Tables Available at Alias and Cafeteria; Applewood Mostly Booked

It’s just past 4 p.m., and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Neighborhood chic.

Posted 09/12/07 in Grub Street : Two for Eight

Tags: alias, applewood, bar-bo-ne, bellavitae, cafeteria, Cain, etas-unis, lure fishbar, maremma, perry street, Two for Eight

Alias’ New Chef Finally Arrives — From Uzbekistan

More than a few people thought Alias might give up the ghost when chef Shane Coffey left last year. But the place has a way of staying in business, and new chef Mark Barrett seems to have stabilized it. (Barrett was hired in April but has only been cooking in the place for three weeks.) The menu at Alias has a split personality: On the one side is the pub grub that has helped keep the place in business these many months, all burgers, nachos, and the like; on the other is Barrett’s upscale, seasonal Italian food, reflective of the work he did at Babbo. (Readers of Bill Buford’s Heat will remember him from the book, in which he made a memorable clam sauce for the staff.) Why the long delay? Barrett was away in Uzbekistan, of all places, where he ate “tons of plov [pilaf] and sashlik [kebabs], some horse meat, and even dog.”

Posted 06/22/07 in Grub Street : NewsFeed

Tags: alias, babbo, bill buford, italian, jason neroni, lower east side, mark barrett, newsfeed

Ne’er-do-well Neroni Traced to Alias on the Lower East Side

Brooklyn Heights: Don’t want to mix your own mint juleps? Sip some at Magnetic Field’s Kentucky Derby party starting at 3 p.m. Saturday. [Brooklyn Heights Blog] East Village: A sushi restaurant gets pumped up about nice weather and starts advertising for iced green tea. [East Village Idiot] Plus, SB3 bar is finally open on Avenue B and 3rd Street and looks to have an ambitious cocktail repertoire. [Down by the Hipster] Lower East Side: “Desperate Chef” Jason Neroni spotted cooking at Alias, where he is filling in for the month while the restaurant searches for a chef. [Grub Street] Meatpacking District: Reservations won’t help you bypass the bouncer at Son Cubano restaurant. [This Is What We Do Now] Midtown East: The bar area of Monkey Bar, Patricia Yeo’s new endeavor, is slated for a 5 p.m. opening tonight. [Eater] Williamsburg: Crafty Pie fest at Union Pool this Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. is both a craft fair and an excuse to eat homemade pie. [Cakehead]

Posted 05/03/07 in Grub Street : Neighborhood Watch

Tags: alias, crafty pie, jason neroni, kentucky derby, magnetic field, mint julep, monkey bar, neighborhood watch, patricia yeo, sb3, son cubano

Alias Finds Its New Man

Alias Restaurant was left in a state of confusion last month when its respected chef Shane Coffey turned in his apron, but all is now well. The place has hired Mark Barrett, previously of Bread Tribeca, to helm the kitchen. Barrett’s most recent job was a consulting gig with the newly hatched American Diner on Mulberry Street; once installed in Alias, he will add his own twist to the sort of contemporary American bistro food for which his predecessor was known. The new menu should emerge at the end of May or beginning of June.

Posted 04/13/07 in Grub Street : NewsFeed

Tags: alias, american diner, bread tribeca, lower east side, mark barrett, newsfeed, shane coffey