[Photo: Minibar/Ken Wyner]
Today Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema gave the new incarnation of Minibar by José Andrés in Washington, DC a tepid two-star review, downgrading it from its original 3.5 stars. Andrés is not pleased. Sietsema tweeted the review, saying, "The return of minibar by @chefjoseandres is not what I had hoped." Andrés was quick to reply, "I'm disappointed too You came quick and only once.And thats unfair under any circumstance.Proud of my team.But we respect you.."
Calliope, NYC [Photo: Paul Broussard NOLA/Eater National Flickr Pool]
· Olive Garden: Obamacare Press Hurt Us [Politico]
· Honoring the Bond of Barbecue [Eatocracy/CNN]
· Is Yelp Really for Morons? [Time]
· Unionizing the Bottom of the Pay Scale [NYT]
· There Is No "Chinese Cuisine" [Salon]
· Immortal Venice: Harry's Bar [Nowness]
· Untouchables: Melissa Perello's Warm 'Lumberjack' Cake [Eater SF]
· Where to Dine on White Truffles in Los Angeles [Eater LA]
· Eater Interviews: Lêe Dishes on Haters, Booze, and The Future [Eater Philly]
· Where to Eat on Christmas Day in New York City [Eater NY]
Eater NY takes a look at the restaurants of Hoboken and Jersey City more than a month after Hurricane Sandy, where high tide claimed restaurant supplies and the homes of residents living in basement units. Overall, though most businesses are running again, the restaurant community is hurting from slow business and repair costs. [Eater NY]
After shuttering his legendary Chicago restaurant at the end of the summer, chef Charlie Trotter has made $1,136,069 auctioning off his wines. The first part of the live auction garnered $900,000, and the most expensive item sold was a two-bottle lot of 1945 Chateau Haut-Brion, which went for $5,445. [Eater Chicago]
Behold some of the first photos of upcoming Neighborhood Dining Group/Sean Brock joint Husk Nashville. While the facade will remains in tact, renovations have begun on the historic, 1895 Nashville home. A building is being taken out to make way for a parking lot, old brick walls are being uncovered, and rooms full of old junk are being cleared out. As the restaurant's website puts it, "Next time, remind us not to take the place 'as is.'" At least they seem to have found some treasures (ceramics, a copy of Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee") in the rubble? No word yet on when Husk Nashville opens exactly, but the website says Spring 2013.
· Husk Nashville [Official Site]
· All Husk Coverage on Eater [-E-]
[Photo: Craft & Commerce/Facebook]
San Diego's Craft & Commerce has found a way to deal with negative Yelp reviews: they play audio readings of some of the worst snippets in their bathrooms. Co-owner Arasalun Tafazoli tells Eater that he and the management of the restaurant have always been fascinated by "the Shakepearean qualities of some of these reviews." There's "such a level of melodrama," he says, that the restaurant felt they had to do something with the bad reviews they loved the most. At first, they were going to do a mural, but after some deliberation, they decided on the bathroom idea. The voices in the recordings include everyone from waiters to friends to customers.
Beard Award winning cookbook author Michael Ruhlman has signed a deal for a whopping six cookbooks with Little, Brown and Company. The first, The Book of Schmaltz: Love Song to a Forgotten Fat, will be published in September 2013, and the second, Egg, will come April 2014. The next four will be single subject, technique-focused books to be announced at a later date. [Eaterwire]
Legendary chef, author, and instructor Jacques Pépin does a Google Talk (see an older one here) to plug his most recent book New Complete Techniques, talk about his career, and answer questions. There's plenty in there about Pépin's experiences cooking and taping TV with Julia Child back in the day. He describes always hating being pressed for time at shoots, but Julia never had any of that: "She would tell them, "We're cooking, and we'll let you know when it's finished.' It was great, because we drank a lot of wine." Pépin recalls how one of the shoots, which was intended to take about half an hour, went on for 120 minutes. Lucky for you, the talk below only lasts 46 minutes:
Eater Louisville threw a big old launch party last night at Proof on Main, where more than 100 industry reps, media members, local dignitaries and Eater fans gathered to celebrate the city's restaurant scene. That just happened to include Louisville mayor Greg Fischer and also Bizarre Foods host/Yelp shitlister Andrew Zimmern. [Eater Louisville]
Welcome to Eater's 2012 Gift Guide Advent Calendar, where every day Eater will be bringing you holiday gift ideas — from the reasonable to the outrageous to the mindblowing must-haves. Click the graphic below to unveil today's pick, and as the holidays draw nearer check out the all the gift guides.
Chef Dan Barber and the team at Blue Hill Farm focus on bringing seasonal ingredients from the farm to the table, so why not take that a step farther and bring Blue Hill Farm right to your own home? Fortunately, they've got a pretty diverse selection of gifts in the virtual Blue Hill Market pantry: seasonal jams, granola, honey harvested by Blue Hill beekeepers.
Beyond food, there's a selection of crystal bowls, porcelain vases, decanters and other tableware, plus a kitchen section offering everything from aprons to a cow-shaped cutting board. And there's always the Blue Farm cow ringer tee and bar of private label rosemary-lavender soap — presumably these will make you look and smell just like Barber?
· Blue Hill Market [Blue Hill Farm]
· Eater Gift Guide 2012 [-E-]
Amanda Cohen, chef of New York City's Dirt Candy, has some advice on how to become a chef: "Don't." But if you must, "Immerse yourself in this world and it will teach you everything you need to know through scars, bruises, friendships, and burns. The first year of this job is the hardest, but don't cheat, don't take shortcuts, and if you make it through you're going to be a different person." [Dirt Candy]
[Photo: Flav's Chicken & Ribs / Facebook]
Relentless restaurateur/rapper Flavor Flav just won't stop opening restaurants. Flav plans to open Flav's Chicken & Ribs on December 16 in Sterling Heights, Michigan (just outside of Detroit). For those keeping track, this will be Flav's third restaurant attempt in the past two years. The first, Flav's Fried Chicken in Clinton, Iowa, shuttered after four months amidst accusations of bounced paychecks. Next, he opened Flavor Flav's House of Flavor in Las Vegas — this time the restaurant held on slightly longer, but shuttered after six months.
Gastón Acurio's newly opened Tanta [Photo: Tanta/Facebook]
Today we return to Barcelona, Spain and focus on seven newish locales that have been garnering serious buzz since the last Heatmap to the city. Among the map's offerings are a pair of new additions to Michelin's two-star category (Carme Ruscalleda's Moments, Paco Perez's Enoteca), superstar chef Gastón Acurio's Peruvian bistro (Tanta), a grill from the restaurateurs behind Ca La Nuri (Foc Ca La Nuri), and Barcelona's first ramen shop (Ramen-Yo Hiro). It's not open just yet, but also keep your eyes out for Pakta, Ferran and Albert Adrià's forthcoming nikkei restaurant, set to open in January.
Here now, the Eater Heatmap to Barcelona.
New York Post critic Steve Cuozzo drops a bomb on "the year's most irksome service phenomenon": It's "floor staff who try steering us to dishes we don't want, don't need or shouldn't be allowed in the room." He calls the "Let me tell you my favorites" line a new "waiter shtick" that's "a push to unload whatever's sitting around the kitchen." [NYP va Eater NY]
It's December, so it's time to talk about trends. According to the National Restaurant Association's survey, what's hot for 2013...is the same stuff that was hot in 2012. Local this and local that, healthy kids' food, restaurant gardens, sustainable seafood, and all kinds of booze. [NRA]
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