Results tagged “gothamistfood”

Two articles in separate sections of Sunday’s New York Times brought out Gothamist Food’s inner Freakonomicist, which isn’t as painful as it sounds. The National section of the Times reported that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, its use as a baby name slipped down to the 382nd place overall on the girl’s list, marginally good news for those of us named Brenna (#381, baby). Unrelated, and over in the City section, the fate of the pink neon sign outside the East 12th Street Chow Mein house Jade Mountain was discussed; the 76 year-old restaurant closed three months ago, five months after owner Reginald Chan was killed while making a food delivery by bicycle. Now that Chan’s family looks for a new restaurant to take over the space, everyone is worried what become of Jade Mountain’s iconic, sputtering signage.

It's the time of year when the Gothamist Food mailbox is chock full of pleas. You want it . . . you need it . . .you must have your Shamrock Shake. We've tried to help you find them in the past, but to no avail. But now, dear readers, the mystery of why a Shamrock Shake is nowhere to be found in the five boroughs has been solved, thanks to the investigative team at the Daily News:

"New York region no longer stocks the Shamrock Shake," Jennifer Nagy of McDonald's regional marketing told me. "Our branches can vote region by region," and in New York City, the five boroughs and surrounding areas, they're not voting green.

Continue reading "The Mystery of the Disappearing Shake: SOLVED"

Apparently New York is slowly but surely being taken over by frozen yogurt establishments. Both the traditional press and food bloggers have spoken volumes about Pinkberry, a West-coast chain known affectionately as "Crackberry" for its addictive qualities. Since we first reported on it in October, there have been articles in the New York Sun, the New York Times, and posts from Restaurant Girl and Off the Broiler. But a challenger to Pinkberry arrived recently -- Yolato, where, according to today's NYT dining section "the creaminess of gelato meets frozen yogurt’s refreshing tang." Yolato's first location opened in January, and its second opened today, and the Pinkberry empire has plans to open two more Manhattan locations.

- We've got three new Gothamist Food contributors on board! Take a look at their debut posts, and give them a warm welcome! Nick Kindlesperger, Hugh Merwin, and Jordana Rothman.

- Culture Festival: 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. at intersection of Mott & Bayard Streets

Ed note: Gothamist Food contributors Beth Butts and Chris Steighner bring us a new weekly column: The First Course

Gothamist Food editor Laren Spirer was one of the judges last night at the Vendys-- but she seems to have overdosed on street meat, and hasn't yet reported in! If you see her wandering around downtown, dazed and smelling like sausage, please let us know so we can come pick her up. Until then, we'll just have to rely on the mainstream media for accounts of the fierocious vender battle that ended with Rolf Babiel crowned as the winner. The Times gives us his reaction:

In August, we told you about the Vendys, the first annual streetfood awards sponsored by Streetvendor.org. The awards are a wonderful idea-- they celebrate the hard working people that produce some our city's most delicious food, and help dispel those old notions that everything you buy on the street is poisonous, tastes bad, or both. From the looks of it, the four finalists are tightly matched:

Although it has yet to reach the five boroughs, Katrina is on the minds of New Yorkers. She isn't predicted to descend upon our fair city, but reports of her wrath down South have shaken many to core - looking for some sort of distraction from the onslaught of disaster-related news updates. Gothamist Food wants to do our parts to help fill up the nation's network of food bank pantries to assist Katrina's victims. Here's a link to America's Second Harvest, if you'd like to make a donation.

Many strange things happen at NYC public schools, but this hasn't happened (yet): A boy's school project of a 30 inch burrito left a New Mexico junior high school in lockdown yesterday. A concerned citizen called authorities when they spotted eighth grader Michael Morrissey carrying "something long and wrapped up." The best line, of many, from the AP:

The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with steak, guacamole, lettuce, salsa and jalapenos. It was wrapped inside tin foil and a white T-shirt.

Tomorrow, it's the NYC Parks Department's Eggstravganza 2005 in Central Park! While the activities are ostensibly for children, it seems like everyone can join in the fun, like the egg hunt, Easter egg dying, an Eggstacle, and a petting zoo (just don't put your fingers in your mouth after petting the animals). It doesn't seem like the Peeps Fun Bus is in town the way it was last year, but there will be Central Park's Biggest Cha Cha and Electric Egg Slide - woo!

The celebration of St. Patrick's Day has come to mean one thing to New Yorkers: booze. And although we certainly love booze, Gothamist Food is always looking for an excuse to eat, so to us, today is all about finding places where we can get a taste of the Irish along with our drinks. So where to? Although we might have missed it today, New York Magazine gives us a few spots for a traditional Irish breakfast, and for tonight, they've provided a wrap-up of pubs that serve traditional Irish fare. Citysearch also gives us a list of Irish restaurants, and Gayot highlights St. Patrick's Day celebrations at spots around town.

