snack

snackwire.national: word up, locavore

"Locavore" is the 2007 New Oxford American Dictionary word of the year. Nice to see green cuisine well established. But how about a new word for foodie? Maybe we can work on that for '08. Full press release after the jump. 

snackwire.nyc: solex and the mythical chef

A new French wine bar, Solex, opened in the East Village this week. Notable players are  Frederick Twomey of the Bar Veloce empire, front-of-the-house man Christophe Charton-Michaud and a chef who's "reputation borders on mythical among chefs in New York." Full release after the jump.

snackwire.las vegas: tourondel doubles down at the mirage

Continuing his march to world domination, Laurent Tourondel has inked a deal to open a BLT Burger at the Mirage in Las Vegas to open spring 2008. Full press release after the jump.

planesnack: eigo o hanase mas ka?

A friend is heading to Tokyo next week. He does not speak Japanese, nor is he the type to go to Berlitz or listen to language lessons on his ipod. But he is the type who plans to have an Ido adventure and eat and shop. I can say from experience, Japanese is not one of those languages, like Spanish or French, where you can bluff your way through just by adding an accent or a couple le's and la's. My Lingolook Japan might be the thing for him. It's a small folio of flashcards with images and words to get you through your trip, petit enough for a purse or suit coat pocket. Given that his gaijin accent will likely have negative impact on what he means to say, the idea is to pull out the cards, point and say - moo sukoshi kudasai. Crystal clear. If the card thing is a bit too cute - there's an electronic version to download to various iphone and pda devices. Lingolook is also available in Chinese and French version. Sore ni shimas!

unsnack: cavalli? or not to cavalli?

Tomorrow at 10AM sharp, the Roberto Cavalli collection debuts at H&M. The maestro himself will be at the 5th Avenue flagship store. Expect lines around the block and 100% insanity. The hard-core fashionistas will go back for seconds later in the day to check out the re-stock. If you plan to go with one of your peeps, make sure she does not wear the same size as you. Who wants to test the limits of friendship fighting over who gets the last size 6 beaded dress? Most of the collection is dresses, with a couple shirt and a version of le smoking, meaning everything needs to be tried on for fit. Given H&M's generous 30-day return policy, the savvy move is to avoid the dressing room lines, buy what you like, try it on later at home, and then return once the madness has subsided. I've been coveting a Dolce & Gabbana leopard print dress (would be perfect for a restaurant opening), but have not pulled the trigger because it is three grand. One of the Cavalli numbers for two hundred, might do the trick.   

UPDATE NOV 8TH: Shop Cavalli at H&M today vicariously at Racked. Game on.

hotsnack: who is nyc's hottest chef?

Today, over at the Daily News they've launched a contest to see who is New York City's hottest chef. It's not a free-for-all to nominate your personal favorite, but a choice between Benedetto Bartolotta, Johnny Iuzzini, Craig Koketsu, Sam Mason, Todd Mark Miller, Todd Mitgang, Michael Psilakis, Aaron Sanchez, John Schaefer, Michael Schulson and Fabio Trabocchi. You win a $150 gift certificate at the winner's restaurant. They win bragging rights. Note you have to register to vote, which means this is a flashy way for the Daily News to build a database. Though it seems they only want names from the tri-state area as the 'state' category on the registration form only allows for NY/NJ/CT. Voting ends at 11:59 PM November 12th.

snackwire.national: 20 essential books to build your culinary library

Here's a list of the 20 essential books to start your culinary library from the James Beard Foundation's Book Awards Committee. There are books for barbeque, Chinese, seafood, vegetarian, Mexican, wine, baking and desserts. I am surprised that Larousse Gastronomique, the encyclopedia of French cuisine, is absent. And Japanese? Noticeably absent, though arguably one of the most significant ethnic influences in 20th century American cooking. Sushi alone has had prolific impact. Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, is considered by most to be the definitive tome.

Complete press release and list after the jump. Comments are open for debate.

snackingaround: chef diaries

Recall back in August, pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini launched his website. The updates on the 'what's new' page are particularly tasty. In September he had the opening party for Tailor. In October, he was filming Top Chef Season 4 in Chicago. It's worth a click, if only to see him wearing 42 jars of marshmallow fluff.

Another chef diary worth a stop is Mario Batali's blog. Yes, there's the new the super-video series Unclogged on Serious Eats, but I am referring to the blog on his website. It's more stream-of-consciousness diary entries like this post from October 3rd:

Start the day with rain and a swim, some tech difs to get the cars  rolling and then off to Toledo with gogo driving mostly fun and real conversations, Charlie pushing for come contrived dialog did not really hurt, arrive in Toledo and then realize we did not want to arrive in Toledo a little shit fit from chucky and we are back on the road to arrive at adolfo’s house MY DREAM HOUSE smokin patio with catering facility and great kitchen, in house cantina delicious wine super hospitality shot a cooking sequence with gp and adolfo made pisto manchego (wow) arroz con azzafran (wow) torrijas a kind of wine soaked French toast with reduced wine and cinnamon sugar and then perdiz 2 ways legs braised in stock and grilled breast RARE!!  Gp would not eat it rare and I should have listened?.

*Note Gp. Gwyneth Paltrow.