06/25/12

The Six Bar Tools That You Really, Absolutely Need This Summer; Fireworks and Food (Perfect Together); and Welcome Back Chef Bill Rosenberg: Glad to See You at NoMa!

There you are, clutching your PDT Cocktail Book as you approach your lovingly curated bar. Did I use “curated” to refer to liquor? You bet I did. You’ve gathered 13 types of bitters, organic absinthe, and four locally distilled ryes. It was an investment, but at least the money went to booze and recipes. Or did it? If you’re reading the hipster bartending bibles, maybe you’ve been thinking about buying old-fashioned bartenders’ tools.

Posted at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

06/18/12

Coals Fires up Westchester’s Pizza Scene, Countdown to the Best of Westchester Party, Don’t Miss Vintage 1890 Prix Fixe, and Killer Egg on Toast at Nessa

First Taste: Coals in Port Chester

“But is it pizza?” I asked, after a long and thoughtful chew. We were sitting in Port Chester’s newest pizzeria, Coals, a Bronx import that grills its pizzas not over the charcoal alluded to in its name, but over a gas flame. On the table were two large, amoeboid flatbreads whose irregular perimeters looked even more eccentric with their meticulously geometric grids of toppings. Sure, my “Dean Martin” (fontinella, fresh mozzarella, tomato, pepperoni,...

Posted at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

06/11/12

Run, Don’t Walk, to Irvington’s New MP Taverna; It’s Best of Westchester Time; and the Greek Empire is Back (and Taking Over)

It’s pretty rare that I say this about a restaurant that manifests the second or third iteration of an idea that originated somewhere else, but run, don’t walk, to Chef Michael Psilakis’s third MP Taverna (at 1 Bridge St, Irvington). It’s the modern Greek restaurant that dispenses with all the Ks.

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06/04/12

How to Be a Victim of Restaurant Service Bias, Step Up with Summer Wine Classes, and Hello, Heat! It’s Time to Cool Down with Sashimi and Nigori at Sushi Mike’s

Here’s something that actually happened to me at a well-known Manhattan restaurant—oh, for the sake of argument, let’s call it Dos Caminos. It was New Year’s Day and our party of four had made merry the night before. There was Champagne, maybe some shots. Who knows? That’s all I remember.

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