snack

snackspot: ne plus ultra

I was seduced into staying out late on a school night last Thursday with the promise of Stephan Trummer-crafted cocktails served to the beat of Junior Vasquez. A spot on VIP list and pocket full of drink tickets sealed the deal. The party's purpose was to launch Inter.Nation Thursdays at the brand new lounge, Ultra. 

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Stephan Trummer is the bar consultant and he’s made some interesting improvements on the concept of bottle service. While I understand the necessity of buying real estate in a lounge, I’m not really a fan. (Okay, except for that trip to Vegas, but that was research for the guidebook.) In today’s age of the hand-crafted cocktail, you can get better drinks at the bar, and cheaper. To ensure quality, they’ve got a special menu of ultra mixers, like cucumber juice and fresh passion fruit soda, liters of cocktails and the option to add flavored essence to your liquor of choice. Delicious and innovative. (Download ultra_bottle_menu.pdf)

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A good time was had by all, i.e. now you know why Friday was sans post.

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Tonight at Inter.Nation Bobby Blaze. 

snackspot: brasserie 8 ½ - escape the madness

It's December and I've a full roster of holiday drink meetings and dinners this month. But where to go? There are obvious choices, but December is the busiest month of the year for restaurants, so all of the obvious choices, hot new places or the top ten will be extra crowded. I like a great meal in a compelling setting as much as the next person, but I do not like crazy crowds, teeming bars and early-bird reservation times. To wit, I almost never, ever eat out on a Friday or Saturday night. So for the month of December I'll do the occasional post on where to go to escape the holiday madness.
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Julian Alonzo has been at Brasserie 8 1/2 since it opened in 2000. Given Gotham's penchant for the next new thing, you probably have not thought about it in a while. Over the years he's been evolving a very personal cuisine, with French and seasonal notes, and more recently, modern Spanish influences. He's dipped into the modern pantry of secret ingredients, with elegant and subtle results on the plate. You can enjoy the food without thinking about it. At a recent dinner, I had the chef's tasting menu, and really enjoyed it all.

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The restaurant is big, with 240 seats, a bar and a well appointed-lounge tucked under the grand spiral staircase that descend from the entrance of 57th Street. Which means they've got room for you after you take the out-of-towners to visit the big tree. Go - escape the madness.

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PS: As you know I do not review restaurants, but if I do recommend, I always disclose. My friend (the guide book editor) made the reservation and so we were comped. But I will spend my money there...soon. 

snackspot: masa - go for the blow

If a trip to Masayoshi Takayama's super-star sushi counter Masa is on your holiday wish list, you'll need to save some extra yen for the trip. Recently the price went up to $400 per person (from $350) for the omakase tasting menu - beverage, tip and tax not included. Note that, in spite of the price, now is the time to go because fish is best in the colder months. It's also the beginning of the season for that ultra-rare wintertime delicacy, and I don't mean white truffles (yawn). Fugu, known to gaijin as blow fish, is in season now until February.

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In other Masa news, sources say the shogun was recently scouting in London. He's also been out in Las Vegas on a similar mission. It looks like 2007 may see an expansion of Bar Masa (the less-expensive sushi and small plate bar concept) beyond the mall. It'll be interesting to see how multiple units work in a practical sense, because Masa-san is the only one who has the top-secret rice recipe. He, and he alone, makes the rice.

snackspot: konnichi wa union square

Danny Meyer and Michael Romano have inked a deal with Japanese restaurant group Wondertable to take their beloved Union Sqaure Cafe east - as far east as Tokyo. Union Square Tokyo is set to open Spring 2007 in a new Roppangi-esque development called Tokyo Midtown. It will be modern fine dining with the signature seasonal American menu. Note that it is both the first offshore deal for the Union Square Hospitality Group and the first franchise. Wondertable will own the restaurant and USHG will provide consulting on menus, staff, enlightened hospitality, and, of course, the use of the trademarked name.

snackspot: blt burger

I dropped in to BLT Burger on Friday night to see what the all hubbub is about. I was impressed with the controlled chaos, as the staff seemed to be effectively and sweetly corralling the crowds of burger-lovers.  And said burgers? 100% meaty deliciousness. I'm always amazed at how well this Frenchman channels Americana.

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If you'd stopped by on Friday afternoon, you may have encountered a 'closed' sign.You may have panicked and wonder 'what the....?' BLT Burger is supposed to be open without interruption. According to LT (Laurent Tourondel), between dinner service Thursday night and lunch service on Friday, they served close to 400 people. No small feat considering the place has about 44-seats. They were forced to close Friday afternoon because they ran out of food. They needed a few hours to put together the mise-en-place for Friday night. Crazy.

