Is this really the best solution to rising food costs?Photo: iStockphoto
All Posts Tagged: ‘michael psilakis’
Chefs Offer Depressing Strategies for Cutting Food Costs
New Taste of the UWS Reminds Us to Eat Uptown
Cesare Casella slices prosciutto, and Landmarc's Marc Murphy spins cotton candy.Photo: Michael Alan Connelly
Michael Psilakis and His Octopus Make Their ‘Nightline’ Debut Together
It's all Greek to Michael Psilakis.Photo: abcnews.com
Nightline: 'Bringing People Together' With Food [ABC]
Nightline: Do Calories on the Menu Make a Difference? [ABC]
Psilakis, Freitag Simultaneously Reinvent Vinegar-Flavored French Fries
The Harrison's duck-fat fries — and malt-vinegar mayo.Photo courtesy the Harrison
Taste of the Upper West Side Has More Chefs Than Can Fit Onscreen
New Taste of the Upper West Side [Official site]
Related: Cesare Casella the Latest Chef Onboard the UWS Bandwagon
Inside ‘Food & Wine’s Best New Chef Gala
Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs party was crawling with notable toques last night, including Tom Colicchio, Daniel Boulud, Top Chef's Hung Huynh, and many more. Our cameras were there to chat with all of them, including New York’s only contribution to Food & Wine’s list, Michael Psilakis. Watch the video for all the foodie glam.
‘Food & Wine’ Names Psilakis a ‘Best New Chef’
Michael Psilakis: sitting on top of the world.Photo: Kevin Wick
Shake Shack Serves Top Dog; Burger King to Open Whopper Bars
• It may not be as great as Chicago’s Wiener’s Circle, but Shake Shack serves up the best hot dog in these parts. [WSJ]
• Michael Psilakis estimates that the new Kefi on Columbus Avenue will open in August and focus more on healthy eating. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
• Jeffrey Chodorow might be opening a restaurant in the Dominican Republic. Maybe the critics will be kinder to him there. [NYP]
Don't Try to Shmear Bacaro's Hosts; Burger King Wants You
• Bacaro manager Kama Geary treats everyone like a VIP and would prefer you not try to use cash to get a table. [Eater]
• Michael Psilakis loves that diners at Mia Dona are tapping into the unpretentious atmosphere and ordering pitchers of PBR. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
• Burger King is spending between $8 and $11 million on advertising aimed at recruiting managers and employees for its franchises. Are you King material? [NYT]
• The key to Veselka’s burger perfection is, well, pretty much everything: the successful layering of complementary textures and flavors, tied together with an orthodox attention to proportion and cooking. [Chow]
• In case you didn’t already know, the city’s semi-private nightlife scene is housed entirely below 23rd Street. [Gridskipper]
Bobo's New Chefs Have Hearth and 360 Pedigrees; Psilakis Revolutionizes the Bar Wing
Astoria: Don't be shy about visiting the newly opened Vue Cafe at 12-14 31st Avenue; "the space is intimate and an upscale touch is felt but not so much that you'd feel awkward dressed in comfortable garb." [Joey in Astoria]
Midtown East: The idea for the popular crispy rabbit served at the bar at Mia Dona "with potato chips made from pickled potatoes and cucumber remoulade" came to Michael Psilakis while he pondered the ultimate bar food, chicken wings. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Midtown West: The Muse Hotel is hosting a cocktail mix-off this Thursday, and the winning team wins a cocktail party for ten at Silverleaf Tavern. [Zagat Buzz]
Williamsburg: Bonita makes a good version of tres leches, but they add chocolate. [Gridskipper]
West Village: Bobo has done well in selecting its new chefs after Nicholas Cantrel's departure; Jared Stafford-Hill of Hearth and Rick Jakobsen from Red Hook's 360 have found their groove. [Gastro Chic] Tasca may be doomed to close and be annexed to the restaurant opening next door, Sheridan Square. [Eater]
New York Looking Good for Beard Awards 2008
The James Beard Award nominations are out, and the news for New York is good, though not as overwhelming as last year. Anthos is in there carrying the torch for Best New Restaurant nationally; Dan Barber of Blue Hill is a finalist for Outstanding Chef; and two of the five national nominees for Outstanding Restaurant are New York blue-chippers: Jean Georges and Gramercy Tavern. (The latter is a huge triumph for both Danny Meyer and chef Mike Anthony, given the restaurant’s long association with Tom Colicchio and its brush with being taken for granted.) As for the always-longed-for Rising Star Chef award, there’s a New Yorker in there, too: Gavin Kaysen of Café Boulud.
