Grub Street New York

Schumer Shops at Costco; Pelosi Prefers East Village Cafés

Mike Vilensky — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:44:00 GMT

Our hip Madam Speaker was spotted on First Avenue this week, enjoying herself at corner coffee shop Tarallucci e Vino, while Senator Schumer stocked up on groceries at the Brooklyn Costco. Meanwhile, Luke Wilson took a date to Nello, and Da Silvano’s heated sidewalk seating drew the week’s biggest bold-faced crowd: A-Rod, Sean Lennon, and Wolfgang Puck. Elsewhere, Ramona Singer cried over halibut, and the East Side Social Club opened with a cluster of media types. More celebrity diners, below.

Bar Pitti: Ron Perelman ate at the Italian restaurant. [Page Six/NYP]

Charles: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen celebrated the 40th birthday of Bill Collage, the screenwriter who penned New York Minute. M-K paid. [Page Six/NYP]

Chat Noir: Real housewife of New York City Ramona Singer cried at her birthday party. Guests — including the whole Housewives cast — ate “black-cat burgers,” chicken, and halibut. [Page Six/NYP]

Costco: At the Brooklyn branch of the mega-market, Senator Chuck Schumer was spotted pushing his shopping cart like a layman. [Page Six/NYP]

Da Silvano: Sean Lennon dined outside with eight friends. (Heated sidewalk seating, woo!) Separately, chef Wolfgang Puck ate with his wife. At another lunch hour this week, A-Rod came by for some upscale Italian. [Page Six/NYP, Cityfile]

Del Frisco’s: New Jet Mark Sanchez lamented his team’s recent loss, with a large group of pals, at the fancy steakhouse . [Page Six/NYP]

East Side Social Club: The Pod Hotel’s new Italian spot gathered Mickey Boardman, Michael Musto, Olivia Palermo, Luigi Tadini, Ali Wise, Ally Hilfiger, and Patrick McMullan at a party for Minnie Mortimer’s spring 2010 collection. This place is off to an interesting start. [Guest of a Guest]

Esca: Meg Ryan dined with Nora Ephron. [Just Jared]

Eskimix: Tyra Banks checked out the city’s latest fro-yo outpost. [Page Six/NYP]

Indochine: Ivanka Trump celebrated her 28th birthday at the French-Vietnamese restaurant. [NYDN]

Le Caprice: Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey dined with Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz inside the Pierre Hotel. [Page Six/NYP]

Morandi: Halle Berry lunched at Keith McNally’s West Village spot. [Cityfile]

Nello: Luke Wilson took a female friend to the Upper East Side mainstay. [Cityfile]

The Russian Tea Room: At this classic Russian restaurant, Tim Burton toasted Johnny Depp, Patti Smith, and Helena Bonham Carter. [Page Six/NYP]

Tarallucci e Vino: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had breakfast at the East Village coffee shop. [Page Six/NYP]

Kurve Becomes Rhong-Tiam; Má Pêche Serves Cocktails

Alexandra Vallis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Brooklyn Heights: A River Café alum recently opened Iris Café at 20 Columbia Place with two other partners. The focus is breakfast and lunch. [Fork in the Road/VV]
East Village: Food-blog object-of-amusement Kurve will soon be reborn as an outpost of owner Andy Yang's Michelin-starred restaurant Rhong-Tiam. [Food Writer's Diary]
Midtown West: Má Pêche, aka Momofuku Midtown in the Chambers Hotel, serves cocktails (like a sesame old-fashioned) after 5 p.m., when the hostess counter is converted into a bar. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
Park Slope: The owners of Brooklyn Ice House just opened a bar called South on Fifth Avenue between 17th and 18th streets. [Brownstoner]

South Street Seaport: The New Amsterdam Market returns Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Basis farmer co-op will have a pop-up stand serving kabocha-squash soup, pumpkin bread topped with honey, and hot cider. [Grub Street]
Upper East Side: François Payard opened a chocolate bar in Mauboussin, and now his pastries are on sale at Butterfield Market. You can even order his Bûche de Noël for the holidays. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]

Florida Judge Denies Philippe’s Attempt to Throw Out Mr. Chow Suit

Daniel Maurer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:35:52 GMT

A Florida judge has blocked Philippe from dismissing numerous counts in the trademark-related lawsuit brought by Mr. Chow. Judge William H. Hoeveler of the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida granted Philippe’s motion to dismiss counts related to “corporate-espionage surveillance” (Mr. Chow claimed that a suspicious man who entered its Miami Beach kitchen dressed as a chef was attempting to steal trade secrets; Philippe insisted the man was merely visiting an old friend, and there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove that he was a spy). However, all of the other counts that Philippe had hoped to dismiss are still in play. The judge's order and a statement from Mr. Chow's attorney, Bert Fields, are below.

