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

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.

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.

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.

Savory Seattle Preview: Rover's

This coming week brings the release of Savory Seattle, our guide to the best dining options in the Emerald City. In the mean check out this preview segment featuring the original Chef in the Hat, Rover's chef and owner Thierry Rautureau.

Savory New York One Sheet: April 11th - April 17th

Recently Opened

• The Habitat - Casual fare served up in a rustic atmosphere in Greenpoint.
• Panificio - A new Italian opens up in the old Uovo space in the East Village.
  
• Brasserie Cognac - A Balthazar-inspired brasserie from the team behind Geisha and the Serafina restaurants.

This Weeks Restaurant Reviews

• NY Times: Frank Bruni reviews Alain Ducasse's Adour giving it 3 of 4 stars. "I consider Adour a qualified victory. It’s not through-and-through rapturous, but it’s first-rate: polished service, a knockout wine list, beautiful oil-poached cod, gorgeous roasted lamb and exquisite desserts, courtesy of Sandro Micheli, the pastry chef."
• Peter Meehan travels to Williamsburg for arepas at Shachis. In related news, Eater posted a rumor that Meehan has turned in his resignation.
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams visits Olana. Adams hates the interior design, comparing it to a "suburban Radisson" but loves the Italian-influenced menu. 
• The Village Voice: Robert Sietsema eats cock, lives to tell about it. We're talking about a male chicken here, of course. Sietsema visits Agnanti in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. There are some misses on the menu but many hits including the Dolmades Yianiantzi (stuffed grape leaves) and "King of the menu is a rooster stewed in tomato sauce ($16) and smothered in tiny serrated squares of pasta. Who'd believe that a tough old cock would cook up so juicy and flavorful?"

Blogs and Newsletters

• Grub Street reports that Boqueria will open a second 90-seat location in SoHo this fall.
• Gotham Gal dines at Ago.
• Gothamist checks on Kyotofu's spring menu.

In Other News

Ruhlman posted about a story that we heard Dan Barber tell the other day at a luncheon to promote the launch of the Cool Foods Campaign. It was story of a foie gras producer in Spain who is raising geese with fattened livers without using gavage, or a force fed diet of corn. Dan was hugely impressed with the quality of the end product, but he was even more impressed that the animals ate at at their own leisure and that they were protected by a one-way fence, which was designed only to keep predators out. The proud farmer told Dan that as long as he provides the geese with everything they need, they will have no reason to leave. This has been so successful in practice that the farmer has even had wild geese join his flock on the farm.

This story provides just one example of how an individual is having a big impact on the environment. The Cool Foods campaign was created to spread this message and to encourage people to make sustainable food choices at the market and in restaurants. Here are 5 food-related suggestions that will help reduce global warming:

1) Eat organic
2) Buy  locally grown foods
3) Reduce meat and dairy consumption
4) Avoid processed foods
5) Reduce the use of excess packaging, e.g., use canvas bags over plastic at the grocery store.

To learn more about the Cool Food Campaign and to sign the Cool Foods pledge visit http://coolfoodscampaign.org.

Reservation Line Open for Laurent Gras' L.20

We've been following the entertaining and informative blog written by Laurent Gras and crew as they prepare to open Gras' new Chicago restaurant, L.20.

Today we were excited to see that the restaurant is now accepting reservations. You can call the restaurant to see if they have a table or check out Open Table.

Zagat Restaurant Videos

It's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that's the case then we are extremely flattered to help introduce zagat.com's new video feature. The videos, available for the "hottest restaurants and chefs" in NYC and LA, are produced by LX.TV which was recently sold to NBC for a reported $10 million after being incubated at Apax Partners for nearly two years. Most of the Zagat videos are recycled LX content hosted by LX standbys like the pulchritudinous Sara Gore and the ebullient Cecile Raubenheimer, but the new videos (notably Bobo) pay a striking resemblance to the Savory style, with the focus set squarely on the chef or restaurateur rather than on a host or guest expert.

LX.TV host Sara Gore and a pre-NYDN Restaurant Girl get down to business with Picholine's Terrance Brennan.

The LX deal doesn't come as a surprise, especially given that former Zagat president, Ted Zagat, is pals with with fellow Harvard alum and LX co-founder Joe Varet, who presumably approached the family about a tie up some time ago. More recently, LX.TV featured a Five Minutes with Mo Rocca segment starring Tim and Nina and using a handful of their favorite hangouts around the city as the backdrop (watch the original here or more revealing and humorous uncut version here). Also of note is Zagat's partnership with NBC's The Today Show on its recent Fast Food Chains Survey.

