to open Don Antonio in Hell’s Kitchen next Tuesday, February 7. In certain pizza-world circles, this is huge — like Gennaro Lombardi rising from the grave to sling slices with Dom DeMarco. For the uninitiated, Starita is third-generation pizza royalty. Along with Sophia Loren, his family’s Naples pizzeria starred in the Vittorio De Sica film L’Oro di Napoli. The man has served pizza to popes. He has tomato sauce coursing through his veins. In short, there is nothing about dough he doesn’t know. His student, Caporuscio, the U.S. president of the Association of Neapolitan Pizza Makers, is no slouch either. Together, they’ve compiled a menu that reads like a last-meal request from a Neapolitan-pizza addict on death row. There are red pizzas, white pizzas, fried pizzas, fried-and-then-baked pizzas, stuffed pizzas, calzones, and many other doughy delights. The wood-fired oven, it goes without saying, is custom-built from volcanic soil and stone. There’s room for 70 devout pizza worshiopers, and an Italian-accented cocktail list that employs both Campari and black squid-ink. Here’s a look at the menu and the space. Menu [PDF] Don Antonio, 309 W. 50th St., nr. Eighth Ave.; 646-719-1043 Read more posts by Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld Filed Under: openings, antonio starita, don antonio by starita, hell's kitchen, pie tidings, pizza, roberto caporuscio, slideshow |  |
Now feeding bankers. "If you build it, they will come" could be the motto for Battery Park City these days, which has gone from culinary wasteland to having quite a few excellent dining options (Shake Shack, Blue Smoke BPC, North End Grill, anyone?) in a hurry, and will get its own food truck court on Monday. Unlike food truck courts in other boroughs, ahem, this one will have a roster of 21 rotating players, with the likes of Red Hook Lobster Pound, Mexicue, Treats Truck, and other members of the mobile dining elite on hand daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. So if you find yourself wondering where all the trucks have gone, that's where. [Official Site] Related: Who Wouldn’t Want to Occupy It? [NYM] Read more posts by Jenny Miller Filed Under: the new york banker diet, battery park city, food trucks, truckin' |  |
She's on a diet. We just wanted an excuse to link to this high-larious Jimmy Fallon sketch: "Real Housewives of Late Night in Indianapolis," where "Denise" hosts a luncheon for her friends and the Colts' better-halves. But it's not totally non-epicurean ... one of the RHOLN ladies drinks ranch dressing with a straw, and someone gets a dinner roll chucked at her weave. [Hulu/Jimmy Fallon] Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky Filed Under: lol, late night |  |
Ted & Honey's sun-washed Navy Yard digs. The hottest hood in the BK these days might in fact be the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Brooklyn Grange is set to expand there, as we reported earlier, and now Grub gets word that Cobble Hill fave Ted & Honey has opened its café, BLDG 92, at the Brooklyn Navy Center. The little café that could has also launched a catering arm, Parker Red Culinary Events, the exclusive supplier of grub to the 8,000-square-foot event space at the center. The spacious, airy eatery is quite a departure from Ted's cramped yet cozy Cobble Hill digs. Scope that out straight ahead, and get a look at the "A.M." and "P.M." menus on the website, below. Menus [Official Site] Ted & Honey BLDG 92, Brooklyn Navy Yard; 347-335-0529 Earlier: Big Plans: M. Wells, Ted & Honey Expand Read more posts by Jenny Miller Filed Under: openings, brooklyn navy yard, empire building, slideshow, ted & honey |  |
He's all about equal love and huddles...allegedly. When Grub Street saw Todd English at last night's Vegas Uncork’d event, presented by Bon Appétit, we had to ask the Bostoner-slash-New Yorker the obvious question, "Who are you rooting for this weekend?" Unsurprisingly, English, who will be at the game, answered very carefully (and like a typical Virgo), saying, "I'm handling it as if I were Archie Manning and both my sons were on different teams." Yeah, yeah, it's so the Patriots. "I've spent so much time in Boston that I love and support the team. Bill Belichick is a good customer of mine in Boston; but then again, I know Eli and he's a good customer, too. It's a tough one!" Okay, it's still so the Patriots. "You really want to know my team? I love soccer; it's AC Milan." Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky Filed Under: scoring, superbowl, todd english |  |
We're not the only ones who feel like this week is taking longer to get through than the current season of Top Chef Texas, right? It's interminable. But as we count down the minutes until we can all finally GTFOH for the weekend, we wanted to share two really delightful food videos with everyone. The first is an ad for some low-fat butter thing called Lurpak Lightest. And even though we could never bring ourselves to actually use the product, the vegivore-friendly video sure is pretty (apologies if you end up getting the song stuck in your head): But that's not all. We also have the latest entry in a video series called "This Must Be the Place," which, according to its creators, "is a series of short films that explore the idea of home." And in this case, home is Prime Burger in Manhattan. The video, which looks like a beer commercial from the sixties, highlights the people who have been making the burger shack run since it first opened in 1938: Read more posts by Alan Sytsma Filed Under: video feed, |  |
East Village: Good news, people who love pizza (a.k.a., everyone): Famed shop L'asso launches its brunch menu this weekend, featuring any entrée with a mimosa, coffee, or orange juice for just $16. [Grub Street] Kips Bay: Winston's Champagne Bar has launched a food and caviar menu designed to complement their vast selection of Champagne. [Grub Street] Filed Under: neighborhood watch,
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