Opening Report: Mr. Jones Finally Unveils Itself
East Village: Mr. Jones, the East Village's sleek new yakitori and cocktail joint, has finally unveiled itself to the public. After a small delay and a month of existing in a bizarre quasi-soft open state—the plywood was up yet persistent diners were still able to get served inside—the restaurant took down the plywood over the weekend. Most restaurateurs wait until their bunker-like cement facade is done, but to each his own. The menu will feature Chef Bryan Emperor's "updated interpretation of traditional Japanese yakitori." Status: Certified Open. 243 East 14th St., East Village; 212-253-7670 [EaterWire]
Grub Street takes Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto on a ramen tour of the East Village to judge the neighborhood's top contenders. After trying the offerings at Momofuku, Ippudo, Minca, Ramen Setagaya, and Rai Rai Ken, Morimoto chose, what else, David Chang's Momofuku Ramen as the best in the EVill (and in a sense, all of New York). [GS]
Eater Scenes: Norma's, Sunday Brunch
Welcome to our new photo series, where Eater photographer Daniel Krieger visits some of the city's storied restaurants to capture them at a certain, and very specific, point in the day. For our third installation, we visit Norma's at Le Parker Meridien for their Sunday Brunch
Krieger, 10/26/08
Norma's, the restaurant at Le Parker Meridian (that isn't Burger Joint or lesser known Seppi's) is the title holder for one of the most famous brunches in New York. Though it can seem overrun with tourists at times—mostly during the Holiday season when waits can exceed the two hour mark—on most Sundays, you'll get an even mix of out of towners and New Yorkers out for a solid brunch. Weekdays it's a big spot for Midtown business breakfasts. NB: reservations are accepted on OpenTable only, and if you indicate a time other than the one they give you in the special requests, they will honor it. Take moment to have a look around at the place on a typical fall Sunday.
· Eater Scenes: The Spotted Pig [~E~]
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· Eater Reader Survey [SurveyMonkey]
"Julie and Julia", the Nora Eprhon-directed, Meryl Streep-starring, film based on the blog and book of the same name is "finished and wonderful," according to Liz Smith. However, the powers that be are reportedly delaying the film until after Oscar season so it doesn't compete against Streep's other film "Doubt": "Meryl as Julia Childs has had to go back into the kitchen and wait for August 2009 to reveal her wonders." [NYP via SENY]
"For the last year, [Joe] Bastianich has been training for the New York City Marathon, and on Sunday, he will join more than 39,000 other runners at the starting line...Gone are the days of legendary feats of consumption with Batali, whose voracious appetite has been exhaustively documented. “We would eat from 2 to 5 in the morning, all night,” Bastianich said. It was not unusual to find him tucking into a 42-ounce steak for two at 3 a.m." [NYT]
The Gatekeepers: Mermaid Inn's Keith Mannino
Krieger, 10/26/08
Last fall, Danny Abrams brought his East Village "fish shack" Mermaid Inn to the Upper West Side. The space is remarkably similar to the downtown version, the crowd, remarkably different (very UWS). Perhaps more of a neighborhood spot than a destination, it's a place where local couples have standing reservations every week and Gatekeeper Keith Mannino knows exactly when to expect them.
Keith Mannino, Manager: When the cafe is open we have 92 seats. Without the cafe we have 74. No question, I prefer the front room the atmosphere is lively, the bar is there and we have the doors open in the summer months and cool store-front windows in the winter...If you are looking for a little quieter table away from the hustle and bustle, you may want to wait for a table in the back dining room where the new soundproofing on the ceiling has cut the noise level considerably.
8 PM on a Saturday night. What's the wait for a table? Can be up to an hour or more. Unless.......Is there anything I can say to make my wait shorter?
