Egad! Change at Peter Luger!
How’d we miss this yesterday? Our compatriots at Grub Street report that — are you sitting down? — Peter Luger has changed its menu. (The south-Williamsburg beef temple does, by the way, officially have a menu, though one rarely actually sees, much less uses, one.) After 120 years of serving porterhouse, Luger has added the option of rib eye. Why the change? It seems there just isn’t enough good porterhouse in the city to meet the restaurant’s needs, so the only alternative was to start offering other cuts (or to, as the Grubbies say has recently happened, force some diners to eat fish). Grub Street is not displeased with this development: “Truly great porterhouses are hard to come by; they’re not marbled the way rib eyes are, and they don’t have the same depth of flavor.” Perhaps, but we won’t be eating them. You go to Luger for the experience as much as for the food, and the experience includes porterhouse. We could get a good rib eye without riding the J train.
After 120 Years, Peter Luger Introduces a New Steak [Grub Street]
party lines
At JT’s Restaurant Opening, Long Waits, Bad PR, and a Gratuitous Insult to Our Intrepid Party ReporterWe have rarely come across a press event as epically bad (and badly run) as last night’s opening of Justin Timberlake’s gratuitous addition to the city’s barbecue scene, Southern Hospitality. Press and fans waited for over three hours for the man of the hour to arrive. (The publicists explained that he was always scheduled to arrive late, but insisted that the explosion at Grand Central was to blame for tardy red carpet. Um, we work in midtown and we made it to 76th Street and Second Avenue — JT’s new restaurant is across the street from frat-boy-heaven Brother Jimmy’s, naturally — in less than 30 minutes.) A weird mishmash of boldfacers were in attendance: Seth Green, Lance Bass, the Reverend Al Sharpton, local club owners, a dude from Making the Band 4 — few of whom would give print reporters more than one-word responses. (“A fire,” “three,” and “no,” if you must know.) Once Timberlake finally arrived, the publicists, in another brilliant move, placed security guards in front of the press line, rather than in front of the crowd that was surging toward the former boy-bander. Timberlake beelined for the television cameras, looking like a member of the world’s coolest barber-shop quartet in a vest and flat-brimmed hat.
the morning line
Rent!
• The Rent Guidelines Board last night split the difference between a tenants’ proposal and one from landlords and settled on renewal increases of 3 and 5 percent for one- and two-year leases, respectively, in rent-stabilized apartments. Both sides, predictably enough, railed against the decision. [NYP]
the morning line
Purge?
• The Times spots an interesting pattern in the turnover pattern at a Brooklyn community board: Each of the five members tossed out this week by Borough President Marty Markowitz was a vocal opponent of Atlantic Yards. [NYT]
• A fire broke out at a stable in Chestnut Ridge, about 30 miles north of the city, killing two horses and eight ponies. Yes, eight dead ponies. Good morning to you too. [amNY]
• Closing arguments have sounded in the Braunstein case, which went to the jury last night. The defense memorably insisted the hapless kidnapper’s “brain broke,” and the prosecution, well, didn’t really disagree — but still found intent in his actions. [NYDN]
• The latest restaurant added to the lawsuit over minimum-wage violations: Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club, which joins the allegedly ultrastingy B.B. King Bar and Grill (wait, are they now just targeting musician-owned places?) and others. [Metro NY]
• And five young Long Islanders had to be Tasered at Disney World; after getting caught spitting at patrons, the four teenage siblings and a friend had apparently decided on “jumping a cop” as the optimal next-step strategy. [NYP]
grub street
When Brunch Goes Bad Meet Lynnea Scalora, a waiter-bartender (and bassist-artist) treading the fine line between the “dolled-up” LES cool and the “messy” Greenpoint cool: She slings booze at the Annex, where “people are very concerned about their image” but prefers waiting tables at the laid-back Enid’s. How laid-back? Well, they toss Polish locals out for talking to customers. And scoff at the rubes who order dirty martinis, or coffee-and-dessert, or decaf, or Splenda (“these things aren’t what happens at Enid’s”). And snicker at bickering couples. Otherwise, it’s an oasis of tolerance! There’s more Lynnea at Grub Street.
Lynnea Scalora of Enid’s and the Annex Can Tell Her Hipsters Apart [Grub Street]
grub street
Not the Nosh!
