Prime Beef: Scenes From the Burger BashA look at the burgers from Friday night’s competition in Brooklyn, featuring Michael Psilakis, Rachael Ray, and Katie Lee.
DuMont Barkeep’s McCarren Project to Be Celeb-FundedA while back, we brought news that Jud Longell, of DuMont, was teaming up with the designers of Tailor and Smith and Mills to create a bistro that might have either a “nautical design” or an “English-butcher-shop aesthetic.” Now BlackBook brings us an early interior shot along with news that a “well-known celebrity” is a silent partner. Hmmm — who could it be? Either way, it’s good to know, with the Rusty Knot poised to open in Manhattan, that Brooklyn will have a celeb-studded faux boat of its own.
Who’s the Silent Celeb Partner at 18 Bedford Ave.? [BlackBook]
Related: DuMont, Smith and Mills Players Head Toward McCarren
NewsFeed
DuMont, Smith and Mills Players Head Toward McCarrenJohn McCormick, the designer behind the loveliness that is Smith and Mills and Tailor, has another project in the works, and it sounds like it’ll be every bit as quirky as his own restaurant Moto. He says that Jud Longell, a bartender at DuMont, and a silent partner have acquired Theresa’s Beauty Salon at 18 Bedford Avenue at Lorimer Street (right off McCarren Park) and are transforming it into what will eventually be a bistro of sorts. McCormick says he has in mind “a nautical design, but very subtle. I wanted to make the place look like it was a sunken transport ferry — there’d be a lot of distressing and rust and metal work.” The owners, meanwhile, have toyed with the idea of an “English-butcher-shop aesthetic.” No doubt that they’ll all meet at some magical halfway point that will be far cooler than anything we can conjure up. Whatever the final look, it’s safe to say that empty bar seats will be rare, especially after those McCarren Pool shows.
Neighborhood Watch
Weekday Brunch in the West Village; Fine Dining on Henry StreetBrooklyn Heights: Henry Street has become a dining destination. [Brooklyn Paper]
Midtown East: Donatella Arpaia’s father, Lello, will open an “elegant Italian place, which has fabric walls and flattering lighting” called Fiorini at 209 East 56th Street this Saturday. [NYT]
Tribeca: The co-owner of Murray’s Bagels plans to open his own shop called Original Zucker’s Bagels & Smoked Fish on Chambers at West Broadway by October. [Grub Street]
West Village: Paris Commune is trying to woo its detractors by offering weekday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. [NYS]
Williamsburg: DuMont Burger is expanding into a space next door in order to separate its takeout business from sit-down dining. [Eater]
Back of the House
Most Influential Young Chefs Named, Presented With Tchotchkes
Move over, Bouley! Step aside, Jojo! You’re so over. There’s a new generation of “emerging tastemakers,” at least according to Food Arts magazine and their friends at Sterling Meats. Sunday night, meat purveyor and magazine jointly fêted ten young chefs who, they predict, “will be influencing what, where and how we dine out on a national level.” The chefs were presented with framed, diploma-like certificates and envy-inducing Masamoto cobalt-steel knifes.
