East Village: Telephone Bar & Grill is hosting a benefit for the children of Nepal on Sunday, June 1. [Grub Street]
Hell's Kitchen: Soho's Mooncake Foods has opened a second, much larger location at 263 West 30th Street. [Flickr]
Lower East Side: Good luck re-creating wd~50's recipe for almond-ice-cream "rocks," which calls for twenty grams of dextrose and bitter foam, among other ingredients. [Restaurant Girl]
Meatpacking District: Scarpetta's off to a strong start. Even if someone steals a slice of steak from you. [Eater]
Midtown East: The Pranzo pizza truck is missing, because it's up for sale. [Midtown Lunch]
Midtown West: On Monday, a theater company will perform bits from its upcoming adaptation of Molière's Monsieur de Pourceaugnac at D'Or, in the Dream Hotel. [Zagat Buzz]
Nolita: The bartenders at the reincarnated Randolph, which will open at 319 Broome Street this weekend, have a Milk & Honey pedigree and the best in specialty ice, which is made to melt slower, so your drink stays colder (and less watery) longer. [Grub Street]
Tribeca: West Broadway's getting a Le Pain Quotidien; this could fill the void of the Chambers Street Ceci-Cela, which closed late last year due to rising rents. [Eater]
West Village: Pichet Ong serves serves house-made ginger, passion fruit, and calamansi sodas at P*Ong. [Grub Street]
All Posts Tagged: ‘pichet ong’
Oven-Equipped Food Truck for Sale; Scarpetta Off to Strong Start
Chefs Love What Mom Used to Make
Clockwise from top left, Pichet Ong, Jean Adamson, Sue Torres, Alex Ureña.Photos courtesy of the chefs
Analyzing the Counter at Pichet Ong’s Bakery
The counter at Pichet Ong's bakery, Batch.Photos: Melissa Hom
Schnitzel Moving Into the West Village; Recession Makes Gael Greene Crave Sweets
Astoria: You think $12.95 is good for an all-inclusive brunch deal? Michael’s has a weekday three-course dinner deal for the same price. "This neighborhood never ceases to amaze." [Joey in Astoria]
East Village: Pichet Ong is teaching a class at Astor Center tomorrow on sweets and science. [Zagat] A new stuffed-potato bar is coming to town, but there’s already one on East Houston Street near Avenue A called NY Stuffed Idaho. [Eater]
Midtown West: Moylvos celebrates Greek Easter with “Breaking the Fast.” At midnight on April 27 they’ll host a parade to the local Greek church and offer a tasting menu that includes slow-roasted lamb with yogurt-Feta dumplings. [Restaurant Girl]
Upper West Side: The Insatiable Critic samples the new sweetshops in town. [Insatiable Critic]
West Village: 14th Street near Fifth Avenue is getting a schnitzel shop. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
What Can’t Pichet Ong Do With Foie Gras?
It's foie gras … it's a taco … it's a foie gras taco.Photo: Erin Gleeson
The Hidden History of Starbucks; Café Carlyle Still Bumpin'
Astor Place: The building that houses Starbucks has such interesting history (saw a bloody theater riot in 1849 at what was once the Astor Place Opera House; held a barber shop where mobster Albert Anastasia got slaughtered while sitting in his chair) that Lost City has decided to target "kudzu-like chains" around town and attempt to uncover their past incarnations. [Lost City]
Chinatown: Dumpling House has reopened and the renovations include tables and chairs! [Eater]
East Village: Bar Veloce is returning to the space it once occupied before transforming into now deceased Room 4 Dessert. [Eater]
Tribeca: Harrison Tavern has already closed after a July opening. Clearly, offering ranch-chicken pizza did not bring in herds. [Grub Street]
Upper East Side: Café Carlyle has added a D.J.-hosted soirée Thursday through Saturday from midnight to 3 a.m. to its cabaret-night repertoire, and a new cocktail menu comes from the mixologist at Bemelmans Bar. [Zagat]
West Village: Pichet Ong is renaming his dessert bar P*ong & Batch at the end of the month when he’ll be expanding the space to include a retail bakery. [Zagat]
Williamsburg: Breakfast mecca egg (it's too cool to have a capital letter) deigns to open for dinner. [TONY]
Danny Meyer Appoints Female Sommelier at the Modern; Pichet Ong Will Show You His Moves in the West Village