When they came for John’s Pizzeria, we did not stand up, because we do not frequent John’s Pizzeria. But who’s left to stand up now? Everyone loves the Inhouse Nosh Café, the, well, in-house noshery in the lobby of New York HQ, 444 Madison Avenue. Or, at least, everyone does with the notable exception of city’s Health Department, which in its ongoing, rats-video-fueled crackdown yesterday closed the place, claiming 110 violation points. (Twenty-eight or more points necessitates a reinspection.) Grub Street is crushed, and, in this rare case, we’ve got to say we agree. Poor Nosh.
Health Department Rampage Hits Grub Street Close to Home [Grub Street]
grub street
God Save the King Burger
Ever feel like a big, juicy, greasy hamburger doesn’t pack quite big enough of a fat-and-cholesterol punch for you? The line cooks at BLT Burger to the rescue, then. Killing time at the end of a shift one night, the kitchen crew at Laurent Tourondel’s Sixth Avenue outpost threw a burger in the deep fryer to see what would happen. The magnificent result was the King Burger, a five-ounce hunk of ground beef coated, fried, and served on a soft bun with lettuce, tomato, and onion. There’s more to it, and it’s this week’s Sandwich of the Week.
Sandwich of the Week: BLT’s King Burger, in All Its Deep-Fried Glory [Grub Street]
grub street
Sam Mason Always Has Room for Dessert
Last time Grub Street checked in with Sam Mason, the former wd-50 pastry chef who’s slowly working toward opening his own spot, Tailor, he was worried about the floor. Would the hardwood acclimate to the humidity? Would he have to have grout in his kitchen? This week, it’s on to the ceiling and the stairs — who knew there are specific “staircase architects”? — and to that little manner of the menu. But first, it’s time to get dessert with members of the Experimental Cuisine Collective. What’s that? Find out at Grub Street.
Sam Mason Joins a Molecular Secret Society [Grub Street]
grub street
Born to Be Wild Salmon
Over-the-top restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow — the man behind the near-universally reviled Kobe Club, which has caused him to revile, in turn, critics like our Adam Platt and the Times’ Frank Bruni — opens his latest offering, Wild Salmon, today. Grub Street got a look inside the place yesterday, and a look at the menu, and based on that — and not, mind you, on actually eating anything there — pronounces it “the best hand he’s dealt himself in a while.” Why? Find out at Grub Street.
Wild Salmon Swims Into View. Yes, ‘Pun Intended’ [Grub Street]
grub street
Sam Mason Waits for His Wood
It’s time for another Grub Street check-in with Sam Mason, the former wd-50 pastry chef who’s working (and working and working) to open his own Soho spot, Tailor. Today we learn of yet another hiccup. Who knew you have to wait three days before laying hardwood floors? But there’s an upside to that delay: It gave Sam time to go shopping for sexy Japanese knives. Everything you ever wanted to know about humidity, grout, and Japanese carbon steel awaits in The Launch at Grub Street.
Sam Mason on the Sexiness of Japanese Steel [Grub Street]
grub street
Mom Always Said Not to Play Ball in the Fancy French Restaurant
You think it’s easy being a waiter at a high-end French restaurant? Hardly. Chanterelle server Ian Tomaschik has to serve and clear a six-course tasting menu while also replenishing bread and silverware and making drinks and coffees. “In the beginning,” he told Grub Street, “I didn’t think I could pull it off.” But he has, for six years, and it’s worth it: “Once I saw the name Barry Williams on the reservation list. I was like, I can’t believe I’m waiting on Greg Brady.” Tomaschik is this week’s Ask a Waiter.
Ian Tomaschik of Chanterelle Will Serve You Fake Wine If Your Secretary Asks [Grub Street]
intel
UWS Asian-Food Crisis Spreads as Labor Problems Hit Ollie’s, TooThe great Asian-Food Apocalypse of 2007 continues, with the protests that have been plaguing Saigon Grill spreading today to the Ollie’s Noodle Shop chain on the Upper West Side, where staffers — deliverymen, waiters, others — filed suit for a string of labor violations. While print reporters took notes and TV cameras rolled, a group of Chinese immigrants — most from Fujian province and claiming they were paid only $1.40 an hour — gathered at the Lincoln Center location to announce the legal action. David Colodny, a lawyer with the Urban Justice Center, filed the federal suit on behalf of 44 workers at three of the five Ollie’s locations — Lincoln Center, Times Square, and West 84th Street — for violating minimum-wage and other employment laws.
grub street
Sam Mason’s Floor Won’t Weather Itself
Former wd-50 pastry chef Sam Mason may have run into some speed bumps on the road to opening his Tailor, on Broome Street, but he’s still chugging along, and he’s still chronicling said chugging for Grub Street. In the latest installment, Mason sees his restaurant taking shape — literally: They’re framing the kitchen and laying floors — and wonders how he’ll make those floors look as weathered as he wants them to be. Stiletto-heeled dancing, anyone?
