Would a Tavern on the Green by any other name fare just as well in Central Park? The NY Times digs into the latest debate over the restaurant's name, which is reportedly appraised at $19 million.
Last night was the crowd pleasing, if awkwardly titled, "Blue Moon Burger Bash, presented by Allen Brothers, hosted by Rachael Ray." Held at the Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn, former Top Chef contest Spike Mendelsohn won the judge's prize of his burger with blue cheese, bacon, and horseradish mayonnaise, while the popular vote was won by Lure Fishbar's Josh Capon. But clearly the real winners were those who go to try offerings from Al Roker, Shake Shack and more.
Closing time links include Imette St. Guillen's family suing the feds, Yassky still got love for Chuck, Newark is a Conan-free zone, Danny Meyer's secret Shake Shack order, David Mamet and Anucha Browne Sanders together at last, Artie Lange pleads to a local DUI and Mike Myers has artwork on display for the kids of the East Village.
After years of protests and a long, drawn-out lawsuit, the city is moving forward with a plan to convert a large part of the 80-year-old Pavilion in Union Square park into a restaurant. The Parks Department recently put out a request for proposals to operate a seasonal café in the park's refurbished pavilion; the deadline is in two months. According to the Post, the winning bidder would secure a 15-year contract to run the private café six months out of the year, and also have the option to operate a satellite cart or kiosk.
After three-week vacation, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart came back last night. Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James was the interview guest, and Stewart made a plea from suffering Knicks fans, hinting that King James could come to New York and enjoy the splendors of Shake Shack and the American Museum of Natural History. Oh, and an "I Love NY" mug.
After announcing last week that Shake Shack would be opening new outposts in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, The Union Square Hospitality Group has now brought tremendous joy to the exotic land south of Houston. According to a press release, the newest Shake Shack will be located at 47 Prince Street, on the northwest corner of Mulberry & Prince Streets—by far their furthest location downtown. Shake Shack impresario Danny Meyer exults, "We’re ecstatic to have found this one-of-a kind downtown location in the Nolita neighborhood—just steps away from the heart of SoHo. Shake Shack is thrilled to make its home in this bustling, vibrant community that attracts throngs of people—New Yorkers and tourists alike—on a daily basis." It's unclear exactly when this bad boy will be open for business, but we're told it'll be built as a stand-alone building on a long vacant lot—where lines are probably forming as you read this.
New York artist Justin Baldwin does his best work underground in the subway system. Unlike many who use their Metrocard to gain access to a city full of straphanging subjects, however, he merely uses the subway car as his studio, not to find models. He recently told us a little about his process.
Wondering where the smell of grilled meat is coming from? You should probably point your snout to Madison Square Park. This weekend is the 7th annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party (so popular that their website is even down, but here's a pdf map). You can get your fill of food — whole hog, brisket, pork shoulder, ribs and sausages — for $8 a plate from 15 different pitmasters until 7pm tonight. Proceeds from the weekend benefit the Madison Square Park Conservancy.
That under-construction restaurant on Bergen Street in Brooklyn rumored earlier this week to be the long-awaited Shake Shack Brooklyn location will in fact open as a restaurant called Bark Hot Dogs sometime next month. At the heart of the project is a sustainable approach to fast food, featuring (you guessed it) hot dogs and condiments made in small batches from local, seasonal produce, like hot pepper relish and sweet and sour onions.
Serious Eats reports that the UWS Shake Shack location will begin serving corndogs during Memorial Day weekend. Per the post, Danny Meyer and his crew of nostalgic, frozen custard loving, fast food scientists are currently busy perfecting the batter recipe at Union Square Hospitality Group's remote facilities on Shake Island, located somewhere in the North Bronx. Serious Eats says the corn dog will be available at the end of this month, and then will "reappear as a summer holiday special around July 4 and Labor Day." As others have noted, corn dog madness seems to be on the rise: along with the Shack Corn Dog, talented chef Akhtar Nawab has added a house made corn dog to his brunch menu, and the dank, "corn smut" (or huitlacoche) corn dog first served by Sam Mason at Tailor has now migrated across town to join the hot dog pantheon at PDT. Will Daniel Boulud's beer-and-sausage based DBGB, which will be previewed on Saturday, be the next spot to offer up another kind of corn dog?