- Project Runway gets its winner

The good folks at D'Artagnan, who have forgiven us for stalking them at the Grand Tasting, are celebrating their 20th Anniversary later this month. The makers of scrumptious foie gras, truffle butter, duck prosciutto, and other hard-to-resist high-end foods, are hosting a number of public events to celebrate the occasion, including a cooking demonstration on February 24th by some of the world's best female chefs (Les Nouvelles Meres Cuisinieres), the Duckathlon on February 26th, a combination scavenger hunt/food and wine tasting (in which Gothamist Food is going to participate -- you'll hear all about it later), and The Decadent Lunch on February 27th, benefitting the Jean-Louis Palladin Foundation. For more on the public events, visit their website at D'Artagnan.com.

It's not hard to spend $440 dollars on food in New York, even if you decide to do it at 44 different places. This weekend, New York Daily News wraps up 100 spots to eat for $10 or less. Their rules: "Find 100 places where you can have a meal for less than $10 without tax, tip or alcohol. No fast-food chains, no coffee shops and no slices." Fair enough. Their list includes some of our favorites, like Zaragoza for fantastic $2 tacos, Caracas for arepas, Margon for Dominican cuisine, Sapore for neigborhood Italian, and places we've highlighted here at Gothamist Food: Dumpling Man, Bereket, Hummus Place, and the Chip Shop.

NY magazine's Economy of One column has celebrities spending certain fixed amounts of money that correlate with something in the celebrities' lives, like how Michael Stipe would spend $3,018.86, the cost of R.E.M's first van - one of the things is a margherita pizza from Otto! [Check out Gothamist Food's "Ask Your Bartender" post with Otto bartender, Bill Riley.]

New York Magazine has published Where to Eat Now, a dining guide for 2005, and it's already got us making lists of where we want to eat next year! And although we probably won't be able to afford per se or Masa (unless our financial circumstances change dramatically in 2005), there are plenty of options, whatever your budget or your tastes. Whether it's crudo at Bar Tonno, pizza at Franny's, chili at one of Daisy May's carts, noodles at Momofuko, or frog's legs at Gavroche, you'll be able to find something in the guide that revs up your tastebuds for the new year. Gothamist Food resolves to visit as many new places next year as our budgets and our waistlines can handle!

Although Bon Appétit mentioned that food blogs were hot, we didn't get named specifically (a special shout out to NY-based Slice and The Food Section, though -- congrats, gentlemen!). But we're feeling hot anyway. Both New York magazine and Bon Appétit listed some of the hottest food trends, and Gothamist Food is right there with 'em, on the cutting edge.

Today's Manhattan User's Guide lists their favorite food blogs, and Gothamist Food made the list! Hooray! They also give shout-outs to our own Vittles Vamp and Gothamist's source for all pizza-related info, Slice. Their list includes a wide variety of blogs and sites, including Chowhound (great for opinions and gossip), Andrea Strong (she always knows the inside scoop on who's cooking where), and A Full Belly (all the weekly NYC reviews collected in one convenient place), among others. Congratulations to all, and be sure to check out the rest of the list -- but just not when you're too hungry!

We'll have to wait until tomorrow before the Gothamist Food post on last night's Taste of New York event, but we couldn't help but love this photograph of one dish that Stephanie Klein took.

Learn more about Union Square from the Union Square Partnership, and Gothamist Food had an image of what the Greenmarket is like. And there are other greenmarkets all around the city; here's where they are (Gothamist Food on the Borough Hall one).

Gothamist Food's own Joe DeSalazar is in the New York Post this morning, in an article on the growth of dining clubs in the city. Joe's very own dining club, Foodie, garners the Post's praise:

We hope you're been checking out our wonderful sub-blogs: Gothamist Arts & Events, Ask Gothamist (for advice), Gothamist Food, Gothamist Interview, Gothamist Sports, and Gothamist Weather. Plus the week in full.

Amy Langfield uncovered this exciting news that got very little attention: Alcohol can now be sold at off-premise joints seven days a week! We had noticed it was easier for us to get some 40s from the local bodega, but who knew the wine store could be open too? Perfect for when you want to be a good guest at those Sunday evening dinners at someone else's we never get invited to.

It has also earned a certain renown among chefs. "When I went to check out Sui with a friend," the author says, "the chef overheard our conversation and asked if I was Lippmann-san. He said his friend at Riingo told him about the sheet and that I would be coming by, and hopefully I'd add him." Lippmann obliged.

What do you think will be the next big lunch trend? For more about food: Gothamist Food and Gothamist's other food archives.

You can read all of Gothamist by using the Digest. And we look forward to the Emmys this Sunday and will bring you our minute-by-minute (okay, maybe 10 minute by 15 minute) coverage on Monday.

You can find more events from Gothamist Arts & Events as well as Gothamist Food.

Little Italy's site has information on San Gennaro as well: The Grand Procession is on Saturday at 2PM ("the statue of San Gennaro carried from its permanent home in the Most Precious Blood Church through the streets of Little Italy") and the Big Feast is on Sunday. Gothamist thinks there's nothing better than wandering from booth to booth, eating gelati here, zeppoles there, getting a cheap drink there, trying not to get lost in the crowd of others, for a mid-September jaunt. And Gothamist Food has some picks for great Italian wine.