Sam Mason Needs Fifteen Women in Stilettos to Complete Construction [Grub Street]
developing
Union Square Rehab: No Year-Round Restaurant
It is, finally, just the sort of weather that makes a vigorous young New Yorker want to frolic — or at least eat and drink — in the great outdoors. Like, for example, at that bar-and-restaurant place inside Union Square. (It’s technically called Luna Park.) But wasn’t the city planning to do some renovation at the north end of the park, something with that restaurant? Indeed, and yesterday Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe caught us up on the planning. In 2004, he announced plans to complete the Square’s beautification by joining the park’s two playgrounds and creating a year-round eatery where that weird fortresslike structure now stands, near 17th Street. But after local sputtering, Benepe confirmed to us, Parks has ditched the controversial year-round part.
grub street
Duck!
We haven’t yet been to Morandi, Keith McNally’s new Italian spot in the West Village, but as lunchtime approaches — and as we learn about chef Jody Williams’s duck sandwich — we must say we’re tempted to head over. It’s Muscovy duck breast on Balthazar Bakery bread, plus lots of other things. We’ll let Williams explain, in this week’s Annotated Dish at Grub Street.
Morandi’s Deceptively Simple Duck Sandwich [Grub Street]
grub street
Everybody’s Friends at Nolita Thai Joint Lovely DayEve Dunlop has been a waitress at Nolita’s neighborhood Thai joint, Lovely Day, for two years, and she tries to give the place a “hangout” kind of vibe. “We’re trying to make a friendly environment,” she says. “Anyone’s welcome to join in our conversation.” So might the locals who come by to hang out and converse — some of whom have been known to get naked (“we’re all friends here,” Dunlop says) — be the sort you’d call hipsters? Not at all, she says. “They’re neighborhood people, young working professionals who are into music and art.” Of course. Totally different. Eve’s got much more to say at Grub Street; she’s this week’s Ask a Waiter.
Eve Dunlop of Lovely Day Insists Her Customers Aren’t Hipsters [Grub Street]
gossipmonger
No Potatoes Dauphinoise for You!Famed midtown French restaurant Brasserie LCB was shuttered by the Health Department after the chef got into a spat with inspectors. Lindsay Lohan performed a stripper routine at the Box, and the crowd went wild. She also rebuffed a karaoke come-on from former flame Wilmer Valderrama. Richard Johnson and wife Sessa von Richthofen gave birth to a baby girl. Tom Brady and Gisele dined at the Spotted Pig on Saint Patrick’s Day. Hillary supporters with $2,300 to burn can go biking with Bill Clinton on the Upper West Side as part of a fund-raising effort.
the morning line
Cops Plead, Naomi Cleans
• The three cops indicted in the 50-shot shooting of Sean Bell pleaded not guilty yesterday. They have quite a bit to deny, too: The charges could get two of them 25 years in prison. [NYT]
• Yesterday’s antiwar rally in the financial district brought a whopping 44 arrests for disorderly conduct. Considering the event involved a total of 70 people — in organizers’ estimation! — that’s quite a percentage. [amNY]
• Naomi Campbell started her community-service sentence yesterday, in a ritual that, once we’ve seen Boy George wield a broom, has become a kind of routine (if bizarre) photo op. The News lists the details of her work attire for the curious. [NYDN]
• Coming soon to NYU: the treasure trove of the Communist Party of America. Marvel at Joe Hill’s rhyming will, Lenin buttons, and “smuggled directives from Moscow”! [NYT]
• And the Health Department is still on its rat-fueled, restaurant-shuttering rampage; the latest victim of the new zeal is Brasserie LCB on 55th Street, where the French owner says the inspectors “acted like the Gestapo.” So he didn’t mind closing, then? [NYP]
grub street
Manhattan’s Bargain Is Brooklyn’s SplurgeMoroccan in Bay Ridge? Turkish in Gravesend? Sign us up. Grub Street has prepared a quick, opinionated guide to the more offbeat pleasures of Brooklyn Restaurant Week. At some places, the three-courses-for-$21.12 model actually sounds like a markup (how much chicken do you need to put away at Los Pollitos II to even hit that total?), but hell, that’s part of the charm.
