Gourmet Gossip New York – July 2013
In this great dining city of ours, barely a day passes without news of an exciting new restaurant opening, a devastating closing, a shocking chef shuffle, or a groundbreaking, must-try dish. That’s why we’re keeping you apprised of the industry’s most noteworthy bits and bites, from Ippudo’s brand new Midtown outpost and Aldea’s hyper regional Portuguese tasting menus to the impending debut of The Elm, Paul Liebrandt’s majorly buzzy restaurant in Williamsburg!
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Restaurant Spotting: Brooklyn’s Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
It’s been quite an eventful summer. In just the past few weeks, we’ve had an earthquake and a hurricane, which is more weather action than we New Yorkers have gotten in over a hundred years. We’ve also had some excellent food festivals (Meatopia, Chefs & Champagne), restaurant openings (Baohaus, Tertulia), mourned some big-time closings (Moto, M. Wells) and eaten our way through summer’s bounty of produce. It’s been an amazing few months. Now, with Labor Day upon us, we’ve got that first day of school feeling. We’re ready to trade blueberries for apples (in our pies) and store the margarita glasses for next year. We’re sentimental, but excited for the fall food scene. We’re looking forward to bringing more food news, more good eats and a few more gadgets and gizmos to stock your kitchen. We’re kicking off the fall...
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Gourmet Gossip New York – June 2013
In this great dining city of ours, barely a day passes without news of an exciting new restaurant opening, a devastating closing, a shocking chef shuffle, or a groundbreaking, must-try dish. That’s why we’re keeping you apprised of the industry’s most noteworthy bits and bites, from Alex Guarnaschelli’s brand new Butter expansion in Midtown, to a wave of predictions from trend-setting chefs in Aspen.
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Gourmet Gossip NYC: June 2013
In this great dining city of ours, barely a day passes without news of an exciting new restaurant opening, a devastating closing, a shocking chef shuffle, or in the case of Dominique Ansel Bakery’s seriously buzzed about Cronut (a donut/croissant hybrid) a groundbreaking, must-try dish. So in this new segment, we’ll keep you apprised of the industry’s most noteworthy bits and bites, from celeb-chef Elizabeth Falkner’s reappearance on the Upper East Side, to the hopeful return of al fresco brunch in Brooklyn.
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Top Cocktail Trends to Watch For in 2013
Like Kale salads and Sriracha sauce, small batch bitters and speakeasy inspired cocktails are so 2012. So if you’re going to be feasting on Roasted Chicken and Fresh Baked Bread all year long (see our Food Trends to Watch for in 2013), you’ll want to pair them with some equally “of the moment” drinks. From chef driven tipples at The Third Man in the East Village to fancy Daiquiri’s at Donna in Brooklyn, here are the trends you can expect to see more of in the coming year!
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Restaurant Openings to Look Forward to in 2013
For food writers, each year generally ends with a flurry of restaurant “Best Of” listicles, chronicling the highs and lows of eateries both old and new. But as soon as the calendar reads January 2nd, we hit the reset button, turning our attention towards a brand new crop of impending openings. From Michael White’s eagerly anticipated double header in Manhattan (The Butterfly and Ristorante Morini), to Andy Ricker’s continued expansion of his Pok Pok empire in Brooklyn (Whiskey Soda Lounge), it’s already shaping up to be a banner year for the New York restaurant scene. And who knows? A few of them just might make our “Best Of” lists at the close of 2013.
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Restaurant Trends to Watch for in 2013
Do you remember when it was, exactly, that Sriracha became the go-to condiment in restaurants across the city? Neither do we, but that’s precisely how food trends work. They take root little by little, gradually seeping into public consciousness and onto our plates, until eventually, you’d be hard pressed to find a relevant restaurant without a Kale Salad or Housemade Charcuterie. But those are so 2012, and we’ve got our eye on the horizon. Here are the burgeoning trends we predict we’ll be seeing a whole lot more of in 2013…
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Trendspotting: “New” Mexican Cuisine in NYC
If you take a moment to reflect, you’ll find there’s been a slow and steady expansion of regional Mexican influence in the city. And we’re not just talking tiny, hole-in-the-wall taquerias in the outer boroughs and giant, midtown Tex-Mex chains. Fine-dining establishments have also taken inspiration from the flavors of Oaxaca, Puebla and Veracruz.
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Sriracha on the Rise
Momofuku Milk Bar Pastry Chef Christina Tosi’s Crack Pie is the ultimate holy grail of pies. Many have tried to replicate this pie (especially now that Milk Bar has a cookbook out) to no avail. Why is it called the Crack Pie? Well, it’s so good that it’s the only fitting description is that it’s “as good as crack.”
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Trendwatch: Sriracha
Sriracha is a staple in our kitchens, adding the perfect amount of spice to just about any dish, whether its cocktails, eggs, or Brussels sprouts. But we aren’t the only ones capitalizing on the unique sauce, In fact, Chefs all over the city routinely use Sriracha in marinades, ceviches, Bloody Mary’s, remoulades, frying batter, and more.
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Green Garlic on the Rise
It’s easy to overlook garlic. It’s bulbous and overly familiar, that big fat white bulb that’s found pretty much everywhere and in everything. It lends the same old flavor to tomato sauce and chicken alike. Not to mention the odors it leaves on your hands and breath. But not all garlic is alike. The garlic we all know has a smaller, sweeter cousin that’s subtle and fresh called green garlic. This immature garlic has a lot more texture and vegetal crunch than your garden variety garlic. It’s only in season for a short period, offering a taste that’s nothing like supermarket garlic. And there’s no need to be self conscious about the smell or wash your hands a dozen times. Green garlic and garlic scapes both lend a garlicky flavor that’s wholly delicate. It’s the garlic we’ve all been...
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New York’s High Line Eats
It’s hard to imagine that just a few years ago there was no such thing as the High Line, at least not as we know it today. Now, the Meatpacking’s historic freight rail is one of the Manhattan’s best outdoor havens for an elevated stroll over the city, or better yet, a foodie crawl. See the thing about the High Line is that it has so much going for it. With spring well underway, New Yorkers and tourists alike can milk the Hudson River views, outdoor gardens and art. But it’s really the eats we’re really after because these aren’t your run-of-the-mill food carts. You can get vanilla soft serve and hot dogs anywhere, but you can’t get craft beers, raspberry rosewater ice pops, and braised pork tacos. Yep. We’re not sure where to start, so we’ll go one...
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Nordic Cooking In Season
You could say 2012 is the year of Nordic cuisine. Americans have been culinary adventurers for decades now. We’ll eat anything we can get our hands on, but lingonberry sauce, smoked herring, hay-smoked meats, and cloudberries have never really made it into our dining repertoire until now. Enter what many have dubbed the New Nordic Cuisine. Let’s be honest it: Ikea’s food court, with its Swedish meatballs, lingonberry sodas, cinammon-cardamon buns and seven kinds of herring had a lot to do with it. But when a Cajun restaurant in NoHo gets transformed into a chic, Nordic restaurant, you know it’s officially having its moment. This is a new brand of Nordic food with fresh, clean flavors, wild herbs, wild berries, wild game, edible weeds and plenty of farm to table ingredients. We’ve sampled the city and picked a...
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City Harvest’s Annual Evening of Practical Magic
If you haven’t bought tickets yet, there’s still time to celebrate and support City Harvest at their 18th annual Evening of Practical Magic. This year’s event will be honoring Danny Meyer and his all-star cast of chefs, including Floyd Cardoz, Michael Anthony and Nick Anderer at Union Square Hospitality Group. There will be a live auction, awards ceremony and plenty of food & wine, of course. To purchase tickets, go to City Harvest and hopefully, we’ll see you next Tuesday evening! When: Tuesday, April 24th Where: Cipriani on 42nd Street Time: 6:30 pm Website: An Evening of Practical...
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Trendwatch – Eggs In Fashion
Not long ago, eggs weren’t exactly considered haute cuisine, nevermind a dish that chefs or diners got excited about. But those days are over and eggs are having their moment in the spotlight. Take the celebrated “Farmer Egg’s” at Acme: It’s not as simple as it sounds, of course.What arrive from the kitchen is are two hollow eggs teeming with steamed cauliflower, aged parmesan cheese and egg yolk, crowned with cauliflower foam and ingeniously served on chicken wire and hay. Floyd Cardoz devotes an entire section of the menu to eggs at North End Grill, his newest venture in Battery Park. Cardoz meditates on eggs every which way, including a standout coddled eggs with grits and a scotch egg in watercress soup. There’s duck eggs and quail eggs, free-range and organic, and they all come poached, scrambled, fried or...
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Seeds of Peace Market – Hummus Taste Off
If you haven’t already bought tickets, there’s still time to join in the celebration for peace in the MIddle East at this year’s Peace Market at The Metropolitan Pavilion. There will be a Hummus Taste-Off that I will be judging alongside Jehangir Mehta (Graffiti), Joe Campanale (Dell’anima & L’Artusi), Josh “The Magician” Beckerman and many more. The evening will also include three DJ’s, plenty of hummus from New York’s best Middle Eastern restaurants, and a live auction with Final Four and Grammy tickets. Hope to see you all there! When: Thursday, March 1st 6:30-11:30 Where: Metropolitan Pavilion Website for Tickets: Peace Market...
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New York’s Tea Parlor Trend
With all the buzz around coffee these days, tea sometimes gets neglected. And while New York’s experiencing a coffee revolution, there are just as exciting things happening in the world of tea. We can’t help but notice several new tea spots determined to change the way we see and sip tea. There’s the French-inspired Bosie Tea Parlor with a Bouley-trained pastry chef turning out killer macaroons and one-of-a-kind David’s Teas made with everything from popcorn to chili and chocolate. Here’s a few of our favorites… David’s Tea Address: 275 Bleecker St., btwn. Jones and Cornelia Sts. (multiple locations) Phone: (212) 414-8599 Website: www.davidstea.com We can thank Canada for this exciting, new tea shop, which just recently opened in Manhattan. David’s Tea (pictured above) ups the ante with one-of-a-kind blends that will change the way you think about tea. Think we’re exaggerating? How...
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In Fall Fashion: Peruvian Food
Maybe it’s wrong, but we’re always a little skeptical about fusion. Some traditions just weren’t meant to be mixed. While it might sound like an oxymoron, Peruvian cuisine is an authentic fusion. Glance at a Peruvian menu and you’ll discover Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Italian and African influences. Peru’s a melting pot of sorts with over five hundred years under its belt to integrate those countries flavors and ingredients into one cuisine. Take lomo saltado for example. This traditional dish of meat, potatoes, ají amarillo chile, onions, and tomatoes, all sautéed with soy sauce and vinegar. Chinese technique for Prehispanic and European ingredients. Talk about a food synergy. Aside from pisco and ceviche, or as they spell it in Peru, cebiche, it’s never fully made it into New York’s “gastroconsciousness” until recently. Peruvian cuisine is suddenly in the spotlight this...
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Sneak Peek: Empellon Cocina
When chef Alex Stupak announced he was leaving WD-50 and the world of modernist cuisine to open a Mexican joint in the West Village, the food world seemed perplexed to say the least. Afterall, this was a talented pastry chef making the strange leap into tacos and tequila. Open less than a year, his restaurant, Empellon, is not only surviving, but by the looks of the nightly crowds in the dining room, it seems to be thriving. In fact, he’s already working on a second outpost, called Empellon Cocina. With just 65 seats his newest venture will serve as a more upscale counterpart, trading tacos for a tasting menu and tortilla chips for elegant ingredients and plating. Stupak envisions tasting menus with wine pairings. Just what kind of food will Stupak be making at Empellon Cocina? Modern Mexican, or perhaps...
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Goodbye To Summer
It’s been quite an eventful summer. In just the past few weeks, we’ve had an earthquake and a hurricane, which is more weather action than we New Yorkers have gotten in over a hundred years. We’ve also had some excellent food festivals (Meatopia, Chefs & Champagne), restaurant openings (Baohaus, Tertulia), mourned some big-time closings (Moto, M. Wells) and eaten our way through summer’s bounty of produce. It’s been an amazing few months. Now, with Labor Day upon us, we’ve got that first day of school feeling. We’re ready to trade blueberries for apples (in our pies) and store the margarita glasses for next year. We’re sentimental, but excited for the fall food scene. We’re looking forward to bringing more food news, more good eats and a few more gadgets and gizmos to stock your kitchen. We’re kicking off the fall...
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