Grub Street

Stitch Owners Open Houndstooth Pub, Snow Patrol Lends Rock Cred

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:00:48 -0500

Photo: Melissa Hom

Another “gastropub” owned by rock-and-rollers? Okay, so it’s not exactly the Spotted Pig, but then again the Garment District ain’t the West Village, which is why we suspect midtowners will be interested to hear of Houndstooth Pub — a 6,800-square-foot bar (in the former Chock Full O' Nuts) from Dave Renehan, Kevin McKenna, and Nicholas Cohen of Stitch. This time around, they're teaming not with Scott Weiland but with Gary Lightbody and Nathan Connolly of Scottish “it” band Snow Patrol. Chef Keith Dorsey is churning out what's called “casual dining in a corporate world.” That pretty much translates to “pub grub,” but for what it's worth, we're assured the food is fresh, local, and organic. The soft-opening menu follows — a “comfort food” menu is on its way.

Prix-Fixe Lunch (Served until 3 p.m.) - $14
Homemade Soup or House Salad with a Sandwich from our Carving Board. Choice of: Oven Roasted Turkey, Glazed Baked Ham, Cured Corned Beef or Prime Roast Beef, with your choice of bread and cheese.

Soup Du Jour - $6
French Onion Soup - $8

Houndstooth House Salad (Mixed Greens, Red Onion, Cherry Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Cucumber, Baby Carrots & Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette) - $11

Heirloom Tomato Salad (Organic Tomatoes, Red Onions, Gorgonzola Cheese,
Fresh Basil, Pickled Cucumber and Grilled Vedallia Vinegrette) - $14

Fish & Chips - $14

Traditional Chicken Pot Pie - $12
Shepherd’s Pie - $12

Adobo Grilled 12oz Prime Rib-Eye Steak (Served with Grilled Red Onions, Bleu Cheese Mashed Potatoes and Port Wine Reduction) - $25

Grilled Veggie Sandwich (Zucchini, Portobello Mushrooms, Peppers, Red Onions sautéed on a bread of your choice with Pesto Mayonnaise) - $10

Penne Pasta (Smoked Mozzarella, Grilled Chicken Breast, Parmesan Cheese,
Diced Tomato with Basil & Garlic) - $16

Houndstooth Pub Burger (12 oz Char-Grilled Burger served with Onion, Lettuce, Beefsteak Tomato and Pickle. Choice of Cheese … add $1 Crispy Bacon … add $1 …. Mushrooms … add $1) - $10
Houndstooth Turkey Burger - $10

Sides - $6
Onion Rings
French Fries
Sautéed or Steamed String Beans
Creamed Spinach

Houndstooth Pub, 520 Eighth Ave., nr. 37th St.; 212-643-0034

New York Food History Q&A

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:30:01 -0500

Over at the Times Website, authors of Gastropolis: Food and New York City will answer questions about New York City food history and culture this week. Leave your query in the comments box and look for answers beginning on Wednesday. [City Room/NYT]

Ryan Skeen Unveils Flap-Meat Burger at Irving Mill

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:00:24 -0500

Photo: Melissa Hom

The Underground Gourmet is not one to take anything away from the good works of Mrs. Katie Lee Joel, whose surprise patty melt brought home the bacon at the New York City Wine and Food Festival Burger Bash this past weekend. And let’s set aside for now the burning question among the stout-bellied Burger Bash attendees of whether a patty melt is really a burger or just a grilled-cheese sandwich with high aspirations. Nevertheless, the really big burger news last week was the unveiling of Ryan Skeen’s latest concoction at Irving Mill.

As you may know, Skeen rose to burger stardom at Resto, where working like a one-man Pat LaFrieda, Inc., he devised a toothsome six-ounce patty from a mix of house-ground hanger steak, beef cheek, and pork-fat back. At Irving Mill, determined to outdo himself, he’s substituted for the hanger the seldom seen belly cut sometimes called bavette steak, a.k.a. flap meat, that’s become all the rage on the West Coast. The result is a typically well-proportioned, pan-seared Skeenburger — richer and fattier than his previous efforts, if that’s possible, and about as juicy and flavorful as an August peach. It comes on a squishy Martin’s potato bun this time around with a slice of melted Irish Cheddar. And those medium-rare-burger aficionados whose feelings were hurt by Resto’s refusal to cook theirs to temperature will be happy to know that at Irving Mill, they can have their burger cooked however they like.

As if this weren’t enough, Skeen is as we speak feverishly working on his next project — a double-decker Frankenburger of sorts, consisting of the aforementioned Skeenburger and a slab of fried goetta, each patty topped with a slice of cheese. Goetta, by the way, is an old Cincinnati specialty of German-American origin, essentially a mix of pork scraps and oatmeal, and as such the only foodstuff that simultaneously raises and lowers your cholesterol.