Take the Cab to Deepest Brooklyn for Restaurant Week [Grub Street]
the morning line
Good Grief
• Hundreds of people, not all of them Muslims, attended the Islamic funeral ceremony for the nine children and a mother who perished in the last week’s fire. Mayor Bloomberg quoted the Koran; strangers offered to rebuild the house and pay for the funerals. [NYT]
• The newly berserk Health Department shut down Union Square’s Coffee Shop after finding 120 violation points. The department’s management, meanwhile, denies a concerted crackdown, saying inspectors are told to “adhere to current policies.” That’s a crackdown. [WNBC]
• The indefatigable Clipper Equity, whose $1.3 billion Starrett City bid was killed to the applause of every authority imaginable, is back with a new offer: same price plus ironclad “proof” it won’t raise rents. How will it make money, then? Why, build more housing on the property. [NYP]
• Here’s a good moral-compass exercise: Try to work up some compassion for Jeannie Kraph, who says she’s being muscled out of her Williamsburg rental. Kraph has been paying $150 a month in rent for the last 50 years. [amNY]
• And Al Sharpton does nothing to disprove his supposed jealousy of Barack Obama (cited in the Post) by fuming to the usually Al-friendlier Daily News about senator’s “nerve.” “I want to know his position on police brutality!” He loves it, Rev. [NYDN]
grub street
Rats Ruin It for Everyone
Grub Street brings us the worrisome news that the New York City Department of Health is going all vigilante on area restaurants following last week’s embarrassing rat infestations. This weekend’s victims? West Village stalwart John’s Pizzeria and neighboring Risotteria. Operators of both restaurants were furious, as were thwarted customers. Grub Street has all the dirt (which may or may not be in the restaurants themselves).
Customers Rush to Pizzeria’s Defense [Grub Street]
announcements
Introducing GONYC, Which We Proclaim the Best Thing Ever
So nymag.com is launching this new service, and, although we know it’s our job to say so, we’d say it anyway: It’s pretty amazingly cool. It’s called GONYC, and it lets you access the listings info we’ve got on the site from the comfort and privacy of your cell phone. How’s that? It’s a text-back service. Send a text message to GONYC — that’s 46692, for those of you more numerically inclined — saying, for example, “name planet rose” (we never remember if it’s on First or A), and it nearly immediately returns the bar’s location, phone number, and whether it’s a Critic’s Pick. (Avenue A, as it turns out.) You can look up a restaurant or bar by name (type “name” then the name: “name wxou”), bars by location (type “bar” then a Zip Code, borough, or neighborhood), or restaurants by cuisine and location (“food” then cuisine then neighborhood: “food chinese west village”). We’ve been playing with it all morning, and we’re loving it. It’s explained with pretty pictures at nymag.com/mobile. Go.
grub street
Purple, Annotated
Varietal pastry chef Jordan Kahn is, we’re told, the pastry chef in New York right now. And what does the pastry chef want his desserts to taste like? Purple, apparently. In this week’s Annotated Dish, he deconstructs his “Meditation in Purple,” explaining all its luscious ingredients. Check it out at Grub Street.
Varietal’s ‘Meditation in Purple’: Need We Say More? [Grub Street]
the morning line
Poor Joe Bruno
• We’ve heard some incriminating things about Joe Bruno, Albany’s top Republican, lately; he’s been enmeshed in some fishy investments and nepotistic dealings, and the FBI is all over him. Now comes the most shocking revelation: All this hustle and the dude isn’t even rich. [NYT]
• The Health Department on the shuttered KFC–Taco Bell that became one of West Village’s main attractions this past weekend for its scampering rats: “It doesn’t look like the inspection that was done … met our standards.” What do you mean? There’s not a drop of trans fat on these babies! [WNBC]
• Apparently state senators were serious about protesting the $1.3 billion sale of Brooklyn’s subsidized enclave Starrett City to an -private equity group. After the obligatory photo ops glad-handing the residents, they’re actually trying to pass a bill that will block the deal. [NYP]
• More grief for JetBlue: Last night’s relatively light dusting of snow caused the now-extra-cautious carrier to cancel a whopping 68 of today’s flights. Yeah, we’d be unloading that stock right about now, if we had any. [AP via CBS News]
• And how can you tell someone’s got a touch of Oscar envy? James “King of the World” Cameron will hold a press conference in New York today — to declare that he has found Jesus’s grave. [amNY]
photo op
Oh, Rats
Here’s what you missed if you weren’t watching local news this morning: Those frolicking rats? Yeah, they’re frolicking in the Taco Bell–KFC on Sixth Avenue in the Village. Thinking outside the bun, indeed.
