Best of the Buzz : Article Spotlight

Nick Anderer: Meyer’s New Star at Maialino

BuzzEditor — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:15:00 GMT

Maialino

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

Danny Meyer certainly knows how to pick ‘em. Chefs that is. The restaurants within his Union Square Hospitality Group have produced a good share of mega-stars: Michael Romano, Tom Colicchio, Marco Canora, Daniel Humm and Floyd Cardoz to name a few. Meet Meyer’s new rising star, Nick Anderer, who makes his debut as an executive chef at New York's Maialino within the Gramercy Park Hotel. Plucked from the kitchen of Gramercy Tavern, Anderer comes with a pedigree, having worked for Colicchio, Michael Anthony, Mario Batali and Larry Forgione. The Buzz chatted with the chef the morning after his first night of service.

Zagat Buzz: So we heard that Anna Wintour, Ruth Reichl, Dana Cowin and Alain Ducasse were all in the house on opening night? How did that go?

Nick Anderer: Yes, it’s true, they were all there. It went very well. It was all good to have that vibe in the house.

ZB: How do you know when a restaurant is ready to go when you’re opening it?

NA: It takes time. Any restaurant is a living organism that is going to grow over time. For me, I’ll know it’s there when I look up and see the big picture. Right now my head is focused on lots of small details trying to make that big picture come together. But the day where I can walk out of the kitchen comfortably and sit in that dining room and experience a meal is the day that I’ll say, “OK, this vision is at least getting there.” But the short answer is that you’re never going to be there, it’s something that’s going to continue to grow. There’s always a lot of unfinished business. And that’s the beauty of restaurants, and of Danny’s restaurants, because they stick around and you always have opportunity to improve on things.

ZB: Were there any special considerations opening within a hotel?

NA: Absolutely. It was something we had to think long and hard about. It is a situation that is unique and we were given the opportunity that a lot of hotel restaurants haven’t been given in the sense that we can function Maialino pretty autonomously. There’s a room service kitchen that is separate from the regular kitchen. I have basically transplanted a team of new chefs that are all people that I have worked with in restaurants, so my entire management team has a restaurant-geared mentality. Of course, opening a hotel restaurant comes with a certain amount of hesitation from a chef, I think that all those fears go away with the fact that we do pretty much function as a free-standing restaurant.

ZB: So what is your approach to the menu at Maialino?

NA: We’re doing hearty Italian food inspired by Roman trattorias. Every single neighborhood in Rome has had an impact on the menu. Danny and I spent several weeks there researching for the menu and this is kind of a greatest hits of all the things that we tried. And Danny and I both have a shared love affair for Rome that goes way back. Danny spent a lot of time there and I spent a full year my junior year of college studying art history there. That time was the spark for my culinary career – I came back to New York and started cooking. So it was that shared love of Rome that inspired this restaurant.

ZB: What are some of the signature dishes?

NA: I don’t like to say “signature dish” because there are so many things that we pride ourselves on. But some of the things that stand out in my mind are the bucatini all’amatriciana, coda alla vaccinara (oxtails with tomato and celery) and spigola al forno (baked whole sea bass). But despite the fact that we are sticking to the Roman canon the areas where we stray are in choosing the best ingredients. In any Roman trattoria the call is to what is really thriving at the market on that particular day. We’re not in Rome, we’re in New York, so we can’t make everything to the T. As a result we’re not going to have carciofi alla Romana every day. The things that we are coming up with on a daily basis are very market driven.

ZB: With so many Italian restaurants in New York, how do you feel that Maialino is going to stand out?

NA: Hopefully it will stand out because everyone who comes in will feel that they are getting a little slice of homeyness. I think the challenge for me as a chef is to try to make a pretty big restaurant feel smaller than it is. There’s love in each plate. I encourage all my cooks, with every single movement that they make throughout the day, to think about who they are cooking for. And we really take a lot of pride in the sourcing of our ingredients. That attention to detail will make us stand out.

ZB: This is the first kitchen that you have been in charge of as an executive chef. What have you learned from your years within the Union Square Hospitality Group that helps you to be a good leader in the kitchen?

NA: I have learned so much about building a cohesive unit and about putting together the perfect team. Danny Meyer really creates a great sense of family in all of his restaurants and makes every single person feel that their job is the most important job in the entire space. And every person takes pride in what they do because they feel valued. I have learned to make sure that every person realizes how important their job is. I think Danny is the master of making sure that each individual part of this big unit is functioning at a high level at all times.

– Kathleen Squires

Talking High Stakes With Michael Mina

BuzzEditor — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:32:00 GMT

Michael Mina

Photo: Hernan F. Rodriguez

With an award-winning cookbook, accolades including a James Beard Foundation Best Chef award and 17 restaurants across the country, chef Michael Mina is a household name in the industry. During the the Savor Borgata event in Atlantic City, where Mina was cooking for 700 people, the Buzz sat down with the chef to find out, among other things, what he considers to be his biggest gamble of his career.

Zagat Buzz: Welcome to the East Coast! What are you preparing for tonight’s event?

Michael Mina: I’ll be making a Nantucket bay scallop ceviche with horseradish panna cotta and tomato gelee, and a butter-poached lobster with sweet-potato crepe and coconut curry broth.

ZB: Your restaurants are a popular draw in Las Vegas and here in Atlantic City. Did you open restaurants in these spots because you like to gamble?

MM: (Laughs). No, no, I don’t gamble at all. I enjoy it, but I have too many restaurants in casinos that I would end up writing them a check every month!

ZB: What do you consider as the biggest gamble you’ve taken in your career?

