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Air’s Champagne Parlor is All About the Bubbly
Beer, wine and even cider bars abound in NYC, but Air’s Champagne Parlor is one of the few area drinkeries devoted to bubbly. To be fair, the Riddling Widow briefly preceded it, but owner Ariel Arce was actually beverage director during its tenure, as well as Birds & Bubbles before that, and Chicago’s Pops for Champagne (not to mention Grant Achatz’s exclusive, original The Office) before that. Meaning her reputation as queen of Cuvèe absolutely proceeds her.
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Where to Celebrate Oktoberfest 2017
If you’re already mourning the loss of summer, Oktoberfest is a reliable way to get you over the hump. Essentially spanning the duration of fall (kicking off on September 16th this year & extending all the way to October 31st, allowing revelers to seamlessly transition to Halloween), the 16 to 18-day festival is a giddy saturnalia of German culture…
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Spotlight on the Finalists for the 2017 Vendy Awards
As a fun challenge to the James Beard Awards, the Vendy ceremony — now in its 13th year — is dedicated to honoring the very best in street food. So here’s who’s in the running during the September 16th event at Governors Island; from an artisanal twinkie baker to an upstart french toast sandwich maker, to a Chinese meat skewer purveyor, whose been tapped for the Vendy Cup…
Most Recent Dish
Sea Salt
You haven’t truly eaten at Sea Salt until you’ve shopped for your dinner in the fish market tucked into the back corner of this East Village nook. There lies the best of what chef Orhan Yegen has to offer – an icy display of seafaring wares. To Yegen, these aren’t just fish: This is his religion. “I’m the only one who truly understands them,” he declares matter-of-factly over the phone. “I taste and tune the fish. That’s my talent.”...
Read MoreThe Randolph at Broome Street
The space that once housed M Bar has apparently been scooped up by an assemblage of imbibers who plan to relaunch as The Randolph at Broome Street. Partner Hari Kalyan tells us that bow tie-clad bartenders be on hand, dealing in draft beers and classic cocktails. Adorned with earthy burgundy and green accents as well as an exotic tile mosaic wall, this Nolita speakeasy will host seating for 120. Phone:(212)274-0667 Address: Broome St., btwn. Elizabeth & Bowery Sts. Hours:...
Read MoreOne if By Land, Two if By Sea Gears up for a Renovation
Come October, One If By Land will commence plans on a sizeable makeover. While the essence of this West Village carriage house is to remain intact, the owners intend to update everything from the kitchen to the table settings. Drawing on Early American art, this romantic spot will be refurbished in chocolate tones with gold and watermelon accents, as well as recently acquired artwork and weathered white furniture. Chef Craig Hopson will have a hand in the appointment of...
Read MoreCraig Hopson Tapped For One if By Land, Two if by Sea
Chef Craig Hopson has just been tapped to run the kitchen of NYC’s “most romantic” dining destination, One if By Land, Two if by Sea. Chef Gary Volkov recently departed this Greenwich Village carriage house to open his own casual eatery, Prince Street Cafe. After a four year stint as the chef de cuisine at Terrance Brennan’s Picholine, Australian-born Hopson is set to make his official debut just in time for brunch this Sunday, September 9th. He’ll be working...
Read MoreQ & A With Nicole Kaplan
Chef Nicole Kaplan does not mess around in the kitchen: she’s played with the big boys in the NYC dining scene, toting her talents in pastry at Danny Meyer’s Eleven Madison Park, and now, Mario Batali’s Del Posto. Ranked as one of the top pastry chefs in the country by Chocolatier Magazine and Pastry Art & Design, we’re grateful she changed her mind on becoming a flutist. Currently, she is creating some of the city’s sweetest sensations at Batali’s...
Read MorePamplona Debuts Thursday…
Chef Alex Urena temporarily shut the doors to his eponymous upscale Spanish restaurant, transforming the space into a casual Spanish bistro. Another case of an avant-garde chef taking it down a notch, Urena’s stripped the chestnut tables of their tablecloths and tacked on an upfront tapas bar, replete with a panini press and meat slicer. “I’m not going to use any foam,” he tells us of Pamplona’s newly implemented menu. “The food is much less expensive than it was...
Read MoreCentro Vinoteca
Centro Vinoteca. A dazzling array of dishes served up by New York’s newest celebrity chef. This is chef Anne Burrell’s domain. If you’re lucky enough to pluck a reservation, be grateful. Visible through an open kitchen, Burrell (Felidia, Savoy) dons a cowgirl skirt and a newly minted executive chef coat, her spiky-haired likeness stitched onto the sleeve. She’s the embodiment of a rock star chef: ambitious, saucy and thrilled to be making her long-awaited debut. These traits texture nearly...
Read MoreGemma
The cuisine is secondary to the parade of fashionable downtowners. 335 Bowery, at Third St. (212) 505-9100 Dinner: Seven days. Breakfast and lunch: Monday through Friday. Brunch: Saturday and Sunday. CUISINE Modern Italian trattoria VIBE Casual bustle OCCASION Group dinner or date DON’T-MISS DISH Four-seasons pizza; cedar-plank-roasted sea bass. DRINK SPECIALTY Acqua di Gemma – sparkling and flat water filtered and bottled in-house, $4 a bottle. PRICE Appetizers, $5-$12; entrées, $14-$39; desserts, $3-$10. RESERVATIONS Available only to Bowery Hotel...
