Boulud To Open New Pan-European Brasserie

Posted by Jennifer Heigl

Oy! The food writing world is all a-twitter with the upcoming opening of super chef Daniel Boulud’s DBGB Kitchen & Bar in NYC!

Grub Street gave us a full look at the menu after a recent foodie preview. Dubbed as a ‘Pan-European brasserie’, the menu includes a great selection of seafood bites, burgers, and sausages, with the occasional veal tongue (take it from me – don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!). A full ice-cream cart rounds out the dessert options.

Despite early rumors about the menu, Boulud recently batted down the idea that DBGB is a burger joint. Our friends at Zagat have the video to prove it!

Originally slated to open in late April, Gothamist tells us we should expect an early June opening of the highly-anticipated space with a ‘kitchen supply’ feel, complete with pots and pans donated by fellow master chefs. Eater NY has a great selection of pics of both the menu and the space!

I can’t wait for a visit to DBGB in the fall while I’m in NYC for the 2009 New York Wine & Food Festival! Yay!

What Happens In Vegas… 2009 Vegas Uncork’d Begins This Week!

Posted by Jennifer Heigl

The Daily Blender staff had such a great time at the 2008 New York Wine & Food Festival that we just couldn’t wait to get ourselves to the 2009 Vegas Uncork’d event!

Kicking off this Thursday with a champagne toast hosted by Bon Appetit’s Editor-in-Chief Barbara Fairchild and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, the Vegas Uncork’d show looks to be a blast!

Follow our live coverage of the weekend’s events here at Dailyblender.com and via our Twitter feed. We’re even introducing a new Las Vegas Daily Blender correspondent! Could it get anymore exciting!?

Some of the events we’re attending include:

• Thursday’s after-hours cocktail reception at the Caesar’s Palace PURE nightclub, benefiting Three Square, southern Nevada’s only food bank, featuring chefs Cat Cora, recent James Beard Award winner Paul Barolotta, Rick Moonen, and Kerry Simon.
• Cocktails & Cuisine at the Wynn, hosted by Bon Appetit’s Wine & Spirits Consultant, Steven Olson, and celebrity mixologist, Tony Abou-Ganim.
• The Grand Tasting at Caesar’s Palace featuring 150 top chefs and spirit mavens!
• And, perhaps the big event we’re most looking forward to -  the Celebrity Chef Blackjack Tournament, at the Wynn’s Encore! Hosted by actor Kyle MacLachlan, the players list includes a number of our favorite celebrity chefs – Tom Colicchio, Daniel Boulud, Rick Moonen, Bobby Flay, Carla Pelligrino, François Payard, and Joël Robuchon, among many others.

Bon Appetit’s BA Foodist Andrew Knowlton, who’ll also be attending this weekend’s events, chimed in earlier this week with his favorite Uncork’d picks as well.

Bon Appetit Presents The United Plates of America

Posted by Jennifer Heigl

Oh, Bon Appetit. Such witty headlines you have!

Our friends at the revered magazine have created a fun little slideshow featuring their favorite food and drink items from each of the fifty states. Each state features ‘What to buy, what to eat, what to drink’ choices from the BA staffers. It’s even in alphabetical order!

A big shout out for the Michigan drink pick, and former college haunt of mine, Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo. Go Broncos!

iProducts Keeping the Roads Safe?

Posted by R.K. Gella

What they’re saying:  The iPhone could save lives.  What thousands of college kids are thinking:  A refreshed drinking game for upcoming semester.

In an effort to promote responsible imbibing – among owners of Apple Inc. products of course – the iBreath has been introduced, a compact accessory that once connected immediately transforms an iPod or iPhone into an alcoholic breathalyzer.

The advantages of such a gadget, designed by David Steele Enterprises Inc, are debatable, as critics caution on the employment of the device in a real time environment.

Especially concerned is Laura Dean-Mooney, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who fears the iBreath will inadvertently encourage irresponsible drinking and offer a false sense of security when getting behind the wheel.

Law enforcement agents use instruments that are calibrated monthly, and accurate readings require the person taking a field sobriety test to blow “deep lung air,” she said. iBreath claims to offer results in as little as five seconds within 0.01% accuracy.

When the device is connected the individual administers breath into a “retractable blow wand” that will then be measured for blood alcohol content.  An alarm will alert the individual if his/her blood alcohol level is above 0.08, which is over the legal limit in all 50 states.

“We are absolutely not advocating drinking and driving, but we know that people just don’t observe that,” said Don Bassler, chief executive and founder of David Steele Enterprises Inc. “We don’t want people to think that this makes it all OK, but it’s a safety device that we hope people will use, and it may save lives.”