MM: Probably when I left Aqua in San Francisco and ventured out on my own to open Michael Mina. I put a lot of money and time in the establishment, and that was a big gamble. Thankfully, it worked out.

ZB: Why haven’t you placed your bets on a restaurant in New York City yet?

MM: I absolutely love New York, but there are a couple of reasons that I'm not there. The main reason is that I enjoy NY too much. My best friend lives there, and when I go I really enjoy myself. I'm not saying that I wouldn't enjoy myself if I opened a restaurant there, but it would be different and I would feel a lot more pressure. Plus, there are just so many big chefs in New York, so if I am going to open there, I will have to put in an enormous amount of effort. I have two young boys right now so the timing isn’t right for the focus and effort required.

ZB: How much do you feel that dining guides affect your business?

MM: All of the guides affect business. Zagat especially has an enormous impact on the restaurant business here in the U.S. But dining guides are important for the restaurant business around the world.

ZB: How many restaurants are you planning on opening in 2010?

MM: The only restaurant we have planned to do right now is American Fish in Las Vegas’ CityCenter. I am really excited about it, as the opening is really right around the corner. I did a walk through of the building last week and it is beautiful, really spectacularly designed. I have a lot to live up to there.

–Kathleen Squires

Ricardo Cardona: Chef to the Champions

BuzzEditor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:42:00 GMT

Ricardo Cardona, chef to the Yankees

Last night the Yankees clinched the World Series for the first time in nine years. Some chalk it up to good coaching, a brand-new stadium or a roster of players dedicated to teamwork. But something else happened within the past year that might have fueled the victorious season: a new chef at the stadium. Chef Ricardo Cardona stepped in to cook for the Bronx Bombers at home games. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Manhattan, Cardona has emerged as one of the city’s eminent Latino chefs with his restaurants Sazon, Sofrito, Hudson River Café and Mamajuana Cafe. What is he feeding these champs? We caught Cardona between games to talk about the team’s favorite eats.

Zagat Buzz: Were you always a Yankee fan?

Ricardo Cardona: I became a Yankee fan while cooking for them, because I really didn’t care much about baseball before that. Once I started cooking for them, I became friends with them. I became a Yankee fan, and now I feel I am part of the family.

ZB: How did you become the chef for the New York Yankees?

RC: I used to work in a restaurant called Jimmy’s Bronx Café back in 1999–2000. The restaurant was five minutes away from Yankee Stadium. I met a family there called the Cucuzza family, who takes care of the clubhouse. They were regular customers, and we became friends. They would ask me to cater for the Yankees all the time. When Jimmy’s Bronx Café closed, we kept in contact, and they asked me to cater for them still because they liked my food. So I kept catering for them no matter what restaurant I was working at. Last year they asked one of my restaurants, the Hudson River Café, to do the All-Star Game. I cooked for all the players, both the American and National League, three meals each day – and they liked it. After that they asked me about the possibility of helping out right at the stadium instead of catering, because the stadium opened and they weren’t happy with the restaurants there. So they called and told me they needed someone to create a menu every week for the home players and the visiting teams. I pulled one cook out of my restaurants and placed him to be there every day when the Yankees are in town. During the day, he cooks sandwiches or eggs for them, and then I cook the big meal at night. Every day the Yankees have a different theme at the buffet table, so I’ll follow that, and I’ll cook for the visiting team whatever I want.

ZB: Do the players often have special menu requests?

RC: Sometimes if they are doing special training, or are on a special diet, they will ask for something in advance. For example, Mariano Rivera once requested watercress juice. But, really, they are very simple guys. When they’re hungry, they’ll eat anything.

ZB: What was on the menu for the World Series?

RC: Seafood paella, that’s one of their favorites. Grilled shrimp, pork chops. Skirt steak. Rice and beans.

ZB: So what do you take into account when planning a menu for World Champions?

RC: You have to have fiber, vegetable, protein – fish, chicken or meat, and then how it’s prepared is really up to me. I always offer a lot of beans or lentils too.

ZB: What restaurant recommendations do you have for fans near the stadium?

RC: Well, I run a restaurant called Hudson River Café on 135th Street and 12th Avenue in Manhattan, and there’s the steakhouse at the Fairway too. I recommend eating in that area because of the parking. It’s easy to park your car there, then hop in a taxi to the stadium and you are there in five minutes.

ZB: Where do the players like to eat?

RC: The Latino players like to go to Dyckman Street to some of the Dominican restaurants and other Latino spots. I used to see Melky Cabrera all the time at Lua in Hoboken. A lot of them go to my spot Sofrito on 57th Street, one of the few Puerto Rican restaurants in New York. They like it because we do very homey-style Puerto Rican food there. Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera love Sofrito.

ZB: What’s A-Rod’s favorite dish?

RC: He likes lean foods – low-fat, low-butter – and sweet potato and apple purée. He actually taught my cook how to make it.

ZB: Does Derek Jeter have a favorite dish?

RC: Well, he was upset because the reporter who wrote an article in the Daily News recently said he eats pork, and that’s not true. He does not eat pork. I don’t know why that reporter wrote that. But Jeter likes grilled chicken breast. Grilled chicken on whole wheat bread is one dish he eats a lot. He is very self-disciplined. He is the captain and you’ve got to lead by example, so he eats very healthy.

ZB: Do you feel your menu affects whether the Yankees win?

RC: I wish I could say that! But I think it’s their playing.

