Savory Tidbits: Restaurant News and Views for NYC, San Francisco, Chicago and LA

Savory New York One Sheet: June 28th - July 3rd

// Recently Opened //

• The General Greene - Nicholas Morgenstern, formerly of Gramercy Tavern and Gilt, has opened this new restaurant in Fort Greene, serving seasonal American cuisine.

// This Week's Restaurant Reviews //

• NY Times:  In what reads like a 1 star review, Bruni gives 2 stars to Murray Hill's Bar Milano. "Italian cooking is about a lot more than pasta, but an Italian restaurant that bungles its pasta dishes is like a Las Vegas resort that doesn’t let you gamble. There’s still plenty to enjoy, but you’re likely to feel that the essential point and signature pleasure of the place have been lost."
• Dining Briefs takes a look at Brooklyn's Clover Club and Pomme de Terre
• The New York Sun's Paul Adams reviews Nolita's Elizabeth and cites their burger as the best dish on the menu, "a $14 cheeseburger capped with a giant Saturn's ring of cheese that's given a crisp edge on the grill before being melted onto the meat. It's a messy affair, spilling wantonly from its bun upon first bite, in a shower of shredded lettuce and juicy beef."
• The New York Daily News: RG rounds up of her picks for the best new restaurants on Long Island's East End. If you're heading out there this weekend, check with the RG first.
• Village Voice's Robert Sietsema visits Cedar Meat House in Astoria Queens for an outer borough meat-on-stick adventure.
• Time Out New York slams Tribeca's Ago for mediocre food and loud atmosphere, "(t)he restaurant is a dream, however, for low-sodium (read: no-flavor) dieters."

// In Other News //

Mark Bittman presents us with 101 20-minute recipes suggested for a pick nick. There are some good easy ideas in here and recipes are packed with Bittman's flavor for humor. No need to constrict these recipes to picnic fare. If you have guests popping in and out this Independence Day weekend, this list provides lots of inspiration.

• Los Angles Times reports on a new theme restaurant which recently opened in a Beirut suburb called, "Buns and Guns" (video included). The theme here is war and you can step up to the counter to order an "M16 Carbine sandwich" or a "Terrorist Meal." If you order the later, just be warned before opening the box; the slogan for the restaurant is "Sandwiches Can Kill You."

// Upcoming Events //

• Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular 2008 will start Friday evening at 9pm. Suggested viewing spots are located on the NYC.Gov site but if you're up for packing a (Bittman style) picnic and camping out for your spot, the Brooklyn Promenade is always a good choice. But if you get there late, the crowds will be packed from the promenade to the street.
• From July 10th - 31st, Savoy will be cooking up their third annual summer Clambake. Price is $50/person and buys you little neck clams on the half-shell, lobster stew and blueberry crumble to end.
• Madison Square Park Conservancy is holding an open air event July 15th, "Celebrate Flat Iron Chefs!" to raise money for the park. The event starts at 5:30pm for VIP entry ($250/ticket) and 6:30pm for general entry ($150/ticket). Some of the restaurants participating are; A Voce, Tabla, Eleven Madison Park, Country, Fleur de Sel and Resto. For more information visit their website.

Savory One-sheet: June 14-27

We're just back from two weeks in SF and Napa Valley where we visited over 30 new restaurants and will soon be posting videos for many of our recommended top choices for eating in the Bay Area.

// This Week on Savory New York //

Elliot Ryan files an update on great wines for the season with a look at the sparkling Italian wine Lambrusco. Ryan makes the case that this fun, refreshing wine makes a great alternative to the more common wines you're likely to see at the beach and in the park this summer. Read the article to find out where to try Lambrusco in NYC.

// Recently Opened //

• Forge - Marc Forgione, the son of celebrated American chef Larry Forgione, strikes out on his own in TriBeCa with his "laid-back     yet high-style approach to New American cuisine."
• Matsugen - Jean-Georges Vongerichten teams up with the Matsushita family of Japan to present authentic Tokyo cuisine in the old 66 space. 
• James - Dining in Prospect Heights just keeps getting better and better. Husband and wife team Bryan Calvert (formerly of Bouley and Union Pacific) and Deborah Williamson are serving European-influenced seasonal New American cuisine.
• Parlor Steakhouse - A new steakhouse and raw bar on the Upper East Side from the owners of the BB&R bar around the corner.
• Alloro - a new traditional Italian restaurant with "a modern flair" on East 77th Street from the chef/owner of Cacio e Pepe, Spiga and Bocca.