A First Look at BEast, the Latest ‘Secret’ Lounge, Opening Thursday

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:15:41 -0500

Photo: Courtesy of Broadway East

Ladies and gentlemen, here’s your very first eye into BEast, underneath Broadway East. It’s the latest — after Chloe and Southside — in the wave of lounges tucked under restaurants, and as far as downtown cred goes, this one might just be your winner. We’re not just saying that because it has a cool entry involving a secret buzzer and a sexy hallway. That's pretty much de rigeur these days. No, we’re saying it because it’s operated by Ron Castellano, and the sound system, like the one at his other spot, Santos’ Party House, is designed by Jim Toth. Starting with this Thursday’s opening-night party, it’ll be open from 10 p.m. onward from Thursday through Saturday, and at times (à la Void circa 2000), there’ll be “video nights” pairing visual artists with D.J.'s.

In keeping with Broadway East, organic wines will come from producers who participate in land preservation, solar power, wildlife protection, and the like (two examples: Stoller Chardonnay, apparently the first LEED winery in the U.S., and Paul Dolan, a Mendocino Valley brand that doesn’t use chemical fertilizers). The drinks, including a tomato martini that looks similar to the one at Devin Tavern (tomato vodka, curried green-tomato garnish) will also showcase organic brands like Crops vodka and Orlio beer.

The bar menu is still in development, but you can expect the following:

spiced pepitas
fried chorizo-stuffed olives
edamame
lotus-root chips
mole sweet-potato fries
marinated shiitake and avocado rolls, pickled ginger, cucumber, dulse
ancho-fried calamari — smoked paprika remoulade
Yuno Farms blistered shisito peppers with sea salt
tofu sliders with smoked-pepper salsa and celery-root ketchup
wild-mushroom pizzette (taleggio, mache)
grilled radicchio panni
Torganic tofu club
scallop ceviche with melanga chips

The space holds about 60. Chances of it becoming the Submercer (or at least the Kingswood) of the graphic-design set: medium to high.

BEast, 171 E. Broadway, nr. Rutgers St.; 212-228-3100

Best of the Fest: More From the New York City Wine & Food Festival

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:00:34 -0500

To compliment our slideshow reports from SWEET and yesterday’s Grand Tasting, here’s still more coverage of the NYCWFF — from chef chats to panel-discussion recaps to, well, a rather frank assessment of Bobby Flay’s dancing skills. Yes folks, it was a very special time.

• Eater chats up some chefs, including a very busy and 40-pounds-lighter Morimoto; Scott Conant, who’s opening a Scarpetta in Miami but doesn’t yet have plans for another New York project; Marco Maccioni, who with his dad is doing a concept in the Beekman Hotel and ain't lowering prices at Le Cirque (”Ferrari doesn't cut their prices”); Seamus Mullen and Yann de Rochefort, who say that Boqueria Soho will have a burger (!) when it opens at the end of November, and that a wine bar may ultimately follow; and finally, a festival-wary Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter.

• Metromix hit up SWEET on Saturday night and gets two pastry chefs — Dominique Ansel of Daniel and Richard Leach of Park Avenue Autumn — to admit they don’t really like sweets. Then on Sunday, after dropping in on the Grand Tasting where the Setai’s Jonathan Wright was packing $1,500 in truffles, they visited a few panels: Bobby Flay says he plans to open another Spanish restaurant, while the always-quotable Alan Richman mourns the loss of the “middle-class” restaurant (“I can't afford most of the wines on the list at most restaurants. It's like the restaurant is telling me: I don't want you here”); and another quote machine, Gordon Ramsay, tells Thomas Keller (jokingly) to “get a dick” with regard to his quiet, focused kitchen.

• Josh Stein caught Ferran Adrià’s talk with Anthony Bourdain, in which Bourdain called the meal he enjoyed at el Bulli “the most important meal on the planet” (it was like “Eric Clapton seeing Jimi Hendrix play”). By the way, el Bulli, according to Serious Eats, is now taking reservations for 2009.

• The Feedbag hits the Burger Bash with cameras rolling, and catches Michael White staining himself with a Shack Burger.

• Jordana Rothman of the Feed visits Morimoto’s demo (“Mmm, I’m a genius,” he jokes), gets a “VIP” lollipop from Johnny Iuzzini at SWEET, and hits the Macy’s Culinary Council (“the food world equivalent of a high-rolling bat mitzvah”).