Read MorePrince Street Cafe
After a five-year run as the executive chef at One If By Land, Two if by Sea, chef Gary Volkov is gearing up to launch his own eatery, Prince Street Cafe. Veering off from the upscale dining scene, Volkov and partner, Konstyantyn Prokoshyn (Cafe Boulud), open the doors to this casual eatery Tuesday, September 4th. The airy, 60-seat space will host a front of the house, all-day cafe, furbished with two-toned green booths that line exposed brick walls. Here,...
Read MoreQ & A With Anita Lo
It’s been seven years, and chef Anita Lo is still proud to call the West Village restaurant Annisa, her own. Lo has reigned as head chef, co-owner, and creative mind for the better part of a decade, while serving as consulting chef and partner for the successful (and soon to be nationally expanding) dumpling house, Rickshaw Dumpling Bar. She also found time to promote a calcium-filled diet, assuming a full-fledged milk mustache in the Got Milk? campaign. At Annisa,...
Read MoreHell’s Kitchen On the Rise – Lime Jungle
Robert and Enrico Malto, brothers who run a smattering of neighborhood joints scattered about the city (Il Bastardo, Puttanesca and Zucchero e Pomodoro), are set to introduce a taste of Mexican to Hell’s Kitchen. Lime Jungle, the newest addition to the fold, will be serving fresh fish tacos, homemade corn tamales and a sizable selection of empanadas. For the carb-averse, this mexican grill also offers a “lean quesadilla” and “low carb taco” alternative. While there’s no table service at...
Read MoreQ & A With Marc Murphy
Restaurateur and chef Marc Murphy and his wife, Pamela Schein Murphy, blazed a trail to Tribeca when the two introduced Landmarc to the neighborhood. Murphy’s modern interpretation of an Italian-inflected French bistro was well-received not only by the locals, but also by the NYC’s dining public at large. Though he’s trained in some of the most upscale of kitchens, including La Fourchette & Le Cirque, he’s managed to integrate his penchant for the casual with his haute techniques at...
Read MoreCrave’s Traditional Shrimp Ceviche
Chef Todd Mitgang’s first week out of the gate at Crave Ceviche Bar promptly yielded a dish of the week: a very good sign indeed. His inventive twists on the traditional result in champagne-soaked arctic char and “black and blue” veal cured in sherry vinegar and crushed olives. The menu at this beachy midtowner winningly deceives with an appetizer labeled “traditional shrimp ceviche.” Though anchored in a straightforward marinade of lime juice, jalapeno and cilantro, succulent shrimp are tossed...
Read MoreQ & A With Will Goldfarb
Somewhat of a pioneer in the pastry movement, Will Goldfarb launched the radically successful dessert bar Room 4 Dessert. There he charmed diners with such vanguard creations as litchi sorbet with tea air and choco bubbles. Though Room 4 Dessert has recently shut its doors (due to creative differences amongst partners), Goldfarb shows no signs of slowing down. His newest venture, Picnick, will bestow a “green” kiosk on Battery Park, bearing haute sandwiches and pannacotta in paper cups (opens...
Read MoreBLT Market Revealed…At Last!
Laurent Tourondel has successfully done steak (BLT Steak), seafood (BLT Fish) and like everyone else, a burger joint (BLT Burger). Now, he’s jumping on the market bandwagon with BLT Market. A seasonal affair, BLT Market will embrace locally-sourced produce with a menu that rotates monthly. Come fall, chef Tourondel will dabble in dishes like an arugula and dandelion salad, pan-seared striped bass with cranberry bean caponata and fennel confit, and Amish chicken Provencal. A glimpse of the interior reveals...
Read MoreFirst Look – Spitzer's Corner Menu!
Yesterday, we got a glimpse of Spitzer’s Corner as it unfolds on the Lower East Side. Today, we unveil the New American gastropub menu. Without further ado… Spitzer’s Corner Menu Bar Snacks Homemade Spiced Potato Chips Pork Fat Popcorn Marinated Olives Pot of Pickles Roasted Almonds Oyster Bar East and West Coast Oysters, mignonette / red cocktail sauce Small Plates Rocket Arugula Salad, grapefruit, avocado & shaved parmesan Beer-Battered Oysters,...
Read MoreInside Spitzer’s Corner!
Okay, so it doesn’t look like Spitzer’s Corner is opening this week, but we did manage to sneak in and take a peek at the goods. Right this way, ladies and gentlemen… this Lower East Sider’s outfitted with reclaimed pickle barrel wood walls, long wood tables, metal chairs and two zinc bars (one per dining room). The Shamlian brothers’ communal eatery will no doubt be a laid back social affair. But wait there’s more… Floor-to-ceiling retractable glass windows will...
Read MoreQ & A With Craig Koketsu
As the executive chef at NYC’s first seasonal restaurant, Park Avenue Summer, Craig Koketsu’s menu will morph at the whim of the seasons (as will the space itself). Craig Koketsu has become quite adaptable to change: afterall, he oversaw Manhattan Ocean Club’s kitchen as it transformed into the chic Quality Meats. Craig didn’t travel a traditional path to the kitchen, instead spending his early years in UC Berkeley’s library. From there, he skipped culinary school and went straight to...
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