Eric Ripert Defends Escolar; Ed Koch: Bib WearerRadar ran a story on escolar’s tendency to cause leaky bowel movements and mentioned that the fish was served at Le Bernardin. This, in turn, prompted a response from Eric Ripert himself, which prompted the author of the article to respond, “I’m sure Eric Ripert serves his escolar in such a way that it doesn’t make people shit orange oil. He’s good like that.” [Fresh Intelligence/Radar]
Chef Craig Hopson says the ghost of Aaron Burr haunts the kitchen of One if by Land, Two if by Sea and has a tendency to steal batches of brioche. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Related: One if by Land Breaks Out a Bar Menu, and Not a Minute Too Soon
Katrina Markoff, founder of Vosges Haut-Chocolat, likes to pair her company’s bacon-laden chocolate bar with pieces of Gruyère and a glass of Shiraz. [WSJ]
Related: A Bacon Tribute Product We Can Get Behind
Mediavore
Trans-Fats Fines Round One; Gordo Like BreastsOthers agree: The Ciprianis’ “deal was sugary enough to let the nattily dressed pair stride out of Manhattan Supreme Court Justice John Cataldo’s courtroom looking like the cats that ate the cannolis.” But they forgot to mention the bimbos in Lambos. [NYP]
Related: Ciprianis Get Out of Jail, Open New Restaurant
On the Ciprianis Cooking Pasta — and the Books!
In his new book, Gordon Ramsay reveals the importance of private-equity firm Blackstone in his career, like the company’s bankrolling “the installation of a chef’s table, where … three women showed their appreciation by baring their breasts to the cooks after one convivial meal, he writes.” Way to keep it classy, Gordo. [Bloomberg]
The first round of trans-fats fines, ranging from $200 to $2,000, have been issued to restaurants across the city including Little Guyana Bake Shop in Queens — whose owner “didn’t know [the new rules] applied to bakeries as of yet.” [NYP]
The In-box
A Restaurant World ‘Howl’
A reader sent us this Ginsbergian screed earlier this week, which struck us as a perfect snapshot of the restaurant world, circa summer 2007. We leave you now for the holiday weekend. Enjoy!
DanYelle as a restaurant critic? Anne Burell shticking it up in the kitchen with a skirt with horsies on it? David Chang morphing from shy nice smiley ramen guy to F-bomb dropping Esquire spread noodle mob boss? Johnny Iuzzini in a meringue body stocking? Tattoos as the new talent. Top Chef as the new Michelin. Glorified fryers, grass fed peaches, 1,000 day meat. I mean, it’s as if we are all now Cracker Jacks ripping open the next prize every time we open a menu. It’s always going to be a disposable toy. Or wash-off ink. It’s a 3 onion ring circus, this industry. We have our freaks and our clowns and our daredevils and our bearded ladies. It’s “I invented the lobster roll and that white wicker chair to sit on while you eat it.” Huh? It’s sellouts: Bertoli, Starbucks, Target, FreshDirect, Appleby’s. It’s all hypocritical: Eat fresh … and then buy my frozen dinner meals. Hitchcock would have tapped into a whole new genre with the horror of the food world.
—An Appalled Spectator
NewsFeed
Ed’s Lobster Bar to Pearl Oyster Bar: Step Off!So incensed is Ed McFarland, the proprietor of Ed’s Lobster Bar and the defendant in Pearl Oyster Bar owner Rebecca Charles’s intellectual-property suit, that he took the unusual step this afternoon of actually calling a press conference to defend himself. Unfortunately, the press conference was held in Ed’s Lobster Bar, which is indeed deeply reminiscent of Pearl Oyster Bar, where McFarland was the sous-chef for six years. “I am deeply saddened to learn that Rebecca Charles has brought an action against me,” McFarland announced. “I believe her action has no merit. I harbor no ill will and wish her safely to port.”
Mediavore
Pearl’s Oyster Bar Sues Ed’s Lobster Bar; Ducasse Taking OverThe owner of Pearl Oyster Bar sues the owner of Ed’s Lobster Bar for intellectual-property theft, accusing her former sous-chef of having stolen everything from the paint job to the Caesar salad dressing. [NYT]
Alain Ducasse has taken over Brasserie LCB and is looking to convert it into a bistro along the lines of Benoit, his casual place in Paris. [NYT]
It might not be such a good idea to hire a Top Chef. [NYO]
Mediavore
Zak Pelaccio Leaves 5 Ninth; Survival of the Fittest in the HamptonsZak Pelaccio leaves 5 Ninth to pursue projects with Jeffrey Chodorow; his replacement, Dan Perilla, a.k.a. Chino, is a Pelaccio protégé who will oversee the restaurant’s move away from Asian flavors. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
The competition is brutal for Hamptons restaurants, and only the strong survive more than a season or two. [Newsday]
The current lobster-roll craze started at the Pearl Oyster Bar, and its shameless imitators really ought to admit who influenced them. [Serious Eats]
The Other Critics
Tapas, Talk of Town; Mexican, Not So MuchBruni two-stars Boqueria and agrees with Platt that the entrées, not the tapas, are where the action is. “Glossier than Tía Pol, cozier than Barça 18, Boqueria manages to have the virtues of stylishness without the vanity, luring relatively young, good-looking diners who turn out for the eating more than the posing.” [NYT]
Though things are looking up for Spanish cuisine, Paul Adams says “tequila trap” Papatzul, despite “complex, delicate, attention-deserving food,” isn’t doing much to lend Mexican cred. [NYS]
Perhaps Papatzul translates to “hit or miss”? [NYPress]
Meehan rolls up his sleeves for Ethiopian at Meskel and finds a dish that’s “the best thing to happen to East Village vegetarians in a long time.” [NYT]
Restaurant Girl’s skepticism about Frederick’s Downtown is eased by orzo fit for bathing and foie gras that makes her want to get a room. [Restaurant Girl]
At BLT Burger, Augie springs for the Kobe burger but finds the classic one does the trick just fine, thank you. [Augieland]
Tables for Two gets around to visiting L’Atelier, agrees the experience is spotty but “the food has the air of a miracle.” [NYer]
Addictive substances in Pearl Oyster Bar’s lobster roll? [Feisty Foodie]
