THE TWO MEN The New York Times anointed the “darlings of the New York culinary set” and the “future of Italian food in America,” Mario Carbone, 32 and Rich Torrisi, 31—along with their business partner, Jeff Zalaznick, 29—do not flatter easily. Read More
This week’s New York Magazine is a series of “Workplace Confidential” essays, which include a former Lehman Brothers banker who thinks “nobody is making that much money” on Wall Street, a Page Six reporter shilling for News Corp on the DL, a firefighter who thinks anyone with post-traumatic stress disorder should “fucking get over it,” a Hollywood agent who explains that “the abject lying is crazy” in his business, and other testimonials from people saying things we already knew they thought. Read More
The smoke has cleared, and in the wake of Sam Sifton’s departure from his relatively short tenure as the New York Times dining critic, according to Politico’s Dylan Byers, dining editor Pete Wells has been named as his replacement. In the wake of his departure from the dining editor position, Susan Edgerley—a former assistant managing editor, recently moved to a position as the a special assistant to the executive editor at the paper—has been named editor of the Times dining section in Mr. Wells’ wake. Read More
If you go to 5 Baltschug Street in Moscow, Russia, you’ll see a 17th Century building with Maybachs and Bentleys lying idly nearby, all waiting for the men they drive around to return from a certain smoke-filled lounge. It’s a place where the rich men of that city can enjoy cocktails and bottles, all while Read More
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has announced a widespread review of New York restaurants to check their compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. In an effort to appear unbiased in the selection of restaurants to review, Mr. Bharara did what most New Yorkers do: he consulted his trusty Zagat guide. Read More
Last Sunday, The Observer was at Milk Studios, in the Meatpacking District, to see a presentation by The Lake & Stars, a Brooklyn-based lingerie line. The models stood with unflinching faces, wearing nothing but nightgowns and skimpy underwear, as a man served rum-spiked horchata from a wooden wagon. Editors chatted up other editors about the Read More
Savvy restaurateur Taavo Somer has avoided the “hipster” appellation since the opening of Freemans, that taxidermy fantasia on the Lower East Side. The aggressive grizzly man pose of the alleyway eatery aside, Freemans is still a nice place to have a bite. We like to go when our father or brothers are in town — why pass up a perfectly good dumb joke?
Now Mr. Somer has made the logical progression and chased the Freemans Sporting Club scruff across the L to Williamsburg, where he will open his first Brooklyn-based place, Isa, next week. And then he could be done. Read More
The Michelin restaurant ratings are among some of the most coveted—and widely reviled—reviews in the entire world of restaurants and restaurant criticism. They loudly tout their “famously anonymous” team of critics and hardcore ratings standards. So why are they Tweeting about eating at Manhattan’s famous seafood mecca Le Bernardin last night when the restaurant’s been closed since August 1st for rennovations? Read More
Vive le dessert! Right now, if you head to Madison Avenue between 71st and 72nd, you can treat yourself to some of the most celebrated macaroons in the world. Maison Laduree, the French pastry house credited with inventing the double-decked version of the confection, opened its first New York location at 9:00 a.m. today. Read More
Shack Shack deity and New York’s most customer-friendly restaurateur Danny Meyer recently got The New York Times Magazine treatment in a profile that makes him look less like a businessman and more like a walking, breathing, hospitality-obsessed god-amongst-men. Yet: a picnic basket could put a dent in what may be some of the best publicity to ever hit the pages of The Times for a service industry owner. Hey, Boo Boo, indeed. Read More
