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Q & A With Alex Stupak

Posted on Jun 24, 2008 in Chef Q&A, Chef Q&A Recipes

Pastry chef Alex Stupak is a master of innovative designs and textures, making him no stranger to the molecular gastronomy taking place at wd~50.  In a kitchen where science takes dishes to a whole new level, Alex has relied on experimentation and a precise sense of balance to perfect the creations that continue to delight and awe customers.  At the youthful age of twenty-six, chef Alex Stupak had earned the pastry chef position at one of most innovative and praised restaurants in America, Alinea.  There, Stupak worked alongside famed chef Grant Achatz, distinguishing himself with provocative creations and cutting-edge techniques. Alex reverses expectations with a cherry-covered chocolate, a dish of smooth chocolate mousse encapsulated by a blood-red cherry gel.   Single/Married/Divorced Married.  My wife is the pastry sous chef at Babbo. What was your first job in food? A...

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Q & A with Karen DeMasco

Posted on Jun 24, 2008 in Chef Q&A, Chef Q&A Recipes

Pastry chef Karen DeMasco has distinguished herself not with subversive creations or unconventional methods, but with exemplary, classic desserts.  Trends may come and go, but Karen’s elemental style that embraces seasonal fruits has sustained her ever-evolving career and a seven-year run at Craft.  Karen first honed her techniques at Gramercy Tavern, and then Della Femina, where she was well-received by the New York Times. She was then lured by chef Tom Colicchio to helm the pastry department at Craft, and later Craftbar. At Craft, Karen’s signature desserts include gingerbread with roasted pear and crème fraiche, and chocolate cake with malted milk ice cream.  But hurry to have a “choose your own adventure” dessert, as she will soon be departing.  Officially ending her tenure with Craft and Craftbar this May, Karen plans to spend the summer finishing her cookbook and...

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Q & A With Nancy Olson

Posted on Jun 24, 2008 in Chef Q&A, Chef Q&A Recipes

Nancy Olson has traveled a long way from her hometown in Napoleon, North Dakota to her current mainstay as executive pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern. With its unwavering devotion to bucolic compositions, this Danny Meyer haunt surely reeps the benefits of Olson’s rural upbringing.  Nancy’s father raised cattle, while her mother made jams and jellies from seasonal produce grown on their farm.  Her upbringing planted shaped a pastry career focused on the freshest, farm-grown ingredients. At Gramercy Tavern, Nancy’s signature desserts include the Grand Marnier mascarpone with a blood orange salad and a coconut tapioca with passion fruit caramel and cilantro syrup.   Status: Single/Married/Divorced Single – but attached to the most wonderful, supportive man! What did you want to be when you grew up? For a long time I really wanted to be a teacher. As a chef, I...

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Gizmo Girl’s Reveo MariVac Food Tumbler

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Gizmo Girl

48 hour marinades went out with afternoon naps in today’s fast paced society. But that doesn’t mean your meat should suffer: the Reveo MariVac Food Tumbler can do in ten minutes what a 2 day marinade would accomplish. The tumbler will even tenderize your meat as it absorbs your marinade. Maybe there is time after all for a few afternoon zzz’s… Reveo MariVac Food Tumbler Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email Us.   Until we eat again, Restaurant Girl **Don’t forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl’s Weekly...

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Gizmo Girl’s Wireless Talking BBQ/Oven Thermometer

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Gizmo Girl

Too often the father of the house rules the BBQ, alienating himself from the party, banished from the beach, to cook up the afternoon steaks and burgers. But this Father’s Day, give the gift of wireless technology: the Wireless Talking BBQ/Oven Thermometer will beep when your meat is cooked to your desired temperature – up to 330 feet away! So this year, invite dad to the conversation and let the wireless thermometer do the grilling work. The Wireless Talking BBQ/Oven Thermometer   Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email...

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Gizmo Girl’s 14 M.P.H. Cooler

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Gizmo Girl

For those interested in going green this summer, turn in your gas guzzling SUV for the 14 MPH Cooler. This cooler will drive your way from the house to the beach – up to 15 miles away – with the day’s food and drink in tow.  Hold on to the handle bars to clutch the break, and rest your drink in the built-in cup holder.  Your days of juggling your chair, towel and lunch just got a whole lot easier.  We recommend packing it with a bottle of rosé, lobster salad and fresh berries… The 14 M.P.H. Cooler Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email...

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Gizmo Girl’s BBQ Branding Iron

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Gizmo Girl

If Memorial Day weekend didn’t kick start your grilling season, this gizmo most certainly will.  The BBQ Branding Iron brands your charred meats so there’s no more confusion as to who grilled what, or what hunk of meat belongs to you.  The Branding Iron has interchangeable letters, allowing for your steaks to be personalized, or even your chicken breasts to wish you a happy birthday.  You might as well stick a candle in your grilled chicken and forgo the sheet cake all together. BBQ Branding Iron Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email Us. Until we eat again, Restaurant Girl **Don’t forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl’s Weekly...