Seafood, Danny Abrams
568 Amsterdam Ave, UWS; 212-799-7400
Open nightly for dinner, brunch on weekends
Gov Paterson, the hunt for Absolut Citron.>>
Gothamist runs an extensive Q&A; with Andrew Carmellini. While he's cagey about his plans now that the deal on the Tasting Room space fell through—"I look at four or five spaces a day, every single day, trying to find the right balance..."—he has an interesting take on who he would hire: "Now sometimes stages make appointments, follow up, send their resume, and then don’t even show up- don’t call or anything. I’d rather have someone who has no experience, because then you can mold them to your style, and they’re more receptive to working the kind of progression you’ve set up for your kitchen." [Gothamist]
Good News/ Bad News: Tom: Tuesday Dinner
Tom Colicchio has served two meals so far (on the Tuesday debut two weeks ago and a surprise repeat performance that Wednesday) at his new experiment Tom: Tuesday Dinner, and already the pro critics, commenters, and user reviewers have weighed in. Tom is serving his second menu tonight (here later), and those lucky enough to have a resy or a spot on the waiting list can see what may be in store:
1) The Great News: Ryan Sutton is the first critic to weigh in after just one meal, and he has some good news: "Can the man still cook? The grub is pretty darn good. A stew of duck hearts (funky), cooked with bacon and paired with a bone marrow panini (oozy) spiked with aromatic white truffles could be the best-ever reinvention of the soup-and-sandwich...This is what Craft is famous for -- straightforward flavors, intensified. A slab of salty lamb bacon topped heady lamb loin. Warm, crispy cubes of pork belly crowned a cool terrine of pork. Too rich? A Riesling cut the fat." [Bloomberg]
Good, Great, Ok, ahead.>>We have Di Fara, Shake Shack, and Nathans, and Parisians have Le Relais de Venise. Until now. The steak place known for its interminable lines both at the original Paris shop and its newer London outpost is about to make its New York debut: "It will open next spring with 180-plus seats at Rudin Management's 590 Lexington Ave. at 52nd Street...Waitresses ask customers how they want their steak cooked. Each order comes with sauce...french fries and walnut salad.." [NYP]
The RG checks on Noho's Double Crown and enjoys the scene, the ambiance, more than the food. She awards it two stars: "In a room this lively you can't pay too much attention to the food. And at Double Crown, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The simple dishes here work well...But this isn't a restaurant given to simplicity...The food at Double Crown is all over the map." [NYDN]
Listage
The Rules at Big Nick's Laid Out in Signage [Flickr Photo Pool/La Mariposa]
· Shooting in Front of Cake Man Raven [NYP]
· Christine’s Restaurant Closes After 26 Years of Business [JVNY]
· Season 5 Cheftestants, Bravo Head Honcho on Top Chef NYC [Metromix]
· Four Seasons Restaurant Appraised at $30 Million, Sans Niccolini [NYP]
· On Weds, Swich Rolls Back Sandwich Prices to 67 Cents [NYM]
· Edgar’s Café Signs Lease on Second Location [Crain's]
· Halloween Parade Bar Crawl [Metromix]
EaterWire: Top Chef Tasting, Free Chipotle, Iuzzini Update, and More
TOP CHEFFAGE— Life Vicarious attends the Top Chef Taste of the 5 Boroughs Publicity Stunt/Charity Event at Grand Central today and comes back with the following notes: food was good and was, for the most part, abundant (Le Cirque ran out by 1 p.m.), a number of pseudo celebs were spotted, and last season's contestant Andrew put on quite a show. "...he started supreming fruit before carving into his finger, began bleeding, turned to the demo sinks disappointed to discover they're just props, was first handed paper towels, then a bandage, then finally left the stage as an EMT arrived..." [LV]
MIDTOWN— Mr. Cutlets reports that pastry chef Nicole Kaplan (formerly of Eleven Madison Park and Del Posto) was let go from the Plaza as a cost cutting measure. [TFB]
Iuzzini, Ramsay, Chipotle, ahead.>>ALERT: Eater Now Appearing On Twitter!
At this time, we proudly present Eater on Twitter (beta), an up-to-the-second stream of news on the New York restaurant, bar and nightlife scene. Some of what you can expect: Real time resy updates from the field, instant reviews, breaking news dispatches and much more. How it works (aka Where You Come In): by signing up for a Twitter account and following Eater NY, a process that takes all of four seconds, you'll get a live stream of Eater updates—and, if you choose, you can get them via text message, too. Then, when you tweet your intel to "@eaterny", your updates will appear along side ours for all to see. It's easier than it sounds. And this day, this moment, is far more epic than you might initially believe. Gratis advice: try it out.
· Eater NY [Twitter/eaterny]
· Cool new Eater/Twitter mashup [Twitter/eaterny]
The lovely people over at the Oak Room have sent over Joël Antunes' full menu, and let's just say there isn't an entree under $32 (and the rest hover between $38 and $75). Not the best time for a plate of $18 oysters and seaweed butter, but hell, it's the Plaza. You weren't really expecting a burger under twenty bucks. [EaterWire]
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