The iBreath may be a friend, doing a service in keeping the roads safe, or in may be a ruse, only purposeful as a drinking novelty, joining the a dive bar’s inventory of checker boards, pickled eggs and tasers.

Drinking Your Political Affiliation

At the World Bar located across the street from the United Nations, politics is never an intrusive topic, and in case of a lull in conversation, the bar menu is a fail-safe tool to inoculate discussion.

This voting season has spawned various election themed cocktails, from The Maverick at Sushi Samba Rio to the Obama Rama at the Pink Door in Seattle, where owner Jackie Roberts has used the drink to raise funds for the Obama campaign.  She rejects “the theory that politics and business don’t mix,” stating, “I feel good about standing for something.”

However, at the World Bar, a more egalitarian approach has been devised, giving both candidates representation on their menu.  Senator Obama’s cocktail is blue tinted Mai Tai, while Senator McCain’s takes on a combination of gin, vanilla cognac and grenadine.

For those still on the fence (shame), or who would rather free themselves of touting allegiance in public, Morton’s Steak House offers the Undecided-tini, a combination of their Dixi-tini and Republican-tini.

At Stretch Run Sporting Club and Grille in Chicago, tomorrow’s election can be viewed in one of two rooms with a dedicated menu to each party.  GOP supporters can knock a few 10 Cane Rum Red Martinis back in the red room, while Democrats have the blue room, flowing of Barack on the Rocks Blue Caracao Cocktails.

And although there is no Bob Barr cocktail to announce, at the Hay-Adams hotel across the street from the White House, Libertarians can enjoy a Ron Paul Pisco Punch that is described to be “as edgy and unusual as the fiery Libertarian for whom it’s named.”

The Short Buzz: Drinking the Essence of Douro Valley

Posted by R.K. Gella

The last day of the NYC Wine and Food Festival finished with a spectacular arrangement of seminars hosted by notable beverage writers, educators and producers. 

On Sunday afternoon at Del Posto, George Sandeman – representing the seventh generation of the legendary House of Sandeman – talked about the tradition of tawny port and its future.

Trying through the ports in ten-year increments, one captured baked cherry and vibrant peach in a young 10 year and ended with hazelnut, cedar, leather and vanilla in a mature 40 year.

For many, Port evokes thoughts of an old boys club, pontificating aloud after dinner centered on topics of the economy and politics through a rich haze of cigar smoke.   Recently, a more sensual image has been fostered, aligning port with romance, chocolate and seduction.

Granted, a versatile marketing team is pertinent, but also acknowledge the pliability of the product.

Port wine or Vinho do Porto or Porto, is a fortified Portuguese wine that comes from the specific area known as the Douro Valley.  Any port style wine not from the designated Douro Valley cannot officially be labeled as a port.

The character of Douro wines is influence largely by the river that cuts through the hillsides.  Because of the sloping hillsides on which the vineyards rest all the fruit must be harvested by hand. 

The five key grapes used in production are Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Francesca and Touriga Nacional, although there are over a hundred varieties that can be utilized.

During fermentation, a carefully observed process, distilled grape spirits  (brandy) is added to kill the yeast therefore ceasing fermentation.  This technique not only raises the alcoholic content of the wine, but also results in a presence of residual sugar, which adds sweetness to the wine.

Of the various styles of port the most popular are the bottle aged ruby ports and the barrel aged tawny ports. 

With rich red tones and luscious berry fruit, ruby ports are claimed to be better suited for Portuguese palates, while tawny ports, with baked fruit and cooking spice flavors, are overwhelmingly more appreciated by English palates.

And as mixologists have rediscovered their roots, port cocktails have become trendy once again.  The earliest cocktails were not made with vodka or its flavored counterparts instead bartenders used a mixture of aperitifs, digestifs, bourbons, gins and ports.

Death and Co. here in NYC is known for classic flavored cocktails.  Here is one of their port cocktail.

The Baltasar and Blimunda

0.5 oz. Sandeman 20 Years Old Tawny Port

2 oz. Beefeater Gin

0.5 oz. bitters

0.5 oz. vermouth (Punt e Mes recommended)

Stir. Serve up and garnish with flamed orange twist.

Bourdain Stops By Kansas City

Igniting our interest in all things celebrity chef just in time for the upcoming 2008 NYC Wine and Food Festival, writer Owen Morris over at Kansas City’s Fat City blog had a chance to sit in on a meet-and-greet with everyone’s favorite culinary captain, Anthony Bourdain. Twenty-five minutes of pale ale and Tony – it’s my own personal dream come true.