• Possibly our favorite dispatch, though who knows if it’s a reliable one: After attending Adrià’s and Bourdain’s talk, Jazz in Strange Places gets a peek at chefs behaving badly: “Every time I see Todd English, he tries to stare me down. It would be creepy if he weren't good looking. Regardless, it has nothing to do with my boobs and everything to do with my half-Asian side … Bobby Flay was talking up a different lady every five minutes and at one point had some crazy blond[e] chasing him around (said blond[e] later grabbed me and tried to make me slow dance with her … WTF?). Though generally, he looked a bit lost and wandered around quite a bit by himself looking for people to talk to. I felt less bad for him when he started rocking out on the dance floor. He definitely dances like a white guy.” Some choice words about Johnny Iuzzini, too.

Earlier: Today in New York City Wine & Food Festival Coverage

Notes From the Grand Tasting

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:26:24 -0500

Photo: Melissa Hom

We hit the final Grand Tasting of the New York City Food & Wine Festival yesterday and sampled our way to a full belly and a head warm with wine. Here's some of what we learned, and a slideshow for visual stimulation.

Gordon Finn, Alto's chef de cuisine, filled in for Mike White at Convivio's table. "None of the dishes from Alto could really work in this environment," said Finn, who served Convivio's chicken pâté on toast with caramelized onions. The bite "transports well and can be made for reproduced for the masses."

For the Libertine, Sebastian Jaramillo made a Stewart's root-beer float with butternut-squash ice cream, ginger ice cream, and crushed Amaretti cookies. So is he part of the fancy-float trend? "Bullshit," said the chef. "We did this for Food & Wine five months ago."

Akhtar Nawab of Elettaria is fine with Frank Bruni deeming his restaurant female: "If that means it's filled with beautiful women every night, fine with me."

Boqueria attracts the ladies, too, much to Chef Seamus Mullen's delight: "I love to walk through the restaurant and see someone in a dress and in heels eating offal and house-made sausage."

Chef Alexandra Guarnaschelli of Butter on her love for fresh vegetables: "I'm like a fashionista at a Gucci sale when it comes to the Greenmarket."

Mr. Jones and You

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:35:25 -0500

Official word from Mr. Jones: "Mr. Jones officially opens October 14. Our hours of operation are Sunday through Wednesday 5:30 p.m.–12 a.m., and Thursday through Saturday 5:30 p.m.–2 a.m. Please call during the hours of 11 a.m.–7 p.m. to make a reservation."

243 E. 14th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-253-7670

Tipping Debate Continues, From Customer-Service Perspective

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:08:53 -0500

Photo: iStockPhoto.com

Consumerist entered the tipping wars yesterday, asking readers if it was ever acceptable to not leave a tip. Considering that Consumerist readers are righteous warriors for customer service, it is no surprise that over half of the 10,000-plus votes cast since yesterday afternoon advocate omitting a tip, and nearly a quarter of those polled opted to "leave change. That way they know you didn't forget." A mere 5 percent advocated always tipping 15 to 20 percent because servers make so little money. But passions flowed into the comments section. Below, some of our favorites.

So here in Israel, 10% is standard (as opposed to 15-20% in the US). 15% is "GREAT service", 20% is "I have a mental defect". Maybe this is how y'all got into so much debt?

$2 an hour?? That obligates me to leave a tip or else imagine the guy's kids going hungry, which I resent. But even worse, it's grossly unfair to wait staff in lower-end restaurants.

…I can tell you with 100% certainty that people DO NOT like to tip, unless you're one of those people who likes to show off in front of your friends/family.

I've been making my living off tips for at least 2 years now, and lived off my mother's tip money for 18 years prior. Of course you should not tip sometimes! There are enough bad servers in the world that only stay in the business because people throw money at them. I say stiff the bad server and make sure you speak to management. It's like a peer-review process.

The price on the menu should be the full cost of the item, including the cost to provide the service staff and the profit margin the owner has established. A "tip" is intended to reward good service, not subsidize the cost of the service. If that were the case, then I should have the option of going back into the kitchen and picking up my own order, clearing my table, etc.

…[T]hose of you who regularly tip shitty, watch the fuck out. I have never contaminated food before, but I know people who have.

Earlier:Bruni Readers to New York: Take It From Tourists, End Tipping

Can JGV Save Ago From Itself?