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Gizmo Girl’s Steady Sticks

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Gizmo Girl

With Memorial Day weekend just around the corner, many may be turning in their work suits for their swimsuits and heading to the beach. Along with the cooler filled with sandwiches and soda, bring a bottle of wine and these Steady Sticks to enjoy while the waves come in.  Your chardonnay will stay sand-free as these sticks elevate your glasses and bottle, and give you a free hand to fly that kite that’s been wrapped up all winter. Steady Sticks Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email Us. Until we eat again, Restaurant Girl **Don’t forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl’s Weekly...

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Gizmo Girl’s Hot/Cold Serving Tray

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Gizmo Girl

Here’s to your next stress-free cocktail party: The Hot/Cold Serving Tray allows your hors d’oeuvres to stay warm or cool with no effort.  Just chill the tray or heat it up, and it will maintain its temperature for up to two hours. Tepid appetizers are a thing of the past; here’s to a hot and crispy pig in a blanket… if you can get your hand on one before they’re gone. Hot/Cold Serving Tray Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email Us. Until we eat again, Restaurant Girl **Don’t forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl’s Weekly...

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Gizmo Girl’s Charm Spaghetti Server

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Gizmo Girl

What a difference a few tongs can make: the Charm spaghetti server takes the hassle from getting your saucy spaghetti and meatballs from bowl to plate.  Quite the bargain at $1.99, considering the dry cleaning bills you’ll be saving from your past spaghetti sauced shirts.  All bets are off, though, when it comes to flying meatballs… Charm Spaghetti Server Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email Us. Until we eat again, Restaurant Girl **Don’t forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl’s Weekly...

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Gizmo Girl’s Henrietta Egg Cooker

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Gizmo Girl

Whether you’re an eggs benedict fanatic or an egg salad devotee, this egg cooker and poacher will alleviate all anxieties in cooking the perfect egg.  The Henrietta Egg Cooker and Poacher not only looks cute, it chirps when eggs are hard boiled or poached to completion.  This chick holds up to seven eggs for hard boiling, or four for poaching.  Pass the hollandaise sauce, please… Henrietta Egg Cooker and Poacher Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email Us. Until we eat again, Restaurant Girl **Don’t forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl’s Weekly...

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Gizmo Girl’s Waffle Cone Maker

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Gizmo Girl

In the continuation of April Pastry Month, and the onset of warm weather this weekend, Gizmo Girl brings you the waffle cone maker for the perfect afternoon ice cream cone fix.  Forget the ice cream truck: make your own homemade & warm waffle cone then stuff if with your favorite flavor. Waffle Cone Maker Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email Us. Until we eat again, Restaurant Girl **Don’t forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl’s Weekly...

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Wildwood BBQ

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Reviews

Serving up ecumenical barbecue in Gramercy Park Address: 225 Park Ave. South, at 18th St., (212) 533-2500 Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 11:30 a.m.-12:30 a.m.; Sat., noon-midnight; Sun., noon-11 p.m. Cuisine: Regional barbecue Vibe: Big-city barn Occasion: Festive occasion; group dining. Don’t Miss Dish: Barbecue burger; Texas smoked brisket; carrot cake. Price: Appetizers, $5-$9.50; entrées, $9.95-$28.95; dessert, $7. Reservation: Recommended If you want barbecue in New York City these days, you have to ask yourself what kind you’re craving. You can get down & dirty barbecue – sauce on your T-shirt – at Dinosaur BBQ. You can get artisanal barbecue – sauce on your business suit – at Blue Smoke. But if you want breezy barbeque – sauce on your white leather banquette – you should try Wildwood BBQ, a few blocks from Blue Smoke in Gramercy Park....

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Benoit

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Reviews

The not-so-fine art of fine French dining. 60 W. 55th St., between Fifth & Sixth Aves., (646) 943-7373. Seven days a week. Breakfast, Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; lunch, Mon.-Sat., 11:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner, Mon.-Sun., 5:30-11 p.m. CUISINE French bistro. VIBE Elegant midtown bistro. OCCASION Group dining, business lunch. DON’T-MISS DISH Cassoulet, onion soup gratinee, escargots. PRICE Appetizers, $9-$19; entrees, $19-$48; dessert, $7-18. RESERVATIONS Recommended. No one expects humble from Alain Ducasse. But that’s what you get at Benoit. There’s even a dollar menu. It has one dish: Egg Mayo, a terrific deviled egg with a fluffy, sweet filling. It makes for a glorious, four-bite lunch. Ducasse now runs three Benoits – the original Paris bistro (which opened in 1912), another in Tokyo and the newest, at 60 W. 55th St., the address of the old Le Cote Basque. A...

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Bar Milano

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Reviews

CUISINE: Northern Italian. VIBE: Elegant and deafening Murray Hill spot. OCCASION: Casual date; breakfast; neighborhood dining. DON’T MISS DISH: Cabbage with farro; caviar-topped potato with egg; monkfish and foie gras. PRICE: Appetizers, $9-$24; entrees, $20-$43; dessert, $5. RESERVATIONS: Highly recommended. 323 Third Ave., at 24th St., (212) 683-3035. Breakfast, lunch and dinner; seven days a week, 8 a.m.-3 a.m. Dinner served seven days, 5 p.m.-midnight. Bar menu available till 2 a.m. Whoever heard of a month-long wait for a reservation at a restaurant at 24th and Third? But that’s what you get when brothers Joe and Jason Denton open a restaurant in Manhattan. Most of their places – ‘ino, ‘inoteca, Lupa – have been rustic, wine-focused spots. But at Bar Milano, on the border of Gramercy Park and Murray Hill, they’re challenging themselves and their clientele with upscale cooking...