Brighton Beach: Brooklyn firefighter Jeffrey Scotto won the sixth-annual World Cares Center Iron Skillet Cook Off this week with this recipe for boneless rib-eye braciola and escarole salad. [NYDN]
Chinatown: Zagat might recommend the soup dumplings at Goodies, but you’re in for a treat if you opt for something the staff is eating like “winter melon soup and a plate of stir-fried pork liver and stomach.” [VV]
Midtown West: Danny Meyer has appointed a new executive sommelier, Belinda Chang, to oversee the wine program at the Modern and his restaurants in the Met. [NYS]
Tribeca: Apparently Craig Béro has opened a Tribeca Time Machine called the Cosmopolitan Cafe around the corner from his other restaurant, the Soda Shop. [NYT]
Union Square: From Quattro’s Game Farm’s stand at the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays, “you can place an order, leave a deposit, and pick up your fresh bird on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.” [NYS]
Upper West Side: Danny Abrams's second outlet of the East Village’s Mermaid Inn has opened on 568 Amsterdam Avenue near 88th Street, and you get a free cup of puddin’ with dinner. [NYT]
West Village: Pichet Ong will give a demonstration at the next 4foodies, tasting on November 19. [4foodies]
Celebrity-Chef ‘Pop-Up’ Café Open in Midtown; Halloween Recipe From Stanton Social
Astoria: Freeze Peach is hosting a costume party Saturday at 8 p.m. and it’s BYO. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: Balsamic vinegar is available as a topping at the new ecofriendly ice-cream parlor Blue Marble, on Atlantic Avenue near Bond Street. [Bergen Carroll]
Chelsea: Tekserv is hosting a Mac OS X Leopard release party tonight with free food and live jazz, and the winner of the leopard-themed costume contest gets an iPod. [Blog Chelsea]
Clinton Hill: New restaurant Mariam at 975 Fulton Street features cuisine from Senegal, Kenya, and Guinea, but even though okra was “cooked down to an indiscernible sludge,” it doesn’t feel overextended; the spot will soon add Jamaican food to the menu. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Flatiron: The Manhattan branch of Boerum Hill restaurant Lunetta opens Monday on Broadway at 21st Street. [Grub Street]
Lower East Side: Essex Street’s newest Shamalian bar may have opened for a night this week, but it’s closed now. [Eater] Just in time for Halloween house parties, the Stanton Social has provided a simple recipe for pumpkin croquettes. [Restaurant Girl]
Meatpacking District: The communal table at Los Dados is supposedly a hot singles scene. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Midtown West: Bon Appétit’s “Pop-Up” café opened yesterday and features sandwiches and salads designed by Emeril, Giada, Govind, and Pichet Ong, plus desserts from Will Goldfarb. [Midtown Lunch]
Related: Celebrity Chefs Flock to Former Home of Cheesy Celebrity Restaurant
Prospect-Lefferts-Gardens: Papas & Sons market was busted Wednesday. “Word on the street is that someone in there was running numbers,” but no one’s talking. [Across the Park]
If It's a Frozen Dessert at P*ong, Blame the Pacojet
Chef Pichet Ong and his beloved Pacojet, made red just for him.Photo: Melissa Hom
Today’s dessert alchemists draw from a considerable arsenal in their battle against conventional cake and ice cream. But the real secret weapon for many of these artisans is the Pacojet, a kind of high-tech blender. Pichet Ong was one of the earliest adopters of the Pacojet and uses a customized one at P*ong for all of his ice creams, sorbets, and ices.
Celebrity Chefs Flock to Former Home of Cheesy Celebrity Restaurant
A (highly idealized) view of the room where the demos are to be held. Photo courtesy Bon Appetit
The roster of chefs, and the times they’ll be there, are as follows:
A ‘Top Chef’ Surprise and Other Summer Treats
Photo: Brian Kennedy
The State of the Deli Is Not Good; ‘Secret’ Spots Revealed
A panel of Jewish food luminaries gathered recently to discuss the state of the deli. They didn't paint a very sunny picture. [Serious Eats]
Related: Mother of Mercy! Is This the End of Katz’s?