"We're pleased that the court has rejected the attempt of Philippe Restaurant to dismiss Mr. Chow's lawsuit. We will now proceed to trial as rapidly as we can. We want to show the public what these people have done. The suit has grown to include additional defendants and claims, including trademark infringement, deceptive and unfair trade practices, false advertising, misappropriation of trade secrets and more. We expect that the damages will exceed $10 million.”

Order Granting, In Part, Motion to Dismiss and Denying Motion to Strike [PDF]

Earlier: Mr. Chow Adds Backstabbing Chefs to $10 Million Lawsuit Against Philippe
Philippe Moves to Dismiss, Unravels Mystery of the Kitchen Spy

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: lawsuits, bert fields, mr. chow, philippe, trademarks, william h. hoeveler

Le Cirque Dabbles in D.J.’s and Doormen, But Don’t Call It a Nightclub

Daniel Maurer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:37:40 GMT

Mauro Maccioni, life of the party

When we wrote about the Halloween party that photographer Morgan Miller helped throw at Le Cirque, we hinted that he might start co-hosting regular events there. Sure enough, the first one will be thrown tonight on the restaurant’s lounge side, with Asia Argento’s husband, Michele Civetta, manning the turntables. Mauro Maccioni insists to us that “Le Cirque is not losing identity.” Though he admits his father, Sirio, is still getting comfortable with it, the paterfamilias is said to be okay with the soirées as long as they don’t interfere with the restaurant’s operation.

The parties will be thrown every Friday night, and they “won’t be a madhouse,” according to Maccioni, who’s also careful to say that “it’s not like a nightclub.” Rather, he and Miller will invite their friends, and a doorman will control anyone else who wants to join (Maccioni is working on securing a better-connected door person, but won’t reveal the name). If you aim to impress that doorman, take note: “I actually suggested people come in blazers tonight to maintain a very elegant standard,” says Maccioni. Adding to the elegance: a late-night menu, served till 2 a.m., that will include foie gras, caviar, smoked salmon, quiches, a croque monsieur, and sliders.

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Filed Under: hours of operation, le cirque, mauro maccioni, morgan miller, nightlife, sirio maccioni

Aunt Suzie's Owner Spoke Against Sick Leave Before Being Busted for Wage-Dodging

Daniel Maurer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:05:07 GMT

When Marc Murphy testified against a proposed bill mandating that restaurateurs provide paid sick leave, his director of operations made sure to point out that Landmarc treats its employees very well, thank you (among other things, they get five sick days after they’ve worked there a year). But here’s something interesting — another restaurateur who testified against the bill on Tuesday, Irene Lo Re, also happens to be the owner of one of 25 Park Slope restaurants that were busted by the state Department of Labor for underpaying workers.

Though the eateries weren’t named in yesterday’s press release from the labor department, the NY Daily News today revealed that the restaurants include Olive Vine Café, Sotto Voce, Sweet Melissa Patisserie, Baluchi's, Sette Enoteca e Cucina, and Aunt Suzie’s. And a call to Christine Quinn’s office reveals that Aunt Suzie owner Irene Lo Re spoke against paid sick leave. To make matters more interesting, Lo Re is president of the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District and she has also been a chairperson of Community Board 6. We’ve called Lo Re to find out what, exactly, it is that she doesn't like about the bill.

State Labor Department names Park Slope eateries that underpay staff [NYDN]
Earlier: State Busts Park Slope Restaurants for Stiffing Workers Out of Almost $1 Million
Should the Restaurant Industry Take Its Medicine and Allow Sick Leave?