//This Week's Restaurant Reviews //

• The New York Times: Frank Bruni heads to the popular new wine bars, Gottino and Terroir, and finds "carefully sourced and thoughtfully prepared" food that warrants 1 star for each. 
• New York Magazine: Gael Greene calls Hundred Acres a "worthy work-in-progress."
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams has high expectations for Bar Milano and ends up being disappointed. "Either it will shape up in forthcoming months, or it can be taken as a sign that loud, clumsy, and crowded is just what its creators want Bar Milano to be."
• New York Daily News: RG can hardly contain herself so likes Scarpetta so much."So many chefs in New York are busy serving arguments. Conant serves conclusions."

// Blogs and Newsletters //

• Snack reports that season five of Top Chef will be shot in NYC.
• Kathy Chan over at Serious Eats files a report on NYC's top ice cream sandwiches.
• Sometimes meals at restaurants with big names don't go as swimmingly as one would hope. Augieland documents a Father's Day travesty at Fromagerie in New Jersey.

// Upcoming Events //

What do Alice Waters, Mario Batali and Dan Barber have in common? They're all supporting the creation of the New Amsterdam Market at South Street Seaport. The third meeting of the market convenes tomorrow and brings together dozens of supporting producers, distributors, chefs and other advocates. Find more information here.

Terroir Wine Bar is celebrating its first annual Summer of Riesling Festival. The summer long celebration will explore "all that is great about this grape and its wines." Paul Greico and company will explore the entire world of Riesling, from its German roots to its manifestations in Austria, Alsace, Australia and Canada.

Savory New York One Sheet: June 5th - 13th

// This Week on Savory New York //

This week we've added a video for Danny Meyer's 2008 James Beard Award winning restaurant, Gramercy Tavern. Watch Danny talk about the restaurant's history and the importance of having food that expresses a sense of place and time.

We were fortunate to be able to attend this year's awards ceremony in the role of guest video bloggers as part of the official James Beard Foundation awards live blog. We joined an amazing group of bloggers, including Julie Powell, Snack, The Paupered Chef and Dr. Vino in reporting from the year's biggest and most anticipated food industry event. For a glimpse behind the scenes and video interviews on the red carpet visit the JBF's live blog web site.

Congratulations to all of this years New York winners, including Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali (Outstanding Restauteur), Gramercy Tavern (Outstanding Restaurant), Gavin Kaysen from Cafe Boulud (Rising Star Chef), John Ragan from Eleven Madison Park (Outstanding Wine Service), David Chang of Momofuku Ssam Bar (Best Chef, New York City), and also to Dan Barber (Blue Hill) and Anthony Bourdain who were inducted into the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America.  You can see the complete list of this years winners on the JBF web site .

// Recently Opened //

• Rose Club - Didier Virot of FROG signed on to help fancy up the menu here at this bi-level bar and lounge in the newly renovated Plaza Hotel.
• Talay - King Phojanakong, owner of Savory favorite Kuma Inn in the LES, is co-chef at this Thai/Latin restaurant in Harlem.
• Sheridan Square - Gary Robins, the talented former chef of The Biltmore Room and The Russian Tea Room is cooking by wood burning oven here in the West Village.
• Lookout HIll Smokehouse - Barbecued meat by the pound is now available in Park Slope.

//This Week's Restaurant Reviews //

• NY Times: Frank Bruni gives Ago, Agostino Sciandri and Robert DeNiro's new Tribeca eatery, the Times' lowest rating: 0 of 4 stars (Poor). He writes, referring to the breaded veal Milanese, "The one I had one night was pounded so thin that the breading on top met the breading on the bottom without pausing for much of anything in between. A vegan could have made peace with it." With a reference to Shelly Winters, a mysterious "special rack-of-lamb veal chop," and a sauvignon tsunami, the scathing review is one of Bruni's most entertaining in recent memory.
• New York Magazine: Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite look at pizza in Brooklyn giving 2 of 5 stars to each location: South Brooklyn Pizza, Toby's Public House, and Roberta's.
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams stops in at Moco Global Dining and Greenwich Grill, two Italian-Japanese restaurants. Moco is located in Murray Hill and Greenwich Grill is located in Tribeca.
• The New York Daily News: RG gives 2 of 5 stars to Alain Ducasse's Benoit. "When I think of Ducasse doing bistro, I imagine vivid flavors, complexity, history. But at Benoit I also found myself imagining something less exalted. I imagined fries that were hot and crispy when they came to the table. I imagined steak tartare that was something more than damp. I imagined I wasn't eating the world's most boring salad - the Parisian version of a chef's salad."