– Kathleen Squires

Iron Man, Seamus Mullen

BuzzEditor — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:53:00 GMT

Seamus Mullen

Photo: courtesy Food Network

With two consecutive victories under his belt on The Next Iron Chef, Boqueria’s Seamus Mullen is certainly a sharp contender for the title. So far, versatility has been his secret weapon: the Vermont native may specialize in regional Spanish cuisine, but he has shown that he can cross cultures as easily as cutting through an onion. The Buzz caught up with Mullen to chat about competition and the state of Spanish cuisine in NYC.

Zagat Buzz: Why do you want to be The Next Iron Chef?

Seamus Mullen: It’s a huge honor, one of the biggest cooking accolades that you can accomplish, as well as an opportunity to compete against the best chefs in the country. And it’s fun! Competing in Kitchen Stadium is really fun but also challenging. It’s a different dimension of cooking from what we do in the restaurant. It takes me back to when I was in high school – I was very athletic and played soccer and hockey. I forgot how great that exhilarating feeling of competition is.

ZB: Is there anything from kitchen stadium that you would like to bring to your own kitchen?

SM: The urgency in kitchen stadium is unavoidable. And that’s a great thing to have in your own kitchen – a sense of getting food out really well and as quickly as you can without making mistakes. Another thing is to cook every meal as if you’re going to be judged right after, because in the restaurant, you never know who you are cooking for.

ZB: What is the most important thing that you learned from The Next Iron Chef experience?

SM: To trust my instincts. The times I went with my gut, I always succeeded. When I second-guessed myself, I had some trouble.

ZB: What was the hardest part of the competition for you?

SM: I have rheumatoid arthritis and that became a serious issue for me to contend with. It was exacerbated by stress, and I probably went through one of the most stressful things you can imagine going through.

ZB: How did you overcome that obstacle?

SM: I just pushed through. There wasn’t much else I could do but push through. It certainly made things difficult.

ZB: In terms of Spanish cuisine in NY, how is it evolving? Do you think it’s going to turn more towards tradition or follow along the path of chefs like Ferran Adrià?

SM: I think right now that New Yorkers, with the change in the economy, are gravitating more toward traditional, homey foods and revisiting a place over and over that comforts them. A lot of these restaurants like El Bulli – you can’t go there more than once a year, or even once a lifetime, because it’s impossible to even get a reservation in the first place. In NY it’s very difficult to run a viable business that way, so we try as much as possible to develop a community of diners who will come back.

ZB: What’s next for you? Any more Boquerias on the horizon?

SM: We are looking, and we have a couple of things percolating, but there’s nothing I can really speak freely about – yet.

– Kathleen Squires

Soul-to-Seoul Cooking

BuzzEditor — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:26:00 GMT

Gyenari

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

There are two menus available at Culver City Korean Gyenari, one titled "Old World," the other "New World." And yet, there's a good deal of overlap between the two, both of which were created by Next Food Network Star finalist Debbie Lee (who's finished up her tenure as consulting chef at the restaurant). Her "Seoulful Suppers" include both classic galbee (beef short rib) and galbee pot pie with ginger soy gravy. We chatted with Lee to learn about her unique perspective on Korean cuisine, which comes from, well, not having eaten it as a child.

Merrill Shindler: You have a Western twang to your speech. Is that a Southwestern Korean accent?

Debbie Lee: I grew up in the American Southwest, in Arizona. I didn't grow up eating Korean food. I grew up with the cooking of the South. When my parents came here from Korea, they settled in the Deep South. So what my mother cooked was soul food – fried chicken, grits and gravy, black-eyed peas. I come from a Korean family that didn't eat Korean food.

MS: How did you discover your culinary heritage?

DL: I had my first taste of kimchee when I was six years old. We came to LA and stayed with my grandparents. There was a family gathering, and my grandmother forced me to eat kimchee. My reaction was, "What is this? It's interesting." I started to like it. I guess it was in my DNA.

MS: So, if it weren't for your grandmother, you might be cooking nouvelle Cajun instead of nouvelle Korean?

DL: It was my grandmother who introduced me to the wonders of Korean food. She doesn't speak any English – I don't speak any Korean. But we communicated through food. She would cook from 5:45 in the morning till 11 at night. I'd stay in the kitchen with her, hours in the kitchen. We used sign language. Which is how I learned to make kimchee, and everything else.

MS: Did you love it from the first day?

DL: Not really. I didn't like everything. At first with mandoo, the Korean dumplings, I wouldn't eat them because everything was so mushed up with onions inside the dumpling. I'd only eat the won ton skin, not the filling.

MS: Before your grandmother took you under her wing, did you have any interest in cooking?

DL: Even in Arizona, my life was built around food. When I was five years old, I went to a bookstore. And the book I picked out was a cookbook. The next weekend, I made my parents stay in bed. And I made them breakfast from that book. The kitchen was a mess. But I was learning to cook.

MS: And where did cooking take you?

DL: I worked as a caterer for five years. I consulted at The Counter – I went with the owner to every burger place in LA to see what was being done right. We came up with a great burger. Not a Korean burger, an American burger.

MS: And you brought a breath of fresh air to the Next Food Network Star competition.

DL: Honestly, I entered on a fluke. I had stopped cooking. A friend who had a PR company needed some demos done for a client, and she put me on the KTLA Morning News. It was great. The next week there was an audition for Next Food Network Star – thousands of people showed up. I made the cut, and wound up as one of the final three. For me, that was a huge win.

MS: And it got you back into the cooking game. Gyenari was exactly the right restaurant, at exactly the right time.

DL: Gyenari is a flower that blooms just once a year. A long-lost cousin, William Shin, opened it with Danny Kim and Robert Benson. I didn't know a relative was behind it when I showed up. And I realized it was my little cousin, Will. I guess all Koreans really are related.

