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!
Oy! Whatever will we do without Bruni? In case you missed it, the big food news of the week is regarding New York Times and Diner’s Journal writer Frank Bruni. According to the Times announcement, after five years at his regular post, Bruni is leaving to focus on personal writing projects, like his upcoming memoir, and settling into more of a writer-at-large role for the Times’s Sunday magazine. Needless to say, food blogs across the interweb are all a-twitter, not only with the announcement but as to who will be replacing the revered reviewer. It’s a Bruniocalypse, according to Eater New York!
Mega-company PepsiCo announced the launching of a new website to assist restaurateurs in growing their business during these difficult economic times. According to Restaurant News Resource, GrowMyRestaurant.com was developed ‘to assist foodservice operators…by providing information and tools via a one-stop shop that address an operator’s most pressing needs — such as driving traffic, growing average check, managing employees and understanding their customers and competition.’
What could be better than reading Bon Appetit? Having them buy you dinner! The Bon Appetit Now website is currently running a sweepstakes where one lucky winner will win a $250 dinner-for-two gift certificate at the restaurant of your choice! I suppose it could be a dinner for one, or even four, depending on how much you (or your companions) can scarf down! Good luck!
Thanks to the Twitterverse, we’ve stumbled across a great collection of food blogs at Real Food Media. Today, the Kelly the Kitchen Kop is hosting Real Food Wednesdays, packed with great links to real food posts! Check it out here!
Tony Abou-Ganim, Steve Olson, Patricia Richards, Francesco Lafranconi
When wine and spirits consultant Steve Olson took the stage at Friday’s ‘Cocktails and Cuisine’ event at Wynn’s Encore, I knew we were in trouble. The spunky, aptly-named ‘wine geek’ announced from the stage that we’d be having six cocktails during the two hours of the presentation. Ouch. As his sidekick, and master mixologist in his own right, Tony Abou-Ganim moved from guest to guest, pouring an intoxicating Latin drink into empty glasses, I was glad I had downed a large breakfast.
During the event, Tony and Steve, along with fellow mixologists Francesco Lafranconi and the Wynn’s Patricia Richards, demonstrated how to make a number of cocktails. Guests were able to mingle and interact with the masters as they poured, muddled, and mixed at their own ‘mixing tables’, with each drink paired up with fabulously decadent small bites created by chef James Benson.
Six cocktails? Two hours? We were all good friends after that! Remember – ‘We’re not drinking, we’re learning!’
Recently, there have been two websites that have developed suggested lists of ethics for food bloggers. It’s been quite the discussion within the food blogging community, and I took a moment to write up a post on Accidental Hedonist about the recent controversy!
Daily Blender is headed to Vegas today for the Vegas Uncork’d show. You can follow us live here on Dailyblender.com or via Twitter! And we’re off!
Fellow food writer Bret Thorn wrote a short piece recently on his visit to L’Absinthe in New York. It seems their absinthe drinks are a not-to-miss for anyone in the NYC area. It turns out their food isn’t too bad either, with Time Out New York nominating them for Best Bistro last spring, and Zagat reporting that their food is ‘worth every euro’!
If you’re looking for a great place for Mother’s Day brunch, I recommend you check out L’Absinthe. Their Mother’s Day menu includes:
Lobster Salad, Guacamole, Tomato, Fennel, Lemon and Honey Ginger Dressing
Omelette, Fresh Morels, Asparagus, Swiss Cheese
Poached Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon and Salmon Caviar
Pan Seared Sirloin Steak, Green Pepper Sauce, Green Beans and Potato Galette
Duck Leg Confit Served Crispy, Sauteed Potatoes with Frisee Salad and Fava Beans
Atlantic Organic Salmon, Crunchy Wheat Vermicelli, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Scallions and Miso Sauce
And if you’re still in search of a Mother’s Day gift for your foodie Mom (or your foodie wife, girlfriend, significant other) Food & Wine’s Emily Kaiser suggests the recently released Cooking Bundle from Nintendo DS, which includes a copy of their step-by-step instructional software, Personal Trainer: Cooking.
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.
It was quite the Twitterfest for last night’s James Beard Awards! Between @seriouseats and @eaterny, as well as @beardfoundation, tweeting live from the awards ceremony, Daily Blender was able to stay on top of the winners as they were announced!
In case you didn’t get a chance to follow us, we’ve wrangled together the complete list of winners for you!
Outstanding Restaurant:
Jean Georges (Chef/Owner: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Owner: Phil Suarez, New York, NY)
Outstanding Chef:
Dan Barber (Blue Hill, New York, NY)
Rising Star Chef:
Nate Appleman (A16, San Francisco, CA)
Best New Restaurant:
Momofuku Ko (Chef/Owners: David Chang and Peter Serpico, New York, NY)
Cookbook of the Year:
Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes (Author: Jennifer McLagan, Publisher: Ten Speed Press, Editor: Clancy Drake)
Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America:
David Burke (Chef, Entrepreneur, New York, NY);
John T. Edge (Journalist, Director, Southern Foodways Alliance, Oxford, MS);
Betty Fussell (Author, Culinary Historian, New York, NY);
Dorothy Cann Hamilton (Founder, The French Culinary Institute,
New York, NY);
Clark Wolf (Clark Wolf Company, New York, NY)
America’s Classics:
Arnold’s Country Kitchen (Owners: Jack and Rose Arnold, Nashville, TN);
Breitbach’s Country Dining (Owner: Mike Breitbach, Sherrill, IA);
Mustache Bill’s Diner (Owner: Bill Smith, Barnegat Light, NJ);
Totonno’s (Owner: Lawrence Ciminieri, Brooklyn, NY);
Yank Sing (Owner: Vera Chan-Waller, San Francisco, CA)
Humanitarian of the Year:
Feeding America
Lifetime Achievement Award:
Ella Brennan (Partner: Commander’s Palace Family of Restaurants)
Oh, Dom! We loved you so! We’re sad to report that actor, and avid chef, Dom DeLuise passed late last night at a Los Angeles hospital at age 75. DeLuise, though well known for his roles in Blazing Saddles and Cannonball Run, also wrote four cookbooks focused on humor and comfort food recipes.
The Washington Post has a great article today on foodies who have made a name for themselves as restaurant reviewers online, noting the ongoing debate on whether online food bloggers should follow proper restaurant reviewing guidelines, such as those outlined by the Association of Food Journalists.
Finally, Mambo Sprouts has announced the start of their annual Healthy Recipe Cooking contest! The Mambolicious Healthy Recipe ‘09 contest includes a top prize of $2500 cash plus a whole host of free food products for aspiring chefs who submit their favorite recipes. Entries will be judged by Peggy O’Mara, publisher of Mothering magazine; Chef Keith Snow of HarvestEating.com; and food journalist Kimberly Lord Stewart. The contest is open until June 15, 2009, so get your entries in!
While I certainly would never label myself a ‘restaurant reviewer’, as I like to leave the actual restaurant reviewing to the actual restaurant reviewers, I do love to write about the great food moments that happen. (And sometimes, the bad food moments as well!)
Last week, I had the chance to dine at Portland’s Vindalho, which touts itself as modern Indian, ’spice route’ cuisine. I had such a marvelous experience, I posted my thoughts over at Accidental Hedonist. You can also check out my upcoming interview with Vindalho’s Chef de Cuisine, and Portland’s current reigning Iron Chef, David Anderson, on Super Chef blog as well.
Fellow food writer Bret Thorn wrote 
