Manhattan: Tribeca Archives
Eaters' Journal 7/3/08: Odeon, Bubby's, Dovetail, Festival Mexicano
Kalina, 12/26/07
Odeon: Wednesday, while around the corner Cutty, Platt, RG, Lee Schrager all dined at Forge under the watchful eye of Baum middle-ranker Jen Russo, I'm pretty sure the better move was to sit outside at Odeon. Chicken was serviceable to good, goat cheese salad wasn't bad, gazpacho missed completely, cavatelli got a gentleman's C. But the all-in of competent food, local Tribeca crowd, and a good pour gets the package to an A. —BL
Bubby's: Eater's love/hate relationship with Bubby's has been well documented, but we must give the Tribeca standby props for a special lunchtime innovation earlier this week: piping-hot gazpacho. Bravo. —LS
EaterWire: Knitting Factory Sold, Marquee's First Night Back, and Replating
TRIBECA— The Real Deal reports that the Knitting Factory has sold for $12 million: "The building, which also has 18 apartments, was expected to sell for more than $15 million when it went on the market in April, 2007...Gothamist reported in February that the club might be looking at 504-508 East 14th Street...The Sun reports the club could be moving to Brooklyn..." [TRD]
CHELSEA— DBTH stopped by Marquee last night to check out their first night of business after last weekend's big police raid and Missy Eliot's b-day bash: "When we got inside, the main floor was a bit empty, but the upstairs was wall to wall. The Misses had about 6 tables roped off for her and her peeps near the DJ booth, with pink balloons everywhere because that how she rolls. Doesn't everyone? Things really picked up around 1 AM. The birthday girl rolled in around that time and the place took off." [DBTH]
How to Replate your food.>>The Seizures Continue: Azafran Down!
And the restaurant seizures continue. The latest spot defaulting on their rent and getting turned over to their landlord? Tribeca's tapas joint Azafran. Unlike with the Song Chu Mai case however, a trusty tipster notes there were a few warning signs:
"First, I saw them advertised on that discount dining website...Then I saw a sandwich board outside advertising a lunch special of a burger and beer, which was later changed to just a burger and soda...Their menu changed...Later, I began seeing an occasional sign on the door saying they were not going to be open for this reason or that and then a sign saying they were only operating Thurs-Sun."Only operating 4 days out of the week? Ouch. This was never going to end well for Azafran.
· The Shutter: Song Chu Mei SEIZED [~E~]
Eater Inside: Matsugen
Krieger, 6/26/08
By now you probably know about Matsugen, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's soba house run by the Japanese Matsuhita brothers. What you probably don't know though, unless you've been there, is what this baby looks like inside. So here we present Matsugen's lounge with a lovely little bar and a long communal table and a main dining room with the somewhat minimalist individual set ups and 66's famed fish tank (tank not pictured). All in, it's not the most exciting design we've seen, but it's clean and it seems to fit the theme of the place.
As for a judgment on the food, we've got a sampling of what the common joes think here. With the name behind it, the ambition of the project (claiming to bring the first 'truly authentic and refined' soba to the city), and the somewhat curiously low-key opening, we're sure Bruni and Platt already have their resys if they haven't been by already. So stay tuned. Further reading here and here.
Soba, Sushi, Jean-Georges Vongerichten
241 Church St., Tribeca; 212-925-0202
Open Tue - Thurs & Sun 5:30 p.m. - midnight; Fri & Sat 5:30 p.m. - 1 a.m.
EaterWire: Odeon Becoming the New Michael's, a RICE pop-up, and More!
TRIBECA— Today Radar wonders if Tribeca's Odeon is the new Michael's: "Seen yesterday at lunch at The Odeon...Seth Lipsky, editor of the New York Sun. At a nearby table: Philip Gourevitch, editor of the Paris Review. Slightly east of Gourevitch: New York mag's executive editor John Homans." [Radar]
GREENWICH VILLAGE— We all know by now that Zinc Bar is moving into the old Baggot in space. But Zagat reports that the owners have another project: "...come November Kevin will also be opening another bar in the same building, this one a wine bar called Vine Bar. Located upstairs from the new Zinc, in the space where Comedy Village lived before moving to 89 MacDougal Street." [Zagat]
RICE in the park.>>Week in Reviews: One Star Each For Gottino & Terroir
The Bruni files a two-fer this week in honor of the Times annual Drinks Issue, awarding Jody Williams' Gottino and the Marco Canora/Paul Grieco project Terroir one star each. He thinks these wine bars are so good they shouldn't even be called 'wine bars':
"With stool seating, a focus on small plates under $10 and lengthy selections of wines by the glass, Terroir and Gottino are better described as wine bars, though that term, too, doesn’t fit, because the best of the food rises so far above the gussied-up sandwiches and glorified snacks with which wine bars once made do.Strangely enough, Bruni spends little of his word count on the libations. However he makes a point to say that while the food is decent, you'll never have the comforts of a real 'restaurant': "...space is tight, the mood is agitated, reservations aren’t accepted and you could easily wind up standing and waiting 45 minutes for the privilege of straddling a stool." [NYT]Terroir and Gottino exemplify a wine-bar evolution so thorough that nomenclature can’t keep up. And they reflect the increasing degree to which distinguished cooking pops up in the unconventional, informal settings that many food lovers often prefer...to force the question, are Terroir and Gottino restaurants in wine-bar drag?"
