snack

snackology: updated posts

Snackology is the category where I take care of Snack business, like announcing a new addition to the page. Note on the left column is a fairly new list titled Posts Recently Updated. Given how the blogoshpere is interactive and often creates a chain reaction, it seemed a practical thing to do.

Take the most recent addition: I posted last week that Alinea might open in New York City, which prompted a letter from Grant Achatz to Time Out New York explaining - yes he almost signed a space in Soho, and he loves the city, but he has no hard plans to open here anytime soon. So this epilogue and link get added to the original post, in case anyone should stumble upon it, they will now how the complete and current story.

This has been a Snack PSA.

hotsnack: crazy rumors on the street

I just heard the craziest rumor - that Alinea is opening in New York City (and I stress the 'crazy' and 'rumor'). I also just heard that Charlie Trotter signed his Manhattan lease, potentially opening in 2009 (not 'crazy' or 'rumor'). Who knows, maybe 2009 will be the year Chitown takes the Big Apple.

UPDATE 3.31.08: Time Out New York gets a letter from Grant Achatz who writes:

"The rumors started with good reason. We started aggressively looking for spaces in Manhattan about two months ago." Indeed they were close to signing a deal, when they decided not to sign the deal.

"New York carries that stigma of being the big pond. And of course chefs outside of the big pond, for whatever reason, feel they need to enter that arena to prove themselves. Basically that amounts to ego as the impetus for a New York opening. It didn’t take long to realize that wasn’t a good enough reason to open there. I kept asking myself what I had to prove, and to who."

But never say never. Achatz writes "I expect we will open in New York eventually. I love the city." 

snackwire.chicago: c-house opening april 26th

Chitown's wait for Marcus Samuelsson's new seafood restaurant C-House in the Affina Hotel is almost over. The opening date has been set for Saturday April 26, 2008. Mark it on your calendar and do click through to the press release for all the details.

UPDATE 4.1.08: The opening date has moved forward to sometime in May.

snackingaround: do you have time to join another community?

I've been getting a lot of emails from new foodie communities online. Create a profile! Post restaurant reviews! Make foodie friends around the world! Recent additions are Eats.com, TasteSpace, FoodBuzz, and FriendsEAT. Add these to the old guard of eGullet and Chowhound and the profile community interface on media sites like Zagat, Savory Cities, Chow, Serious Eats, and Gourmet.com and I wonder when or if we reach the point of maximum saturation? Do you have the time to join another online community?

snackstuff: artful cookies

I recently came across these Keith Haring cookies, made by Nuit Blanche Paris. They also have products for Robert Mapplethorpe, Tom Sachs, and The Guggenheim NY. Later this fall, they'll launch an Andy Warhol Confectionery Line. Leave it to the French to come up with a concept that combines sweets and contemporary art. Though it is an interesting exercise in branding. If an artist can brand a cookie, well that certainly opens up the possibilities to what a chef could brand beyond the culinary, like a luxury watch for example. That is much more interesting than pots and pans. Chef as lifestyle brand - it can't be too far away.

unsnack: working out 360 with ac

I was up in the gym working on my fitness the other day (because not all food bloggers and writers are big ya know) and wound up doing an extra 15 minutes on the elliptical machine. Not because I was feeling the burn, but because I was mesmerized by the sight of Anderson Cooper working out while the TV above his head played CNN. I was not 100% convinced it was him though. He looks a little different doing ab crunches in shorts than he does wearing Prada with a disaster behind him. (I'd say he's buff - but in desperate need of a tan.) The next time I saw him, he was on the weight machines working out with a trainer. I sat down in the machine next to him to hear his voice, figuring that would confirm it. Indeed it was AC. When he walked past me, I caught the back of his navy blue t-shirt which had the biggest US State Department logo I've ever seen, from Baghdad Iraq natch. Just a few machines away was Amanda Lepore working out with her posse. Then the DJ started up his live set. Just another Thursday night at the gym.

tvsnack: top chef spoilers - early eliminations

I'm thrilled to see Chicagoland's media getting in the Top Chef game with stake outs and spoilers beyond the approved press release intel. Case in point: Time Out Chicago's excellent reconnaissance on the Top Chef house at 2637 North Paulina Street complete with photo documentation.

"But where’s Erik, Nimma, Nikki and Manuel? Oh yeah, they’re not in the picture. Because those suckers had already gotten kicked off."

snackwire.national: kiddie chef casting call

Do you think your kid has a knack for cooking and an interest in the environment? Maybe they're the next Rachel Ray or Al Gore. Do you have the chops to be the ultimate stage parent? Whole Foods Market is doing a national casting call for kids aged 8-17 to host their new online show "Whole Earth Generation." Entries can be submitted here on YouTube - or if you're in New York City, there's an open casting call at Whole Foods on the Bowery tomorrow from 10AM-2PM. Complete press release and details after the jump. 

tvsnack: top chef

Tonight is the premier of Top Chef Season 4 Chicago. I know I should be excited as it is my second city, and I'm sure my enthusiasm will grow episode by episode as will my affection and aversion for the new batch of cheftestants. But I almost wish we could just fast forward to Top Chef Season 5 New York City.

Previously: Top Chef the Cookbook

snackwire.seattle: seattle soundbite chef rock

I thought I'd seen every permutation of the chef tasting event for charity and doubted whether it was possible to come up with something new. My in-box proved me wrong. This Sunday the first ever Seattle Soundbite takes place serving street-style food with live performances from seven restaurant bands. Rock on. Complete press release after the jump.