MS: And what was the concept? You have a huge Korean community to draw from – but Culver City is far from K-town, so the cooking has to appeal to Anglos as well.

DL: The idea was not to do a generic Korean restaurant. We decided to do cooking with classic integrity, but with a modern twist. I wanted to pay tribute to my grandmother, to go back to the old world, and bring it to the new world. You can eat the simple meal of a peasant, or the 12-course feast of a king or queen. It's also how people are eating these days in Korea – nouvelle Korean is all the rage. So we get lots of people from Koreatown. Gyenari lives in several different worlds. And they're making some wild cocktails in the bar. It's all so LA.

– Merrill Shindler

Grimes Comes Clean

BuzzEditor — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:32:00 GMT

Former New York Times restaurant critic William Grimes is the author of a new book, Appetite City, a history of the city’s restaurants and culinary habits. He spoke to the Buzz about everything from turtle soup to street carts to time travel.

Zagat Buzz: What was the impetus for the book?

William Grimes: The head of the New York Public Library, Paul LeClerc, called me up when I was the restaurant critic for the Times and asked if I’d be interested in putting together a show of vintage menus in an exhibition space at the library. I already knew about the collection because I had written about it before, and after I delved into it further came the idea to construct a continuous narrative about dining out in New York.

ZB: What were your primary sources?

WG: I would estimate that about 75% of the information in the book is something that people will be reading for the first time. It was buried in newspapers and magazines that were written by long-ago journalists who would retire and reminisce about their glory days when they ate at Delmonico’s. They were my best sources. God bless those journalists.

ZB: You write that steak, oysters and turtle soup were the foundations of a fine 19th-century meal, and they still are – with the exception of turtle soup. What happened to turtle soup?

WG: The turtles got scarcer and prohibitively expensive, so soon there was a lot of mock turtle soup around. Eventually it disappeared altogether, like the oyster restaurant. The dedicated oyster stand or oyster restaurant was once an enormous part of the NY dining scene, but it doesn’t really exist anymore – except at Grand Central’s Oyster Bar, the last hurrah.

ZB: Along the same lines, German food was once very popular but over time has fallen out of favor. Why is that?

WG: It’s a seldom remarked upon trend of New York dining: German food was once considered a high-prestige cuisine, particularly at finer restaurants like Luchow’s. Then the first World War dealt a death blow to not just German cuisine, but to German philosophy, German music, German everything. Today, of course, there’s the sense that this cuisine is fatty and heavy, making it an uphill climb to win favor again – although there was a moment when Austrian cooking had a resurgence after Danube and Wallsé opened.

ZB: Some older trends that you discuss are having a rebirth. For example, today’s street-cart renaissance harkens back to the very earliest days of the city when most New Yorkers got their food off a wagon.

WG: That’s right, it recalls the days when vendors strolled the streets with slices of pie for sale and coffee containers strapped to their back. It was a time when mobile lunch service was a big feature of the town – even if the idea of buying raw shellfish on the street is kind of unnerving.

ZB: If you could live in any other food time in NYC, when would it be?

WG: I think I’d like the time machine to take me back to 1910 in Times Square, which was then very upmarket. My second choice would be to go down to Park Row and see all the cheap joints, the nickel-and-dime hash houses and Dennett’s lunch room. I’d be curious to see both sides of the spectrum.

ZB: Any particular restaurant you’d like to visit?

WG: For the interiors alone, either Rector’s or Murray’s Roman Gardens in Times Square, and, of course, I wonder how the food tasted. It’s like imagining opera performances in the days before recorded sound.

ZB: A question about food criticism and the Times. Has it changed since your tenure?

WG: The big change is that when I was a critic there were only two food websites of any consequence, eGullet and Chowhound. I don’t think there were any blogs then, so the explosion of freelance criticism has changed the relationship of the paper to the outside world. There’s a clamor of conversation about food now that didn’t exist then.

ZB: And your thoughts on the Times’ latest restaurant critic?

WG: I think Sam Sifton very wisely stepped up to the plate and swung hard in his first review to announce what his voice is going to be like. Heart and soul, Sam’s a $25-and-under kind of guy, and he’s going to be presented with all kinds of super-fancy restaurants as he moves along. I’m curious to see how he talks about them and responds to them.

– Curt Gathje

Minding Manners at the Four Seasons

BuzzEditor — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:04:00 GMT

Photo: courtesy of Candlewick Press

As the longtime co-owner of the famous Four Seasons, Alex von Bidder has seen his fair share of good, and bad, behavior at the dining table. So who better to write a book for children about how to behave in a restaurant? Von Bidder teamed up with his friend Leslie McGurk, author and illustrator of the Tucker books, on Wiggens Learns His Manners at the Four Seasons Restaurant, which tracks the adventures of an adorable chocolate Labrador when he visits the landmark restaurant. The Buzz caught up with the duo to discuss the book, as well as to hear von Bidder’s thoughts on his restaurant’s new chef, Fabio Trabocchi.

Zagat Buzz: What inspired this collaboration?

Alex von Bidder: Leslie and I met in a creative class that she teaches at Rancho La Puerta, our favorite spa, and we just clicked. She showed me her children’s books about Tucker, and I told her about my manners classes for adults. Later on she said, “Why don’t we do a children’s book on manners?”

ZB: Leslie, did you get a chance to sit in on any of Alex’s manners classes?

Leslie McGurk: No, but I saw him many times in New York and at the spa in Mexico, and I liked how he treated people. You could tell that this is a man who has exquisite manners. I could just see that he lives it, and that is a rare thing to find in this world.