Scarpetta, Ago, and the Elsewhere, up next.>>
Good News/ Bad News Matsugen
Jean-Georges' newest project Matsugen, a soba house in the old 66 space, opened to little fanfare a week and a half ago. As was JGV's want, the opening attracted only a modicum of press coverage. But of course the good people of Yelp, eGullet and Chowhound still caught wind of the arrival. The consensus: it's damn good and incredibly overpriced. But lets get to the specifics and delve into the good news and the bad news:
1) The Very Good News: Though perhaps biased because she knows the chef, the author of Desperate Chef's Wives chimes in with a rave: "I will tell you my favorite part of the meal and things I think you should order (should you like my advice): deep fried shrimp cake & shitake mushroom (18.00), black cod with miso (22.00) (AMAZING AND SO WORTH THE PRICE!), Kizami-Kitsume fried tofu hot soba with scallion (14.00), and of course the sushi. For dessert: parfait, something with tomato (I forgot the name) and the grapefruit (it's so much fun!). Oh, and start with the Japanese pickles (5.00), they were so tasty/crunchy I could have eaten them by the bucket...I loved it." [Desperate Chefs' Wives]
2) The Bad News: The bad news comes in the form of a Yelp review, which takes more issue with the pricing than with the food itself: "If you felt ripped off at Ippudo, don't bother with Matsugen. The $40 soba noodles will definitely lead to indigestion for you. I know this is JGV, but I had a hard time putting down the bowl of noodles without thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't picking this up. It's quite good, but it's not THAT good...People had mixed feelings about 66 before, and compared to what's here now, I kind of miss it." [Yelp]
More good, more bad, ahead.>>FW: Matsugen Giving me the Runaround
Thank you for visiting the Eater Complaints Department, your unedited platform for voicing poor dining experiences, gross restaurant trends, and general underhandedness. Have grievances? Operators are standing by.
From: [an eater]
Date: Friday, June 20, 2008
To: eater complaints dept.
Subject: Matsugen Giving Me the Runaround
——
My first reservation at Matsugen was for opening night last friday night, and they called later and canceled because they were instructed to keep their soft-opening hours to 10pm. Then I was told the next week 11pm would be the last seating, so I made an 11pm for Monday night, and then Monday morning they called and canceled again citing that since it's opening week they're continuing with the soft-open hours. F that noise. I'm OK with a restaurant shifting my reservation for a soft-opening night, but to cancel on me twice in a row? Tsk tsk...the reservationist, and i quote, "at that point [11pm] it's going to be really awkward, you'll be the only people in the restaurant. What I can do is keep your name and number in our computer and i'll call you when we start taking 11pm reservations" - bullgarbage!
Eater Inside: Forge
Sam Horine, 6/17/08
What you are looking at here is not a distant cousin of the EU or Stanton Social or any other AvroKO beauty, though it'd be right to make that assumption. The custom made glass, reclaimed wood, and "vintage, well worn feel" (says the press release) that you'll find at the two day-old Tribeca restaurant Forge are from the designers of Rayuela over on the LES. No matter— she's a pretty one. That and the fact that the name behind this place, Forgione, carries some weight means Forge could be a big success in Tribeca, depending on the price point and the early reviews.
New American, Seasonal, Forgione
134 Reade St., Tribeca; (212) 941-9401
Open Tues - Sun 5 p.m. - 11 p.m.
The chef, the menu, up next.>>
Menus Gone Wild: Matsugen's Sea Urchin Bukkake
The above blurry iPhone pic didn't quite make it into Metromix's recent review of Matsugen, but they were nice enough to send it our way. A very special and hilarious menu item indeed: Sea Urchin Bukkake with all the condiments of Bukkake. Yes, it is a kind of cold udon. But just imagine for a second the schmancy Tribeca types saying to the waiter 'I'll have one bukkake please.'
· First Look Matsugen [Metromix]
· All Matsugen Coverage [~E~]
The Plywood Report (now with map): Le Pain Quotidien, Lazzara's, Sakae Suhi & More!
1) Tribeca: A tipster sends in a photo of the progress being made at the corner of W. Broadway and Warren. It was once the Weat Broadway Cleaners (who moved across the street) and will now be a shiny new Pain Quotidien. [PLYWOOD]
2) Midtown West: Midtown Lunch reports some exciting pizza news: the well-loved Lazzara's Pizza is opening another branch, this one on 9th and 45th: "Unlike the original, which is opened Monday through Friday and only until 9 p.m., the new location will be opened 24 hours, and according to Tony Lazzara will be standing room only, delivery and take out." [PLYWOOD]
The Village, Clinton Hill, and the MAP, ahead.>>Eater Sneak Peek: Matsugen's Dining Room, Menu
Team Jean Georges is being a bit cagey with the (online) press when it comes to its JGV's newest property Matsugen. Whether it's because they are determined to have a "low key opening" as the flacks say or because they want the big guns like the Times to have to first dibs remains to be seen (though we'll know for sure when the food sections come out on Wednesday). Nevertheless, we were dying to see the inside of this place and sent an Eater correspondent to take some sneak shots. 66's famous fish tanks separating the dining room from the kitchen are still there, and a hostess informed us the same fish remained in the tanks during the reno. Ever stylish Bertoia chairs populate the large minimalist dining room, as does an army of servers, busers, and gorgeous hostesses. The menu ranges from the affordable (soba for $14) to the excessive (wagyu for $135), and the early reports from the comments seem mixed. Since the place is only five days old, we'll have to wait a couple more days for the official Good News/Bad News.
· Matsugen Mania: JGV's Soba House Opens In One Hour [~E~]
· Matsugen Mania: Jean-Georges' Soba House Opens Tomorrow [~E~]
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