Quince. [Photo: Jennifer Yin, 10/28/09]
San Francisco Chronicle/Michael Bauer: Quince, 3.5 stars
San Francisco Chronicle/Michael Bauer: Sante, 3 stars
San Francisco Examiner/Patricia Unterman: Quince
New York Times/Sam Sifton: Madangsui, 1 star
New York Times/Sam Sifton: Tipsy Parson
GQ/Alan Richman: The Breslin
Bloomberg/Ryan Sutton: Cafe Boulud, 3 stars
Time Out New York/Jay Cheshes: Cafe Boulud, 4 stars (out of 5)
New York Post/Steve Cuozzo: Le Caprice
Today, celebrity chef and James Beard honoree Traci Des Jardins opens her first restaurant outside of San Francisco. Pictured above, it goes by the name of Manzanita and is part of the new $300 million Ritz-Carlton Higlands in Lake Tahoe. Designed by Atlanta-based Johnson Studio with 94 seats in the dining room and another 70 at the bar/lounge, the restaurant is being billed as offering "a combination of Des Jardins’ signature French inspired California cuisine, with a regional mountain resort influence."
More photos, details and menuology. >>
This time of year, who doesn't like to get stuff for free? Lucky for you, the annual Eater Giveaway Extravaganza is underway, starting now. Until we run out of merch, while supplies last, for a limited time only, by special engagement, etc. etc., check this space regularly for new chances to win. 'Tis the season, after all.
The Eater Holiday Giveaway Extravaganza continues. Today, we're giving away is doozy: five copies of the first season of Eric Ripert’s acclaimed television show, Avec Eric, which is now on DVD. How to win yourself the DVDs? Submit a brilliant Photoshop rendering of Eric Ripert as a superhero to national@eater.com by Wednesday the 16th.
· Eater Holiday Giveaway Extravaganza [~EN~]
If watching Eric Ripert on television (somehow) isn't your thing, check back here soon for more. And do note that Eater NY is giving away lots of free stuff too.
Last week, Rolling Stone announced plans to start a chain of branded restaurants and lounges. The news even prompted Slate to imagine what other magazines would do if given the opportunity to branch out into the hospitality business, but as it turns out, another high-profile publication might be trying to make the jump already. From the Miami Herald, which reports that Playboy might open a branch of its Vegas club in South Beach's Sagamore Hotel, but that's not all:
For its part, Playboy wants to move away from the nude centerfolds in its money-losing magazine and become a lifestyle brand, with plans for a string of casinos, clubs and restaurants at hotels around the world.Around. The. World. Hooters, watch out.
Forbes concocts a very, ahem, eclectic list of Ten Uniquely American Meals that "pinpoint the defining dish or specialties of each region" of the country. A sampling of the list includes meals at Portland's Maine Lobster Bake Co., Roundhouse Blues & BBQ Festival in Georgia, Mickey's Dining Car in St. Paul, a Native American cultural center in Arizona, and representing the big city faction, Manhattan's 2nd Avenue Deli. [Forbes]
During a visit to the Howard Stern Show this week, reality starlet and fame hound Kim Kardashian confessed to earning $40,000 to "host" an evening at a nightclub, and even more for special nights like New Year's Eve or a birthday. She also admitted that she doesn't drink or dance at the clubs, so in reality she gets all that money to sit there and do nothing. This should make everyone feel really good about themselves and society. [Marksfriggin via Eater NY]
Today, The Slammin' Salmon is released in movie theaters nationwide. Created by the Broken Lizard comedy troupe (Super Troopers, Beerfest), it's the story of a Miami restaurant owner who holds a contest to see which of his waiters can earn the most money in a single night. From the early reviews, the general consensus is that a) restaurant industry workers will probably enjoy it most and b) it's pretty painfully bad. Some highlights of the carnage:
· Daily Herald: "I never thought Beerfest would look good in retrospect, but perhaps I was wrong."
· Philly Inquirer: "You would think any movie with the word 'salmon' in the title would have to be funny. Think again. The Slammin' Salmon is one crazily cringe-worthy kettle of fish."