AvB: I want to give my mother credit for that. She says, “No matter what your education is, no matter where you come from, if you can learn to blend in in a good way you can learn to function anywhere from a hunt in Africa to the White House.”

ZB: What were some of the rudest experiences you have witnessed at the Four Seasons?

AvB: I try to forget those. Mostly what happens nowadays in restaurants is just plain intrusion, like with cell phones, and not dressing appropriately. Another trend is that everyone is allergic to things. Instead of saying something like, “I don’t like liver,” they say they are allergic. There’s nothing wrong with not liking something, and kids are very honest about things like that. For kids, running around is the worst for me.

ZB: What is the most important restaurant manner for children to learn?

AvB: The parents need to decide if the child is old enough to come to a fancy restaurant because children are impatient and they need to be old enough to entertain themselves until the food comes and to get enjoyment from surroundings and the conversation. For my own daughter that was age 10. Many children are perfectly fine at five or six – it just depends on their energy level. So rather than give kids Ritalin before they dine at a nice restaurant, just gauge whether they are ready for it. Once they come, I like to treat children like adults. Children respond to being asked to step up and enjoy the experience as it is offered. They absolutely will rise to the occasion.

LM: I think the most important manner is shaking a hand, looking a person in the eye, saying their name and acknowledging them. I think that too often people are not present with each other. I know it sounds like a simple thing, but that is huge for kids and especially adults.

ZB: Leslie, the illustrations of the interior were done so well and so accurately. Did you work from photos or did you visit the restaurant?

LM: Both. I visited the restaurant and sketched and I worked with photos. It was not the easiest thing in the world to draw for me, but I was happy with the way that it turned out. I’m used to drawing puppies and dogs, not structural buildings and interiors. It was a very hard process.

AvB: A lot of people say you got the energy and the character of the place, and that is a very hard thing to do. Even photographers have a hard time with it.

ZB: Alex, you’ve just hired a new chef, Fabio Trabocchi. What motivated your decision to bring him on?

AvB: After months of carefully considering what our guests want, it was obvious that Fabio is the ideal chef to guide the Four Seasons kitchen. He has the precise ingredients we need. He's very smart and sophisticated. He understands that the Four Seasons is many places to many different people – from regulars who dine here daily and want simple, light dishes to those looking to celebrate who crave the truly spectacular.

ZB: In light of some of the recent closings like Café des Artistes, what do you think is the key to the Four Seasons' longevity, especially after such a hard economic year?

AvB: It’s staying power – we’ve never been in it for the short haul. My partner, Julian [Niccolini], and I have been here for over 30 years, and we are really only the second team in the history of the restaurant. It’s hard to lose money and worry about the future, but we have trust that our customers will support us when they have money again. What we did this year was maybe counterintuitive, but we’ve supported many charities and gave lots of dinners for various causes to keep this place alive in a giving way. I’m counting on it that everything we put out there comes back at some point.

– Kathleen Squires

Coda Redd

BuzzEditor — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:42:00 GMT

Coda

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

North Carolina's Charlie Redd put in plenty of time in area kitchens (Lumière, Central Kitchen, Hamersley’s Bistro, Radius, Harvest) before being handed the main post at Boston's Coda. The new father took some time recently to chew the fat with the Buzz.

Zagat Buzz: Coda straddles the unofficial border between the South End and the Back Bay. How would you describe the restaurant's clientele?

Charlie Redd: Coda has a neighborhood-restaurant feel, and draws from both [neighborhoods]. We face the South End, but Back Bay diners do come across Boylston as well. These neighborhoods are eclectic, diverse and full of small apartments with small kitchens. So we see a lot of local diners.

ZB: As a native Southerner, it figures that you are one of the few chefs in the area who feature a "meat-and-three" plate on your daily menu. What draws you to that concept?.

CR: Meat-and-three plates offer the best of all worlds: a hefty portion of meat gives you the substance, while the veggies offer a variety of flavors. What better way to eat than with such variety on one plate – throw a biscuit on the side and it's all set.

ZB: We hear your wife recently gave birth to twins – congrats. Coda's neighborhood is home to quite a "baby-stroller crowd." Do you have them in mind when shaping your menu?

CR: Even before becoming a parent, I was always conscious of making families comfortable in the restaurants I worked in. What parent wants to go out to a nice place, ask about kids' options and find out, while reading about foie gras, handmade pasta and fresh fish, that all the kitchen does is chicken fingers? Parents, kids and families in general are customers like any other and deserve the same attention, so I always have a few nutritious and approachable dishes for kids that parents can feel good about. Now that I have three kids, I definitely don't want them full of sugar and junk before taking them home for bed!

ZB: For a first-time visitor to Coda, which of your current dishes would you say best represents your approach to cooking?

CR: For my tastes, I would start with a salad to catch the end of local lettuce season, then the meat-and-three or roast pork loin, and I am pretty into the mint chocolate Bavarian cake that I just put on the menu. ... I want to keep mint and chocolate on the menu until the fresh mint fades.

ZB: As a native Southerner, are there any dishes/ingredients that you're homesick for, ones you can't find or aren't satisfied with around Boston?

CR: Sweet tea, Bojangles, great pies, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, not to mention a couple of my North Carolina faves – Price's Chicken Coop and Allen and Sons BBQ, great food in the seediest of places.

ZB: Do you have a favorite local spot for Southern-minded fare/dishes?

CR: Pit Stop BBQ (Mattapan) and Blue Ribbon BBQ (Newton/Arlington) both offer a taste of home. Blue Ribbon even flies the NC flag. Represent!

ZB: Are there any chefs – in Boston or elsewhere – you look to for inspiration?