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: health concerns, aunt suzie's, baluchi's, irene lo re, labor laws, landmarc, marc murphy, olive vine cafe, park slop, sette enoteca e cucina, sotto voce, sweet melissa patisserie, wages

Tables Available at Anthos, Benoit; Nobu Mostly Booked

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:00:01 GMT

It’s 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Certified Geniuses.

Adour Alain Ducasse (Menu)
212-710-2277
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:45 p.m.

Anthos (Menu)
212-582-6900
Two for eight? Yes

Benoit (Menu)
646-943-7373
Two for eight? Yes

Bouley (Menu)
212-964-2525
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10 p.m.

DBGB Kitchen & Bar (Menu)
212-933-5300
Two for eight? No
Best available: 11 p.m.

Eleven Madison Park (Menu)
212-889-0905
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10 p.m.

Esca (Menu)
212-564-7272, ext. 2
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10 p.m.

Falai (Menu)
212-253-1960
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:30 p.m.

Jean Georges (Menu)
212-299-3900
Two for eight? Yes

Nobu (Menu)
212-219-0500
Two for eight? No
Best available: 6:45 p.m.

Filed Under: two for eight, adour alain ducasse, anthos, benoit, bouley, dbgb kitchen & bar, esca, falai, jean georges, nobu

Openings Preview: First Look at Mile End

Alexandra Vallis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:26:00 GMT

In an opening report, deli expert David Sax hails the arrival of Montreal-style smoked meat in Boerum Hill: “The sandwich arrives Stateside in a few weeks, when Noah Bernamoff, a 27-year-old part-time Brooklyn Law School student and native Montrealer, expects to open Mile End.” Preview the space and the house specialty in our slideshow.

Opening: Mile End [NYM]

Mile End, 97A Hoyt St., nr. Atlantic Ave., Boerum Hill, Brooklyn; no phone yet

Egg Chef Is Now at Roebling Tea Room

Daniel Maurer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:03 GMT

The spread at Egg

Brooklyn Based reports that Egg, which just made Fork in the Road’s list of favorite Brooklyn restaurants has let go of chefs Millicent Souris (formerly of Queen’s Hideaway) and Stephen Tanner (formerly of Marlow &: Sons as well as Pies-N-Thighs). Souris “has now taken over lunch service at Roebling Tea Room: Scotch eggs, smoked trout on herbed lentils, biscuits to kill and die for.” Brooklyn Based questions whether the grub at Egg will be as good, but it may be a little Brooklyn Biased— Souris attended editor Annaliese Griffin’s wedding to Tom Mylan, after all.

Don't Quote Us [Brooklyn Based]

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Filed Under: chef shuffle, egg, marlow and sons, millicent souris, roebling tea room, stephen tanner

Paradou Owner Vows to Make the Streets Run With Blood

Daniel Maurer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:05:17 GMT

Paradou owner Vadim Ponorovsky just called us in a huff because he says that after Gawker and other blogs published an angry e-mail he fired off to employees, his wife, who answers the phones at Paradou, is now receiving anonymous death threats along the lines of “we’re going to kill you” and “we’re going to burn down your restaurant.” Vadim says, “This has now hit a point beyond civil discourse,” and adds, “You can quote me on this: Any time, any place (and you can put my personal e-mail, vadim@paradounyc.com), these fucks, if they want to send me an e-mail, I will crack every one of their fucking heads and make the streets run with blood. I will not have my family threatened by anyone. I will fucking slaughter all these people and dance on their heads.” Beyond civil discourse indeed!

Aside from the callers and e-mailers who he says are threatening his family, Ponorovsky is none too pleased with Ravi Somaiya, the author of the Gawker post. “This asshole never picked up the phone, never contacted me to find out what was going on. What kind of journalistic integrity is that? You know where that shit happens? Where I came from — Russia. ” He continues: “It truly shows the vapidness, the idiocy, the lack of education, the lack of understanding of our society. It really makes me disgusted to be a member of this city and this country.”

Earlier:Paradou Owner Says Tirade Against Staff Was a Restaurateur's ‘Howl’

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: beef, meatpacking district, paradou, vadim ponorovsky

GQ Names Jose Andres "Chef of the Year"

Hadley Tomicki — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:54:55 GMT

from Grub Street Los Angeles

Chef Jose Andres

Jose Andres has been chosen as GQ's "Chef of the Year." Alan Richman explains that even when immersed in molecular cooking techniques, it is the Spanish master's simplicity that is appealing. Richman details five tapas plates that seduced him at Andres' Jaleo, Minibar, and Zaytinya in D.C. and The Bazaar in L.A., from Ferran Adrià-influenced parmesan eggs migas to straight-forward selections of Iberian ham and Middle Eastern spreads.

