Can you tell us about the temperature-controlled aspect of the liquor? We freeze all of our spirits, use Kold-Draft and hand-cracked ice to shake and pour our drinks, and freeze all of our glassware, basically giving us the coldest cocktail around. In short, the theory behind this process is essentially to create the greatest differential between the temperature inside the mouth and the cocktail.

When a cocktail is at its coldest, the organic molecules making up the cocktail are moving very slowly and, as the molecules approach a speed of zero (which never really happens as they are always vibrating somewhat) their positively charged nuclei begin to attract the electrons of surrounding molecules, hence the transition from a liquid state to a solid state. We freeze our booze to a temperature right before the point where this transition occurs, so it is still in liquid form.

As the cocktail rapidly heats up in the mouth and on the tongue, the organic molecules making up the drink (liquor, fruit, condiment, etc) begin to speed up. As the molecules speed up, they begin to collide with each other with increasing frequency (exponentially, compared to a smaller temperature differential) causing all sorts of chemical reactions. This results in a much more intense experience in terms of the flavors the tongue picks up.

Okay, but your summer cocktail menu doesn't have drinks with whiskey and scotch; why are those spirits considered unappealing for summer cocktails? They’re not unappealing at all. I would assume that most people don’t associate scotch whiskey with summer drinking because of its smokier flavor. However, I can think of a number of cocktails that would be great, such as a Bourbon Smash (bourbon, muddled mint, lemon juice, simple syrup). Similarly, most people don’t know how good gin is in cocktails (which is our standard base).

What else makes the cocktails at The Randolph worth the price? Organic ingredients, fresh produce and exclusively top shelf spirits. Our drinks are expertly prepared by a friendly and knowledgeable staff. We also have great music and atmosphere, very little pretense, and a really good looking downtown crowd.

Down by the Hipster first reported the Greenpoint bar (located on the corner of Lorimer and Bedford) and has now followed up with some photos of the joint. They note that Ledger "was a key backer of the the project and was going to be a full partner. His untimely death put the project in jeopardy, but his father became executor of the estate and because he knew how much the project meant to Heath, he released the funds to finish construction."

Currently called The Five Leaves (after "Swan cigarette papers that tell you when there are just five left in a package"), it's slated to open within the next few months. No word on what Michelle Williams may think about this, but last month it was reported she was worried Ledger’s father would blow the millions before the ex-couple's daughter, Matilda, reached 18.

Photo of The Five Leaves exterior via Down By the Hipster.

Move over Jimmy Buffet, Sammy Hagar was in town at La Esquina last night and he brought mucho Cabo Wabo tequila, and his flowing golden curly locks, with him.

Hagar's main tequila guy, Julio, was also by his side, and schooled those in attendance on what makes a good tequila (something about agave) in a competitive tasting wherein three Cabo Wabo's were compared with three Patróns. Secret #1: Sammy sort of liked the Patrón Silver better!

When asked when he brought Hagar into the fold, Julio answered, "No, Sammy brought me on." Secret #2: Julio is starting his own tequila distillery and will one day compete with Hagar. It is unclear if the ex-Van Halen front man is aware of this.

Finally, and most importantly, Secret #3: After one or two shots, all tequila tastes the same.

Further evidence that Top Chef contestants are staying at one of the fabulous new Williamsburg condos at McCarren Park was obtained this weekend when production assistants were seen loading cameras and equipment into 20 Bayard. A laminated sign on the dashboard of one of their vans read "Magical Elves," which is a production company that often works for Bravo. The fifth season of the popular reality show is being filmed in New York, but Bravo is understandably tight-lipped about details. Nevertheless, contestants were spotted at Whole Foods yesterday and Craft this morning.

When asked what they were filming in the thus-uninhabited luxury condo, one crew member said with a smirk, "A mayonnaise commercial. Just a mayonnaise commercial." When pressed to name the brand of mayonnaise, the crew member fell silent and his co-worker blew cigarette smoke in our direction. We felt awkward and left, but will return later to stake out the building. Developing...

Newsday is reporting that beloved coal-oven pizza institution Grimaldi’s was shut down today by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The paper's website has it that the Brooklyn restaurant was seized because of over $150,000 in tax warrants. Agency spokesman Tom Bergin told Newsday that Grimaldi's has been in a dispute with tax officials over allegedly unpaid state sales and withholding taxes for two years.

And yet... we swung by Grimaldi's just now and the pizzeria is in fact open for business and half full with customers. When asked about the Newsday story and unpaid taxes, an employee told us, "I have no idea what you're talking about." A handwritten sign on the door (above) said the business had been shut earlier because of electrical problems. Maybe they managed to scrape together the 150K?

Not satisfied, Park and Lee decided to draw a line in the sand and launched a “Drop the Juicer” campaign to “eradicate all Mandarin Juicers from the planet.” They say “the ‘mandarin juicers’ are to Asians what Aunt Jemima is to African-Americans, Frito Bandito is to Latinos, and anti-Semitic caricatures are to Jewish people… The message is simple: the ‘Chinaman’ will always remain a ‘Chinaman.’” (Of couse, Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature.) And this isn't the first Alessi product to raise eyebrows among Asian-Americans: Behold the Mr. & Mrs. Chin Salt & Pepper Set!