CR: Hungry Mother's Barry Maiden, a friend and collaborator. We were just talking pickles the other day. In my opinion, he's doing the most exciting food in town. Simple, ingredient-focused, egoless. Ana Sortun at Oleana is also an inspiration since I am floored by the flavors every time I go there.

– Eric Grossman

NYC Wine & Food Fest Wrap-Up

BuzzEditor — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:59:00 GMT

Jacques Torres

Photo: Hernan F. Rodriguez

The second annual New York City Wine & Food festival hit town this weekend and Zagat Buzz was there. Festivities began Thursday at Chelsea Market's "After Dark" party, when the former Nabisco Factory closed for an evening of nibbles and drinks. Two of Food Network's powerhouse personalities, Sandra Lee and Guy Fieri, hosted the event, and decorations included pumpkins carved with their likenesses. Chefs enjoying the party included Tyler Florence, Top Chef's Leah Cohen and Anne Burrell.

Martha Stewart

Photo: Hernan F. Rodriguez

Friday's festivities started with "Meatpacking Uncorked," when the streets came alive with live music and performers ranging from tap dancers to stilt walkers to psychedelic hula hoopers. Restaurants such as Spice Market, Los Dados and Gansevoort 69 offered tastes of their specialties, while local boutiques opened their doors to pour a variety of wines. The big event of the evening was Rachael Ray's "Burger Bash" at the Old Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn, where 17 restaurants, including the Spotted Pig, Minetta Tavern and Shake Shack, competed for the title of best burger. (Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn and his DC-based Good Stuff Eatery snagged the honor.) Spotted: Martha Stewart, last year’s winner Katie Lee, Gayle King, Giada De Laurentiis, Rocco DiSpirito and the hostess herself, Rachael Ray.

"Burger Bash" victor Spike Mendelsohn

Photo: Hernan F. Rodriguez

A parade of food stars came in and out of the Standard Hotel on Saturday, including Eric Ripert, Daniel Boulud, Joey Campanaro, Masaharu Morimoto, Michael White and Scott Conant. Panel discussions around town included "Is Fine Dining Dead?" which featured Boulud along with Andrew Carmellini, André Soltner and Food & Wine's Kate Krader. The answer: a resounding no, as panelists agreed that the idea of fine dining adapts and changes with the times. “Fine dining no longer has to mean fancy dining,” Boulud said, citing the example of Spain's El Bulli. Soltner pointed out how times have changed by noting that, 40 years ago, Lutèce would not let in women wearing pantsuits.

Saturday night's big event was entitled "Sweet," in which the city's top pastry chefs took over West Chelsea event space la.venue. The event's host, Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes, hosted luminaries like Jean Georges’ Johnny Iuzzini and Gotham Bar & Grill’s Deborah Racicot.

The weekend culminated with Giada De Laurentiis' "Meatball Madness," also at la.venue, where over two dozen chefs competed for best meatball. Despite solid entries from Rocco’s mom, Mama DiSpirito, Little Owl, Esca, Bill Telepan, the Waverly Inn and Butter, the winner was the lamb meatballs from Locanda Verde’s Andrew Carmellini.

For Twitter highlights of the event, click here. For more photos from the event, look below.

– Kathleen Squires

Empire Building

BuzzEditor — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:16:00 GMT

A rendering of the Empire Lounge

Nothing in New York is more iconic than the Empire State Building, and one can only imagine the massive renovations it's currently undergoing should only add to its legendary status. The lobby’s ceiling now glows with silver and gold leaf, etched glass has been uncovered and the marble floors are lustrous. What better time to open Empire Room, a sophisticated lounge in a space formerly dominated by fast-food joints and a brewery? And who more fitting to do it than Mark Grossich, whose company, Hospitality Holdings, has opened such chic watering holes as The Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Terminal, The World Bar in Trump Tower, The Carnegie Club in CitySpire Center, and Bookmarks in the Library Hotel? The Buzz chatted with Grossich while he was overseeing construction of the 3,500 sq.-ft. lounge, due to open before the end of the year.

Zagat Buzz: This space is totally gutted. What was here before? A pizza place? A doughnut shop?

Mark Grossich: It was a post office, but it’s true that there are no high-end restaurants here. The area is changing and the building is being repositioned. The owners are putting half a billion dollars into the restoration and attracting more high-profile tenants. I feel that we got in at just the right time.

ZB: Will the theme of the Empire Room be in keeping with the building?

MG: I always look for architecturally significant spaces, and, much like the Campbell Apartment, we are trying to leverage the history. The building is unbelievable. It was apparently inspired by those Ticonderoga pencils with erasers that everyone used to have, and it was built during the Depression in 18 months. Our theme is "a toast to another time," and everything will flow from that. Goodman Charlton, the architects, are staying with the art deco style – we are using wood veneer paneling, stark custom carpet and tables on raised platforms. Uniforms will be custom-made black dresses with pearls for women and black suits for men. We will serve things that were popular during the time when the building was constructed, like deviled eggs and stuffed tomatoes. The drink list will be grounded in classic cocktails like sidecars and pink ladies, and we are working on a classic gin-based cocktail served in a snifter edged with the Empire State Building logo.

ZB: This building is a major tourist attraction, but your other venues are full of affluent New Yorkers. Who will this lounge be geared to?

MG: The challenge will be to appeal to native New Yorkers, but also recognize that this will be a tourist destination. There is always a line at the elevator which goes up to the observation deck. I didn’t realize it before, but the deck is open until 2 AM! There are several high-end residential buildings going up right around here, and we would like to cater to the people who live there, and also the 14,000 to 15,000 people that work right here in the building. If I get 10% of those people as my customers, I’ll be happy.