// Blogs and Newsletters //

Ruhlman posts a reaction to Kim Severson's NY Times story on Recipes from his friend, CIA instructor Mike Pardus. It's an interesting read on a less superficial opinion on what it means to be a chef.

Mouthing Off gives a sneak peek into the upcoming Aspen Food and Wine Festival

// In Other News //

Top Chef may be over but the juggernaut continues. The LA Times is featuring a profile of Padma, the self-described "anti-Martha Stewart."

// Upcoming Events //

Donna Lennard, the owner of popular Italian restaurant Il Buco, is premiering her film, La Raccolta (The Harvest) at the NYC Food Film Festival on June 18. The 30 minute film presents a touching portrait of a small community in Umbria, Italy during the annual olive harvest. If you love Il Buco or if olive oil plays an important role in your cooking you'll definitely want to head over to Water Taxi Beach this Wednesday to check it out. Find out more info on the NYC Food Film Festival web site.

Chanterelle is having their 10th annual rare artisanal sake dinner on June 25th (the 24th is sold out). This nine-course dinner with sake pairing is $275/person and include tax and tip.

Savory New York One Sheet: May 10th - May 16th

// This Week on Savory New York //

This week Elizabeth S. Bennett visits Bar Masa to round out her 'Best Chicken Wings' Destination Dish series. Find out whether or not master sushi chef Masa Takayama has the chops to turn out some of NYC's best wings.

The 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards are coming up in three weeks and will be hosted by none other than Sex and The City star Kim Cattrall. The awards ceremony will be held at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center on Sunday, June 8th. See the full list of award nominees here and watch Savory Cities videos of nominated chefs. Tickets are $450 for the general public and $400 for James Beard Foundation members.

Through a special arrangement with the James Beard Foundation we have a pair of tickets to give away to the awards. To be entered into a random drawing to win,  sign up for a Savory Cities account between now and May 31st. The winner will be announced on June 1st.

// Recently Opened //

• Scarpetta - Scott Conant, former executive chef and co-owner of Alto and L'Impero, has opened this sleek new Italian restaurant in the Meatpacking District.
• Hundred Acres - If at first you don't succeed, try try again. That's the motto of Cookshop and Five Points owners Vicki Freeman and Mark Meyers. They closed their recently revived Provence and reinvented it in a much more familiar format--homey seasonal American.
  

//This Week's Restaurant Reviews //

• NY Times: Frank Bruni gives 2 of 4 stars to Upper West Sider, Eighty-One. "Call it ego food — that may speak less to the satisfaction of customers than to the self-regard of proprietors, who want you to marvel at the effort-per-bite ratio and the variety of techniques at play." Peter Meehan visits East Village low ambiance all-stars Punjab and Polish G. I Delicatessen for the delicious curries and homemade soups, respectively.
• New York Magazine: Adam Platt visits Olana and Mia Dona and gives both restaurants 2 of 5 stars. About Olana, "The location might be a killer, and the décor is slightly overwrought. But we’ll give one star for the ambitious cooking and another for the desserts." About Mia Dona, "One star for the hearty Italian food, executed with flair. Another for the reasonable prices."
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams dines at Duane Park and notes some Southern touches that the chef brings to the cuisine as well as some unevenness in the execution.
• Bloomberg: Ryan Sutton visits Bar Q and I Sodi for cheap post-shopping eats.
• The New York Daily News: RG gives 1 of 5 stars to Ago. "But the pasta dishes - a bellwether of any worthwhile Italian restaurant - charted a much bumpier course. The veal-stuffed spinach cappelletti arrived in a greasy puddle of butter-sage sauce; the gnocchi tossed in a lamb ragu tasted like Play-Doh pelted with gravel; a bowl of spaghetti with clams and broccoli rabe was horribly oversalted."

// Blogs and Newsletters //

• NY Journal checks out the new BBQ joint, Wildwood Barbecue
• The Girl Who Ate Everything throws her opinion into the ring on Momofuku Ko (great pictures included).
• Midtown Lunch looks into the free McDonald's Chicken sandwich.

// In Other News //

May 14th was a big day in Chicago - Laurent Gras' much anticipated restaurant, L2O opened in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and the ban on foie gras was lifted. Champion of civil disobedience, Doug Sohn of Hot Doug's can resume sale of his foie gras dog without fear of $500 penalty (related: Sohn pays fine).