The addition of video is the latest in a flurry of new features added to the site to compel more people to become loyal users of zagat.com. Around two years ago the company started directing significant resources toward the development of its web site. Notable additions include maps, menus, photos, supplemental yellow page listings and "virtual tours."

An apparent lack of growth and mounting pressure on Zagat's subscription-based business model from the myriad of web sites offering free restaurant information, ranging from Google Maps to the thousands of restaurant-oriented blogs and everything in between (like Yelp, Citysearch, Metromix, Boorah, Urbanspoon, little old us, etc.), must have made the Zagats more than a little nervous about the prospects for successfully transitioning their business from print to digital. In that regard the news of the Zagats putting the company up for sale didn't come as much of a surprise either.

Given the success of its founders up to this point in turning their last name into a household word, enjoying A-list celebrity treatment in top restaurants around the world and building a modestly profitable enterprise (the company reportedly generates $8-$10 million in EBITDA on revenues estimated at $25-$50 million) in the world's greatest city it only makes sense to hear that Tim and Nina want to cash out for a well earned retirement after 28 years of hard work.

It remains to be seen whether they'll be able to get their lofty asking price of $200 million. Recent reports indicate that might end up being tricky. In the mean time we'll keep our eyes out for more entertaining restaurant videos featuring lively hosts and charming guest experts.

The Savory New York One-Sheet: April 4 - April 10

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Recently Opened

• Bar Q - Annisa chef Anita Lo's new Asian BBQ restaurant in Greenwich Village. Check out our impression from opening night on Savory Tidbits.
• Bar Milano - The crew behind 'ino, 'inoteca and Lupa have opened another Italian restaurant, this time in Gramercy park. They open early (7am) and close late (3am).
• A Casa Fox - Melissa Fox went from passionate home cook to successful caterer Lower East Side restaurant owner. Stop in for Fox's take on Latin cooking.
• Cho Cho San - A new Japanese restaurant from a former opera director and the former chef of Taste of Toyko now open on 8th Street in Greenwich Village.
• Fig and Olive Midtown - The third location of this popular Mediterranean restaurant just opened on 52nd Street between Fifth and Madison.

 This Week's Restaurant Reviews

• NY Times: Frank Bruni reviews Chop Suey located in Times Square and gives it one star. Despite a stunning view of the landmark area, Bruni gets right down to it not even a quarter of the page down with, "Chop Suey, which mingles Korean and other Asian traditions, is an uneven mash of inspiration and clumsiness."
• Eric Asimov takes a look at the city's wine bar trend.
• In Dining Briefs Frank Bruni revisits at Momofuku Noodle Bar, "service was expert, and so, in the end, was most of the kitchen’s output." Peter Meehan stops into Savory favorite Beer Table and calls it "a fantastic spot for Park Slopers looking for a civilized way to wind down and a new pilgrimage site for beer geeks citywide."
• New York Magazine's Adam Platt scores a reservation at the 14-seat Momofuku Ko and gives the restaurant 4 of 5 stars after just one meal. "Should we subtract a star for the absurd reservation system? But then we’d have to add it right back because the price is so good. And then there’s the food, which Chang, already a multi-star chef, takes to another level."
• Bloomberg: Ryan Sutton checks out the new De Niro TriBeCa spot, Ago. "Save money: Split everything. Portions are mostly huge. Perhaps that's why boar pappardelle costs $26. The payoff? Perfectly al dente noodles, rich meat. For $24, heady veal inflates pockets of verdant pasta."
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams visits Eighty-One and notes that it "feels like it is run by a bunch of well-funded children doing their best to play Restaurant, with all of the trappings and none of the understanding."
• The New York Daily News: RG gives 2 of 4 stars to Eighty-One. "Eighty One puts a high premium on luxury ingredients with downright lofty prices; the contemporary American menu is peppered with foie gras, sweetbreads and truffles."
• The Village Voice: Robert Sietsema goes to Soba Totto. "The list of skewers once again concentrates on organic chicken, including parts you probably never would have eaten. Nonkotsu ($3) is the creature's sternum, an aerodynamic-looking bone that's ganged up three to a stick like jet planes flying in formation, producing a soft crunch as you bite down....Chicken meatball and chicken skin are the awesomest, the chicken skin cut in little coins and stacked vertically on the stick rather than pinned to it like a sail."

