By Elise Knutsen 4/18 5:00pm

Shindigger

Elizabeth Olsen, home gourmand

A Prayer for Champagne in Spring: The Relais & Chateaux Dîner des Grands Chefs

While it’s not particularly our forte, The Observer fasted on Monday. Mostly fasted, rather. It was a religious holiday of sorts, indeed more of a pilgrimage, for which we practiced the ancient art of self-denial. Relais & Chateaux’s Dîner des Grands Chefs was our evening’s sacrosanct destination, and we intended to arrive with a pilgrim-pure palate.

As we approached Gotham Hall’s regal colonnade, we were beginning to feel slightly faint. Swaying ever so slightly in our heels, we dashed upstairs, past the congested red carpet, for some sustenance, which, before we could object, came in the form of a flute of 1999 Cuvée Louise Pommery Champagne. We weren’t alone in our pre-sunset indulgence: after a lap around the room, we noticed 25 empty bottles of bubbly neatly (and proudly) displayed at the bar. But a few minutes later, the tally was trente-cinq. At that point, we stopped counting. Read More

By Meredith Bryan 9/15/08 2:34pm

Daniel Boulud Reveals a Facelift… Of His Restaurant

On the Upper East Side, even restaurants are not impervious to the call of a little upkeep. On Friday, Sept. 12, chef Daniel Boulud unveiled a makeover of his 15-year old flagship eatery, Daniel, which had been closed for a five-week renovation.

"If we go broke tomorrow, at least we’ll have gone out in style!" Read More

By Irina Aleksander 6/20/08 4:36pm

A Ban on Food Pornographers at Ko

First, David Chang limited our access to his 12-seat Momofuku Ko by instituting the online only reservation system that one must return to at 10 a.m. every morning for weeks–and be quick with the mouse–in order to even have a chance of reserving a seat.

Now, Mr. Chang won’t even allow us to get Read More

By Tom Acitelli 3/03/08 1:49pm

The Skinny on Cafe Boulud

Barbara Walters prefers Table 10 at Cafe Boulud and Jon Corzine does, too, though the New Jersey governor will take 20 and 30 as well. The Wall Street Journal this weekend breaks down the A-list seating arrangements at Daniel Boulud’s nearly decade-old French eatery at 20 East 76th Street on the Upper East Side. Read More

By Tom Acitelli 1/14/08 7:03pm

Boulud on Amtrak, Hamburgers

So we were on Amtrak this weekend, and there’s a profile of mega-chef Daniel Boulud in the on-train magazine Arrive. In it, Mr. Boulud sounds off on many topics, including his new wine bar, Bar Boulud, in Lincoln Center, and his efforts at feeding rescue workers immediately after September 11.

He also talks about Read More