Results tagged “madisonpark”

There are a number of restaurants opening in 2008 that we've been eagerly awaiting and we thought we'd highlight some that particularly piqued our interest and have us drooling in anticipation.

Time to dress up and play "I have my own food television show!" If you've ever thought you had it in you, now's the time. Epicurious.com is hosting a contest for the best video on holiday food and entertaining. Submit your entry by January 2, 2008 and have a chance to win prizes including Michael Chiarello cookware and Epicurious.com editors' favorite cookbooks. And if you're quick about it, the first 25 people to submit videos...

One of the most well revered and talented chefs working in the city these days is Daniel Humm at Eleven Madison Park. Humm first learned his trade working at a few top rated restaurants in his native Switzerland, and credits Gérard Rabraey at the Michelin 3 star Le Pont De Brent as his mentor. Now in New York, the chef (who will turn 31 at the end of the month) continues to develop his particular style of cuisine at Eleven Madison Park, which received a 3 star rating from the New York Times in January. We sat down with Daniel Humm last week in the restaurant’s dining room to talk about influences, food television, and what happens when a bunch of chefs get together and Daniel Boulud decides to make scrambled eggs with truffles at 1 AM.

Yesterday morning, the nominees for the 2007 James Beard Foundation Awards were announced at the Beard House on West 12th Street. In additional to New York restaurant stalwarts David Waltuck of Chanterelle, Floyd Cardoz of Tabla, and Terrance Brennan of Picholine (which was rebooted in 2006 to impressive reviews, the nominees also include a bumper crop of young chefs including David Chang for Momofuku Ssam Bar, Daniel Humm for Eleven Madison Park (both for Rising Star Chef of the Year), and cut chemist Will Goldfarb of Room 4 Dessert (for Outstanding Pastry Chef). Three other nominees from San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago round out the Rising Star Chefs category; Goldfarb faces competition from four other nominees in the pastry category, including Michael Laskonis of Le Bernadin.

The great divide between New York City restaurant chefs and serious home cooks is becoming narrower by the day. Chefs pen guest columns for the New York Times telling us what to look for when buying turnips and get interviewed by bloggers about where the most durable knives can be found, all in the name of improving the home cook’s game. A chef might even be followed around the city in order for us to learn, for example, which Chinatown street vendor has the best charcoal-grilled chicken hearts. These things all are well and good, but here is one product used in many high-end restaurant kitchens- up until now a well-kept secret, really- that isn’t available in many, if any, New York gourmet food stores, despite the breadth of all the cold-pressed, virgin, and refined choices to be found. Yes, it’s a type of olive oil, one that chefs don’t want you to know about.

Bruni goes to the Penthouse Strip Executive Club to try the steaks at its restaurant, Robert's Steakhouse. He receives offers from the staff to get naked for him, but--more to the point--also finds "some of the very best steaks in New York City," and gives the restaurant one star.

Proving that everything has a price, the launch of website PrimeTime Tables.com has attracted a bit of attention. PrimeTime Tables sells those hard-to-get reservations to hot restaurants - like let's say 8PM at Eleven Madison Park (since the website uses an Eleven Madison Park photo) - for anywhere between $30 to $45 a pop or $35 and under if you purchase a $450 yearly membership. And we can already see big corporations that need to wine and dine clients at swanky joints signing up...and Valentine's Day is just 23 days away!

Bruni re-reviews Eleven Madison Park and the Bar Room at the Modern, bumping each up a star to three. He raves about chef Daniel Humm, who took over the kitchen at Eleven Madison Park early last year. Finds the beef tenderloin with bordelaise sauce thickened with marrow "druggy." As for the Bar Room, it's "an unpretentious character study," he says.

September 16: Waldemar and Nadia at Telepan - Late Summer Cheeses

With news of the bike-ticketing blitz this week, some of us expected a major crackdown at last night's Critical Mass Ride. Luckily for the bikers, it sounds like cops decided to take it easy-- though there were some scattered reports of harrassment, we haven't heard reports of a lot of arrests. BikeBlog reports:

The James Beard Foundation will be honoring Chef Michael Romano of Union Square Cafe for his contributions to the food industry at its annual Chefs & Champagne Benefit at the Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, New York. Hang in the Hamptons and enjoy tastings by chefs including Florian Bellanger of Fauchon, Rebecca Charles of Pearl Oyster Bar, Josh DeChellis of Sumile, and Kerry Heffernan of Eleven Madison Park along with Champagne Charles Heidsieck and the Estate's own award-winning wines. Proceeds from the event will benefit the preservation of the historic James Beard House in Greenwich Village, as well as the new East End Long Island Culinary Scholarship and the programs of Spoons Across America: The Source for Children's Culinary Education. Tickets are $150 for members of The James Beard Foundation, and $200 for guests. 5-8 pm. For reservations, call 212-627-2308 or order online.

June 23: PJ Wine Spanish Wine Festival

We've been there from the beginning: the first, and the second, so it goes without saying that when we found out about the 3rd Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, we knew we'd be going. But, we'll admit that last year, even though we were ultimately placated by some of the best barbecue in the country, we were pretty annoyed by the crowds and the lines. Apparently, we weren't the only ones. This year brought some welcome changes, including moving the event from the North side of Madison Park to the East side, providing more space and room for four additional pitmasters (hooray!), and creating the "Bubba Fast Pass" option, a VIP card which allowed cardholders and a guest to access the barbecue tents through a separate entrance, with little to no waiting involved.

Last Wednesday Gothamist had the privilege of attending the Wines of Bordeaux Dinner at Eleven Madison Park. We knew the food was going to be great and the wine would phenomenal, but would it be another stodgy wine event? Would everybody sit around chatting about how they smell mulberries that are 6 days old with a hint of cherimoya fruit?

- We love it when cute marine animals visit the city

Gothamist's interview with Wes Anderson.

So you’ve been good all week. Brought lunch to work, only drank during happy hour specials and cabbed it only in dire situations (read: heels over 4 inches or 2 minutes until the game starts). Now you have that extra $225 burning a hole in your pocket and you’re just not sure how to spend it. Ok, so maybe you have a few ideas on how to spend - but come on, how many Derek Jeter bobble heads do you really need?

Eating In: Aquagrill's Fresh Oyster Platter

Jill Singer, Mediabistro Deputy Editor