Do People Really Think Adam Platt Is a Miserable F-Word?When the dignified and unflappable restaurant critic Adam Platt learned that, in a moment of unzipped candor, the great Mario Batali had called him a “miserable fuck,” the critic removed a dusty bottle of rye from his desk drawer and poured himself a noonday toast. After all, if chefs don’t squeal like stuck hogs once in a while, a restaurant critic isn’t doing his job. But the Gobbler had a different reaction. “Miserable Fuck”?!??!?! Wasn’t that a bit over the top? The Gobbler got on the phone with Mrs. Gobbler to find out.
Openings
Bar Stuzzichini Promises Conviviality, Eggplant
Though not technically the owner of Bar Stuzzichini (the place is in his wife Carolyn’s name), Gerard Renny is plainly its animating spirit – or so Rob and Robin suggest in this week’s Openings. Of course, although Renny, a veteran restaurateur and the author of The Men of the Pacific Street Social Club Cook Italian, brings deep feeling for southern-Italian conviviality to the eatery, its fate will be determined by chef Paul Di Bari’s namesake stuzzichini —small tapaslike appetizers ranging from southern-Italian standards like eggplant caponata and arancini (rice balls) to less familiar snacks like ricotta with saffron and honey, or baccala zeppole. You can skim the menu online here, thanks to our ever-acquisitive database, but it probably won’t be same without the friendly atmosphere.
Openings: Bar Stuzzichini, Bodeguita Cubana, and Cecel Crepe Cafe [NYM]
Bar Stuzzichini menu
NewsFeed
Chodorow and Pelaccio Planning a ‘Malaysian Coffeehouse’Fatty Crab may not be coming to the Upper West Side, but locals need not fret — we’ve learned that Jeffrey Chodorow and Zak Pelaccio are in discussion to do a Malaysian place called Kopi Tiam in the neighborhood. A kopi tiam is what Chodorow calls a “Malaysian coffeehouse,” and this one would occupy the 77th Street space that formerly housed Fishs Eddy. Kopi tiams, Chodorow tells us, “are popular throughout Malaysia and frequently serve both Malaysian and Western foods…this restaurant would be very different from Fatty Crab.”
party town
But Will There Be a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ Screening?• “A Celebration of Learning” autism benefit. Pier 60, West Side Hwy. nr. 23rd St., 6:30 p.m. Conan O’Brien, Will Arnett, Candace Bushnell, Andrew McCarthy, and NBC Universal CEO Bob Wright are expected to be there. Wright is, roughly, the real-life analogue to Alec Baldwin’s character on 30 Rock. No word on what kind of voice-mail messages Wright leaves for his kids.
vulture
But North Caldwell Is Not Expanding!
So maybe you think that first-season Sopranos scene, when Tony garroted the witness-relocated turncoat while taking Meadow to visit colleges, was the show’s most disturbing scene. Or maybe you were as disturbed as we were by his quick, cold asphyxiation of Christopher last week. Whatever your preference, last night’s episode — How to Clean Practically Anything! The Little Italy beating! Bogdanovich and the water bottle! A.J.(poor A.J.)! — was one of the greats. And, argues New York critic Emily Nussbaum on Vulture, A.J.’s attempted suicide ranks as the show’s single most disturbing scene yet. With only two episodes left, we hope they don’t get much more disturbing.
The Most Disturbing ‘Sopranos’ Scene Yet [Vulture]
Triumph of the Dulce de Leche con BrownieEarlier this month we told you about Adam Riff’s heartfelt effort to persuade Cones to offer dulce de leche con brownie. According to a deal he made with the owners, if he managed to send 50 people into the shop to request the flavor, the folks in charge would make him a special batch. We’re pleased — in a highly objective, journalistic way, of course — to inform you that Riff reached his goal shortly after our report, and owner Raul D’Aloisio kept his end of the bargain and made the gelato last week.
photo op
Who Told You You’re Allowed to Rain on This Parade?
Wedding March 2007 was held Saturday afternoon, when Marriage Equality New York led several hundred protesters across the Brooklyn Bridge to demonstrate for same-sex marriage rights in New York State. The turnout was smaller than expected, because it wasn’t such a nice day. But, then, if it had been a nice day, the umbrellas would have stayed at home and the aerial photos — as displayed on the blog mcbrooklyn — would have been much less dramatic.
Gay Marriage Marchers Brave Synthetic Turf at Cadman Park [mcbrooklyn]
The Wedding March 2007 [Marriage Equality NY]