Along the way, we learn that Andres was forced to master tortilla Espanola by an insistent Jean-Louis Palladin, who was not pleased with the version he'd ordered at Jaleo, and also that the chef is in his sixteenth year of playing with a recipe for modern patatas bravas despite the fact that everyone already likes them the way they are. Last month, Esquire named The Bazaar their "Best New Restaurant of 2009," making us curious what Andres has in store to build on his stardom in 2010.

Jose Andres: big Chef, Small plates [GQ]
Earlier: Jose Andres Sets the Table for Brunch at The Bazaar

Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts Want to Ruin Your Next Road Trip

Daniel Maurer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:40:05 GMT

After colonizing New York City and even getting a location on a crane at the Freedom Tower construction site (not to mention vowing to open 1,000 locations in Moscow), Subway is now taking over Connecticut’s highway plazas. A franchise that operates Subways in New York City and Connecticut has cut a deal with the state that will insure that there are Dunkin’ Donuts and $5 foot-longs at all 23 plazas. And this is exactly why we take back roads whenever we travel.

Subway will run Connecticut highway plazas [Stamford Advocate]
Subway eyes 1,000 Russian outlets by 2015 [Reuters]

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Filed Under: empire building, connecticut, franchising, moscow, subway

There’s a Churreria in Staten Island

Daniel Maurer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:15:00 GMT

We can now pack up the business plan we’ve had for years and throw it in the fireplace, because Fork in the Road has found a proper churro stand in Staten Island. Taza Churros has been open for several months now, but word from the fifth borough travels slowly. You can get the fried cake batter filled with guava or dulce de leche, and/or dusted with sugar or cinnamon — if cinnamon sticks is really what you want. But the part we’re excited about, since we prefer our churros Andalucía-style, and absolutely no one who currently sells them seems to be with us on this — if you ask, you can get large churros without any fillings or toppings at all.

Staten Island's Taza Churros Is a Storefront Shrine to Latin Donuts [Fork in the Road/VV]
Related: Why Are the City’s Few Churreros So Sugar-Happy?

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Filed Under: what to eat, argentinian, churros, mexican, spanish, staten island, taza churros

Department of Health: Tea Parlors, Bistros, and Slice Joints, Oh My!

Daniel Maurer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:55:05 GMT

Nam Wah Tea Parlor, which claims to be the first dim sum restaurant in Chinatown, still hasn’t reopened after its shuttering last week (the Chinatown time capsule tells us it’s hoping for next week), and now, according to Midtown Lunch, a new-school Chinese restaurant has been shut down, too. A Twitter message, now deleted, had claimed that Mantao Chinese Sandwiches was “closing for the holidays,” but now the shop tells Midtown Lunch it’s hoping to fix a broken boiler and reopen today. Elsewhere on the DOH front, Slice worries that the Department is cracking down on the sacred tradition of pizzas being kept out on counters for display, and Brooklyn Heights Blog notices that neighborhood bistro Le Petit Marche has been temporarily thwacked.

Twitter is the Latest Tool in DOH Cover Ups
Has the NYC Department of Health Delcared War on Reheated Pizza Slices? [Slice]
Le Petit Marche - DOH’d [Brooklyn Heights Blog]

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Filed Under: temporary closings, chinatown, department of health, doh, health concerns, mantao chinese sandwiches, nam wah tea parlor

Paradou Owner Says Tirade Against Staff Was a Restaurateur's ‘Howl’

Daniel Maurer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:07:02 GMT

Paradou’s weekly newsletters are so warm and welcoming (they’re how we found out about their three-for-one deal!) that it’s hard to imagine the man who pens them (owner Vadim Ponorovsky) as anything but a teddy bear. But a tipster has sent Gawker an e-mail in which Ponorovsky calls his employees “assholes,” “lazy motherfuckers,” and a “bunch of fucking children” who “should be fired immediately” because they failed to collect enough e-mail addresses from diners on a recent night. “I have absolutely no respect for any of you,” the e-mail goes. “Why? Because every fucking day, all of you continue to show that you have absolutely no respect for me or [partner] Alex [Volland]. So if you dont [sic] respect us enough to do the little that we ask you to do, then GET THE FUCK OUT YOU FUCKING LAZY DISRESPECTFUL ASSHOLES!!!!!” Whoa. Even though it’s been a week since Ponorovsky fired off the e-mail, he was still wound up when we asked him for an explanation today.