Rats Infest NYC Restaurant [WNBC.com]
Rats Shown Running Around a Closed Restaurant [AP via 1010WINS.com]
grub street
Apparently We’re Calling This ChodogateYesterday morning, as you likely saw and no doubt heard, Kobe Club proprietor Jeffrey Chodorow took out a full-page ad in the Times dining section to lambaste Frank Bruni’s previous pan of his establishment. In the seven-paragraph (and, we must note, poorly punctuated) screed, Chodorow claimed Bruni’s attack on him was personal and bashed the critic for having no real “food background.” (Remind us, by the way, not to eat in Chodorow’s restaurants, as, lacking a food background of our own, we’ll clearly be unqualified to know whether we enjoyed our experience.) He also named three critics who, unlike Bruni, liked the Kobe Club: New York’s beloved Gael Greene (who indeed fawned over the restaurant in her 240-word squib), and Bob Lape of Crain’s and John Mariani of Esquire (who are both known to be on the take). He didn’t mention that lots of critics hated it, including New York’s chief food critic, Adam Platt, who gave the Kobe Club no stars and called it “a bizarre agglomeration of restaurant fashions and trends, most of them bad.” But Platt earned a glancing dig, when Chodorow announced an “After Adam” feature on his new blog. Platt responded yesterday afternoon on Grub Street, and last night, Grub’s Josh Ozersky checked in with the ranting restaurateur to find out if there was more to say on the topic. Apparently there was.
The Gobbler Responds to Mr. Chodorow’s Broadside [Grub Street]
We Ask Jeffrey Chodorow If He’s Been Feeling Well Lately [Grub Street]
grub street
Show Me the Way to the Next Liquor Bar
For as long as there have been bars, there have been bartenders, and for as long as there have been bartenders, there have been liquored-up customers talking to them. What do they say to you when you’re the bartender at Schiller’s Liquor Bar? Well, the girls give you their numbers, the guys tell you about the urinary exploits, and a middle-aged guy likes to ask about sex clubs. There’s a lot more in this week’s Ask a Waiter, at Grub Street.
Boyfriend Cheating? Corey Lima of Schiller’s Is There for You [Grub Street]
grub street
Balthazar Boss Turns BologneseKeith McNally created the New York iteration of the French bistro. Now he’s gone Italian. The Underground Gourmet talked to him about his new West Village trattoria, Morandi, the great floor his wife picked out for it, and why this could be his last restaurant. It’s at Grub Street.
Keith McNally on Why Morandi Will Be His Last Restaurant Ever [Grub Street]
grub street
Something’s Fishy at PicholineSo you’ve been to Picholine, and you’ve had the $80 three-course prix fixe, and you’ve loved the first course, chef Terrance Brennan’s famous sea-urchin panna cotta, which you know to be one of only two items on the menu held over from the previous incarnation of the restaurant. But, still, you’ve always felt like you don’t quite know the dish. And you’ve always wished Brennan would stop and explain it to you. Well, kids, now you’re in luck: Grub Street’s got a new Annotated Dish, and it’s Picholine’s sea-urchin panna cotta. Learn all about its fishy fabulousness at Grub Street.
Picholine’s ‘Oceanic’ Sea-Urchin Panna Cotta [Grub Street]
gossipmonger
Brit Bares It in Meatpacking BarBritney Spears changed out of her dress and into a bikini at One Little West 12th. Beyoncé is jealous of Jennifer Hudson. The New Republic is going bi-weekly but is not cutting any staff. Chelsea club BED was set to be closed for renovation, and the fatal brawl there earlier this month isn’t helping matters. Ian Schrager’s Chinese restaurant at the Gramercy Park Hotel is back on but will be helmed by a Japanese chef. Zac Posen kicked socialite Arden Wohl out of his Fashion Week after-party because she didn’t come to his show or wear his clothes to the after-party. Paris Hilton is jealous of fellow sex-tape star Kim Kardashian.