ZB: This is a landmark building, and obviously a potential terrorist target. Was the insurance a problem?

MG: We definitely had to pay extra liability costs, and it’s a union building, so construction was also expensive.

ZB: Seems like the lounge could potentially be a popular spot for large gatherings. Are people ready to spend on parties again?

MG: I’ve gotten tons of calls for parties and from film companies wanting to shoot here. I keep telling them it’s not built yet. This is our eighth place, and party business is the only area we’ve felt some slippage, but it is absolutely starting to bounce back.

ZB: I get the feeling this room will have a very different vibe come New Year’s Eve.

– Beth Landman

Jean-Georges Checks Into Boston

BuzzEditor — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:14:00 GMT

Jean-Georges Vongerichten

Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the chef-owner behind Jean Georges, Spice Market, Vong and many other restaurants worldwide, will open Market in the W Boston later this month. It’s a return to the Hub for the Strasburg-born chef who, in 1985, headed the classical French kitchen at the now-defunct Le Marquis de Lafayette under the tutelage of his mentor, Louis Outhier. Zagat Buzz caught up with the renowned chef to talk about his passion for Pan-Asian cuisine (with some travel tips!), his key to culinary success and his debut in Boston.

Zagat Buzz: When did all this passion for Pan-Asian cuisine start?

Jean-Georges Vongerichten: I started working for hotels in 1980 in Bangkok. It was like a culture shock. I didn’t speak a word of English. The smells were incredible – curry, lemongrass. When I got off the plane and jumped in a car, I stopped 20 times before I got to the hotel. The first thing I stopped for was tom yum goong, a shrimp and lemongrass broth. It’s the best in the world. The two years I was there, the only thing I was eating was Thai food – breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A tip if you go to Thailand? The best food is around the temples. Everybody goes to the temples every day – all the street food around the temples is amazing. Best dessert? Go outside of the schools, three-thirty, five o’clock when the kids get out of school – they buy little treats. Go for the coconut cakes or ice cream. The street food [is where] you taste the best things.

ZB: What’s the concept of Market?

JGV: The concept is using the best dishes from Jean Georges, JoJo, Vong, Mercer Kitchen, Spice Market. In Boston it’s going to be a blend too, the best-of. We’ll use local farmers, markets and fish, everything we can find locally. We do a lot of infusions for drinks and cocktails, like ginger-lime soda. Chinatown is right next door, so my lemongrass is waiting for me.

ZB: Will you have the lamb shank with the green chili as you originally had at Vong?

JGV: We’ll see. For me that’s what it’s all about – creating cravings that people remember. If customers wake up in the morning and don’t remember at least one thing, you didn’t do your job right. When you open a restaurant today, everyone’s going to come in the beginning. If you don’t create cravings, people won’t come back. What’s the point?

– Naomi Kooker

LA's Amazing Grace

BuzzEditor — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:12:00 GMT

Amy Knoll Fraser

Photo: courtesy of Grace

After seven years on Beverly Boulevard, LA's Grace Restaurant is preparing to move Downtown in fall 2010. For those of us who had long written off the area as a culinary black hole, it's a sobering notion – in addition to a number of new openings, restaurants from the Westside are actually migrating to the rough streets of Old Los Angeles.

Grace's new home, St. Vibiana Cathedral, which dates back to 1876, narrowly avoided the wrecking ball in 1996 before being saved by developers Tom Gilmore and Richard Weintraub. In the decade since, the cathedral has turned into one of Downtown's destination event spaces. We asked Grace co-owner Amy Knoll Fraser – wife of, and partner with, chef Neal Fraser – about the process of moving from an orthodox Jewish neighborhood to a venerable Catholic church.

Merrill Shindler: How did you discover that St. Vibiana was available?

Amy Knoll Fraser: It happened quite by accident. We were doing a catering event at St. Vibiana. I took a tour, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I knew we had to do this. But we were too involved with opening bld. So, we put off any thoughts about it for a long time. But I had fallen in love with it.

MS: It can't be easy moving into a church that's 133 years old.

AKF: The cathedral was completed in 1876, but the refectory was built in the 1930s. So, it's a pretty substantial Spanish-Baroque concrete building. There's not a lot of structural work to be done – except that we've got to add on a new two-story building to house the kitchen.

MS: Aren't there things you have to do when you move into a church? I thought there was a decommissioning ceremony. Maybe not bell, book and candle, but something?

AKF: As it turns out, no ceremony is required. When Tom Gilmore and Richard Weintraub purchased the building in 1996, they restored it and did a retrofit. At the same time, they removed most of the religious elements. It was decommissioned. Now, it's just a building with history.

MS: No ghosts?

AKF: It doesn't feel haunted at all.

MS: And who was St. Vibiana? I get the feeling she's not the Patron Saint of Sous-Chefs.

AKF: St. Vibiana has an interesting story. She's actually the Patron Saint of Nobodies; no one knows how she became a martyr. Her remains were discovered in the 1800s. She was discovered in a church catacomb in Rome – she had a laurel around her head that indicated she was a virgin martyr. Apparently her parents had been martyred, and she was forced into prostitution. When she refused, she was sent to a mental asylum, where she was flogged to death. Her remains were in the old cathedral, and now they're in the new cathedral just a few blocks away.

MS: How did she get from Rome to Los Angeles?

AKF: The Bishop of Los Angeles brought her remains over, so the cathedral could be named after her. This is the only church named for St. Vibiana. She's only known in Los Angeles.

MS: Why aren't you keeping the original Grace open after you move Downtown?

