All 'elaine's' Posts on Grub Street - New York Magazine's Daily Food Blog

All Posts Tagged: ‘elaine's’

Ask a Waiter

4/29/08

6:15 PM

Former Elaine’s Bartender Brian McDonald Tells All

"Elaine had a very mature crowd."Photo: Melissa Hom

In Last Call at Elaine’s, Brian McDonald recalls his time as a recovering alcoholic, tending bar at the glamorous Upper East Side saloon-cum-salon from 1986 to 1997. McDonald left Elaine’s in the most heroic of ways, after a publication party there for his first book. However, it’s clear from his memoir that Elaine Kaufman, the firebrand who still runs her eponymous restaurant after celebrating its 45th anniversary this month, had a great deal of influence on his second career. We asked him about his time with her and what she thought of his tell-all.

More: Ask a Waiter »brian mcdonald, elaine's, george plimpton, last call at elaine's, mick jagger, nightlife, ringo starr, robert evans, upper east side

Mediavore

4/16/08

10:00 AM

Elaine’s Turns 45; Chefs Cursing Too $&#*$@% Much

• Elaine’s turned 45 on Sunday, and Woody Allen, Richard Dreyfuss, and Gay Talese were there to celebrate. [City Room/NYT]

• Tom Colicchio thinks the profanity on this season of Top Chef is “excessive.” [NYT]

• Fresh out of court, Patsy’s (the midtown one) is opening a second location in Atlantic City.
Related: And the Winner in the Patsy’s-vs.-Patsy’s Suit Is…Patsy’s

• Excessive smoke caused the FDNY to pay a visit to Artichoke Basille’s Pizza & Brewery last night. [Slice]

• “Big Lou” Elrose, late of Hill Country, has a lot of barbecue styles to juggle at Wildwood Barbeque when it opens next week. [NYP]

More: Mediavore »artichoke pizza, atlantic city, big lou elrose, elaine's, hill country, patsy's, steakhouses, tom colicchio, top chef, wildwood bbq, woody allen

The New York Diet

3/20/08

5:40 PM

Dominic Chianese Can’t Avoid the Bread

"York Grill has become a favorite."Photo: Melissa Hom

Dominic Chianese, who played Tony’s Uncle Junior on the Sopranos and sings Italian standards tonight at Columbus 72, was born and raised in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx. His grandfather owned an Italian-French restaurant on Houston Street, and his mother, who worked there, is related to the owner of Mario’s, where Chianese says you can find the best pizza on Arthur Avenue. One of his cousins works at Borgatti’s and makes what Chianese considers the best ravioli in the country. Of course, being a Soprano means getting the VIP treatment even if a relative doesn’t own the restaurant. “As an Italian-American,” he says, “I enjoy it. My wife says [in a proper English accent] ‘You can’t do that, Dominic.’ It’s a cultural thing: She’s from England. I’m from the Bronx.” We asked him where he got treated like a king this week.

More: The New York Diet »arthur avenue, bronx, columbus 72, dominic chianese, elaine's, italian food, la bella ferrara, luca, mansion diner, mario's, ottimo, quattro gatti, sopranos, york grill

NewsFeed

2/12/08

10:41 AM

Momofuku Ko Hoping to Open in Two Weeks; No Malice Palace Prevails

During last night's CB3 meeting, partner Andrew Salmon would reveal only that Momofuku Ko will hit capacity at fourteen, with no waiters and with fixed menus changing daily. “You sit directly across from the cook,” Salmon told the board. He kept the “vaguely Asian” food quiet, conceding only that it would include “all local ingredients … all sustainable development.” Unfortunately, he didn’t take the time to make sure a petition was including in the application, so no motion could be passed. Projected opening date: two weeks' time!

More: NewsFeed »amalia, bubbys, cafe carlyle, cipriani, da silvano, elaine's, fresco, gemma, jour et nuit, kobe club, le cirque, marquee, nobu, primola, socialista, starbucks, tenjune, the plumm, the waverly inn, whole food

Celebrity Settings

2/12/08

9:00 AM

Kobe Dines on Kobe at Kobe; Nobu Gives Manning a Standing O

Fashion Week brought the usual celebrity infestation to town last week for glitzy after-parties, but we’ve already covered those. The real question is, where did the “normals” catch a bite? And of course by normals we mean billionaires, Nobel Prize winners, and Super Bowl champs, all of whom made the scene this week.