He tells us that after he sent the rant at 6 a.m. (he says he wasn't drunk, by the way), none of his employees bothered responding, though his partner Alex Volland did tell him it might have been a bit much — all the opposite, servers have stepped up their collection of e-mail addresses (the mailing list currently numbers around 13,000). However, Ponorovksy says he has received an e-mail from someone claiming to have 3,400 signatures of people who want to drive him out of business and get other restaurants to open their doors to his employees. Nevertheless, he 100% stands by the dress-down. In fact, he calls it “a restaurateur’s version of Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’ — like, ‘Jesus Christ, how many times do I have to do this shit?’”

“Out of the whole e-mail, the only term I regret is the ‘lazy mothertfuckers’ term,” Ponorovsky tells us. “The other profanity is a part of how I speak— I view curse words as basically emphasis adjectives.” Ponorovsky says that his background in marketing and advertising inspires him to run Paradou “without any layers. There’s very much a peer-to-peer relationship with the staff.” He says, “If you talked to anyone who ever worked for me, I could say without any sense of self-aggrandizement that they’d say I was the best boss they’ve worked for,” and to that end, he cites the fact that he gives employees their jobs back after month-long vacations, has never lowered wages or missed a payroll during the downturn, treats his employees to free post-shift dinners and drinks, lets their friends eat at generous discounts, has even paid for ESL classes and once gave a kitchen staffer $1,000 to send to his family after his brother died. (Ponorovsky says his kitchen staff is his gold: “Not to say I treat anyone better than everyone else, but as is the case at any restaurant, on a per-hour basis the waitstaff makes more than the kitchen staff — and you tell me, who works harder?”)

So why did a server presumably tip off Gawker? Ponorovsky blames “the culture of destruction that pervades America. We take great pleasure in tearing down success. The people who wrote the article for Gawker and sent it to Gawker gave no thought to what the repercussions of their actions would be. My actions, and my e-mail, was all about having them do what’s a part of their job, so that the restaurant could further its reach with our customer base.” Ponorovsky tells us that part of his frustration has to do with the fact that, when he was 28 years old, he was happy to be “making my age,” (meaning around $28,000), whereas waiters make significant sums per week. “It’s not an office job, like the one that I had. This is like, basically, hey, show up, don’t have too much of an attitude with customers, know the menu … it’s a minimal job, really. I’m not minimizing it — Great waiters are truly great waiters, and we have several of them, and there’s never any problem with them. But when you create an environment that relies on people to self-manage and do what’s required of them without much oversight, some will perceive it as a challenge and rise to it, and others will say, ‘it’s playtime, and I get paid!’”

“If my staff has the ability for self-reflection and seeing the big picture, they should ask, ‘Why would one of us fuck the rest of us so badly by damaging our ability to make money?” Ponorvosky says. “The first casualties of this will be the people who all of these protesters are ‘defending.’ No thought is given to ‘the trickle-down,’ to use Ronald Reagan’s favorite expression.” As for the people who are vowing to shut Paradou down, Ponorvsky says, “These people have no sense of rightness or goodness.”

By the way, if you want to be on Paradou’s mailing list — sign up at info@paradounyc.com!

New York Restaurant Owners Turn Evil [Gawker]

Update: Paradou Owner Vows To Make The Streets Run With Blood

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: beef, alex vollard, paradou, vadim ponorovsky

Rachael Ray Shows Martha Stewart a Thing or Two About Manners

Aileen Gallagher — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:40:03 GMT

Martha Stewart only sleeps three or four hours a night, she said last night on Nightline, which might explain why she's so cranky when it comes to Rachael Ray. So what did Madam Yum-O! have to say? Watch the video to see Ray respond to Stewart’s criticisms in a way so polite that even Martha must be impressed.