Restaurants De-Fancify To Beat The Recession

More than 500 NYC eateries have bitten the dust this year (farewell, Chanterelle; bye-bye Cafe Des Artistes), but, at the NY Food and Wine Festival, experts insist the Le Bernardins of the city can compete during the recession—as long as they keep "stuffy" to a minimum. Now that one-upping each other's Bordeaux lists is so 2007, Travel & Lesiure food writer Anya von Bremzen called for an end to "table bureaucracy" while chef Andrew Carmellini predicted a "move to casual, comfort food without the trappings of a fancy restaurant."

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By Lisa F in Food on October 13, 2009 4:38 PM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

I don't know, I was at Craft just the other night and I'd say the beenie weenies tasted about the same.

EastRiver

Sucks for anyone losing their job but tough times will weed out the restaurants that have been coasting on their reputations or just plain suck. Tavern on the Green, I'm looking in your direction.

Worthington's Law

Favorite cheap eat is probably Fornino in Williamsburg. But it saddens my soul to hear of anyone de-fancifying.

The Captain

Hooray for cheap eats and comfort food! Who likes bureaucracy at their dinner table anyway? Sad about the 500 restaurants that couldn't make it though, were all of them fancy?