Now that Season Six is in the books, it's time to turn the focus to the unknown location of Season Seven, and Tom Colicchio is happy to oblige with the teasing: "I would love to do the show in London -– in a heartbeat. One of the producers is a Brit so I think he’d like that as well ... I think DC and Philly are having a great moment. It would be great to film in both of those places." [WSJ via The Iladelph]
The January issue of Bloomberg Markets is on newsstands this morning, and chief among the content is a big investigation on Gordon Ramsay and his well-chronicled financial woes. The article isn't online yet, but it's available in .pdf form right here (update: it's online now). Spanning Ramsay's career, from his rise to his huge television profits to his huge restaurant losses, the piece is worth a read in its entirety, but here are a few fun facts:
1) When filming television shows in LA earlier this year while his restaurants floundered, Ramsay was so stressed that he used to run at 4:30AM in Malibu wearing a black vest loaded with 20 kilograms of weights.
2) Ramsay on chefs doing television: “You tell me a chef anywhere in the world that’s prepared to turn down quarter of a million dollars for an hour’s work on TV, and they’re the biggest lying bastard that ever put on a chef’s jacket."
The Wall Street Journal proposes that the Bazaar by Jose Andres could be the future of restaurants, citing three main factors: the tapas-style menu, its hotel location and the layout of the 12,500 square feet space that is a collection of paces that is centered largely around the bar scene. But probably the biggest factor could be that the 400-seat restaurant has grossed over $13 million since opening less than year ago. [WSJ]
The kids grow up so quickly, don't they? Last night, on his first day as a Top Chef, Michael Voltaggio appeared on the Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien. While trying (not entirely successfully) to make some funnies with Conan, the younger Voltaggio made a molecular yogurt composition thing involving ganache worms, dirt, foam, and liquid nitrogen. Michael's version turns out slightly better than Conan's.
Portland: Beast. [Photo: Flickr/Ed Yourdon]
· John Legend and Tom Colicchio Have Dinner [F&W]
· Video: Julie Powell Talks Butchery and Marriage [SE]
· Baseball Goes on a War Against Junk Food Too [WSJ]
· Hockey Player to Open Hockey Restaurant in Chicago Area [CN]
· Pizza Expert Finally Goes to Arizona's Pizzeria Bianco [Slice]
· More Proof That Nothing Good Happens at 3AM at Denny's [DN]
MIAMI—Tonight is opening night for Douglas Rodriguez's latest endeavor, D. Rodriguez Cuba in South Beach's art deco Hotel Astor. The upscale Cuban restaurant will have live salsa music and everything; more background here. [EaterWire]
LONDON—Jonathan Downey of NYC Milk & Honey fame has opened a new, pop-up cocktail lounge and lots of photos are at Vanity Fair. It's a roof-terrace "cocktail lodge" called the Clubhouse Shoreditch that is modeled on Downey's Alpine cabin and will be open through February. Pop-up bars are the new pop-up restaurants. [Vanity Fair]
DENVER—Meanwhile in the Rocky Mountains, a medical marijuana restaurant has actually opened. It's called Ganja Gourmet, waiters are all dressed in tie-dye, and they will give you a free ride home if you are too high to drive after eating. [BoingBoing]
Starting next month, coming in the wake of struggling sales, McDonald's will officially release the long-rumored $1 breakfast menu. Things like the Sausage McMuffin and breakfast burrito will be added to the value menu, which already includes eight non-breakfast items. For what it's worth, breakfast competitors like Burger King and Dunkin' Donuts have already rolled out similar promotions. [AP]
Yesterday, Saveur publisher Merri Lee Kingsly chatted about her magazine's recent success in a world where myriad print magazines are struggling. Today, as promised, here is part two of the mini-series: a discussion with editor-in-chief James Oseland, also of Top Chef Masters fame.
Let's start with the same question that we posed to Ms. Merri Lee Kingsly: What is Saveur doing correctly? Yeah, we're the anomaly, huh? We're having sort of a parallel universe moment here. We were always the little magazine that could but suddenly we're the magazine that really could. As far as what we're doing right, it's a difficult question to answer. I think we're steadily staying the course and steadily developing the content and sticking to the content that excited us as an editorial content team.
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