More: Celebrity Settings »amalia, bubby's, cipriani, da silvano, elaine's, fresco, gemma, jour et nuit, kobe club, le cirque, marquee, nobu, primola, socialista, starbucks, the plumm, waverly inn, whole foods

Celebrity Settings

1/25/08

9:30 AM

‘Scruffy Loner’ Heath Ledger Ate Solo at Grotta Azzurra

With Michelle Williams in New York.Photo: WireImage

As our sister blog Daily Intel has pointed out, this week was all about Tom Brady and Eli Manning sightings, with Tom and Gisele hitting the town (what else is new?) and Eli making it a quiet week. Michael Strahan also found a moment to sip chowder (question being, was it New York or New England style?). On a somber note, the Daily News uncovered Heath Ledger’s haunts in Soho: Spring Street Natural and Miro Café among them. The sighting we were most intrigued by, however, occurred in Park City, Utah: Sirio Maccioni eschewed trendier restaurants to hit Burger King. Now there’s a Whopper freakout we’d pay to see.

More: Celebrity Settings »brasserie 44, chino's, da silvano, elaine's, kingswood, la goulue, nelson blue, pop burger, soho house, starbucks, stereo, t-bar, the tasting room, tillman's

Celebrity Settings

12/11/07

3:30 PM

Ben Stiller Crashes a Party at Fiamma, Penélope Cruz Makes Out at Socialista

She only got in because she knows Javier Bardem.Photo: WireImages

Every Friday a notable New Yorker tells us where they’ve been eating, but where are the rest of them chowing down? Starting this week we’ll sort through the gossip columns à la Ils Vont (RIP) to tell you who’s been seen where (casual sightings only — boring galas, vodka launches, and pluggy appearances don’t count). We’ll eventually compile a ranking of restaurants most often visited by celebs. Not that you care about that sort of thing! Oh, but if you do, won’t you please leave your own sightings in the comments?

More: Celebrity Settings »balthazar, bar martignetti, bk, bouley bakery, chinatown brasserie, city bakery, daddy-o, downtown cipriani, elaine's, empire hotel, fiamma, fresco, goldbar, huckleberry bar, il cortile, jg melon, katz's deli, kellari taverna, kittichai, le pain quotidien, le perigold, los dados, marquee, megu, morandi, nello, pink elephant, pop burger, room service, rose bar, sapa, socialista, soda shop, stanton social, tenjune, the box, the hairy monk, the plumm, waverly inn

The Gobbler

2/28/07

9:00 AM

Congratulations: You’re Headed to Siberia!

During the course of a recent breakneck tour of restaurants in London, the Gobbler found himself paying Kobe-beef-like prices for taxi rides and eating, among other things, more pig’s head than he ever thought humanly possible. Unlike in New York, the maître d’s of London weren’t lying in wait for the Gobbler, and photos of his giant mug weren’t plastered in every kitchen. So he also found himself dining in that vast restaurant wasteland known as Siberia. He was seated by the great yawning kitchen doors at a hot new restaurant in Piccadilly, among tourists from Singapore at Gordon Ramsay’s newest place, and next to a giant flower pot at the Connaught Hotel. The experience prompted the Gobbler to compose another one of his lists. You know you’re sitting in Siberia when …

More: The Gobbler »elaine's, graydon carter, siberia, waverly inn

Mediavore

2/26/07

9:51 AM

A Haute Barnyard Ethics Crisis; KFC Rats Hit the Big Time

Elaine Kaufman, the beloved proprietress of actor hangout Elaine’s, has seen a lot of Oscar parties and talks about them in this Q&A. [NYDN]

An Haute Barnyard ethics crisis: Blue Hill’s Dan Barber on the day he added almond oil to his carrots. [NYT]
Related: The Haute Barnyard Hall of Fame [Grub Street]

The rats running around that KFC-Taco Bell have become a tourist attraction. [NYT]
Related: Oh, Rats [Daily Intel]