Until 9 p.m. on Monday it was business as usual at Jean Georges, the four star restaurant on Central Park West. Sam Sifton reports that "diners were tucking into yellowfin tuna ribbons or gently smoked squab, talking cheerfully as staff members padded silently through the elegant, carpeted room... Then a cockroach appeared on the ironed white cloth of a table of five diners. A woman at the table screamed and the whole restaurant went quiet." The roach escaped, but the woman was plied with free champagne, and the table was given another course for free, plus complimentary dessert. And that's why we always carry a cockroach in a small vial when dining at New York's finest restaurants. more ›

After-hours Sunday night at the Jacques Torres chocolate factory on Hudson Street was the release party for Jean Georges pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini’s first cookbook, the provocatively titled Dessert Fourplay. The book is literally named for Iuzzini’s preferred format of serving desserts composed of four separate parts or components, and not your chance of getting some when getting your brulee on; actual results may vary. Some examples of Iuzzini’s recipes can be found here, here, and here. more ›

In September, the bar Apothéke opened in an unmarked space on Doyers Street, a tiny alley in Chinatown that sort of plays hangnail to Worth Street's cuticle. Apothéke is one of those semi-private venues, a bar you can't get into; that it's close to a secret tunnel makes it all the more baroque. You half expect to find a minotaur preening in the bathroom mirror with a bottle of Binaca and a comb. The name Apothéke refers to the pharmaceutical-themed nature of its mixed drink menu. The idea is that the place raises the bar for bars, and that head chef (or lead apothéker, as it were) Albert Trummer is half-and-half supertaster and chef, and one part sage. His specially concocted, spiced-tinctures-botanical-elixirs might cure your woes, homesick blues, lovelorn heart, or gnostic turpitude, if you're into that kind of thing. more ›

The fleet of undercover, handlebar mustache-twirling French restaurant “inspectors” have made their rounds through New York’s dining scene, and the results are in. Only four restaurants have been deemed worthy of the Michelin Guide’s top rating (3 stars) this year: Jean Georges, Le Bernadin, Masa, and Per Se. more ›

The Michelin Guide announced selections today for its third New York Edition, which officially goes on sale Wednesday. more ›

Graffiti: Pastry Chef Jehangir Mehta, who has spent time at Aix, Jean Georges, Vong, and Union Pacific, takes a stab at the world of the savory. He has opened a restaurant and bakery in the East Village with a "global bistro comfort food" menu. Offering breakfast, lunch, dinner, Graffiti serves up baked goods, coffee and tea, and a dinner menu where the dishes range in size from "nibbles" to "all mine." For the kicker, the spray cans and markers are provided in the bathrooms, where graffiti is heartily encouraged. 224 East 10th Street, 212-677-0695. more ›

Earlier this week, StarChefs held its 2nd International Chef’s Congress on the top two floors of 7 World Trade Center. Open to industry professionals only, this annual event draws notable chefs from all over the world and provides the opportunity to honor its Rising Stars, an award the culinary organization gives to young professionals. A full list of this year’s winners, including Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern, Chris Lee of Gilt, and Daniel Eardley of Brooklyn’s Chestnut can be found here. This year’s winners were celebrated during the Rising Stars Revue Tuesday night at The Mansion on West 28th Street, which capped off the proceedings. more ›

• There's been confirmation that the Red Hook ball field vendors will be starting their season on April 28th. We're keeping our fingers crossed for warmer weather by then. [via Porkchop Express]
• Jean Georges Vongerichten is in the process of transforming 66 from upscale Chinese to (presumably) upscale Japanese, with an emphasis on soba noodles. Once the metamorphosis is complete, it will be known as Matsu Gen. [via NYT]
• Crif Dogs is opening a "secret" bar next door to its current space. Reportedly, it will only be accessible via Crif Dogs' telephone booth, and drinks will be designed by mixologist Jim Meehan. The name? PDT -- which stands for Please Don't Tell. [via Eater, F&W]
• After a false start or two, Mercat is finally open. They're serving tapas from the Catalan region of Spain with an all-Spanish wine list to match. [via RG]

