Eater: Eat: The Word Archives

Eat: The Word Archives

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Thomas Keller's World Domination Plans: Heavies Respond

Bloomberg published a story yesterday, somewhat widely linked, which reported that chef Thomas Keller is planning on expanding his empire in several directions by opening the Inn at French Laundry, Bouchon Boucherie, Burgers and Bottles, and a line of frozen foods. Keller has been talking about many of these projects for months and years -- the inn especially -- and he's made no secret his desire to cook burgers (mentioned, for example, in Aspen). But the article has caused a handful of the food world's biggies to weigh in on Keller's plans. Most people are highly skeptical of the plan. Ed Levine isn't. Here's what the people are saying:

Continue reading "Thomas Keller's World Domination Plans: Heavies Respond"

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Branding Insanity: Harlem Runs on Dunkin (Cafe)

Uptown blogger Plate of the Day sends us this bit of madness, of the Dunkin Cafe & Bakery (above), which celebrated its grand opening last week. Seems the bakery was a bona fide Dunkin' Donuts franchise until about two weeks ago, when it shut down for what you might call a face lift. Now: "everything from the food and drinks down to the uniforms and seating was completely ripped off. So inside of the ‘Dunkin Cafe’ it’s the same layout and the menu is pretty much the same. I tried a donut and a bagel and it didn’t taste much different. The cups however don’t have the original Dunkin Donuts logo." Though they are busy with their new "America Runs on Dunkin'"/not-just-a-donut-shop marketing push, we do have to imagine that this Dunkin Cafe has about three more days before the cease and desist arrives from Dunkin' legal.
· Fake’n Dunkin Donuts = Dunkin Cafe & Bakery Harlem [Plate of the Day]

Monday, September 17, 2007

Hangover Observations: Autumn Harvest Dinner To Benefit Share Our Strength

Mayor Bloomberg and chefs Christophe Émé, Daniel Humm, Douglas Keane, Paul Liebrandt and Eric Ziebold; plus Sam Mason's sous chef Curtis.

Last night was the 14th Annual Autumn Harvest Dinner to Benefit Share Our Strength, hosted by Danny Meyer and Eleven Madison Park. Special guests included Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Diana Taylor, Flo Fab, Daniel Boulud and Dana Cowin. Also in attendance—and, among others, cooking—was Paul Liebrandt, who asked us if we were wearing a wire before confirming so much as that we was opening a new restaurant (he is, next year, as we know). The benefit raised more than $200,000 for Share our Strength. Our observations are as follows:

1) Daniel Boulud has mastered the art of the entrance. His 7 PM on-the-doter into the venue was only bested by his two strolls into the kitchen, one post-service of the second course, the second for bubbly at the conclusion of the event, both timed for max impact and hand shaking.

2) The Danny Meyer service machine does not rest at banquette events. Service quotable #14: "Would you like me to take that glass or fill it for you?"

3) Class points awarded to Danny Meyer for toasting Grant Achatz, who couldn't attend. But, confidential to Mr. Meyer: it rhymes with "packets."

4) Style points to Sam Mason: One for no-showing to stay in the kitchen of his new restaurant; the second for having Daniel ask for him in the kitchen; the third for serving the very best of his Tailor desserts, the Greenmarket Blueberries, Yogurt Sorbet and Black Olive Cake.

5) For the record, the mayor's last meal would be Boar's Head knackwurst. The mayor's least favorite of the Meyer restaurants: Blue Smoke.

Ever seen Danny Meyer with a mustache? >>

Meet Andrew Borrok (Or: The Man Bringing 4-Star Dining to Soho)

It's time to meet Andrew Borrok, who has just sold 14 Penn Plaza for a $250 million profit and has a cryogenic freezer in his Water Mill estate; also, he's the son of real estate mogul Charles Borrok; and he wants to open a four star restaurant in Soho next year where, "the emphasis will not be on profit.”

The Times gave the gent (right, with Mischa Barton) the Styles treatment this weekend, to dig in deeper on the summer he's spent trying to get famous ahead of the opening of his restaurant. Before we go any farther down this road, let's be clear: whether or not he'll be taken as such, Borrok is quite serious about all this. Here's some relevant text:

Mr. Borrok has never worked in a restaurant in any capacity, busboy or sous-chef, although he has taken classes at the French Culinary Institute in SoHo and hired one of the school’s teachers as a private tutor. Instead of paying his dues by producing wonders night after night in the pressure cooker of a Manhattan restaurant, he is paying his publicist to raise his profile as a social player.

