Designer Steven Alan Hungers for Cowboy Cookies After Jellied Squash

Yes, Steven Alan, the man who New York says “reinvented the button-down for artfully ruffled hipsters,” conducted his phone interview with us over brown rice at M Café in Los Angeles (he’s there to sort out the details of his upcoming Hollywood store, while scouting out a location for another store in Venice, where he went to high school). But that doesn’t mean he isn’t a New York eater at heart. He grew up here and lives in Chinatown, where he indulges in Malaysian noodle breakfasts and Shanghai dumplings. We asked him what he ate around town during a frenetic week of preparing his men’s and women’s lines for his first ever Fashion Week presentation.

Posted 12/21/07 in Grub Street : The New York Diet

Tags: blossom, columbine, food shing, la petit abeille, les enfants terribles, mishima, murray's cheese, pakistan tea house, steven alan, the bagel shop, the new york diet, the odeon

Allen & Delancey Gets Its Two-Star Due; Irving Mill Continues to Uninspire

In spite of lousy desserts and a misstep in the fish department there, Frank Bruni couldn't avoid giving Allen and Delancey's complex, accomplished food two stars. [NYT] Alan Richman, no pushover, was also very impressed by Allen & Delancey, though he noted that the chef's strength clearly lies in the realm of turf, rather than surf. Still, the respect is there: “The visceral satisfaction is high. He piles on flavors, and he does so with assurance.” [Bloomberg] Irving Mill: tired concept, spotty execution. Restaurant Girl joins the chorus. [NYDN]

Posted 12/12/07 in Grub Street : The Other Critics

Tags: alan richman, allen and delancey, bacaro, back forty, bob lape, danyelle freeman, dell'anima, food shing, frank bruni, moira hodgson, pacificana, peter meehan, restaurant girl, robert sietsema, ryan sutton, t bar, The Other Critics, uncle jacks