Over here at Savory, we're big fans of The Paupered Chef. While it's not a blog that covers restaurants, per se, we like to give them a shout out whenever they post something that tickles or fascinates us. This week, Blake takes us through curing his own guanciale. It's not something we're likely to do at home but it's definitely worth a quick read.

// Upcoming Events //

Prune is hosting a special dinner Thursday May 22nd honoring and celebrating wine importer Neal Rosenthal on his recently published book, "Reflections of a Wine Merchant." There will be two seatings; 6:30 and 9:30pm. Enjoy "delicious dinner, lots of excellent wine, a signed copy of the book, and conversation with Neal." Cost: $150. Call 212-677-6221 for reservations.

The lineup for this year's Big Apple BBQ Block Party was just announced and it looks like it'll be another great year. The event will be held, as always, in Madison Square Park and will run from noon to 6pm on Saturday, June 7th and Sunday, June 8. Get more details and watch our video interviews from last year featuring several of this year's pitmasters, including crowd favorites Mike Mills and Ed Mitchell.

Big Apple BBQ Block Party: Get to Know Your Pitmasters

The line up for this year's Big Apple BBQ Block Party was recently announced and it looks like it will be another great year of choice barbecue offered up by some of the barbecue world's finest pitmasters.

The event will be held, as always, in Madison Square Park. It will run from noon to 6pm on Saturday, June 7th and Sunday, June 8. Crowd surfing is free, but sampling the goods will cost $8 a shot.

Hardcore 'cue fans will want to pick up a FastPass soon. They're $100 each and are available to American Express cardholders. FastPass in hand, you'll be able to jump on the express lines and spare yourself the sometimes hour long waits to get fed. Get full details at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party web site.

Watch our short video interviews from the 2007 BABBP to get a flavor of what will be served up this year.

Mike Mills of 17th St Bar & Grill from Murphysboro, Illinois

Ed Mitchell of Mitchell's BBQ from Wilson, North Carolina

Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson's from Decatur, Alabama

Garry Roark of Ubon's BBQ from Yazoo City, Mississippi

Michael Rodriguez of Salt Lick from Driftwood, Texas

Jimmy Haygood of Black Jack from Charleston, South Carolina

Kenny Callaghan of Blue Smoke in New York City

Dinosaur BBQ, Hill Country and Rack & Soul of NYC will also be serving great BBQ this year.

Destination Dishes: Spicy Chicken Wings at Bar Masa

By Elizabeth S. Bennett

If munching on bar food isn’t your bent, perhaps you’ll reconsider in the sanctuary of Bar Masa in the Time Warner Center.

It may seem like folly to plunk down $15 for a few ounces of grilled chicken, but when you consider that Bar Masa’s wings are packed with at least three times the juiciness and flavor of your average hibachi wings, the dish starts to look like a bargain.

Each of the five little wings is cooked over a charcoal flame and painted with a light marinade of soy sauce, sake and ichimi chili peppers. They are grilled to a modest crisp and served with a lemon wedge and moist towel. Finger licking is discouraged at this understated and elegant locale.

If the wings look a little different than usual, it’s because the chef splits the arm in two—the part connected to the little drumstick—to create more surface area for the flame to catch. It’s a clever method that results in a wing that is cooked thoroughly but not for a minute longer than necessary. And because the drumsticks are relatively small, they don’t require much more heat than the arms.

Until recently, diners knew precious little about the provenance of their meals. These days, however, restaurants love to dazzle us with vivid verbiage about the lives—and deaths—of the animals we consume. They’re grass fed, grain fed, free range, line caught and—this just in—freshly killed. My server-bar tender at Bar Masa cheerfully announced that the bird from whence my chicken wings came was killed earlier that day. It’s difficult to know how to respond to such news, but the information goes a long way in explaining how chicken meat could be so impossibly tender. The less time it sits around, the more juice it retains and the better it tastes.

For Bar Masa customers who like to enjoy their meat in blissful ignorance, don’t ask and they hopefully won’t tell.

Atmosphere: Sophisticated and dimly lit

Notes: Reservations recommended but there is often room at the bar for small groups.

Elizabeth S. Bennett is a freelance writer living in New York City.

Bar Masa
10 Columbus Circle, 4th Floor
West 60th St. and Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-823-9800

Find out about other great restaurants on Savory New York.

Cool USC Beer Event: Beer Lore with Brooklyn Brewery's Garrett Oliver

Photo credit: mtkr on flickr

If you're a big time beer lover and are looking for a good excuse to play hooky on what will likely be a beautiful summer day you won't want to miss this one.

Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, author of The Brewmaster's Table, and seriously passionate beer advocate, will talk about the history and lore of beer  at this June's Union Square Cafe Morning Market Meeting.

I had the pleasure of hearing to Garrett speak at this year's Good Experience Live conference at the Times Center. He is a thoroughly engaging speaker and all around fun guy.

The event will be held at Union Square Cafe and runs from 8 to 10:15am on Wednesday, June 25th. Tickets are $60pp and will get you a nice sampling of beers, coffee, muffins and some face time with USHG honcho Danny Meyer and NYC's biggest beer advocate. As of this afternoon tickets are still available but they'll go fast so call 646-747-0581 to reserve today.

Savory New York One-sheet: May 3rd - May 9th

// New on Savory New York //

New York Magazine declared Resto's burger to be, "the greatest thing to happen to ground meat since the Kraft Single." See the burger and more in our new Resto video featuring owner Christian Pappanicholas.

Thinking of taking a cooking class this summer? Check out our list of classes at ICE and DeGustibus taught by some of NYC's top chefs.

Curious to know what the major critics think of the food at Momofuku Ko? Compare quotes side by side in our handy Momofuku Ko Superlative Matrix.

// Recently Opened //

• Abigail Cafe and Wine Bar - Abigail Hitchcock, the chef and owner of Camaje in Greenwich Village will open this new Prospect Heights spot with "a cozy, relaxed atmosphere with serious food and drink" this weekend.
• Cabrito - The old BarFry space at 50 Carmine has been converted to a Mexican restaurant featuring the cooking of David Schuttenberg, formerly of the Meatpacking District Malaysian joint Fatty Crab.
• South Brooklyn Pizza - Carroll Gardens gets another pizza joint featuring the handy work of a self-taught pizzaiolo. Opening hours are Wed-Sun from 5-10pm.

// This Week's Restaurant Reviews //

• NY Times: Frank Bruni gives three of four stars to Momofuku Ko. "Ko pares down stuffy atmospherics in a particularly thorough way. It wagers that for a younger generation more focused on food than on frippery, a scruffy setting, small discomforts and little tyrannies are acceptable — preferable, even — if they’re reflected in the price."
• Dining Briefs checks in on two Brooklyn neighborhood spots; Turqua Grill and The JakeWalk.
• New York Magazine: Adam Platt is off this week (again). The Underground Gourmet checks out The New French in his absence.
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams dines at I Sodi
• Bloomberg: Ryan Sutton visits Ko
• The New York Daily News: RG bestows a perfect rating to Eleven Madison Park. "The menu's bursting with sensational dishes: a peerless suckling pig confit capped off with a crackly strip of skin; a tuna tartare paved with a scene-stealing avocado cream, and a roasted loin of lamb with crispy wisps of artichoke."

// Blogs and Newsletters //

• NY Journal checks out Bar Q.
• Insatiable Critic visits Ko.
• Salli Vates goes to hidden East Village gem, Kyo Ya.
• NYCNosh visits a Savory favorite, Al di La.

// In Other News //

Half of the team behind Baskin-Robbins, and their 31 flavors, Irvine Robbins died this past week at the age of 90. Read about Robbins' legacy at The New York Times.

// Upcoming Events //

Get your tickets for Edible Brooklyn's annual Long Island wine tasting event, Brooklyn Uncorked, before they sell out. The good times will take place at BAM on Wednesday, May 14th from 4-8pm. In addition to a wide array of local wines, several local craft brewers, including Blue Point Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery and Sixpoint Craft Ales, will be on hand to offer samples. Food will be provided by Stinky Bklyn, Whole Foods Market, Bonita, Flatbush Farm, iCi, La Maison du Couscous, Little D Eatery, Palo Santo, Smoke Joint, and Stonehome Wine Bar. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online from Brown Paper Tickets.

The Momofuku Superlative Matrix

While I was adding the latest critic reviews to our Momofuku Ko listing on Savory New York tonight I decided to take a few extra minutes to quickly catalogue all of the food-related quotations in one easy to scan page. Enjoy!

Savory New York One-sheet: April 25th - May 2nd

Earlier this week we launched Savory Seattle in "preview" with a collection of video profiles featuring a handful of Seattle's top restaurants. See what Seattle chefs are up to at Brasa, Cafe Juanita, Earth and Ocean, Flying Fish, Lark, Matt's in the Market, Palace Kitchen, Rover's and Serious Pie. More to come soon!
 

