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Grub Street

Edited by Josh Ozersky with Daniel Maurer

All Posts Tagged: ‘the tasting room’

Foodievents 

6/13/08

5:20 PM

Colin Alevras to Cook the Tasting Room’s Last Supper

Colin Alevras

Colin Alevras feels remorse for orphaning his fans.Photo: Melissa Hom

Colin Alevras pulled the plug on the Tasting Room so abruptly that many customers never even knew it was out of business until too late. So for all those orphaned loyalists, Alevras will cook the last supper the restaurant never had, at the Astor Center on the June 27. It will be a seven-course tasting menu accompanied by Italian craft beers. “I was pissed off that he closed the restaurant without telling me,” explains Astor Center director Lesley Townsend. “People loved the place, loved him. So we put together a dinner right in the kitchen for only sixteen people, so they can hang out with Colin and watch him cook and get the whole experience they would have wanted, had they known the Tasting Room was closing.” The tickets, which are available through the Astor Center's Website, are $165 per person.

The Astor Dining Series: Colin Alevras's Private Tasting Room [Official site]
Related: A Eulogy for the Tasting Room

More: Foodievents  »astor center, colin alevras, lesley townsend, the tasting room

NewsFeed 

6/ 5/08

2:45 PM

A Eulogy for the Tasting Room

Colin Alevras

Maybe, instead of a bun, I could use these.Photo: Melissa Hom

Colin Alevras has admitted (via an Eater comment thread) that the Nolita version of the Tasting Room is closed forever and the time has come for a proper eulogy. Celia Cheng, in her excellent Cravings blog, pays an eloquent tribute to the restaurant today. “When I received news that the Tasting Room had served its last meal this past Saturday, I felt like a friend had just passed,” writes Cheng. “I was not alone in feeling this way, as TTR’s team has amassed a devoted and loyal following. The restaurant was a symbol for community. It had warmth and integrity.” Alevras's fans can take comfort in the fact that the original, East 1st Street location, now a wine bar, will remain open.

Tribute to the Tasting Room [Cravings]
The Decline and Fall of the Tasting Room [Eater]
Related: Colin Alevras: Do You Want Marrow With That?

More: NewsFeed  »celia cheng, colin alevras, cravings, nolita, the tasting room

House Mix 

4/28/08

2:00 PM

Modern Theater and Modern English at the Tasting Room

modern english

What might have been.Photo: Courtesy of TVT Records

Tomorrow at the Tasting Room, playwrights Theresa Rebeck, Sam Forman, and Amy Herzog — with the help of Tony-nominated actors — will debut plays written specifically for the evening, paired with appropriate food and wine by chef Colin Alevras. Obviously goings-on in the dining room aren’t always so highbrow. Yesterday we stopped in for an Old MacDonald’s Burger (a.k.a. the “hearts and parts” burger) and our brunch was enriched not by thespians, but by Thurston Moore.

Read more»

More: House Mix  »dinner theater, nolita, the tasting room

NewsFeed 

4/ 1/08

12:50 PM

The Old MacDonald Burger, Revealed!

the old macdonald burger

Everything but the moo.Photo: Melissa Hom

When last seen, the Tasting Room’s Colin Alevras was hard at work on his Old MacDonald’s Burger, attempting to revolutionize the form. “Everyone has a burger, and I swore for twenty years that I wouldn’t make one unless I could completely rework it in a way I believed in,” says the chef. Well, he’s done it, and the resulting concoction is made of Piemontese grass-fed six-week dry-aged beef. And that means the whole animal: beef heart, beef liver, bone marrow, heart, tongue, liver, flatiron, brisket, shank, clod. The burger also features Ouray raw cow’s-milk cheese from Sprout Creek Farm and a beer-and-butter bun (of organic local whole wheat, natch) of Alevras’s own invention. “I haven’t seen anybody reconsider the burger from the cow up. We don’t hide behind its casualness. We are remaking the world’s most overlooked food,” the chef boasts.

Read more»

More: NewsFeed  »burgers, colin alevras, haute barnyard, nolita, slow food, the tasting room

NewsFeed 

3/13/08

4:30 PM

Colin Alevras: Do You Want Marrow With That?