Earlier last month, Meatpacking District meat purveyor Pat LaFrieda & Son put their 45,000-square foot space up for sale. Now the Post reports that with another company, M&W Meatpacking, leaving (its owner is retiring; gourmet grocer Dean & DeLuca may move in), there's only one location—a city-owned co-op—"in the Meatpacking District that actually houses meatpackers." LaFrieda, whose business is moving to NJ, said, "A lot of people would like to see us out of here. We don't fit no more." LaFrieda's son explains that their new, upscale neighbors, such as Eva Mendes and one of the Olsen twins, have complained about their Washington Street business and that they received nearly $85,000 in tickets during loading/unloading. Well, we guess MePa just wants the folks who were partying in Chelsea. Last fall, Serious Eats visited Pat LaFrieda Wholesale Meats, which supplies meat to a number of city establishments, including Shake Shack and Spotted Pig. .
This week Frank Bruni at the Times has nice things to say about two new Spanish restaurants: La Fonda del Sol (photos) in the Met Life building, and Chelsea's Txikito (pronounced cheek-ee-toe). Upon the former, Bruni bestows two stars, a crucial break the restaurant and for chef Jay DeChellis, as reviews have been mixed: "Although the menu has weak spots, with a few too many dishes not from the heart but from a marketing plan, [DeChellis's] cooking here feels less forced and more exuberant." The diminutive Txikito is a mixed bag: "Across many meals here I had wonderfully memorable food (suckling pig as fine as any in New York beyond Eleven Madison Park’s); ridiculous food (a rib-eye so excessively fatty and undercooked it was almost inedible); food that fell somewhere in between... and food that never tasted the same twice."
The heat lamps, hot dog bins, and Shake Shack Miraclean grills are all in place, and the long-awaited Citi Field is a go. This weekend’s Mets vs. Red Sox exhibition games will be a trial-by-fire for every swanky new full service stadium club in the place, as well as every lowly hot dog kiosk, popcorn cart, and concession stand. In order to prepare for the crowds, hundreds of foodservice workers are literally stocking the shelves and cooking things around the clock. (Not all concession stands were open during Sunday's dress rehearsal.)
Yesterday’s omnibus stadium food preview made mention of the rumored Untitled Dave Pasternack Seafood Project at Citi Field. It’s long been known that the Esca chef wanted to explore a fish and chips concept, but it wasn’t until recently that the project was actually happening. Today the news comes (via Eater) that the Long Island born chef will open a lobster roll, fish sandwich, and clam chowder station called (what else) Catch of the Day at the Taste of the City food court, the same concessions area where Shake Shack is located. The Mets’ website calls Catch of the Day “a Long Island themed seafood stand;” let’s hope that means Pasternack adds some fried belly clams to the menu a la Nassau County’s Bigelow’s.
With opening day around the corner, both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field are brimming with elaborate dining options. People are asking whatever happened to peanuts and Cracker Jacks, some more whimsically than others. The food news has been piecemeal for the most part but is picking up steam now: A menu preview with photos (think pulled pork) accompanied a Times article about Citi Field Tuesday, while Grub Street got first dibs on the Brother Jimmy’s BBQ Yankee Stadium menu (think pulled pork and fried pickles) yesterday. The combined food service operations at both stadiums encompass what might be the equivalent of 20 or 30 non-stadium restaurant openings, highbrow and otherwise.
Food companies have a history of rolling out faux-Gaelic, ersatz mascots around St. Patrick’s Day: Carvel space cadet Cookie Puss flies his cousin Cookie O’Puss (seen here in the 1980s; 2009 Cookie O'Puss after the jump) in for the short season, and Grimace once welcomed his Uncle O’Grimacey (video below), who in a typically avuncular move introduced the dining public to the Shamrock Shake, a minty green milkshake.