intel
Celebrity Restaurateurs: They Get Slow Service Just Like Us!When Drew Nieporent — the man behind Nobu, Montrachet, and Tribeca Grill — is at the table next to you, it would seem worth following his lead. And so when we noticed him beside us (thanks, Times Magazine!) for brunch at Geoffrey Zakarian’s Café at Country yesterday, we realized we were listening to our neighbors’ conversation a little more closely than would normally be polite. He ordered the tartare of beef, and therefore so did we. His arrived, served in a Mason jar along with miniature French bread sticks, and looked damn tasty. We couldn’t wait for ours. But wait we did: Almost an hour later, it still hadn’t appeared. Nieporent’s entrée hadn’t either, and so we found ourselves discussing restaurant service with one of the legends of the business.
photo op
Not Everybody Loves GraydonThe most amusing review of Graydon Carter’s Waverly Inn we’ve yet read (and perhaps the most honest one), photographed in the window of the Old Town Bar on East 18th Street and offered today by our old friends at Gawker:
Old Town Bar at War With Waverly Inn [Gawker]
grub street
The Gobbler’s Guide to Avoiding Bad MealsWho knows what evil lurks in the heart of bad New York restaurants? The Gobbler knows. In his Grub Street column this week, Adam Platt distills the nine signs you’re about to have a really sucky meal. From maître d’ inspections to the “truffles-truffled” dichotomy to warnings about the size of the desserts (anything bigger “than your mother’s handbag” is to be avoided), the Gobbler’s got the telltale clues. Check them out on Grub Street.
Signs You’re About to Have an Awful Meal [Grub Street]
grub street
How to Make Eggs Like a Pro, and Other Adventures in Opening a Restaurant
Former wd-50 pastry chef Sam Mason will be opening a joint of his own, Tailor, at the beginning of March. As he prepares for the big day, he’s been chronicling his exploits for Grub Street. In today’s installment, he considers tableware, purchases some kitchen machinery, and reveals how to make the most perfect soft-boiled egg. (Hint: You won’t be able to do it at home.) Learn about it at Grub Street.
Sam Mason and the Fabulous Egg Machine [Grub Street]
grub street
All Hail the Top Chef
Well, hey, who’d have thunk it? Turns out Ilan won Top Chef. (Of course he did. No surprise ending has been this preordained since John Faso thought he stood a chance against Spitzer.) But, still, even though the result wasn’t in doubt, the great existential question of reality television demands attention: What did it mean? Thankfully, Grub Street’s Josh Ozersky joined New York’s favorite couch potato, Adam Sternbergh, to answer just that question. Read their colloquy on Grub Street.
Ilan Won, Yes, But What Does It All Mean? [Grub Street]
grub street
Gramercy Park’s Park Chinois: Imitation Is the Highest Form
A room at the Gramercy Park Hotel: $500. The steak-frites at Balthazar: $30. Being able to order the latter while staying in the former, at any hour: Priceless. Grub Street’s Daniel Maurer is reporting that when Park Chinois, the hotel’s restaurant, finally opens in the spring, its 24-hour room-service menu will offer facsimiles of classic dishes from many well-known New York restaurants. The list isn’t close to final, but Grub Street’s got the inside track on some likely contenders.
Gramercy Park Room Service: ‘This Next One Is a Nobu Cover’ [Grub Street]
grub street
No, One Does Not Go to Lucky Cheng’s for the FoodWe know we’re biased, but we say this in all seriousness: Grub Street has just published its best Ask a Waiter thus far, and what we have to imagine will be the best Ask a Waiter ever. It’s with Dirty Delta of Lucky Cheng’s, and you’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know — plus much more — about being a drag-queen waitress. What does Dirty think about the East Village institution’s food, for example? “You don’t come to Lucky Cheng’s to eat gourmet food,” she says. “You come to see some bitch in a G-string acting crazy at your table.” But of course. There’s so much more at Grub Street.
Dirty Delta of Lucky Cheng’s Serves Orgy Bowls to Britney Spears [Grub Street]
in other news
‘Food & Wine’ Burns ‘Top Chef’
Want to know if all those rumors about the Top Chef winner were right? Well, that’s easy to do: Some poor schmuck at Food & Wine magazine made the “pack your knives and go”–level error of posting an interview with the winner to the mag’s Website early. It was soon removed, but not before some readers mastered the copy-and-paste functions. Some non-spoiled tidbits? The winner found judge Padma “mesmerizingly beautiful,” he likes his chicken skin extra-crispy, and he has what is often referred to as “Tin-Tin-ish” hair. Want to know more? Go ahead and click — just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
‘Top Chef’ Winner Revealed For Real! [Grub Street]
Breaking: Top Chef Finale Spoiled AGAIN [Eater LA]
