All stories about "Country"
The Week in Eater: Inside Double Crown and Five Leaves, 19 Kenmare's Approval, Sweet & Vicious' Return, and More
This Week's Stories: Eater Inside: Double Crown, David Malbequi Rumored Out at BLT Market, In at Country, Good News Fridays: Sweet & Vicious Reopens, First Word: 19 Kenmare Finally Approved, Eater Inside: Five Leaves, Truck Report: New Sweet Truck on the Scene, and Eater Giveaway: Grant Achatz at the Astor Center.
EaterWire AM Edition: David Malbequi Rumored Out at BLT Market, In at Country
MIDTOWN— We have it on semi-good authority (two solid but off the record sources) that David Malbequi, the chef de cuisine—and the man really running the show—at BLT Market will soon leave his post to join team Country. We hear Malbequi has signed on to work in some capacity at the deathwatched restaurant but is really in it for a gig at Zakarian's yet to be announced upcoming hotel project. That makes sense given the shitshow nature of the restaurant—and the fact that the Country team has recently named former sous-chef Blake Joyal as their official, on the record, choice of exec chef.
The Week in Eater: Jet Blue Sneak Peek, The Ko Lunch, Changes at Country, and More!
This Week's Stories: Eater Inside: Apothéke, Ko-BOOM: The Ko Lunch Set List, Willis Loughhead Out at the Doomed Country, Plywood Super Special: JetBlue's 'Restaurant Row', Top Chef Spoilage: Two More Chefs Outed, The Gatekeepers: Janet Kim, Eater Maps: NYC's Boozy Brunches, and On The House with The Eldridge's Matt Levine.
EaterWire AM Edition: Chef Willis Loughhead Out at Doomed Country
MADISON SQ PARK— Following the news last week that the debut of Country Steak (the new incarnation of the upstairs at Country) would be delayed from fall '08 to March '09, we're not entirely surprised to learn that the restaurant's head chef Willis Loughhead has given his notice. Loughhead says he plans on sticking around for a couple more weeks to help Adam Block et al. find a replacement. They have looked at a handful of chefs including some members of Loughhead's staff, however, we've heard rumors that two sous have already left or given notice, wine director William Rhodes is out, and others are planning on following suit. As for Loughhead, he tells us he simply didn't want to be inactive for such a long period and never envisioned working at a steakhouse.
EaterWire Midday Edition: Country Steak Delayed Until March '09
Madison Square Park: It hasn't been a quiet year for Country. First a Deathwatch. Then the restaurant shuttered the formal dining room, announcing they would reopen as a steak house. After that, they were hit by the DOH, twice.
Here's the latest setback: the planned steakhouse, Country Steak, is now projecting to open in March 2009, six months after their original planned opening and nine months after the closing of the Upstairs at Country. But it's not the fault of the restaurant, says co-owner Adam Block:
"Our opening date is tied directly to the relaunching of the Carlton Hotel (the rooms are being completely remodled). The relaunch of the hotel was originally slated for Fall '08 but has now been delayed until March '09; needless to say, our opening date has now been pushed back to March '09 as well."A tipster wonders, perhaps rightly so, if it will even open at all.
· Deathwatch: Country [~E~]
· EaterWire Midday Edition: Upstairs at Country to Become Country Steak [~E~]
The Week in Eater: Shake Shack Signage, Todd English's Libertine, Top Chef Spying, and More!
This Week's Stories: ShackWatch: Shake Shack's New Design Explained, Top Chef: A Peek at the Cheftestants In Action, John Iconomou Out After Four Months at Elizabeth, Todd English's Libertine Set to Open in 'Fall 08', Country Can't Catch a Break, Fails Re-Inspection, Blue Ribbon Set to Open in Brooklyn Bowl, and Turf Wars: Wafels and Van Leeuwen Battle it Out.
DOH Chronicles: Country Back Open for Business
An email from a tipster, a note from the restaurant's PR and a call to the restaurant give the triple confirm: Country has passed their most recent DOH re-inspection and will be open for business this afternoon. Third time's a charm.
· DOH Chronicles: Country Can't Catch a Break, Fails Re-Inspection [~E~]
· DOH Chronicles Coda: The DOH Weighs in on Country [~E~]
· DOH Chronicles Update: Country 'Closed For Upkeep' [~E~]
DOH Chronicles: Country Can't Catch a Break, Fails Re-Inspection
Madison Sq. Park: Country, the beleaguered Madison Sq. Park restaurant with a "poor inspection history" with the DOH, has failed yet another inspection, this time for some purported front of the house issues. On Friday the place was shuttered mainly for lacking city approval for its cryovac procedures and for having an assortment of unlabeled vacuum packed meat. According to a source inside, the restaurant failed re-inspection due to some measly little fruit flies (and perhaps a bully of a DOH):
"Front of the House issues this time with fruit flies the main offender...28 points needed to fail and 28 points awarded in fruit flies at the bar and storage areas...Sad, but the Country FOH employees are actually staying put and keep showing up for work only to be turned away or asked to clean...The DOH is being tough on fruit flies when many restaurants are riddled with vermin..."Man, the place can't catch a break. Because the closure has been so protracted (if they fail re-inspection today, they will be missing their fifth night of service, during restaurant week no less), it's about time for an official statement. Take it away Geoffrey:
"Our restaurant violated some codes,">>
The Week in Eater: Robins, Samuelsson, Ramirez Out, Country DOH'd, One Year in at Tailor, and More!