Just ask Jean Georges, Mario Batali or Tom Colicchio and they’ll tell you there is no need to re-invent the cheese-wheel, so to speak. They’ve built multi-million dollar culinary empires on a single concept, with a few tweaks here or there for freshness. But we’re sure they would warn, as they’ve learned in varying degrees, that the key is not to spread yourself too thin. They’d say to maintain high standards and consistency because your name can only carry you for so long. At least this is what we expect is the advice they would offer Keith McNally on his latest venture, Morandi, an Italian bistro-style eatery in the West Village. more ›

Unless you've been under a rock (or perhaps out of the country for the last week or so), you've probably seen all the hooplah about this fall's upcoming culinary offerings. New York Mag was first on the scene with their fall preview issue, followed closely by the New York Times (offering "sooner" and "later" openings), and Andrea Strong. Here are some of the spots we're the most excited to try: more ›

Bruni hits Jean Georges' "fringe players," Mercer Kitchen and Vong. Between the two, Vong emerges victorious with one star: "you keep wondering if the food they deliver is really as it should be and all that it could be, if the restaurant is receiving Mr. Vongerichten’s most considered judgments . . ." while Mercer Kitchen rates a mere "satisfactory": Bruni calls their menu an "ethnically indistinct assortment of dishes with enough pro forma salads and... more ›

- Lots of talk these days about absentee Chef’s and their far-flung empires. Here is Frank Bruni's Diners Journal round up, where he makes this observation: "I’m betting that if we had copies of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s daily planners for the last year, we’d see that he spent much more time at Perry St. and at Jean Georges than he did at Jo Jo, 66 or Vong. My assumption is based on my experiences at those restaurants and reports from other diners. At Perry St. and Jean Georges, a great meal was easy to come by. At the other three restaurants, not so much." And Beth linked to this UK Observer article yesterday. more ›

Sunday and Monday nights were the James Beard Awards annual gala events, and the results are now in. Sunday night focused on the journalists, highlighting books, broadcast media, and even websites (a new category), while Monday was all about the chefs and restaurants. The excitement was palpable in the food world, so much so that Ed Levine decided to liveblog Monday's Awards dinner, an extravagant black tie affair, for those of us not "in" enough to snag an invitation (thanks, Ed!). more ›

- Jean Georges still gets four stars, even from Bruni: "Eating is seldom this absorbing, this bracing." more ›

New Yorkers may think we're the best in the world generally, but as far as restaurants of the world are concerned, we only made it to number eight. Thomas Keller's Per Se was the only New York restaurant to make the top ten of the world's 50 best restaurants, as named by Restaurant magazine, although his West Coast restaurant, French Laundry, came in at number four. Other New York eateries on the list include Jean Georges, Daniel, Le Bernardin, and Gramercy Tavern. As the New York Post notes, you're going to have spend a decent chunk of change to sample the world's best -- approximately $95 and Jean Georges, $100 at Daniel, and $210 at Per Se (prices have gone up since our visit). Not that reservations will be any easier to come by, thanks to the honor. more ›

On tonight's Apprentice, the remaining wannabe figurehead Trump employees in the reality show making will have to do something really badly, but less badly than the other team, in order to win a prize of some quality time with Senator Schumer. Now, Senator Schumer probably has some great life and business ("Don't try hire lobbyists") lessons for the group, but it's a pretty boring prize, given that previous winners during this season have been able to cook with Jean Georges and even get $30,000 in diamonds. This reminds of when a meeting with Mayor Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion was a second season prize - boring, but at least he's a self-made billionaire - so we can't imagine some Apprentice candidates working that hard during tonight's challenge. more ›

Well, one vacant restaurant at the Time Warner Center filled, one to go! more ›

Photo by Lars Klove for The New York Times more ›

The new Zagat rankings for New York restaurants are out and the top restaurant is again Union Square Cafe, which had reigned as New Yorkers' favorite restaurant as tallied by Tim and Nina for 6 straight years (1997-2002) except last year, when sister restaurant Gramercy Tavern took over. The Le Coze fish shrine, Le Bernardin, is number one in food quality. more ›

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The 66 cocktail
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