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:46:00 -0500

No doubt displeased with the less-than-stellar reviews for his Tribeca outpost, Ago, Robert De Niro may be bringing in the A-team: Page Six Magazine reports that Bobby D. contacted Jean-Georges Vongerichten about setting the ship straight. JGV admits to doing a tasting for the star, and things may be moving forward: "Nothing is signed yet, but he liked my Italian," says the Frenchman. [Page Six Magazine]

A Rooftop Farm in Little Italy; Platt Unimpressed With Allegretti

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0500

Allegretti
Photo: Hannah Whitaker/New York Magazine

In the magazine this week, Wendy Goodman tours an "urban farm" on a Little Italy rooftop with chickens, an herb garden, and (until recently) a beehive. But if you prefer to eat out rather than grow your own food, note that Adam Platt was unimpressed with Allegretti, giving it only one star. It's expensive, has "Westchester-style décor," and the cooking is good only "in a dated Continental way." Back to our own kitchen, then, for escarole. Jimmy Carbone of Jimmy's No. 43 shared his recipe for wilted escarole and slab bacon with Rob and Robin for this week's In Season dish. But these belt-tightening times don't ruin all of our gastronomical fun: Rob and Robin tell us that Sapori d'Ischia still charges $50 for its three-course Tuesday-night truffle dinners. Treat yourself.

Joey Chestnut Reigns Over Pizza; Gossipy Memoir From Pino Luongo

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:15:00 -0500

• Hot-dog-eating champ Joey Chestnut likes pizza, too: He ate 45 slices in ten minutes last weekend. "He never appeared to chew," writes a reporter with awe. [NYDN]

• A London critic, frustrated by his inability to get a seat at Momofuku Ko, recommends an alternative: Persimmon. [London Times]

• Restaurateur Pino Luongo — owner of Centolire and former owner of Il Cantinori and Sapore di Mare — has a memoir coming out. In it, he talks about Leona Helmsley sending back her cappucino, Sly Stallone getting upset over $800 bottles of wine, and how to deal with mobsters' cigarette machines. [NYP]

• Rafael Soler, a Vendy Award finalist, used to be a tailor until he found his calling selling Dominican food at the Red Hook ball fields. [NYT]

• How a bar stays open: the saga of West Village watering hole Rubyfruit. [NYT]

Chef Patti Jackson Is Served First

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:28:00 -0500

Chef Patti Jackson prefers that you not call her "chef."
Photo: Courtesy Women Chefs & Restaurateurs

Chef Patti Jackson runs the kitchen of two very different Italian restaurants — you might even call them "male" and "female" restaurants, under the specifications Bruni laid out last week — I Trulli and Centovini. Jackson is also one of 25 chefs cooking at the Prince George Ballroom on Tuesday evening as part of a tasting/benefit for Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR), a group our New York Diet subject last week, Lidia Bastianich, helped found in 1993. The $75 ticket helps pay for scholarships for women in the field, but Jackson found the group key for networking in a hectic industry. Since she's come out ahead in the chaos, we asked about her kitchen style, the varying treatment of sexes in restaurants, and of course what dish she'll be whipping up for the lady-heavy crowd tomorrow.

How do you feel about restaurants serving women first and treating them differently as diners?
It's so ingrained in what we do, it's almost not sexist. In all our restaurants there's an L key. [A notation by the server to indicate where a woman is sitting so she is served first.] I think when people break that mold it becomes confusing. For example, I don't like to be called "chef." For me, having someone say "oui, chef" in the middle of service doesn't make me feel more powerful. It puts up unnecessary boundaries between the kitchen and everybody else. We're all working toward the same things.

So does it bother you, as a food expert, if a server looks to a male counterpart you're dining with to lead?
I'm really bossy. I don't know if that's ever actually happened. I think there's also a personality aspect to it. I present myself as somebody who's interested. I think certainly the days of the shrinking-violet woman who get the menu without prices — that's pretty much over.

And you don't care if a male or female gets a plate first?
Ideally, I get everything first.

So, are your restaurants "male" or "female"?
I think of them both as female because I work in them. I mean, I Trulli is a really homey restaurant. We get a lot of kind of guys who want their bowl of pasta or veal Milanese chop, but the restaurant is really a reflection of the owner's mother. Centovini; it's designed by male design geeks. It has a definite masculine femininity. I would say it's a little more delicate. Perhaps ladies like it, but in both cases our clientele run down the middle. [In designing the menu], it's two different neighborhoods; two different tastes.

What are you serving at the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs tasting?
Pork-belly braciole with broccoli rabe, like a stuffed pork skin rolled with pine nuts and stuff and braised in tomato sauce.

Women Chefs & Restaurateurs: At The Table Event [WCR]
Earlier: Are There ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ Restaurants?

