Results tagged “avoce”

Missy Robbins, Chef

Missy Robbins took over as executive chef at A Voce last September with her style of cooking that's both neatly composed and rustic Italian. In one appetizer, for example, huge rectangular planks of seared trumpet royal mushrooms are gently set on a cloudlike hazelnut fonduta and simply garnished with greens and truffles. It may look like a salad on the plate, but served with a glass of red wine, it eats like a steak dinner. At her last chef gig—Spiaggia in Chicago—Robbins attracted the attention of Barack and Michelle Obama, who were regulars. And in today's New York Times, Frank Bruni does a little hail-to-the-chef thing: “As we all wonder whether our new president has the requisite judgment to steer us away from economic catastrophe,” he writes, “we can take some comfort from this: he has the requisite judgment to appreciate Missy Robbins.”

Andrew Carmellini was most recently the chef at A Voce, which was awarded three stars by the Times. He left that restaurant in June, and is currently looking at spaces to house his next restaurant project.

Eater’s careful reading of Community Board 2’s upcoming licensing meeting agenda next Tuesday has uncovered that former A Voce chef Andrew Carmellini seems poised to take over the former Tasting Room space, at 264 Elizabeth Street. Chef Colin Alevras closed the much missed Tasting Room restaurant in early June.

In time for next week’s Columbus Day festivities, the Post’s Steve Cuozzo lets his Ital flag fly with two gushing columns on Italian cuisine. He points out that Italian restaurants outnumber all other kinds of restaurants in New York by a big margin (and that’s not because of the ever-metastasizing Olive Gardens.) He cites seven “marvelous” eateries – Del Posto, A Voce, Abbocatto, Insieme, Fiamma, L'Impero and Alto – that “establish Italian as the cuisine to beat.” Nobu can sleep with the fishes.

Maybe it was just the red carpet, but most of the people we spoke to seemed particularly excited about the new digs for the James Beard Foundation Awards, black-tie affair held last night at Avery Fisher Hall to honor some of the country's best chefs, restaurateurs, and culinary professionals. Susan Ungaro, the President of JBF, noted that originally, James Beard had moved to New York to become an opera singer, but had to earn a living until he hit the big time. He started a catering company and the rest, as they say, is history, but she noted that he would have been pretty excited to be up on that stage.

We were fortunate enough to be at the Time Out New York Eat Out Awards last night to watch the winners of both the Readers' Choice awards, chosen by readers who made over 14,000 submissions, and the Critics' Picks awards, selected by the TONY staff. The coveted plates hang on restaurant and bar walls throughout the city.

"Sweet Heart," composed of Necco Conversation Hearts by Nathan Sawaya.

Adam Platt has started of 2007 with a bang -- New York magazine has released his "Where to Eat 2007" lists, a compendium of his picks for the year, divided into categories. "Haute Barnyard," a phrase that Platt coined a while back, is his term for restaurants focused on suppliers and the origins of the food, with countrified leanings. Cookshop, Peasant, Hearth, and Blue Hill qualify, among others. He takes us on two rambles, one through Brooklyn, stopping at favorites Franny's, iCi, and Applewood, as well as at newcomers The Farm on Adderly and Porchetta, and the other for breakfast, with stops at Balthazar, Egg, Cafe Cluny, Crema, and more.

While others are writing year end lists about their favorite restaurant openings (yeah, we know, A Voce, Little Owl, Boqueria), we thought we'd do something a bit different and highlight some of your favorite posts of the year. These are the food posts that either got you so riled up that you felt the need to put in your two cents in the comments or that, for whatever reason, you wanted to recommend to others.

  • Bruni had a busy day over at the Times today. He gave one star to omakase-only Sasabune, proclaiming that "with fish this fine," chef and owner Kenji Takahashi has every right to make his own rules. He also creates his perfect meal of 2006, comprised of dishes from various spots. It starts off with the grilled squid salad at Boqueria, winds its way through L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and A Voce before landing at The Little Owl for the pork chop, and finishes at Blau Gans for dessert.
  • Okay, so slaving in the kitchen for hours on end isn't for everyone. If you want to leave the entire Thanksgiving planning, shopping, prep, cooking, and cleanup to someone else, or if the thought of eating aunt Irma's dried out excuse for a bird throws you right over the edge, dining out might be for you. Grab the family and a few friends for good measure and instead of making a turkey or a pumpkin pie, make a reservation.

    That would be Michelin stars. The 2007 guide was released today, with ratings for 526 restaurants, including several newcomers from the past year. Del Posto debuts with a bang: two stars, joining the ranks of Masa, Bouley, and Daniel (Danube, which also had two stars last year, dropped down to one). All of those who earned three stars last year (Le Bernadin, per se, and Jean-Georges) held their ground with the exception of Alain Ducasse at the Essex House. According to the New York Times it "was dropped from the guide this year because it plans to close and relocate in early January."

    It’s Fall Preview week at the Times. Flo Fab’s got the upcoming restaurant openings, both for this month and the rest of the year. Adjust your diets accordingly!

    Bruni goes to Lidia Bastianich’s Felidia (last reviewed and three-starred by Ruth Reichl in 1995) and reaffirms the three-stars. He’s crazy about the risotto, and calls its food “surprisingly distinctive in a city infatuated with, and just about saturated by, various kinds of Italian cuisine.”

    A Voce is Italian for "word of mouth," and word is certainly spreading about this modern Italian restaurant, opened a few months ago on Madison and 26th Street. Andrew Carmellini, the chef, won numerous accolades in his previous position at Café Boulud, including the James Beard Award for Best New York Chef in 2005. Here he presents basic Italian food elevated by the incorporation of the freshest ingredients available.

    - Ummm…if the A Hamburger Today guys say Top 3 burger, you can bet we are going to get ourselves down to try it soon

    According to A Voce, (pictured) spring comes this week when the 100-seat expansion opens and we can sip near beautiful (and fragrant) lemon trees. Though the place has gotten mixed reviews, we're not casting our vote until we have a glass of wine in the back. Clearly, we're pro-spring.

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