This week: Marcus Samuelsson Divorces Merkato 55, Ends Epic Charade, One Year In: Tailor, Bar Blanc Swaps Chef Ramirez for Ex-Bouley'er Zijp, Eater Inside: Delicatessen, Deathwatch Update: Franklin Becker Replaces Robins at Sheridan Square, DOH Chronicles: Country, Eater Sneak Peek: The Colorful Kurve, Eater Book Report: 'Alinea' To Debut This Fall, Online Community Live and Active.
DOH Chronicles Coda: The DOH Weighs in on Country
Madison Square Park: The DOH has just called us with the official word on Country. Unsurprisingly, the reasons for their closure were neither flood related nor 'minor infractions'. Straight from the DOH rep:
"The health department did close them today. They are in our accelerated program because of their poor inspection history. They have failed several inspections in the past year, so they were sent a letter that said they needed to pass two in a row to get our of that increased inspection program. And failed this inspection.Sounds like the 'upkeep' the staff said they are doing over the weekend involved throwing away a fridge full of meat. Let the transition to steakhouse begin.The main issue, although there were several, was that they had significant quantities of meat that were vacuum sealed. If you're doing reduced oxygen packaging cooking, you have to have it approved through the Health Department, which a lot of restaurants do. They didn't have a plan to do that, and they also could not document where they got that meat from. It wasn't labeled, it wasn't dated, they couldn't say who had sealed it or where it came from. There was definitively a health risk there. That was a significant issue that lead to their closure."
· DOH Chronicles Update: Country 'Closed For Upkeep'
DOH Chronicles Update: Country 'Closed For Upkeep'
Madison Square Park: While the DOH hasn't gotten back to us with their official report, we do have a couple updates on the shuttering at the troubled Country. Remember that on the phone the hostess told us there was a kitchen flood and that they would reopen after a re-inspection. Since then the restaurant's official PR has checked in to let us know that the DOH "found some minor infractions" and said they might even be open by brunch. No flood mention. And most interesting was an Eater spot check, where we learned that the DOH sticker is only on the street entrance to the restaurant. Guests entering through the hotel lobby (where there are no visible stickers) were told that the restaurant is "closed for the weekend for upkeep and maintenance." Sneaky! But perhaps not technically untrue.
· Breaking DOH Chronicles: Country [~E~]
Country has been shuttered by the Dept. of Health. According to a rep at the restaurant, the kitchen flooded, and they will reopen as soon as they clean up the mess, make sure nothing is damaged and schedule a re-inspection. We can't be sure if that's the full story, but either way, getting shuttered prior to Friday service? Hate to see that. Stay tuned for the full report from the DOH. [EaterWire]
EaterWire Midday Edition: Geoffrey Zakarian Almost Certainly Out As Owner of Country
We've been hearing rumors since last week that Geoffrey Zakarian is out as the owner/operator of Country, and we've been getting vehement denials from Zakarian's PR team and the PR behind the Carlton Hotel. It's dead wrong they say. People are just worried about the switchover to Country Steak they say. And we would believe them had we not received a tip before the weekend from an inside source assuring us change in ownership is official—he tells us that Adam Block is the owner/operator at Country and that Geoffrey Zakarian has a licensing agreement to preserve the name.
If you don't know Adam Block, he is serious player in the national restaurant scene. He's the consultant and deal maker who got Masa and Per Se into the Time Warner Center, he's the man who told Terrance Brennan not to open restaurants in Chicago, and he's the guy who helped Geoffrey Zakarian open Country. (See his profile by Michael Ruhlman for his full story).
More, more, more, ahead.>>EaterWire Midday Edition: Upstairs at Country to Become Country Steak
MADISON SQ PARK— Geoffrey Zakarian announced today that he is turning his three starred (and Deathwatched) restaurant Country into a steak joint to be called Country Steak. The more casual cafe downstairs will remain in tact, but expect a full overhaul of the upstairs come this fall. The official press release explains the new take:
"The steakhouse will open on the restaurant’s second level following the annual summer hiatus in the upstairs Dining Room and replace its current multi-course tasting menu. The steakhouse menu will complement the European-Mediterranean cuisine served in both the Café at Country and each of the nine Private Event rooms...the new Country Steak kitchen will be headed by Executive Chef Willis Loughhead."Zakarian tells Mr. Cutlets that he is simply fulfilling a longtime dream of owning a steakhouse (not putting in a last ditch effort to save his restaurant):
What Zakarian has to say for himself.>>
The Week in Eater: The Shitshows of New York
This week's stories: Shitshows: Kobe Club, Shitshows: Ninja, Shitshows: Mr. Chow Tribeca, Shitshows: Merkato 55, Shitshows: Wakiya, The Worst Table in New York Contest, Deathwatch: Ilili, Deathwatch: Steak Frites, Deathwatch: Country
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