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| Gansevoort Guru Plans Rooftop Pool for Frat-iron District |
 In an interview with BlackBook, Michael Achenbaum of the Hotel Gansevoort talks about his projects in Toronto, Chicago, Miami, blah blah blah — oh wait, there’s this: “We’re also in construction at 29th and Park, so we’ll be in business in 2010 — a big hotel with a special pool area. Our signature element is a rooftop pool and bar. The rooms are huge! We’re doing a small bar with the One Group for a high-end lounge.” The One Group, of course, is the team behind STK, Tenjune, One, and Kiss & Fly — their Website says they’re also planning... Read More » |
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| Tables Available at 15 East; Nobu and Asiate Mostly Booked |
 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 a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Asian. Read More » |
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| New Dessert Bar on Clinton Street; Kurve’s Menu Incomplete |
Astoria: El Jamon at 25-51 Steinway has a delicious-looking three-course lunch prix fixe for $12.95. Is that a grilled rib eye?! [Joey in Astoria]
East Village: Kurve has sort of reopened, but don't expect to be able to order any food. An intrepid diner recently stopped by and was "told to just disregard the whole first page. As it turned out, about 85 percent of the menu had been 86ed." [Eater]
The long-delayed Tong Thai Brasserie on East 13th Street will open on August 28. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Lower East Side: Clinton Street has a new dessert emporium called Luxee with table service for fancy plates like Camembert cheesecake with apple-cider... Read More » |
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| Limelight Will Reopen as a Shadow of Its Former Self |
 Ever since it closed in January, Avalon’s future has been uncertain. There were rumors of a mall, a restaurant, you name it. Now Steve Lewis brings official word that the venue will again be called Limelight but it most certainly won’t reopen as a club. Says Joe Dirosa, owner of New York Artist Series, “My company has worked out a joint venture with [en] Ashkenazy to exclusively handle renting the space formerly known as Limelight as a place for film, TV, corporate, and special events, and what I call branded experiences. I SAY THIS WITH NO UNCERTAINTY THAT THE PLACE WILL NOT... Read More » |
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| New York Fails to Go No. 1 in Restroom Contest |
 New York revels in its restrooms more than any other city (okay, except for that city with the toilet-themed restaurant), which is why we’re shocked that the winner of the America’s Best Restroom contest seems to be in … Nashville? The land of outhouse derbies? Survey editor David Brandt says the results of the contest won’t be announced until tomorrow, but since the press conference will occur at the Hermitage Inn Hotel, we can only assume it’s the winner — and we’re told that after tens of thousands of votes cast at Bestrestroom.com, the only New York facilities ... Read More » |
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| Zak Pelaccio Fantasizes About a Meal at Fatty ’Cue |
 Metromix checks in with Zak Pelaccio today, getting the 411 on the bearded prodigy's latest efforts — a new Fatty Crab for the Upper West Side and the much-awaited Fatty ’Cue. Pelaccio seems especially sanguine about both restaurants, and makes a point of crediting us for introducing him to his barbecue chef, Robbie Richter. But what really stands out is the Zakster’s vision of what a meal at Fatty ’Cue will consist of: Read More » |
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| Will Ella Be Just Another Speakcheesy? |
 Metromix rounds up the bars opening this fall, and while we probably won’t be braving the Village Pourhouse’s Columbia location (and we’ve already told you about Apothéke and Chestnut’s 25-seat next-door lounge, Chestnut Bar) we’re intrigued by the requisite faux-speakeasy contender, Ella: A “bi-level piano bar and cocktail lounge channeling the glamour of 1920s Hollywood,” from the owners of Plan B and GalleryBar. Who knows, Ella may well be a gem (we’re promised the 1920s garb on the bartenders will be “sexy but not costumey”), but let it be known: Bars that go down this road unsuccessfully will now be called speakcheesies. We’re watching you, Ella.... Read More » |
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| Daniel Boulud’s Beijing Restaurant Doesn’t Serve Chinese Food |
