AlwaysNYCWFF: Bruni Unveiled

Arthur Bovino — October 11, 2009

Eater.com co-founder, Ben Leventhal (left) with former Times restaurant critic, Frank Bruni.

It was a trip to sit in The Tishman Auditorium of The New School last night during “Bruni Unveiled,” the New York City Wine and Food Festival’s (site) sit-down interview of Frank Bruni by Eater.com co-founder, Ben Leventhal. After all, this great writer with a bestseller who the food world obsessed over used to be someone I did research, and signed aliases on restaurant checks for, when I occasionally joined him for meals while working as The Times’ Dining Section news assistant, years ago.

Seeing Frank on stage with Leventhal was surreal. But it was cool to see audience members experience Frank’s wit and get a glimpse of the person behind the weekly columns (especially since some are sick of Pete Wells and already miss him).

Following are some highlights of the conversation.

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AlwaysInformed: Meatball Madness Preview

Arthur Bovino — October 08, 2009

Meatball Sliders at The Little Owl.

It’s finally here this weekend: New York City Wine & Food Festival’s Meatball Madness hosted by Giada De Laurentiis. The GutterGourmet has been waiting for this moment for months. He’ll be at the event covering it for us on Sunday. To bone up:

-To learn about participants, visit relevant sites and AlwaysHungryNY.com’s restaurant pages below.
-For great meatball pictures, revisit our Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs roundup.
-For who else it might have been interesting to see compete and in which categories, read the Meatball Madness preview that GutterGourmet wrote after Meatball Melee of the Boroughs.

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AlwaysLearning: Are Critics Important?

The Gluttoness — October 08, 2009

From left: Danny Meyer, Lee Schrager, Mimi Sheraton, Jean-Luc Naret, Jean-Georges and Kate Krader.

On Tuesday, in honor of the 2010 New York City Michelin Guide, Danny Meyer, Lee Schrager, Mimi Sheraton, Jean-Luc Naret (director of the Michelin Guide), Jean-Georges and Kate Krader gathered at the Borders in the Time Warner Center for a discussion about the state of restaurant criticism. Moderator Mike Colameco’s first question didn’t mince words: do critics matter?

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AlwaysInformed: The Capital Grille Gets Signange

The Gluttoness — July 15, 2009

It almost seems as if there’s hardly room for another steakhouse below Chambers Street, and last we heard on June 30th, the super-sized Financial District outpost of The Capital Grille was still a ways away from being completed. But today, there is an indication of some progress at the 120 Broadway location, at least from the outside: signage at the entrance on Pine Street near Naussau.

First comes the sign, then the steaks!

AlwaysInformed: Veselkhiarascuro

Arthur Bovino — July 10, 2009

Charnick installing Veselkhiarascuro at the AlwaysHungryNY.com headquarters

Those of you who are fans of Veselka (restaurant page) may remember reading on Eater last August and Grub Street in January that Veselkhiarascuro, the iconic mural by Arnie Charnick, was going on sale. The restaurant’s planned 10-foot expansion through the back wall meant it would no longer fit. All you 24-hour pierogie-eaters need not fear however because the mural has found a wonderful home right here in AlwaysHungryNY.com’s headquarters.

It’s not everyday that an artist walks into your office carrying an epic piece of artwork that when unfurled spans almost twenty feet. When I asked AlwaysHungryNY.com’s founder, Jeff Zalaznick how we had acquired Veselka’s mural he explained:

“When I walked into Veselka and saw that the originally high price of the mural had been lowered and now included the chance to ‘make your best offer,’ I made Charnick an offer he couldn’t refuse.”

And what was that offer?

Continue reading about the new home for Veselka's mural, Veselkhiarascuro >>

AlwaysInvestigating: Bar Artisanal’s Lamb Burger

The Gluttoness — May 15, 2009

Having read the good news and bad news about Bar Artisanal, one thing was clear: the Lamb Burger had to be eaten immediately. It’s made with ground lamb shoulder from DeBragga and Spitler that is mixed with Merguez. The patty is stuffed with fresh goat cheese with butter and herbs, and served on a Picholine Olive Roll with a side of Niçoise Tapenade. It’s a delicious explosion of Greek flavors.

Sliced in half, the hamburger revealed a sexy, drool-inducing cross-section. The meat was impeccably seasoned and the olive flecked bread quickly absorbed the creamy, melted goat cheese and lamb jus. The burger oozed sensual juices from its center. A heavy slathering of tapenade on each bite furthered its decadence, dramatically reinforcing each flavor. The accompanying Chickpea Frites arranged in a square stack were also fantastic. Their crisp semolina exteriors had a delicate, yet gritty texture that encased a dense purée of chickpeas, which tasted like warm, concentrated hummus.

Our good news/bad news? The fries are offered alone as an amuse bouche, but disappear too quickly.