Like him or not, Bourdain is a celebrity chef and since celebrity chefs come through Kansas City about as often as the Vatican elects a new pope, there was an air of excitement amongst the 20 or so members of media gathered at the Bristol.

Check out the rest of the Part I post here at the Kansas City Pitch. Part II of Morris’s coverage is here.

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Some New York Restaurants Changing With The Times

With food costs and fuel prices rising across the world, the food industry has been taking a solid hit. Today’s New York Times has a great article on what some New York restaurateurs are doing to keep up with the changing restaurant climate. From revising menus to charging guests for ‘no show’ reservations, owners and chefs are doing what they can to survive in these tough times.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw some places charging you if you went beyond a certain number of bread courses,” said Julie Taras Wallach, an owner of the Lower East Side restaurant Little Giant, referring acerbically to diners who camp out at tables, trying to get as much for as little as possible. She said she is more conscious than ever of the need to turn tables.

A few things you might notice on your next dining excursion:

• Certainly expect to see smaller portions of your favorite food items, if you haven’t yet. Many restaurants are especially cutting back on the plate decor – fruit, vegetables, and greens are getting pricier by the week.
• You can count out the exotic foods! Anything with an excessive carbon footprint, such as spices, meats, and seafood will either be eliminated from your local menu or likely reflect a price increase due to higher transportation and delivery costs.
• Revisions to menu ingredients in general. “Instead of using morel mushrooms I’ll use shiitake,” said Ralf Kuettel, the chef and owner of Trestle on Tenth, in Chelsea.
• Some restaurants are starting to offer ‘promo’ prices during slow times, such as happy hour or late night menus. Prix Fixe prices are dropping as well.
• Don’t be surprised if some restaurants, at least in larger cities such as NYC, request your credit card when making a reservation. Just like the travel and hospitality industries, companies are starting to pay more attention to the nickels and dimes falling through the cracks. With restaurants struggling to fill tables, they’ll want to insure their dining rooms are booked with paying customers.

I’ve noticed many of my favorite local restaurants switching food purveyors as well, resulting in a number of recent dismal dining experiences. Any other changes you’ve noted in your favorite restaurants?

Is Organic Alcohol The Key To A Hangover-Free Morning?

Posted by Jennifer Heigl

Could the lack of pesticides and other harsh chemicals be the key ingredient to staving away the awful next-day hangover? Heather Stephenson of Idealbite.com says it just may be the thing.

“You can drink easier knowing that organic spirits come from ingredients raised without pesticides or petroleum-based fertilizers, which can end up in your glass,”

Fearless NY Daily News writer Sean Evans took it upon himself to test this organic theory, spending two drink-filled evenings determining the hangover-free winner – each evening including eleven drinks and a late-night hot dog. The difference almost seemed immediate, with Evans and his drinking buddy noting that ‘organic booze is so mild.’ And the morning after? Headache-, nausea-, and hangover-free. By comparison, the non-organic evening left Evans “sluggish and slow…dull headache…churning stomach.”

The end result, aside from a slightly higher bar tab, “…the organics easily won.”

Thinking of going organic on your next barhop? Be sure to check out:

• Cooper Mountain Wines
• Peak Organic Beer
• Organic Wine & Beer picks from the Green Guide
• Organic Beer suggestions from The Daily Green
• The Organic Wine Journal

Bellinis Still Available at the Rainbow Room: SLA Accepts Cipriani Settlement

Was it for the efforts of New York Post food writer Steve Cuozzo and his plea for mercy?  Or was it that more than a thousand jobs were to face abdication?

Either the factor, the State Liquor Authority granted the Cipriani family their liquor licenses, which were under the threat of revocation following the cited four-dozen violations that occurred in nine of the family’s venues.  These establishments included the famed Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, Harry Cipriani at the Sherry Netherland Hotel and Cipriani Wall Street.

The case was ruled 2-1 in favor of accepting the Cipriani settlement of no contest and their payment of $500,000.

The Ciprianis offered a statement post decision:

“We are grateful that this resolution ensures that service will continue uninterrupted at Cipriani’s world-class locations across New York City.  Cipriani is a vital part of New York City’s economy and is proud to currently provide work for nearly 3,000 individuals across the city. We are eager to continue serving our clientele by providing them with the same high-class dining, events and hospitality that they have come to expect from the Cipriani family over the past 80 years.”

However, as the New York Times reported today, the family may not be free of tribulation yet.  According to the report there are issues arising between the family and Rainbow Room landlord, Tishman Speyer, who the Ciprianis charge want the venue converted into office space.  Tishman Speyer executives have denied such plans although they are displeased with “the shabby state of the space under the Ciprianis”.