Blogs and Newsletters

• Brooklyn Based turns us on to gold twinkies (available weekends only) at Jan and Daya Bakery.
• Grub Street has it that Cafe Gray located in the Time Warner Center is closing June 30th.
• Gotham Gal decides to dine at Craftsteak despite the gloomy reviews it received when it opened two years ago.
• According to Strong Buzz, Alain Ducasse will open the New York location of Benoit on April 21st in the former La Cote Basque space on West 55th Street.

Events Around Town
Beer Table in Park Slope is opening its doors early on Saturday 4/12 from 3-5pm to pour a special gravity keg of Uerige DoppelSticke. This fine brew is an unfiltered, unpasteurized, "vibrantly hoppy, malty, delicious beer that's so special that we couldn't resist giving it a couple of hours alone in the spotlight."

In Other News

If you haven't heard by now we're sorry to say, Meatpacking District pioneer Florent will close it's doors on June 30th. Word on the street is that they've been playing to packed crowds as diners run to get in a last meal. A friend who had a recent meal there reports that the food was very good.

Wd-50 will start serving lunch Wed-Fri starting April 23rd. a 7-course tasting menu will be $75.

The Savory New York One-Sheet: March 28 - April 3

Recently Opened

• Ago in TriBeCa - Robert DeNiro and Agostino Sciandri's take on an upscale Italian trattoria. Located in the new Greenwich Hotel.
• Artichoke in the East Village- via Slice, "Manhattan has its Di Fara." —Eric Miller, tipster
  
• Greenwich Grill in TriBeCa- A Japanese take on California-Italian upstairs and Edo-mae style sushi downstairs.
• City Burger comes to midtown- via Grub Street: a pizza pedigree, Pat La Frieda meat, and chain aspirations.
  

This Week's Restaurant Reviews

• NY Times: Frank Bruni reviews Mia Dona and gives it 2 of 4 stars. "The food is robust, often rustic and sometimes proudly unsubtle, hammering away at its intended effect. Mr. Psilakis wants to give an appetizer of fat, tender grilled octopus a salty charge, and does he ever, courtesy of capers, caper berries, olives, melted feta and an anchovy vinaigrette."
• Peter Meehan visits reborn Greek favorite Philoxenia in Astoria.
• New York Magazine's Adam Platt checks out Eighty One and gives it 2 of 5 stars. Platt has mostly positive feedback on the dishes he and his companions ordered but had a bigger issue with the prices. "There are usually two reasons to peddle food this expensive. The first is that good ingredients cost a lot; the second is that really expensive ingredients help to convince a certain kind of diner that what they’re eating is actually very good."
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams visits Merkato 55. "I liked the restaurant — the space, the people, and the ideas — but really there aren't that many dazzling dishes."
• The New York Daily News: RG gives Merkato 55 2.5 stars. "Merkato 55 is Ethiopia by way of a splendid, butter-spiced lamb and South Africa by way of mustard-spackled venison skewered with apricots and smoky chunks of bacon."
• The Village Voice: Also out in Astoria this week is Robert Sietsema who pays a visit to the Portugese restaurant Arcos.

Blogs and Newsletters

• Diners Journal: "...with all due respect it was not the reservation system i was explaining rather it was the way in which the internet works." Frank Bruni posts about his frustrations with trying to score a reservation at Momofuku Ko and then follows it up with a funny exchange that a reader emailed after the post, chronicling an interaction between someone at Ko and the reader.
• Mouthing Off contributor Grace Parisi details a sophisticated cocktail crawl for Brooklynites or those who want to get off the small island and onto the long one for a few drinks.
• Grub Street turned us on to TONY's excellent green market chart.

Featured Savory Member Review

Duane Park by margaret b.

Food Rating: 3 stars  
Service Rating: 4 stars

sat in the window seat. extremely cozy yet not informal, just perfect balance of elegance and comfort. food was not amazing but service was extremely pleasant and attentive and made up for the food, which was not terribly pricey either. i would def go back.

Events Around Town
Pasta dinner at Telepan on April 14th with wine pairings from Piemonte, $150/person (not incl tax and tip).

In Other News

Food&Wine announced it's list of 2008 Best New Chefs and Michael Psilakis of Anthos, Kefi and Mia Dona is their pick for for NYC.

A few weeks ago we pointed out Metromix's interview with Village Voice food critic Robert Sietsema on the subject of anonymity. Since then, a few other critics have weighed in on the debate. Eater links off to Paul Levy's thoughts on the subject and follows a rebuttal from former NY Times food critic Mimi Sheraton.

Let the ramp frenzy begin!