Colin Alevras

Maybe instead of a bun, I could use these...Photo: Melissa Hom

Having accomplished his dream of serving the eggs of eight different birds at one brunch, Haute Barnyard enfant terrible Colin Alevras of the Tasting Room is now contemplating his own high-end burger. But only if it “isn’t just another burger or some kind of over-the-top tarted up silliness. It had to have integrity.” Fair enough. So what did Alevras come up with? “I’m still working on it,” the chef tells us, “but we won’t be using pork fat like some people do, because then it’s just a sausage.” (Take that, Ryan Skeen!). “I want to put neck meat in there and tongue and heart and a little bit of calves’ liver for flavor. And why use fat, which just melts away anyway? I’m going to use marrow for fat, which will stay intact and also have a beefier, deeper taste.” Alevras is ensconced in bun and cheese issues, but the burger will debut for brunch service on March 30. Its name? The Old McDonald Burger. How's that for Haute Barnyard?

Related: The Tasting Room Lays Eight Eggs on Us

More: NewsFeed  »beef, burgers, colin alevras, haute barnyard, the tasting room

Foodievents 

2/11/08

11:08 AM

Expensive, Possibly Interesting Theatrical Event Coming to the Tasting Room

We just got this press release this morning about a theatrical event to be held at the Tasting Room. The irony wasn't wasted on us: The Tasting Room is one of the least theatrical restaurants in the city, though none the worse for that. But what will no-frills chef Colin Alevras come up with to go along with three short plays written for the evening? And more importantly, do you want to pay $250, the price according to the event's Website, to find out?

Read more»

More: Foodievents  »colin alevras, eating their words, the tasting room

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.

Read more»

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

Mediavore 

1/ 8/08

10:15 AM

Seinfeld Sued Over Cookbook; Goldman Employees to Eat Steak

Sneaky Chef author Missy Chase Lapine has sued Jerry Seinfeld for defamation after he called her a “wacko” in response to her allegations that his wife plagiarized her cookbook. [NYDN]

The beloved Moondance Diner, which survived a trek from New York to Wyoming, has partially collapsed under the weight of fresh snow. [Casper Star-Tribune via Eater]
Related: The Moondance Diner, Neglected in Wyoming, Now a Shell of Itself

Commerce, chef Harold Moore’s forthcoming restaurant, is slated to open in February, but still no word on the cuisine. [The Feed/TONY]
Related: Harold Moore of March to Take Over Grange Hall–Blue Mill Space

Read more»

More: Mediavore  »annie's, cinema cafe, commerce, frank bruni, goldman sachs, harold moore, moondance diner, palm, pheasant, sapore, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

12/13/07

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Esca; BLT Market Fully Booked

It’s 4 p.m., and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard destinations.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »barbuto, blt market, blue hill, cookshop, esca, pure food and wine, rose water, savoy, tasting room, telepan, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

10/18/07

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Rose Water and the Tasting Room; Blue Hill Mostly Booked

It’s 4 p.m., and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked some restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard destinations.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »barbuto, blue hill, cookshop, esca, mas, pure food and wine, rose water, savoy, tasting room, telepan, the tasting room

Back of the House 

10/ 5/07

12:54 PM

‘Forbes Traveler’ Bungles Best Brunches

Prune maybe we could see.Photo: Shanna Ravindra

The view of New York from Dubuque and Ho-Ho-Kus is a laughable one, but we could never understand the reason why. Don’t the editors of Forbes Traveler, author of this ridiculous “America’s Best Brunches” feature live in New York? It’s as if Vogue were to get its New York fashion sense from watching Sex and the City. The four brunches called out — Balthazar, Prune, Cookshop, and Norma’s — are places nobody we know would touch if they were giving away bottomless mimosas. Not because they aren't good. But they’re all wildly crowded, and in neighborhoods where no one would ever want to be on a hung-over weekend day. (Despite Forbes’ assurance that West Chelsea is “the trendiest of neighborhoods.”)

Read more»

More: Back of the House  »balthazar, brunch, cookshop, norma's, prune, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

9/13/07

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Telepan and Esca; Blue Hill Mostly Booked

It’s 4 p.m., and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked some restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard destinations.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »barbuto, blue hill, cookshop, esca, mas, pure food and wine, rose water, savoy, telepan, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

8/10/07

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Barbuto and Hearth; Blue Hill Mostly Booked

It’s 4 p.m., and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard destinations.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »barbuto, blue hill, cookshop, craft, gramercy tavern, hearth, pure food and wine, savoy, telepan, the tasting room

NewsFeed 

8/ 2/07

9:00 AM

The Tasting Room Lays Eight Eggs on Us

Keeping all your eggs in one skillet.Photo: Melissa Hom

Most brunches offer “your choice of eggs,” but Colin Alevras of the Tasting Room is taking the concept to an almost ludicrous degree. In an act of Haute Barnyard extremism, the chef is giving customers the choice of eight different kinds of eggs: goose, pea hen, duck, wild turkey, pheasant, guinea hen, black silky chicken, and of course regular organic farm eggs for the terminally unadventurous.

Read more»

More: NewsFeed  »brunch, colin alevras, eggs, nolita, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

3/22/07

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Tasting Room and Pure Food and Wine; Gramercy Tavern Fully Booked

It’s 4 p.m., and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard destinations.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »barbuto, blue hill, cookshop, craft, gramercy tavern, pure food and wine, rose water, savoy, telepan, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

3/ 8/07

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Pure Food and Wine; Craft and Gramercy Tavern Mostly Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »barbuto, blue hill, cookshop, craft, five points, gramercy tavern, pure food and wine, savoy, telepan, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

2/21/07

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Cookshop and Savoy; Craft Mostly Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »barbuto, blue hill, cookshop, craft, five points, gramercy tavern, pure food and wine, savoy, telepan, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

2/ 2/07

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Five Points and Rose Water; Gramercy Tavern Mostly Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »applewood, cookshop, craft, five points, gramercy tavern, pure food and wine, savoy, telepan, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

1/11/07

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Café Boulud and Savoy; Blue Hill Mostly Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »blue hill, cafe boulud, cookshop, perry street, prune, pure food and wine, savoy, telepan, the tasting room, tocqueville

Two for Eight 

12/14/06

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Bread Tribeca and Centovini; L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon Fully Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Recently reviewed by Adam Platt.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »7square, bread tribeca, cafe cluny, centovini, l'atelier de joel robuchon, lonesome dove, picholine, porter house new york, stk, the tasting room

Click and Save 

12/11/06

12:46 PM

The Tasting Room Now Accepting Coupons

Not good for use at your local gambling den.Photo: Courtesy of City Shuffle.

Lugging a dining guide around is so last millennium — these days it's about Grub Street on your Treo — but there's a certain usefulness to the Dining Deck, a pack of cards that blurbs 52 different restaurants, as well as providing $10 coupons for each one. This holiday season brings a new Downtown Diner's version, featuring restaurants like the Tasting Room and Veselka (and, d'oh, the now-kaput Blue Mill). There's also a Bar & Lounge deck for East Village pub crawling, which suggests a creative use: Since the box resembles a pack of cigarettes when pocketed, it could make a fine icebreaker: "Actually, I don't smoke — but can I treat you to a Cosmo?" — Daniel Maurer

Purchase online or visit City Shuffle's booth at the Union Square Holiday Market.

More: Click and Save  »blue mill, the tasting room, veselka

Two for Eight 

12/ 8/06

4:00 PM

Tables Open at Cookshop and Savoy; Barbuto and Blue Hill Mostly Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »barbuto, blue hill, cafe boulud, cookshop, perry street, prune, pure food and wine, savoy, telepan, the tasting room

The Other Critics 

12/ 6/06

12:00 PM

Déjà Vu: Toqueville, Tasting Room, Frederick's, and Periyali

Bruni visits the bigger-but-not-better new locations of the Tasting Room and Tocqueville, taunting them with the same number of stars (one and two, respectively) Grimes gave their old locations. [NYT]

Meehan turns his nose up at BLT Burger, agreeing with Augieland's earlier assessment that the Kobe sandwich isn't worth the extra $50 — and pointing out that you can get a better burger at BLT Fish. [NYT]

Moira Hodgson eyes the beautiful people (well, beautiful bankers) at Frederick's Downtown and finds the food (including the "dish of the moment," scallops with cauliflower and white raisins) makes up for the pounding techno. [NYO]

Read more»

More: The Other Critics  »blt burger, blt fish, frederick's downtown, the tasting room, tocqueville

Two for Eight 

12/ 5/06

4:00 PM

Tables Available at Mai House and 7Square; No Answer at Gordon Ramsay

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked a handful of restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: New Restaurants.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »7square, cafe cluny, gordon ramsay, l'atelier de joel robuchon, mai house, monday room, porter house new york, russian tea room, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

11/21/06

4:00 PM

Tables Open at Centovini and Porter House; STK and Tasting Room Mostly Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Recently reviewed by Adam Platt.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »centovini, chinatown brasserie, eleven madison park, japonais, l'atelier de joel robuchon, le cirque, mr. chow, porter house new york, stk, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

11/14/06

4:11 PM

Tables Open at Barbuto and Prune; Blue Hill and Café Boulud Mostly Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »barbuto, blue hill, cafe boulud, cookshop, perry street, prune, pure food and wine, savoy, telepan, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

11/ 6/06

4:00 PM

Tables Open at Chinatown Brasserie and Japonais; Robuchon Fully Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Recently reviewed by Adam Platt.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »centovini, chinatown brasserie, eleven madison park, japonais, l'atelier de joel robuchon, le cirque, mr. chow, sfoglia, stk, the tasting room

Two for Eight 

10/25/06

4:12 PM

Tables Open at Savoy and Tocqueville; Perry Street Booked Until 9:30

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Haute Barnyard.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »blue hill, cafe boulud, cookshop, perry street, prune, pure food and wine, savoy, telepan, the tasting room, tocqueville

Two for Eight 

10/19/06

4:00 PM

Tables Open at Centovini and Trestle on Tenth; Japonais and Le Cirque Mostly Booked

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Recently reviewed by Adam Platt.

Read more»

More: Two for Eight  »brasserie ruhlmann, bread tribeca, centovini, chinatown brasserie, eleven madison park, japonais, l'atelier de joel robuchon, le cirque, sfoglia, the tasting room

The Other Critics 

10/ 4/06

2:00 PM

Bruni Comments on Nice Buns; Dirty Bird for Crazies?

This week the fork-and-penners visited four joints where the primo grub made up for the less-than-stellar service and atmosphere.

• Bruni doles out a judicious three stars to Joël Robuchon, noting that the chef's foie gras–and–Kobe beef slider ("the haute burger of the new millennium") has nice buns. [NYT]

• Meanwhile, Bruni's colleague Peter Meehan thinks he's discovered "the city's best new hamburger" at Royale, a nondescript bar on Avenue C. [NYT]

• After some throat-clearing that involves the mention of "a sex act you don't want to know about," Lauren Collins states in no uncertain terms that "you'd be crazy to want to eat" at Dirty Bird. But you should definitely get a mess of the spicy, succulent legs delivered. [NYer]

• Andrea Strong misses the "amazing haze of really good energy" at the old, smallish Tasting Room but finds redemption in "a creamy haze" of sweet potatoes. [Strong Buzz]

More: The Other Critics  »dirty bird, l'atelier de joel robuchon, royale, the tasting room

The Gobbler 

9/26/06

8:30 AM

The Haute Barnyard Hall of Fame

Wait until you see the bathroom.Photos: iStockphoto.com/Bradleym, iStockphoto.com/Lisay

New York magazine restaurant critic Adam Platt files periodic musings for Grub Street, under the pseudonym the Gobbler.

Haute Barnyard restaurants like the Tasting Room have been around for a while now, but the phrase is new — so new, in fact, that the Gobbler is the only one using it. Therefore it requires a little elaboration. All Haute Barnyard restaurants are Greenmarket establishments, of course, their menus more or less dictated by the rhythms of the season. New York's versions of the genre, however, have evolved their own highly self-conscious style.

Read more»

More: The Gobbler  »applewood, blue hill, brooklyn, cookshop, craft, per se, pure food and wine, savoy, telepan, the tasting room, thomas keller, upper west side

 

 

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