 Like the "hot coffee" module in Grand Theft Auto or a night at The Box, Daniel Boulud's Maison Boulud in Beijing has long been something we've heard about but never been able to imagine. That's why Time Out's Gabriella Gershenson did us all a service by actually going to the stone-walled mansion and eating a meal. The food is straight-up Boulud French with a few nods to the fact that the restaurant is actually in China: “The only dishes that struck a native chord were the Mongolian lamb, and the crispy duck confit, which I like to refer to... Read More » |
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| Spotted Pig Gnudi Under Lock and Key; Urban Farm Boom in Oakland |
• According to a comedian who interned at the Spotted Pig this summer: "The gnudi are only made by a privileged few and nobody can even be in the vicinity so as to keep the recipe secret." [Amateur Gourmet] • The L.A. Times doubted whether Michael Phelps — or anyone — could really eat a 12,000-calorie breakfast, but Crazy Legs Conti does it in a five-minute video. [Fork in the Road/VV]
Related: Competitive Eater Crazy Legs Conti Experiences ‘Deja Chew’ • You can get a kati roll at the U.S. Open this year, among these other new bites, but the $13 Grey Goose Honey Deuce hasn't changed. [NYDN] Read More » |
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| La Frieda Creates ‘Secret Weapon’ for Rachael Ray Burger Contest |
 You can’t stop progress: As the A-bomb begat the H-bomb, and Jack Nicholson’s Joker begat Heath Ledger’s, the hamburger ante just went up in New York. Meat purveyor Pat La Frieda, whose revolutionary ground-beef mix has become the standard for the city’s most ambitious burgers, is introducing a superpremium “black label” mix by supplying it to one of the entrants in this fall’s Rachael Ray Burger Bash cook-off in DUMBO on October 10. The proprietary blend will likely be too expensive for any but a few high-end clients, admits La Frieda V.P Mark... Read More » |
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| Steve Guttenberg: ‘I’ve Made My Real House Into My Steak House!’ |
 When he’s not loving the ladies and tangling with photographers, Steve Guttenberg is a restaurateur! In this Funny or Die video he just posted, the Goot advertises Guttenberg’s Steak House, home of Police Academy Au-Gratin, Cocoon Brûlée, and “delectable Short Circuit Ribs.” Okay, so it’s not quite as hilarious as the goth-metal ad for Wilkinson’s Family Restaurant (“We feast on meats! The witch’s teats!”), but it sure makes us wish he really did wait tables. Hey, if it could happen to the Dell Dude... Guttenberg's Steak House! [Funny or Die] |
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| Dallas BBQ Soon to Go Even Farther North of Texas |
 Check this out: Dallas BBQ’s mind-bogglingly (and brain-freezingly) large margaritas have invaded the subway and — according to the ad — are coming soon to da Bronx! Curiously, of all the restaurants licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Dallas BBQ in Washington Heights (currently the northernmost of its seven locations) has what seems to be the largest amount of outdoor seating in the city, accommodating 250. We’ll soon see what kind of temple of liquid smoke is in store for the boogie-down. |
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| Taco Wars: El Diablo Slings Organic, The Taco Truck Does Green |
 Until about a month ago, Endless Summer reigned over the Williamsburg taco-truck scene, but that changed when Greg Matthews, a bartender at APT, installed his El Diablo truck in the backyard of Union Pool. On Thursdays through Sundays, from 7 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., local chef Mario Murillo — with the help of an L.A. taco-truck veteran — dishes out organic beef, vegetarian, and pork (cheek meat) tacos, and sometimes grilled fish tacos and grilled corncobs. Are they as good as the carnitas tacos that Red Hook soccer-field vendor Margarita serves up at the Yard during... Read More » |
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| Tacos and a Contest at the New York by ‘New York’ Highbrow Barbecue |
 The New York by New York Highbrow Barbecue this past Sunday brought out a big crowd, and, in C.J. Jacobson, the biggest alumni ever of Top Chef, at least physically. C.J. created a pulled-pork taco, a watermelon salad, and some grilled corn to feed the crowd, and then helped to judge a grilling contest with a $1,000 prize. If you couldn’t make it, just check out the video. It’s the next-best thing to being there. Read More » |