Oh, there's more. >>

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Fall Previewing, 2007: A Primer

From Flickr/The Dobber's photostream

Welcome to the Fall Previews, folks. Fall is the best season for a restaurant to open -- the summer set is back from vacation and the tourists will soon be here in full-force -- and almost all restaurateurs make an attempt at getting their new restaurants open between now and Christmas. The last 10 days has brought lengthy fall previews listing from all the New York major print publications -- chiefly, the Times, New York, and TONY -- and so now we can begin to wait for the dozens of venues listed to open. Some will open (Market Table, Tailor); some will be significantly delayed (Zeppelin, Tailor); and others stand almost no chance of opening (10 Downing). Reading these previews can be like trying to make sense of an airplane wiring schematic, which is to say it's a real shitshow, especially when it comes to figuring out how much truth is contained in any one listing. But we're here to help. Over the next two weeks, we'll be focusing on the restaurants worth focusing on, and getting in deeper on determining which will open, and when you should start caring about them. But, now, by way of getting started, we bring you three simple tips that should help make understanding fall previews a great deal easier.

Continue reading "Fall Previewing, 2007: A Primer"

Thursday, August 30, 2007

WANTED: The Location of Restaurant Liebrandt ($500 Reward)

There is enough credible buzz in circulation to have us fairly convinced that Paul Liebrandt is opening his Restaurant Liebrandt this fall, perhaps quite soon. There was Thorn's sidebar-reveal, then a bit more from Mouthing Off. Plus, if one wades through copious amounts of Flash at PaulLiebrandt.com, one notes that the restaurant is announced on his site for "Fall 2007" (note screen cap). But -- and here's where this goes off the rails -- that's all we know. Liebrandt will not answer our emails or return our calls, and, much more surprising, he's been able to keep the location completely out of the press elsewhere. Frankly, it's driving us mildly insane.

Eater is offering a $500 cash reward for the first person to send us the address and an interior photo (cell/iPhone snaps acceptable) of Restaurant Liebrandt. >>

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Keith (McNally) Files: If the Glove Doesn't Fit, You Must Acquit

There was a time when we thought Keith McNally was Russian (true). Wasn't really based on anything, save maybe for our love of his lounge Pravda, but it was fun to think about. He's British, of course, but that doesn't make him less of a hero to us all. Sometimes, he's on the front lines for his neighborhood (as right, in re The Meatboard), other times he's relaxing at his desk, drafting us wacky emails. Late yesterday, one such email arrived, on the topic of yesterday's Schiller's update. We've already taken too long to get to the crux:

Dear Eater, >>

Monday, August 20, 2007

Pinkberry Rising: Red Mango Seeks Locations for NYC Takeover

With Pinkberry having made clear their intentions to take over New York State, it's not surprising that their mortal enemy Red Mango is getting in on the action as well. Today we received a note from their branding agency BCD seeking suggestions for Manhattan locations. Here's what the Yogurt chain is looking for:

Site Criteria:
800 - 1,000 square feet
No minimum frontage requirement
Maximum rent $180,000 per annum

Our additional requirement, because there is nothing like a good yogurt war, is that Red Mango sites be in shouting distance of either Pinkberry or Tasti-d-lite, or, ideally, both. If you know of a spot that meets all these criteria, and/or just want to screw with Pinkberry, fill out this form.
· Pinkberry Rising: New York State Domination Plans! [~E~]
· Pinkberry vs. Red Mango: Let the Yogurt Wars Begin [~E~]

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Andrea Strong and the Secret of Last Night's Episode of Top Chef

We were going to abide by Bravo's non-disclosure agreement, but since Cutlets brings up the topic of Andrea Strong and last night's episode of Top Chef (she was a guest judge), it's worth having you know the real story behind her being on the episode. We'll let Cutlets do the disclosing:

Cutlets: You know, I was supposed to be in that episode.
Amuse Biatch: You were going to be Andrea Strong?!
Cutlets: So to speak. It was supposed to be a whole table of bloggers — Daniel Maurer and I for Grub Street, Eater, Restaurant Girl … but they wanted us to not write about Top Chef at all, and that couldn’t happen. Only Andrea took the pledge.

This is not entirely accurate, for the record. We took the pledge and had planned on abiding by it. But, then, perhaps something about the fact that we spoiled last season made the producers a bit uneasy. In any case, now you know; and now we get to spoil this season as well with a clear conscience.
· Truces and Vanilla Candles Ruin This Week's ‘Top Chef’ [Cutlets]
· The Strong Buzz Special TOP CHEF Edition [Strong Buzz]

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Chodorow Edging Closer to Insanity, Places 'Dear Frank' Ad

Jeffrey Chodorow's mad march to the brink of insanity continues today. In response to Frank Bruni's one star review of Wild Salmon, the Chodorow has posted another ad in the Times dining section, this one in reference to Bruni's comments about a penguin gone missing atop Wild Salmon's baked Alaska dessert. To run these things is to encourage the crazy train at this point, but in any event: