Banana Republic Goes Monogram; More Murakami FussBanana Republic’s monogram adventure opens in the West Village today, Gwen Stefani makes even pricier handbags, and John Galliano’s minions do manual labor.
The Annotated Dish
Dovetail’s Deconstructed Muffuletta Is a Trojan Horse for Lamb’s TongueDovetail, John Fraser’s new Upper West Side restaurant, is enjoying a critical reception not seen in some time. Adam Platt’s three-star review highlighted the deconstructed muffuletta sandwich with fried lamb’s tongue. Fraser says the dish came to him in a dream but also has a more practical explanation: “Lamb’s tongue is not the easiest thing to sell, so you have to pair it with something really interesting.” As always, mouse over the different elements to hear them described in the chef’s own words.
The Annotated Dish
Suba’s Spanish LambapaloozaSpanish fine dining has been a hard sell in New York, but insofar as anyone has been able to make a go of it, it’s Seamus Mullen. Suba, Mullen’s chicly dungeon-like space on the Lower East Side, produces some of the city’s most intense and inventive Spanish-inspired food, and the Silla de Cordero, or saddle of lamb, is a perfect example. Three separate parts constitute the saddle, and Mullen puts them all together on plate, a tribute to the Spanish love of lamb: “the whole dish is about lamb, soup to nuts” he says, “lamb tenderloin, lamb belly, lamb loin, sheep’s milk cheese, sheep’s milk yogurt, and a nice lamby vinaigrette. We love it.” As always, mouse over the different parts of the dish to hear them described in the chef’s own words.
The Orange Line
Riding the V Line: A Turkish Oasis at Sip SakWe’re riding the B and V from Coney Island all the way to Forest Hills, jumping off frequently to rave about our favorite restaurants and food stores near the subway.
This week’s location is 53rd and Lex, the V’s last stop in Manhattan. It’s delis and hotels everywhere you look, and it doesn’t get much better as you head east on 53rd Street. But hang a right on Second Avenue, and pop into Sip Sak, Orhan Yegen’s one-of-a-kind take on Turkish fast food.
The Annotated Dish
A ‘Clean, Elegant’ Lamb Trio at Le CirqueChristophe Bellanca, the new chef at Le Cirque, is a veteran of a number of Michelin-starred kitchens in France, and his work at the venerable restaurant shows off classical French technique in spades. Everything is pared down to its most basic essence, and even dishes like this lamb trio seem elemental in a very purified, austere way. “I wanted something that was interesting, clean, and elegant,” the chef says, and he got it. As always, mouse over the different sections of the image to hear it described in Bellanca’s own words.
new york fugging city
It’s Finally Fugging OverThe sky didn’t fall, even when it opened. The VMAs landed smack in the middle of Fashion Week and threatened to rain on our stargazing parade, but in the end — after all the wailing, teeth-gnashing, and prophesies of doom — neither an awful awards show nor an actual deluge could spoil the celebrity turnout in the front rows. It’s enough to make our Grinchy hearts grow three sizes. Or at least keep us smiling through the pain of our considerable blisters.
Without further ado, here’s a look at a few of the highlights:
Anna Wintour Wants Marchesa All to HerselfAnna Wintour demanded a private, pre-show viewing from Marchesa, making for a mannequin scramble — and hasty makeup jobs. Quelle horreur!
Ann Watson of Henri Bendel Likes Yigal, Josh Goot, and L.A.M.B.
Throughout the week, New York’s biggest buyers will be filling us in on which runway looks they plan to snatch up for spring. Today, Ann Watson, Vice-President, Fashion Director for Henri Bendel has her eye on Yigal Azrouel’s pencil skirt, Josh Goot’s scuba dresses, and L.A.M.B.’s dresses.
selita says
Selita Ebanks Works the Shows and the PartiesDuring this week of weeks, Victoria’s Secret model Selita Ebanks reports on Fashion Week from her elevated — and fabulous — perspective.
new york fugging city
Baby Kingston Too Fugging Cute at L.A.M.B.At Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. show, both of our fondest wishes came true: The clothes were totally fun, and little Kingston — all blinged out in what appeared to be bedazzled jeans, like the biggest badass in the sandbox — made an appearance, bouncing on dad — Gavin Rossdale’s lap in the front row.
new york fugging city
Celeb Designers Fug Up Fashion WeekSure, we enjoy the exotic frocks that cost more than our cars, but we really cherish the crazy stuff sent down the catwalk by delusional celebrities convinced they can be the next Derek Lam.
the morning line
Braunstein Writes Again
• This year’s edition of the Puerto Rican Day blowback begins: activists say the police have overreached in their pre-parade gang sweep and wrongly jailed innocent bystanders. [NYDN]
• Peter Braunstein dusted off his dormant journalism skills to write a long leniency-seeking letter to the judge: “I implore you, your honor, to [ignore] the venomous tabloid media and its premodern understanding of mental illness.” Hey Pete, “media” is plural. [NYP]
• The NYPD premieres a new siren, the Rattler (a low-frequency aural assault) to go with its storied repertoire: the Yelp, the Wail, the Hi-Lo etc. The Times article actually links to the sound samples for each. [NYT]
• Wednesday’s weird confluence of NYC critter sightings — a hawk and a kestrel in Manhattan, a lamb tearing through the Broonx — made for the busiest day in Animal Control’s history. [FoxNews]
• And, one more squeeze of the Sopranos-ending “controversy”: James Gandolfini admits he has no idea if his character lives or dies. His career is a far more clear-cut case. [AP via amNY]
Mediavore
Hello, Five Guys Burgers; Bush Versus OverfishingThe Five Guys burger chain, which has fanatical adherents in Washington D.C., came to New York without anybody knowing it. And the burgers at its Queens location are outstanding. [Serious Eats]
All we have to do to replenish the ocean’s devastated fish populations is to leave them alone, which is well within the power of our unpopular president. [NYT]
Shock jocks JV and Elvis have, predictably, been fired for their idiotic Chinese-restaurant phone prank, in which they called up live to ask for “shrimp flied lice” and “some old dung.” [WNBC]
The Annotated Dish
Insieme’s Complicated Quartet of LambMarco Canora has the reputation as a chef’s chef, a guy who knows how to take great ingredients and develop their taste with a minimum of artifice or flash. He was that way as the original chef at Craft, at Hearth, and now at Insieme, his ambitious new midtown restaurant. Lamb four ways with lavender, spring garlic, peas, morels and spicy greens is a quintessential Canora dish, intense, multilayered, but somehow humble. Mouse over each element for Marco’s description.
NewsFeed
Matt Weingarten Bids Savoy Adieu, Brings His Lamb Sandwich to Midtown
The last time we heard about Matt Weingarten, the bespectacled, red-bearded chef’s first restaurant, Porcupine, had gone belly up, and he had brought his checked pants and his knives to Savoy as chef de cuisine. But Weingarten, an intellectual type who thinks about food night and day, couldn’t be contained forever, and he will be leaving Savoy in early April to head up Café St. Bart’s, the terrace restaurant attached to St. Bartholomew’s Church at Park and 50th. Weingarten will be consulting on the food this summer and in the fall remaking the menu as executive chef. What can diners expect? “Well, there won’t be any foams,” he says. “I’m not a molecular-gastronomy kind of cook. Everything will be very simple and classic.” He does assure us that he will be bringing with him the leg-of-lamb sandwich with prune-hyssop butter that he has carted around with him since Porcupine. Good. We were worried.
Café St. Bart’s, 109 E. 50th St., at Park Ave.; 212-888-2664.
