Franny’s Gets the All-Purpose Two Stars; Southern Hospitality Praised for Its BBQ

Franny’s is the recipient of one of Frank Bruni’s periodic low-end caprices, and gets awarded an absurd two stars as a result. [NYT] Paul Lukas, a pretty serious student of barbecue, delivers the verdict on the new barbecues, and the surprise is that Southern Hospitality has some pretty damn good Memphis ribs. Hill Country, it goes without saying, gets lauded as the best BBQ in town. [NYS] Related: Insatiable Critic: Southern Hospitality “Rivulets of delicious grease are a common theme” is the key note to Paul Adams's review of Borough Food and Drink. Mmmm…grease…. [NYS]

Posted 08/29/07 in Grub Street : The Other Critics

Tags: barbecue, blt market, borough food and drink, centro vinoteca, danyelle freeman, frank bruni, franny's, gemma, hill country, olympic pita, paul adams, paul lukas, randall lane, robert sietsema, ryan sutton, southern hospitality, The Other Critics

Whole Foods’ Master Plan Revealed; Chodorow Back on the Warpath

Whole Foods’ master plan for local domination, code-named (no kidding) Project Goldmine, is accidentally released to the public by federal regulators. [NYT] Jeffrey Chodorow’s war against Frank Bruni continues with another Times ad. [Eater] Buddhists buy $7,000 worth of eels, frogs, and turtles from Chinatown markets and then release the fortunate animals into the Passaic River. Where they immediately died from toxic shock. (Okay, we made the last part up.) [NYP]

Posted 08/15/07 in Grub Street : Mediavore

Tags: accademia di vino, chinatown, frank bruni, hill country, jeffrey chodorow, kosher, mediavore, paul lukas, treats truck, wendy's, whole foods

The Threat to Red Hook’s Street-Food Paradise Unites New York Foodies

When we heard that the Latin American food vendors in Red Hook Park might lose their temporary-use permit at the end of the summer, the news hit us like a goat taco after a night of heavy drinking. And we weren’t alone. An animated Chowhound thread immediately formed (and was almost as quickly censored), and a protest site sprang into existence. Hidden within Red Hook, the vendors have created a community of cooking, a cultural exchange as much as a place to eat. (Click here to take a video tour with Paladar chef Aaron Sanchez.) We canvassed the city’s food elite for their take on the situation; here is what we heard.

Posted 06/07/07 in Grub Street : Back of the House

Tags: andrew carmellini, Back of the House, dana bowen, ed levine, ed schoenfeld, jennifer leuzzi, latin food, paul lukas, red hook, red hook ballfields, tom colicchio, zak pelaccio

Ssäm Bar Vindicated; Haute Cuisine Gets No Love

Momofuku Ssäm Bar wins two stars (!) from Bruni and completes a success story that seemed pretty unlikely a few months ago, when the place was selling Asian burritos to a handful of customers. The review is also a watershed in the changing culture of restaurants: Formal is now officially out, casual now officially legit. [NYT] Related: The I Chang [NYM] Meanwhile, Randall Lane is a lone dissenter, calling out Ssäm Bar for its unevenness, lack of focus, and the steep prices of some of its main dishes. On the whole, though, he seems to have missed the point — David Chang's loose, unfettered approach to good cooking. [TONY] Steve Cuozzo joins in the chorus of approval greeting Wayne Nish’s transformation of the stuffy March into the swinging, fusion-y Nish. The message: Remain formal at your own peril. (See reviews of Dennis Foy and Gordon Ramsay.) [NYP] Related: Bedeviled [NYM]

Posted 02/21/07 in Grub Street : The Other Critics

Tags: dennis foy, earthen oven, frank bruni, gordon ramsay at the london, march, moira hodgson, nish, nono kitchen, paul lukas, peter meehan, randall lane, ssam bar, steve cuozzo, The Other Critics, the smoke joint, wayne nish