A Guide to Recognizing Your Restaurants: Smith’s v. The Smith
Ever since Smith’s opened in Greenwich Village late last year and The Smith opened in the East Village soon thereafter, foodies have been a little confused. Both spots have achieved some popularity, which makes this a far more befuddling case than the one of B. Smith versus Smith’s in Hell’s Kitchen. To help you tell one from the other (we’re aware the above photos don’t do that), we’ve broken it down in a handy chart.
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Steven Eckler Joins Red Cat, Plans New Restaurant with Jimmy BradleyA new restaurant marriage has been consummated! Lever House GM Steven Eckler has joined the Red Cat’s owner Jimmy Bradley. The two are now operating partners in the Red Cat and are developing further plans. Bradley tells us that he hopes to have the Red Cat open for lunch within the next couple of months and is also looking to add a private dining room to the restaurant. “We’re still working on the lease, but there is space here for us to do it,” he says. And that’s not all! Eckler and Bradley are planning a new eatery, in theory an 80-to-100-seat restaurant “somewhere between the Thirties and Canal Street on the West Side.” So why move on this now? “Steven wants to open his own restaurant, and that’s something I want to do with him,” Bradley says. “We’ve known each other a long time, and now it’s time for us to do something.”
Back of the House
Josh DeChellis Gives the ‘Top Chef’ Contestants High MarksThis season, we’re planning on kibitzing about the show every week with a variety of fellow viewers, all of whom will help us to dissect that episode’s round of flashy dishes and behind-the-scenes treachery.
Back of the House
Red Cat Owner Betting on Ilan to Win ‘Top Chef’Immediately following the penultimate episode of Top Chef, we instant-messaged with Jimmy Bradley, the chef and restaurateur behind the Red Cat, the Mermaid Inn, and the Harrison, and the co-author of The Red Cat Cookbook. Last year’s winner, Harold Dieterle, was a sous-chef at the Harrison, so we thought Jimmy might have an interesting angle on the battle between Ilan, Sam, Elia, and the much-maligned Marcel.