Don’t blame the government for not letting great Chinese chefs into the country: It’s our fault for not wanting better Chinese cuisine. [NYT]
Manhattan’s secret spots range from sushi in a midtown basement to the bar across the street from the Corner Bistro. [NYP]
Room 4 Dessert Is Dead, Long Live Room 4 Dessert
Wait, so it's not re-opening soon? What about this hastily-written note then? Photo: Melissa Hom
‘Top Chef’ Auditions This Sunday; Patricia Yeo Doesn’t Buy ‘No Reservations’
Do you watch Top Chef and wish it were you getting abused by Padma? Here’s your chance: Auditions are being held Sunday at Craftsteak. [Gothamist]
Related: ‘Top Chef’ Non-Winner Lia on What Went Wrong
‘Top Chef’ Biases Finally Out on the Table
Believe it or not, Patricia Yeo doesn’t buy the kitchen material in No Reservations, especially Catherine Zeta-Jones’s spotless whites: “She was so perfect. There was no way she could have a worked a real service.” [NYDN]
Is this curtains for the Hamburglar? McDonald’s announces that they won’t market unhealthy foods to kids under 12. [NRN]
P*ONG Found to Be Small and Uneven; Monkey Bar Gets Hammered
Frank Bruni appreciates Pichet Ong’s skill and creativity but finds his restaurant, P*ONG, in what will probably be a defining review, unequal to his talent: “Mr. Ong is an enterprising cook, but he doesn’t seem to be a seasoned restaurateur, and P*ong points out the difference.” [NYT]
Similarly, Paul Adams grants that FR.OG chef Didier Virot has “has a virtuosic ability with flavors,” but was less than thrilled with the restaurant. That’s about in keeping with most other reviews the place has had, which call out a few dishes but give it an “eh” otherwise. [NYS]
Randall Lane disliked the Monkey Bar so much that it’s amazing that he gave it two stars (out of six). “More often, though, the dishes were so unsuccessful that I had difficulty finishing them.” Eek. Not what you want to hear after a huge, expensive relaunch.[TONY]
Provence Chef Pink-Slipped; Pichet Ong to Open Cupcake Shop
Chef Lynn McNeely has been handed a pink slip after mixed reviews at the new Provence; no word on who the next chef might be. [Eater]
Related: Provence Redux [NYM]
Pichet Ong is opening a cupcake store next to P*ONG. “Vanilla, chocolate, yuzu and cinnamon will be my staples,” he says. “I want to add a little salt & spice to my take on them.” [Restaurant Girl]
A tale of two bakeries under Health Department scrutiny: one, Magnolia, plays nice; the other, Delices de Paris in Park Slope, kicks back. Guess which one ends up closing. [NYO]
P*ONG’s Elegant, Unlikely Trio of Chamomile, Scallops, and Soba
Insieme Just Misses; One Big Up and One ‘Eh’ for P*ONG
Insieme’s bid for a third star went about the same way as Anthos’: two stars from Platt, then two stars from Bruni. [NYT]
Related: Italian, Old and New [NYM]
Randall Lane gives five of Time Out New York’s six stars to P*ONG. It’s the first major review the place has gotten, and more than enough to make up for getting dissed by the Sun. [TONY]
Paul Adams, in the Sun, finds Pichet Ong’s creations irritatingly twee and precious, except for the desserts upon which the chef’s reputation is built. Adams puts his finger on the problem: “The same creativity that in the earlier courses gives rise to confusing, unsatisfying combinations is more successful when the unifying power of sugar is involved.” [NYS]
Summer Brings Hot Dogs, Barbecue, and Department-Store Salads
So, this place does serve more than hot dogs, right? Right?Photo: Jeremy Liebman
Pichet Ong Is Ready for His Close-up
P*Ong's Roquefort soufflé, walnuts, and arugula ice cream Photo courtesy P*Ong
Openings: Insieme, Tiffin Wallah, P*Ong
Earlier: Look for P*Ong in April, Okay? These Things Take Time
Chefs Try to Take It to the Next Level in This Week’s Issue
The new, improved Gramercy Tavern.Photo: Credit: RJ Mickelson/Veras for New York Magazine
Look for P*Ong in April, Okay? These Things Take Time
Ong walks softly, carries a big whisk.Photo: Patrick McMullan
Inside the Troubled Russian Tea Room; Meyer and Others on Media Scrutiny
The fullest account yet of the debacle that is the new Russian Tea Room. Gary Robins comes out looking far more sinned against than sinning, and the owner comes out looking like a jerk. [NYP]
A blue-ribbon panel including Mario Batali, Bill Telepan, and Danny Meyer study the question of whether it’s possible to open a restaurant under the radar. The near unanimous answer is no. Will Goldfarb suggests one way: “Do it in Queens.” [Snack]
Pichet Ong formerly of Spice Market is the first of the hot pastry chefs to open his own restaurant, the eponymous P*ong. Rivals Sam Mason and Jehangir Mehta (formerly of Aix) are close behind. [NYS]
Related: The Launch [Grub Street]
Nicole Kaplan Ditching Eleven Madison Park
The Custard Queen, on the movePhoto courtesy Nicole Kaplan
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