We are pleased to announce that New York received a few nods, too. Two articles — "My Empire of Dirt" and "Cartography" — were nominated for "Magazine Feature Writing Without Recipes," and Grub Street was nominated for "Multimedia Writing on Food."
Psilakis Dismisses Rumor of Seafood Restaurant
Psilakis loves Milos! Don't get him wrong!Photo courtesy Dona
Short Order [Insatiable Critic]
Update, 2:08 p.m.: Michael Psilakis has written in to disavow any harsh words about Milos. His statement, after the jump.
‘Esquire’ Escalates Chef-Fashion War With ‘Maxim’
I say, old man! Where did you get that tie?Photo courtesy Esquire
Man’s Gotta Eat [Esquire]
Related: Chefs Put on Something a Little More Comfortable
When Chefs Play Dress-Up
Jason Hall Doesn't Want to Ever Leave Michael Psilakis
Jason Hall is like a son to Michael Psilakis. Or maybe a grandson?Photo: Melissa Hom
Age: 28
Restaurants: Anthos and Mia Dona
Background: Hall Worked at San Francisco’s Aqua and One Market, followed by a long period as a line cook under George Morrone, at the four-star restaurant the Fifth Floor. Hall then spent five formative years at Craft, first under Marco Canora and then Damon Wise, before joining with Michael Psilakis and eventually becoming executive chef at his restaurants.
Chefs Put on Something a Little More Comfortable
Sam Mason on the left, Michael Psilakis on the right, and Craig Koketsu in the role of Lucky Pierre.Photo courtesy Maxim
New York City's Hottest Young Chefs [Maxim]
Related: When Chefs Play Dress-Up
Robert Irvine’s Career Officially Over; Chodorow Plans Hot New Rooftop Lounge
We’re surprised it took this long to happen, but “celebrity chef” Robert Irvine, known of late for his lies about his background, has announced that he will not proceed with the opening of two planned restaurants in St. Petersburg. [This Just In/St. Petersburg Times]
Related: Surprise, Surprise: Robert Irvine Gets the Boot From the Food Network
The best way to taste the dishes on Top Chef is to head to the toques’ post-Bravo places of employment in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and San Francisco. [Zagat Buzz]
Frank Bruni muses on the tourist-tipping problem, noting that he’s not a fan of automatic gratuity charges since they prevent diners from communicating their pleasure or irritation with the service. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
What to Order at Mia Dona
Mia Dona, just before they opened the doors.Photo courtesy Mia Dona
Mia Dona Dinner Menu
Related: Video: Inside Mia Dona’s Kitchen
A New Food Blog From the ‘Times’; Can Dining Alone Get You a Date?
The Times has launched a new food blog called Bitten that’s being written by "Minimalist"-column writer Mark Bittman. What’s in store for readers? "We’re going to look at great food made with everyday ingredients and readily achievable techniques — as The Minimalist has been doing for a decade — not food as something to be admired from afar, but as a part of daily life." [Bitten/NYT]
Monkey Bar chef Chris Cheung thinks he deserves a little credit for making black miso cod so popular at Nobu. [Gothamist]
Several changes in their dining culture have led the Vietnamese to embark on a “rodent-eating bonanza.” [WSJ]
Video: Inside Mia Dona's Kitchen
What will you be eating next month at Mia Dona, the new midtown restaurant from chef Michael Psilakis and restaurateur Donatella Arpaia? We suggest the meat loaf roasted to order with an egg tucked inside. Or the hamburger with the salsa verde and garlic confit. And what will the dining room look like? Too soon to tell with all the plywoodTM, but Psilakis points out the construction highlights. See what other treats are coming by watching Grub Street’s video preview of Mia Dona.