Reimagining Dessert at SWEET

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Johnny Iuzzini
Photo: Lauren Salazar

Saturday’s sold-out SWEET party, the $175/ticket dessert extravaganza sponsored by Ferraro Rocher, Perrier Jouët Champagne, and Absolut Vodka, packed patrons — and their increasingly rounded bellies — into la.venue at the Waterfront. Cocktails designed by Pegu Club's Audrey Saunders, a fountain of Target-sponsored alcoholic milkshakes, and, of course, free-flowing Champagne and vodka, kept guests buzzing happily as they made their way to the tables, chatting up chefs like Johnny Iuzzini and Stephanie Mofir. Custards, puddings, and cupcakes ruled the aisles, and there were several gold-topped confections that seem a bit frivolous to eat in this economy (shouldn’t someone melt those down and send them to Hank Paulson?). A welcome respite from the sugar high came at stations where someone thought outside of the dessert box, like a Gruyère fondue pot or pork sliders and warm apple cider. Still, winners of the night were flawless executions of some old standards: Gramercy Tavern’s Nancy Olson brought out a pumpkin cheesecake topped with spiced cranberries that paid honorable homage to the season, and the doughy warm cookies and cold milk from Levain Bakery were the perfect send-off.

Today in New York City Wine & Food Festival Coverage

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:20:44 -0500

Vespa Parking Only, outside of the Burger Bash.
Photo: Daniel Maurer

The NYCWFF is, of course, in full swing, and despite at least one case of absinthe dementia, the bloggers are blogging away. While we await reports from tonight's main event, SWEET, here's a rundown of today's dispatches from the field.

• The Feed has highly flammable video of David Wondrich and Dale DeGroff mixing Blue Blazers and a good quote from Wondrich on the Achilles heel of trendy cocktail bars, namely the all-business barkeeps: “You’re supposed to hear some good stories and have a damn good time.” Jordana Rothman also catches Gordon Ramsay chatting with Kim Severson (Gordo on the ickiness of veal spinal cord: “I mean, the French would eat each other”), Alton Brown cracking jokes, Rachael Ray plugging her favorite restaurants, Rocco DiSpirito showing off his waltz, and Lidia Bastianich sharing cooking tips.

• Eater has interviews with Cobi Levy and Doug Akin from Charles, Rob Kaufelt on Murray’s Salami, Dana Cowin, and David Rabin, who reveals the new incarnation of Lotus will open in March, and he’s not happy about other clubs (ahem) doing chocolate.

• Metromix hit last night’s Burger Bash and asked chefs for their recipes and fast-food faves. Best part: Reporter Matt Rodbard gets Al Roker to admit, Blanche DuBois–like, that “someone has always taken care of me” at Shake Shack (meaning he’s the one person in the world who gets to skip the line?). Later at “Midnight Munchies,” Anne Burrell tells Pervaiz Shallwani that she loves hot dogs (even dirty-water ones) when she’s drunk.

• The City Sweet Tooth visits a Murray’s Cheese course at Chelsea Wine Vault and gets a shot of the Bobby Flay Crunch Burger as well as other doings at Chelsea Market After Dark.

• At the Grand Tasting, the Life Vicarious makes amends with Bobby Flay after floating a rumor that he sometimes throws episodes of Throwdown.

Stay tuned for more from the festival.

Ferran on Film

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:50:05 -0500

Photo: Maribel Ruiz de Erenchun

Ferran Adrià kind of freaks out when, using ingredients he picked up on the fly in Chinatown, he cooks for Allen Salkin and guests and fails to totally blow their minds. And he looks kind of frazzled (adorably so) in two new videos from the Per Se event last week. For the heck of it, we’ve translated the Spanish interview for you.

What brings you here tonight?
This is the global launch of the book — it’s an important day for me … the book took two years to make. It’s complex; there weren’t many precedents. The book talks about the restaurant in a whole new way. There have been many books about the recipes — this one is about something more than that.

What inspires you as a chef?
My inspiration is life, as with any other creative endeavor.

What do you think of the future of food?
There are many emerging countries like Brazil, China, India, and Russia that are going to create a new order of cooking.

What accomplishments as a chef are you most proud of?
The most important thing is the excitement that we’ve created for cooking, and forging new paths during moments where it seemed like we were a little stuck.

What makes this book different from other books about food?
I can’t be objective when I talk about myself — I’d prefer other people talk about my work.

What’s your personal favorite dish?
I don’t have a favorite dish — I love ham and I love seafood, but it all depends …

If this Q&A wasn’t elucidating enough, Adam Roberts, after attending Adrià's Times Talk with Anthony Bourdain, says that Bourdain will soon release a documentary about el Bulli.

Chef Ferran Adria Book Release Party [Culinary Media Network]
Per Se Event [Magic Bullet]