UPDATE: We've received an email from Weber Shanwick, a p.r. firm that does "crisis management" and claims Pinkberry as a client: "We wanted to let you know that these items are being removed from our store. We started removing them awhile ago. We understand the concerns our customers had and we always appreciate and value their feedback. They were part of an eclectic collection and we in no way ever intended to offend anyone by displaying them." When asked if by "store" they meant "stores," the rep told us that all locations have been removing the Mandarin Juicer.

The Times reports that Zakarian was forced to dump hundreds of pounds of meat before reopening last night, and the article takes an in-depth look at the controversy that’s arisen from the city’s attempt to regulate sous vide. Some chefs say they’re being required to cook at temperatures that are too high and ruin the flavor intensity. Dave Arnold, the director of culinary technology at the French Culinary Institute, says “The food code is based on what kills bacteria in very short order. Do you really have to cook it to that temperature? No. There are temperatures lower than the food code, where if you cook it long enough it will be safe.”

A Health Department rep explains that “the thing we don’t want to have happen is someone going to Best Buy and buying a vacuum-processing machine because they saw it on TV." So... that's why they shut down a top chef's three star restaurant.

For the Times, Frank Bruni rhapsodizes about the fiery Szechuan Gourmet, not just another Chinese restaurant in midtown: “Sichuan’s inimitable heat is a big part — for me, the main part — of what makes this cuisine such a riveting adventure. It’s fickle, tricky, fierce. It can light a match to your tongue, numb your lips, snap you to attention and do a job on your stomach that lasts a good long while.” Also for the Times, Betsy Andrews reviews three vegetarian lunch options for under $25 (‘SNice Brooklyn, Crisp and Maoz) and sides with the carnivores: "A Reuben is sinful fun even without the corned beef. But here, stalwart tempeh crashes the party like a cop. Swap the Swiss for soy cheese, and you’ve deputized the remaining bad boy; the good times are all gone from the plate."

The Village Voice’s Robert Sietsema “passed the Pharoh (sic) Café in Ridgewood several times before finally deciding to stop.” But once he gave it a chance, he found the Egyptian restaurant/hookah lounge worth the 45 minute wait. There was a nice babaganoush… the meat, too, was on the money, including an oniony beef kufta.” After dining, Sietsema and company “succumbed to curiosity about the hookahs. The smoke was cool and sweet, and we soon slid into a nicotine reverie, dreaming of bidets.”

Danyelle Freeman at the Daily News has a rave about Sheridan Square, the newish “globally influenced American” restaurant in the West Village that recently lost its chef, Gary Robins, who she simply adored at the Russian Tea Room; his resignation makes her review pretty much obsolete: "So once again, the question is: Where in the world is Gary Robins?" And the Post’s Steve Cuozzo wants to know where all the other chefs are, too: “Chefs are now like travel magazine editors-in-chief: rarely in their offices, but out doing more important things like global junketeering, which in the restaurant world is called ‘sourcing.’”

Photo courtesy Ryan Charles.

Or as Red Hook resident Jon Goch told 1010Wins, “It's completely changed and not for the better. It used to be very organic, more open, more social. Now it's just another city-controlled event. There was an awesome thing going on, and they came in and ripped the soul out of it.” And blogger I Am the Mill reports waiting on line Sunday for 90 minutes. Of course, queuing up is fine for some, but we can’t expect VIPs like Senator Chuck Schumer to join them:

He was there to give a little speech and try some food – the bastard cut right to the head of our line for a photo-op and a taco – but no one took more than a moment to care. All in all, this was not the ideal way to spend a Sunday… We were dehydrated, tired, hungry, and combative before we were even halfway to the front of the line. Chuck Schumer’s barging ahead of everyone was like a jalapeno right in the eye – while at the same time, a soccer ball to the groin.

Photo courtesy I Am the Mill.

The Lady coyly remarks that she doesn't "quite understand the slogan," but declares that "at least my fat country ass ain't selling KFC!" She also notes that PETA isn't insisting KFC stop serving up buckets of the fried stuff, just that they put an end to "procedures like de-beaking the birds while they are alive."

While the billboard went up earlier this month, PETA tells us "it was officially unveiled yesterday" when Lady Bunny was back in town.

Photo of Lady Bunny with PETA's Michael V. McGraw by Tina Paul/fifibear.

But far from issuing a mea culpa to tomato growers, F.D.A. officials told reporters yesterday that the salmonella outbreak still could have been caused by tomatoes. Who knows? They also haven't determined where the guilty pepper became tainted – in Mexico, at the plant in Texas, or somewhere in between. The plant is recalling all its jalapenos, but the FDA has no idea how widely its produce was distributed.

So now tomatoes are okay, but the government is warning everyone to avoid fresh raw jalapenos, or products made with them, like fresh salsa. In the mean time, the outbreak has increased calls for the food industry to track produce from the farm to table with bar codes. Michael Doyle, the director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, tells the Times, “The recent situation shows that we have deficiencies in the system. My experience with the industry is that in part, certain segments of the industry would rather not have food trace-back.”

Photo courtesy edEx.

Only six stands were open today, with four others still scrambling to get DOH approval. By some accounts, lines were “well over an hour” for the vendors on hand, such as the Martinez huarache truck (pictured). Serious Eats has total coverage from the opening weekend, which featured an appearance by Senator Chuck Schumer, who’s been a champion of the vendors.

Photo courtesy Serious Eats.