Laurent Tourondel’s Recipes Feed South Pole Residents; Greek Diner Ownership• Laurent Tourondel may not be working on a restaurant in Trump Soho, but he keeps himself busy with tasks like advising cooks at the South Pole on how to replicate his recipes. [WSJ]
• Saturday’s East Side crane accident leveled Irish tavern Fubar, which fortunately was not open at the time. [NYP]
• The owner of Stage Deli, which was shut down for health violations including “a severe vermin infestation,” claims the problems are limited only to the basement level, but last time we checked, rats aren’t really afraid of infesting restaurants at street level. [NYT]
Mediavore
A New Food Blog From the ‘Times’; Can Dining Alone Get You a Date?The Times has launched a new food blog called Bitten that’s being written by “Minimalist”-column writer Mark Bittman. What’s in store for readers? “We’re going to look at great food made with everyday ingredients and readily achievable techniques — as The Minimalist has been doing for a decade — not food as something to be admired from afar, but as a part of daily life.” [Bitten/NYT]
Monkey Bar chef Chris Cheung thinks he deserves a little credit for making black miso cod so popular at Nobu. [Gothamist]
Several changes in their dining culture have led the Vietnamese to embark on a “rodent-eating bonanza.” [WSJ]
NewsFeed
Rat-Infested Taco Bell to Become T-Mobile StoreAnd here’s the Taco Bell on Sixth Avenue that spurred the Department of Health to strap on its boots and go to war. When we peeked in this morning, it looked rodent-free; according to construction workers, it will soon be a T-Mobile store. Meanwhile, down the block, the Beard Papa store, which was supposed to reopen in mid-October, is still closed for renovations. We have a call in to Papa himself to see what’s up, though his side project, Santa Claus, might be keeping him a little busy these days.
Related: Beard Papa Returning Downtown, May Hit the Slope
Mediavore
Scott Conant Soon to Be Very Busy; the New Shake ShackScott Conant has lots to keep him busy until his next major restaurant project, including a book, a Home Shopping Network deal, and a pilot for a cooking show. [The Strong Buzz]
Earlier: Scott Conant Takes Leave of Alto, L’Impero [Grub Street]
A customer sues Zen Palate for serving her jagged little pieces of metal along with her meal. [NYP]
The lines at Grom have grown even beyond Shake Shack proportions, stretching a whole city block. [Serious Eats]
Related: Grom’s Gelato Conquers New York for Italy [Grub Street]
Mediavore
Openings for Dieterle, Pelaccio; Strange Beard BylawsZak Pelaccio and Top Chef’s Harold Dieterle open new restaurants. [NYT]
Related: Harold Dieterle’s Perilla to Open … on Jones Street! [Grub Street]
And Jeffrey Chodorow’s new Malaysian restaurant, for which Pelaccio was consulting chef, opens in London. [This Is London]
Related: Has the Food Over There Really Become Edible? [NYM]
The rat expert who instructed the Department of Health says the city is a rodent’s paradise. [WP]
Mediavore
De Marco’s Maniac Caught On Tape; NYC Denied Shamrock ShakesThe NYPD releases a surveillance video of the De Marco’s gun battle. It’s difficult to make out, but very graphic and not a little disturbing. [WNBC]
Brace yourselves: McDonald’s has decreed that there will be no more Shamrock Shakes in NYC, although they’re still widely available elsewhere. What’s up with that? [NYDN]
The Smith and Wollensky Restaurant Group is enjoying a sudden bidding war for its acquisition, after having already accepted a good offer. [Crain’s]
Mediavore
Gansevoort Owner Apologizes for Sign He’s Not About to Take Down; FDAThe owner of the Hotel Gansevoort abjectly apologizes for its monstrous sign but says that the lease has been signed and that there’s no way out of it. Whether this satisfies Keith McNally and other opponents remains to be seen. [NYP]
Rachael Ray conquers yet another swath of America, becoming the official “spokes-chef” for Dunkin’ Donuts. She will develop a line of dishes for the chain. [Nation’s Restaurant News (registration required)]
The FDA allowing factory farm veterinarians to use cattle antibiotics which may lead to resistant microbes and eventually endanger humans. The Times is not down. [NYT]
Mediavore
City Against New Rat Weapon; Fatty Crab Gets Liquor License, Special CocktailsSome restaurant owners want to bring in garbage disposals as a weapon in the war on rats, but the city won’t allow it, claiming that the sewer system would be overwhelmed. [Nation’s Restaurant News]
Fatty Crab gets a liquor license and some original cocktails to go with it; meanwhile, McDonald’s will be giving away free coffee all day tomorrow. [NYS]
Ernest Gallo, co-founder with his brother Julio of the much-maligned but enormously successful California winery, dies at 97. [NYT]
Back of the House
Customers Rush to Pizzeria’s DefenseThe Health Department can’t win for losing: Having failed to close the vermin-infested KFC–Taco Bell, they’re now taking heat for temporarily shutting down coal-oven institution John’s Pizzeria and neighboring Risotteria. Both restaurants protested their closure in the most emphatic terms, and their customers, far from being spooked, jumped right onboard. In a letter put up alongside the closure notice, John’s tells passersby that the city is “trying to save face”: “After SEVENTY years in business, they have decided we need a sink CLOSER TO the pizza-making area,” the note explains. Loyal customers have contributed their own sentiments: “First they came for the smokers,” wrote one libertarian, “then the pizza lovers.” Meanwhile, a punning Risotteria fan has declared that the inspectors are “full of beans.” Your move, Health Department.
Mediavore
Paul Liebrandt Back in Play; Rat Chief Vows to Exterminate the BrutesThe city’s rat-patrol chief vows that “the rats will not win.” [NYT]
In Vogue, Jeffrey Steingarten reveals that New York’s top unemployed chef, Paul Liebrandt, is doing a restaurant with Drew Nieporent. Snack asserts it’s Montrachet. [Snack]
Amusing slam of Bruni’s Robert’s Steakhouse review from conservative mainstay National Review. Need we say more? [National Review Online]
Back of the House
Rats Stop in Au Bon Pain for Dessert
As we said yesterday (and as everyone knows), as much as rats love fried chicken and tacos, they pretty much eat all over town. This new video of the frisky creatures running rampant at an Au Bon Pain on Third Avenue simply serves as a disturbing reminder. (Would it kill WNBC to tell us which Au Bon Pain, by the way? There is more than one Third Avenue location.) The rodents are much more common in food establishments of every kind than most people like to believe, and in ratty neighborhoods like the East Village, they frequently have the run of even some good restaurants. Still, there’s something especially horrible about this video, which features one of the little guys doing what looks like pull-ups on some kind of valve handle. It’s as if they’re in training to take over the whole of Manhattan.
Update: Au Bon Pain would like to point out that the rats pictured above, as well as the rats doing pull-ups, belong to Taco Bell. (The WNBC piece devotes time to both restaurants.) We regret the error.
Rats Caught on Video at Another New York Restaurant [KSDK]