So, Shea is gone and Citi Field opens April 13. Hungry? It’s long been known that Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group [USHG]—proud parent of the burgeoning Shake Shack empire—will duly expand into Queens County come opening day. Shake Shack will join the concessions with a scaled version of USHG’s Blue Smoke. Additionally, an all-new joint called Box Frites will open to stadium. Box Frites is so-named to evoke both the largesse of Belgian-style dipping sauces it will feature, but also the sport at large: “Box Frites” = box seats (compare and contrast with original, foul ball name Pop Fries). In other Citi Field food news, Tabla's Floyd Cardoz, another USHG player, will oversee the endless summer-style Verano Taquería.
The Parks Department, which controls the lease to the notoriously mediocre and tacky restaurant currently known as Tavern on the Green in Central Park, has finally stepped in to yank the place back from Jennifer Oz LeRoy, who inherited the business from her late father Warner. As promised, Parks officials are now seeking potential operators with "imaginative and thoughtful proposals that will respect the architectural intent of the original building and its location within the park landscape." Last year it was rumored that Donald Trump, Nobu owner Drew Nieporent, and Danny "Shake Shack" Meyer were "circling the restaurant like vultures." But it's doubtful that LeRoy, whose grandfather Mervyn produced The Wizard of Oz, will let go without a fight; her father brought the place back from the dead in 1974, and she recently promised Page Six that she will "refuse to sell the soul of Oz." Of course, the only catch is that it's not hers to sell.
Michael Cerveris burst onto Broadway in 1993 with his breakout performance in The Who's Tommy, and in the years since his name has become synonymous with musical theater, thanks to starring roles in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Sweeney Todd, Assassins and, most recently, Road Show (the latter three all Stephen Sondheim joints). But as the Tony-winning actor told us during our chat last week, he never intended to specialize in musicals, and is glad to once again appear in a play that doesn't require him to worry so much about his vocal cords.
We've been big fans of Aziz Ansari since he first hit the comedy scene all those years ago, and it seems like since then he's been speedily checking things off his To-Do list. He launched off the stand-up stage to get his own MTV series (Human Giant), is now in an anxiously awaited spin-off of The Office (he clears up the plotline below), and he's been busy filming movies with the likes of Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd. Not too shabby. This weekend he returns to New York, after moving out to Los Angeles—catch his Glow in the Dark Tour (not to be confused with Kanye's) at Comix this Friday or Saturday (buy tickets).
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Pulse Park in Madison Square Park is still lighting up through November 17th. Smack dab in the delicious location that also houses Shake Shack, we highly recommend going to check it out. You'll encounter a small line of folks waiting to hold a heart monitor device that immediately sets off the circle of lights; each person's speed and pattern is determined by their heartbeat. Here are some photos incase you miss out. Now if only they'd get on the ice skating rink bandwagon...
Though it officially opens today, blogger Dessert Buzz was on the scene this weekend for the "soft opening" of the hotly anticipated new Upper West Side location of Shake Shack. It's okay to be jealous. The 'Shroom burger, the Bird Dog, the fries and the Custard of the Day, Shack Shiraz Poached Pear, were reportedly "all spot on. The Custard of the day was particularly superb. They had a designated greeter to explain things and hand out samples of the custard of the day. They gave me a remote electronic device to signal when to come get my food, which took about three minutes."
From Shake Shack: "Our official opening day for the Upper West Side Shake Shack is this Monday, 10/20. Shack’s hours on the Upper West Side will be in flux for the first few weeks (11:00 AM - 9:00 PM), but once the Shack is really shakin’, it will be open seven days a week from 11 AM - 11 PM. Our site will keep tabs on any hour changes. Depending on how practice sessions go, Shack may open it's doors to the neighborhood a little sooner than Monday. But the official (read: definite) opening is Monday at 11:00 AM." A few pictures of the UWS Shake Shack in progress here.
The burger and custard haven Shake Shack is getting ready to open its Upper West Side location some time soonish—they are still waiting for some paperwork). In the meantime, they're putting the finishing touches on the place, which has a much bigger kitchen (= faster service) and a rec room downstairs for rental (parties, events, presentations even) that will be open to regular seating when not rented.
Brooklynites may no longer have to haul across the bridge and wait in endless lines for burgers, dogs, and concretes at the Shake Shack. Or at least they won't have to cross the bridge -- the Daily News reports that Danny Meyer will be opening a Shack outpost in Brooklyn, and it's going mobile.
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