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Pomme de Terre

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Reviews

“It’s shocking,” a diner at Pomme de Terre said one night. “I’ve lived down the street for 20 years. A few months ago this was a seedy bodega that dealt drugs.” Now that seedy bodega in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, is a charming corner bistro near a laundromat, a CVS pharmacy and a few takeout spots — a culinary nowhere along Newkirk Ave. This snug 40-seat space is appointed with vibrant murals that resemble vintage French posters. The original tin-ceiling remains, newly restored and painted over in a sunny yellow. Through large curtained windows, I saw patrons of every age waiting along the sidewalk. From the expressions on diners’ faces, the neighborhood seems thrilled with the dizzying transformation. So are co-owners Gary Jonas and Allison McDowell, who are residents of Ditmas Park themselves. They opened their first restaurant — The...

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Olana

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Reviews

A culinary homage to the Hudson Valley. 72 Madison Ave., between 27th & 28th Sts., (212) 725-4900 Dinner, Mon.-Sat., 5:30 p.m.-1 p.m.; lunch, Mon.-Fri., 11:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. CUISINE Modern American. VIBE Dated elegance. OCCASION Group dinner; neighborhood dining. DON’T-MISS DISH Grouper ravioli; roasted rabbit; white peach & cherry mousse. PRICE Appetizers, $11-$18; entrees, $24-$38; dessert, $8-12. RESERVATIONS Recommended. New Yorkers take their neighborhood restaurants seriously. Every new eatery that opens around the corner reinforces the notion that you live in an important culinary zip code. Olana, which launched on the fringes of the Flatiron District two months ago, is a refreshing addition for residents along what has been a lonely stretch of lower Madison Ave. Olana doesn’t strut for attention with glitzy decor. The setting is civilly outfitted with spacious banquettes, red mohair chairs and cherry wood paneling. With...

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Ago

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Reviews

New York gets a hollow replica of the original Ago. 377 Greenwich St., at N. Moore St., (212) 925-3797 Dinner, Sun.-Thurs., 5:30 p.m.-11 p.m., Fri. & Sat.,5:30 p.m.-midnight; lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily. CUISINE Tuscan Italian VIBE Hip, bustling trattoria OCCASION Group dinner; Tribeca dining DON’T-MISS DISH Burrata con fagiolini; eggplant parmigiana PRICE Dinner, appetizers, $12-$18; entrees, $19-$44; dessert, $10-$12 RESERVATIONS Recommended The New York debut of Ago restaurant in the newly opened Greenwich Hotel had the makings of a summer blockbuster. The famous West Hollywood flagship has long been a powerful magnet for celebrities and movie moguls, including film giants Robert De Niro and the Weinstein brothers, who are partners in the Ago empire. This Tribeca outpost is the fourth offshoot of chef-partner Agostino Sciandri‘s Italian eatery, following expansions in Las Vegas and Miami. The recruitment of Grayling...

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Eleven Madison Park

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Reviews

A spectacular reinvention. 11 Madison Ave. at 24th St. Phone: (212) 889-0905 Dinner: Sun.-Thurs. 5:30-10 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 5:30-10:30 p.m. Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Brunch: Sat. & Sun. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Not many restaurateurs are as skilled at pulling off a top-notch $4.75 burger (Shake Shack) as they are a $145 haute French tasting menu (Eleven Madison Park). But Danny Meyer has built an enviable empire of 11 winning lowbrow and high-end restaurants. On a recent evening, the famed Shake Shack burger drew a line that spanned the length of an entire city block. I was en route to Eleven Madison Park, the most opulent feather in Meyer’s cap, when the sight of cheese fries and custard at the pickup window nearly lured me off course. Had I caved, I would’ve missed one of the most spectacular...

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Korhogo 126

Posted on Jun 22, 2008 in Reviews

A modest Brooklyn restaurant unleashes exotic African spices. 126 Union St., near Columbia St. Phone: (718) 855-4405 Dinner: Weds., Thurs., Sun., 5-10 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 5.-11 p.m. Some restaurants lack soul. Not Korhogo 126. You can taste the soul of its owners on nearly every plate. This French West African eatery marries the culinary heritages of Parisian-born Emmanuelle Chiche and chef Abdhul Traore, who made his New York City debut at Les Enfants Terribles on the lower East Side. Traore hails from Korhogo, a small town in the Ivory Coast that’s become this prideful new restaurant’s namesake. The chef injects a rush of seasonings and flavors from his homeland into French bistro staples. This translates to a menu where African classics, like grilled prawns in a pili pili (chili pepper) sauce appear alongside steak frites. But here the...

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