Danny Meyer Might Fix Up Union Square Park; Welcome to ‘Mexhattan’
Danny Meyer and the Union Square Partnership are planning to renovate the north end of Union Square Park, including a transformation of the decaying pavilion into a windowless restaurant space. [NYO]
Mia Dona, Donatella Arpaia and Michael Psilakis’s newest baby, will start serving up rustic Italian with Greek influences in midtown next month. Marc Forgione, most recently the corporate chef for the BLT Restaurant Group, is planning an American restaurant for a spring opening. [NYT]
Forget about bringing your junior gastronomes to the finest restaurant Disney World has to offer: Victoria & Albert’s has banned all kids under the age of 10. [NYP]
A Hip-hop IHOP in Brooklyn; Grant Achatz Beats Cancer
Mary J. Blige and Foxy Brown’s producer, known to fans as Don Pooh, owns what is already being called the “hip-hop IHOP” that opened in downtown Brooklyn yesterday. [NYDN]
Related: The Phantom IHOP of Midtown West
Meatpaper magazine is a popular read with both carnivores and vegetarians, which is how the founders learned that bacon, delectable treat of treats, “is how vegetarians change their minds” when they revert to their meat-eating ways. [NYT]
Today in unsubstantiated rumors: David Bouley’s forthcoming Japanese restaurant/cooking school will open across the street from Upstairs at Bouley. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
Related: David Bouley to Open Restaurant With Japan’s Top Cooking School
Psilakis Promises the New and the Gnudi at Dona 2.0
Work on the new Dona is a blur of activity. Pictured: the old Dona.Photo: Jeremy Liebman
Psilakis Moving Kefi to Better Space; Chodorow Moving Wild Salmon to a Better Place
Michael Psilakis is moving Kefi into a bigger and better space not far from its current location. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Jeffrey Chodorow’s plagued seafood endeavor Wild Salmon is rumored to close before the New Year. [Eater]
A list of restaurants for Christmas Eve and day dining includes traditional picks like the Café at Country and Allen & Delancey, and more unique options like a Scandinavian Christmas Eve feast at Aquavit and dim sum from Chinatown Brasserie. [Restaurant Girl]
Where to Eat on Black Friday; Last-Minute Turkey Dinners
Michael Psilakis plans to open his “Dona redux,” at 58th Street between Second and Third, by early January. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
Related: Psilakis Seeks Site for a Late-Night Downtown Restaurant — and a New Dona
Satisfying post-shopping eats are invaluable because “when you no longer feel loaded is the perfect time to get loaded.” This comprehensive list covers midtown, Herald Square, the meatpacking district, and Soho. [NYP]
New tip for turkey: Carve it like a butcher, not like a chef. [NYT]
Memo to World: Michael Symon and Michael Psilakis Are Not the Same Person
Damn you, Symon! you stole my look!Photo Illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: Courtesy of Food Network, Melissa Hom
Liebrandt Previews New Restaurant at Autism Benefit
We predict he'll call it Restaurant Liebrandt.Photo: Melissa Hom
Psilakis Isn't the Only Chef Who Knows Greek
Michael Psilakis's Michelin star (and other honors) is raising the profile of Greek cooking in New York, but other restaurants are looking to catch up. Ethos, a big, popular place in both its Manhattan and Astoria locations, is getting a classically trained new chef who vows to take the places to the next level. (A third Ethos, meanwhile, is slated to open in Great Neck at the end of the month.)
Michelin Stars: Colicchio Doesn't Care, But Psilakis Sure Does
The stars didn't shine equally on Michael Psilakis (left) and Tom Colicchio.Photo: Kevin Wick, Getty Images
Dona to Return, in Relaxed Form
Dona, the way it was.Photo: Jeremy Liebman
Tony ‘No Reservations’ Bourdain Hearts Ali's Offal in Astoria
Astoria: Anthony Bourdain featured Ali’s Kebab Cafe on No Reservations, and here’s the video of him downing offal. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: Workers are renovating the old Independence Bank for Trader Joe’s. The space may even retain its character! [Lost City]
East Village: AvroKO and Public boys Brad and Adam Farmerie hope to score a liquor license for their new place, Superior. B Flat applied for a license at the same Bond Street space a few months back and was denied. [Eater] E.U. will accept euros as payment from August 24 through Labor Day. You can eat 34 cents more on the dollar! [Grub Street]
Financial District: Stonehouse California Olive Oil has moved to the South Street Seaport and refills bottles at $2 off the regular price. [NYT]
Hell’s Kitchen: No free Cuban for you today; unfinished construction indicates the new Sophie’s on 40th between Seventh and Eighth is in no way ready for a grand opening. [Midtown Lunch]