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470 Sixth Avenue, between 11th and 12th Streets. 212.243.8226.

snackspot: 13-15 west 54th street

I'm getting ready to do some snack renovations and thought it was time to delete the floor plans for Grayz, the Gray Kunz project in the old Aquavit space that has been scuttled since the renderings were posted up back in March. But perhaps they can be helpful to those chefs and restaurateurs interested in taking over the space ? Real estate sources say the initial asking rent is $550,000 annually, or a possible rent-plus-percentage combo. The 6 ,500 square-foot space is divided between the parlor floor (2,788 sq ft), the lower level (2,714 sq ft) and the dinning atrium (1,006 sq ft), with additional sub-basement storage space available (1-2,000 sq ft). Bonus: the initial demolition works has already been done. It's a legendary New York space. Should make someone a nice spot.

snackspot: dainel's bistro a vin

The Gourmet Insitute proved to be good hunting ground for news. In Daniel Boulud's "our favorite things" demo this past Saturday (cue Julie Andrews) we got a preview of his new yet-to-be-named bistro/wine bar, across the street from Lincoln Center at 64th and Broadway. It is still very much a work in progress, but the menu will feature "Gilles Vérot Selections ," and this is the big news. Monsieur Vérot is a fourth-generation charcuterie chef from St. Etienne. He has two shops in Paris, in the 6th and 15th arrondisements. On Saturday, he made a tourte de canard aux figues, with layers of succulent duck, foie gras and fruit gift-wrapped in pastry and baked to perfection. There was rillettes de lapin aux olives, his award winning fromage de tête and a show stopping gigot de sept heures aux epices. In France, his creations are recognized as the crème de la crème. In Gotham, a virtual charcuterie wasteland (different of course from all the Italian salumi on offer around town), he should be instantly crown the Pied Piper of pâté as soon as they open. When is that? Sometime next year, but not soon enough.   

snackspot: 525 broome at thompson

I spent Saturday afternoon up at the Gourmet Insitute. I went to Sam Mason's demo expecting to see pastry pyrotechnics, but instead was treated to a first taste of the menu for his new spot opening in Soho. For those playing along at home, Sam was most recently the pastry chef at WD-50, and is readying his first solo venture. Said venture, to be housed at 525 Broome Street at Thompson, is not yet named, but will be open from 6PM to 3AM. There are 50 seats, plus a cocktail lounge downstairs. Said venture is also running a month or two behind schedule and will open in 2007, January or February at this point.

The menu will be 70% sweet and 30% savory, with eight savory plates, eight sweet plates, and 3/4/5-course dessert tasting menus. But Sam's intent on blurring the lines between dinner and dessert. He mentioned a foie gras cupcake made with duck fat and duck butter cream as an appetizer and savory cotton candy. There will also be a 7-course tasting menu for $70, with the first iteration to be focused on chocolate. Sam explained that he wants the transition from savory to sweet to be imperceptible in the meal, moving from one to the next seamlessly -- similar, perhaps, to Jordi Burton's Espai Sucre in Barcelona.

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Saturday afternoon, Sam and his salty conspirator, Mr. Fran Derby, cooked up two dishes from the savory part of the menu. First was a pekin duck and eel terrine served warm with a chocolate consommé, garnished with homemade pickled cherry and fresh marjoram. Next came pork belly with whiskey braised artichoke, white miso butterscotch, green apple and chervil. Perhaps it sounds strange, but they were both quite good. Full range of flavors, nice textural combinations – and neither too sweet nor too salty.

If you're skeptical of sweet food – and are shaking your head with a 'tsk tsk what is he thinking?' consider this. Sweet savories have been around for centuries. Recall all the classic combinations: lamb and mint jelly, pork chops and apple sauce, foie gras and figs, prosciutto and melon, chocolate mole sauce. You already like them. 

snackspot: shake shack – no fly zone

Shake Shack-mania has hit an all-time high in Gotham this season. The epic food lines seem to indicate it is the most popular restaurant in the city, the only one with live on-line coverage. The installation of the Shack Cam is a very nice public service offered for free from the very nice (and savvy) Danny Meyer. But what about the other public services, i.e the bathrooms, particularly since it’s Shacktoberfest with eight different kinds of beer on offer. I’ve asked the Meyer camp what they suggest. A source there says they’d prefer you not test their legendary hospitality by sneaking in to use the facilities at nearby Meyer-owned establishments Eleven Madison Park and Tabla.

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Which means sneaking in to one of the fast-food joints on 23rd Street.

snackspot: halal cart astor place - part deux

Recall my summertime post asking for someone to vet the offerings of the halal cart on Astor Place?Well, I finally got a hollerback from a snacker who recommended the lamb gyro as "unadulterated meaty deliciousness."  I picked up lunch there yesterday, and can now confirm said deliciousness.

Now has anyone been to the smoothie cart around the corner on 4^th Avenue? I need a little something to wash down that gyro.