Paula Deen Encounters ‘Proud’ Naked Man; Rats, Sysco Takes OverPaula Deen is confronted with a naked man in a hotel and kindly gives him her newspaper to cover up with. Not the Food Network star we would have expected this story to be about. [NYP]
Rats, big ones, have taken up residence at the KFC-Taco Bell on West 4th Street and Sixth Avenue, and WNBC has the video to prove it. [WNBC]
A lot of New Yorkers are cooking up a storm for their Oscar parties. Personally, we think they would do better to heed Rob and Robin’s advice, and just order out. [NYDN]
Related: Oscar Night Delivery: East Side Edition
Oscar Night Delivery, Part II: West Side [NYM]
Back of the House
All We Want For Christmas …In case you’re wondering what we want for Christmas here on Grub Street, we’ve actually gone to the trouble of making a list.
• A Grub Street outpost in Las Vegas. Possibly built in conjunction with Hawaiian Tropic Zone, with David Burke as consulting chef.
• A James Beard Rising Star Chef award. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!
• A bar stool alongside Mario Batali and Courtney Love at the Spotted Pig. Then a hot ice pick with which to blind ourselves.
• A new restaurant which brags about “year-round” ingredients grown “all over the place, and bought from SysCo.”
• A menu that eschews subtitles, credits, translations, geography, or recipes in favor of big, detailed full-color pictures of every dish — just like at Denny’s.
• The permanent destruction of the Cookshack smoker, the last refuge of mediocre urban barbecue cooks. (The Cookshack, a refrigerator-size device that “smokes” with the aid of a handful of electrically warmed chips, is a sad replacement for a real wood smoker, like the ones used at RUB and other major barbecue establishments.)
• An end to “soft openings.” When you’re ready to open, open. Come hard or don’t come at all!
• Three good new Jewish delis, five good new non-gourmet pizzerias, ten good new local Chinese restaurants, and no more gourmet-burger operations.
• Unless, of course, it’s the White Castle on Avenue B we’ve always wished for.