Earlier today we added new videos on Savory Los Angeles for Cuidad and Border Grill featuring co-chefs and owners Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, the "Too Hot Tamales."

We also squeezed in some time to write up a recent visit to Momofuku Ko. Read about the meal, see the Ko timeline to date and take in some pretty amazing Ko stats.

To get this update via email each week, sign up for the Savory New York One-sheet newsletter.

// Recently Opened //

• Campo - A new Italian trattoria on Broadway in Morningside Heights. 
• Fish Market - The Fulton Fish Market may be gone, but fresh seafood can now be had again at South Street Seaport.

// This Weeks Restaurant Reviews //

• NY Times: Frank Bruni gives one of four stars to Commerce. "Commerce in one sense evokes the Waverly Inn and in another emulates Balthazar. But in the end it isn’t like either of them, which becomes clear when the menu arrives and, in its wake, the food."
• Peter Meehan eats ramen at Ippudo NYC. "As for the ramen itself, every noodle in every bowl of soup I slurped — particularly the spaghettini-size strands in the shiomaru and akamaru — was cooked perfectly al dente."
• New York Magazine: Adam Platt also visits Commerce giving it two of five stars. "More often than not, however, the food at Commerce is improbably good. The pasta list includes a deliciously effete version of spaghetti carbonara (with a barely cooked coddled-egg yolk, set in a white Parmesan foam with slivers of smoked bacon) and folds of handmade orecchiette smothered in a richly savory “odd things” (tripe, oxtails, pig’s trotter) ragù."
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams dines at Terroir.
• The Wall Street Journal dispatches their critic to Momofuku Ko, who was not blown away.
• Bloomberg: Ryan Sutton visits week old Benoit and newcomer Brasserie Cognac de Monsieur Ballon.
• The New York Daily News: RG is in Brooklyn this week at African spot, Korhogo 126 giving it 2 of 5 stars. "Some restaurants lack soul. Not Korhogo 126. You can taste the soul of its owners on nearly every plate."
• The Village Voice: Robert Sietsema visits Indian vegetarian restaurant, TamilNadu Bhavan

// Blogs and Newsletters //

• Grub Street entered into a blog post skirmish with Eater on the hot topic of longtime New York Magazine critic Gael Greene's shady rendezvous with a Craigslist date at Ko.
• Diner's Journal has is that the space formerly known as BarFry will quickly be remade into a Mexican restaurant opening next week. Per Nick Fox, via Florence Fabricant, Rick Camac and Zak Pelaccio are behind the project.
• The Wandering Eater has turned us on to BBQ Chicken & Beer at 232 7th Avenue between 23rd and 24th Streets.
• NYCNosh visits Craftbar.

// In Other News //

Andrew Carmellini is allegedly leaving A Voce despite recently announced news that the restaurant will open a Time Warner Center location.

The New York Times has an interesting article about endangered foods with cool map.

Food Tours: the newest food tour to hit the NYC hungry is from Scott Weiner who operates Scott's Pizza Tour. He'll take you to places like John's of Bleeker, Lombardi's and Luzzo's. Other notable food tours to consider:

Broolyn Pizza tour led by 92ndStY
NYC cabbie Famous Fat Dave will drive you around to his favorite spots
Savory Sojurns will take you on a classic tour of Little Italy

// Events Around Town //

Meet the Farmers dinner at Felidia dinner Wednesday, May 7th at 7pm. Join chef Fortunato Nicotra of Felidia and Upstate Farm's Michael Kokas for a seven-course spring menu featuring products from local farms. Local farmers will be present to help educate and discuss the difference between organic, certified organic, pastured, free range and more.

On Tuesday, May 13th Savoy will host its eighth annual Calçotada dinner, a traditional Catalan onion festival that marks the start of spring. Savoy's version of the event will include heaping platters of freshly unearthed grilled leeks, or calçots, which guests dip in romesco sauce and eat with their hands, as well as bountiful quantities of grilled lamb chops and housemade botifarra sausage. For dessert, crema Catalana will be served. As part of the festivities, attendees will sit at communal tables and partake in a never ending stream of rosé from porrons, (glass vessels with long spouts), while live flamenco music wafts through both floors of the restaurant.

On Wednesday, May 14th, the festivities will be repeated at Back Forty in the East Village. Weather permitting, dinner will be served on the backyard patio (if the weather misbehaves, in the dining room). The cost is $75 at Savoy and $60 at Back Forty. Call 212-219-8570 for reservations at Savory and 212-388-1990 at Back Forty.