AKF: For us, there can never be two Grace Restaurants. We're very hands on. We need to be present, working with our staff everyday. If there were two Graces, one of them would suffer.

MS: Will the menu change at all?

AKF: It will be Neal's style of food, which means it's always changing, always evolving. There'll also be four private dining rooms, where we can go a little crazy with special menus, carving carts and the like. And there'll be a separate menu for the bar. It's "Grace, The Next Generation."

MS: And it's "Grace Goes Downtown."

AKF: It's really fantastic to be part of Downtown. There's so much positive creative energy. It's palpable, you can feel it on every block.

MS: Fall of 2010 is just one year away – can you do it?

AKF: If all goes well we will. But you know how these things go.

MS: Yes. Let us pray…

– Merrill Shindler

A Cooking-Competition Cheat Sheet

BuzzEditor — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:22:00 GMT

With all the cooking shows out there focusing on a single chef's adventures (No Reservations, Avec Eric), not to mention the ones focusing on chefs traveling around the world challenging other chefs (Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, Chefs vs. City), it can be hard to keep track of the regular old cooking-competition shows. With The Next Iron Chef starting up on the Food Network on Sunday night (see video below), we thought we'd give you a leg up by breaking the shows down for you in one handy guide:

What's your favorite (and least favorite) TV cooking show?

Share your thoughts on the Zagat Discussion boards!

The show: Chopped (Food Network, Tuesdays 10 PM/9 Central)
The gimmick: In each episode, four chefs are given a random assortment of foods to combine into an appetizer, an entree and a dessert, with one chef being eliminated after each course.
Season: Currently ending its second season
Host: Ted Allen
Judges: Vary, but have included Scott Conant, Marc Murphy, Jody Williams and Geoffrey Zakarian
Chefs: Andre Marrero (L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon), Mina Newman (Christos Steakhouse) and more
Sample challenge: Make an appetizer of beef shoulder, fish sauce and canned pumpkin. Um, deelish?
Prize: $10,000
Not to be confused with: Iron Chef
In short: A surprisingly fresh take on the food competition genre with interesting results

The show: Hell's Kitchen (FOX, Tuesdays 8 PM/7 Central)
The gimmick: Chefs compete in a restaurant kitchen for the approval of Gordo.
Season: Currently in season six
Host: Gordon Ramsay
Judge: Not really judged so much as ruled by Ramsay
Chefs: No one you've heard of before the show airs
Sample challenge: Prepare a vegetarian meal for veggie-hating children
Prize: A chance to run one of Ramsay's kitchens
Not to be confused with: Considering Gordo's way with the insult, it's not likely you'll confuse it with anything.
In short: An enjoyable romp, but hard to take seriously because it's the drama rather than the cooking that takes center stage

The show: Iron Chef America (Food Network, Sundays 9 PM/8 Central)
The gimmick: Based on the Japanese original, the show features a celeb "Iron Chef" battling a guest chef using a single ingredient for multiple dishes.
Season: Currently in season seven
Hosts: Alton Brown, Kevin Brauch, "Chairman" Mark Dacascos
Judges: Vary, though Ted Allen, Karine Bakhoum and Jeffrey Steingarten appear regularly
Chefs: Mario Batali, Cat Cora, Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto and Michael Symon are the current Iron Chefs.
Sample challenge: Prepare five dishes featuring elk in one hour
Prize: The honor of the competition
Not to be confused with: Chopped, Throwdown!
In short: Though lacking the magic (and camp allure) of its Japanese inspiration, it's still one of the more exciting food shows on TV.

The show: The Next Food Network Star (Food Network)
The gimmick: People of various persuasions (chefs, consultants, housewives, etc.) compete to have a show aired on the Food Network.
Season: Five
Hosted by: Bobby Flay
Judges: Bobby Flay, Bob Tuschman, Susie Fogelson
Previous winners: Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, Guy Fieri, Amy Finley, Aaron McCargo, Jr., Melissa d'Arabian
Sample challenge: Inspired by Julie & Julia, cook a three-course meal for 20 of the culinary world's elite.
Prize: A six-episode television show on the Food Network
Not to be confused with: Next Iron Chef, Top Chef
In short: The title aptly describes this Food Network ratings powerhouse.

The show: Next Iron Chef (Food Network, Sundays 9 PM/8 Central starting October 4; Watch a sneak peek of the new season above)
The gimmick: Professional chefs are narrowed down in a series of challenges designed to test their readiness in areas deemed necessary to be an Iron Chef (i.e. artistry, resourcefulness).
Season: About to start season two
Hosted by: Alton Brown, "Chairman" Mark Dacascos
Recurring judges: Anya Fernald, Donatella Arpaia, Jeffery Steingarten
Previous winners: Michael Symon
Sample challenge: Create an amuse-bouche that best sums up a chef's style in 30 minutes
Prize: The title of Iron Chef and a recurring role on that program
Not to be confused with: Top Chef Masters, Next Food Network Star
In short: A departure from the Iron Chef mold, it still manages to have more bite to it than Top Chef Masters.

The show: Top Chef (Bravo, Wednesdays 10 PM/9 Central)
The gimmick: Over the course of a season chefs are narrowed down through "quick fire" and "elimination" challenges judged by regular judges and celebrity guests.
Season: Currently in season six
Hosted by: Padma Lakshmi
Recurring judges: Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons
Guest judges: Everyone from Anthony Bourdain to Tim Zagat
Previous winners: Harold Dieterle, Ilan Hall, Hung Huynh, Stephanie Izzard, Hosea Rosenberg
Sample challenge: Make a dish using only food from a vending machine
Prize: Cash and a whole lot of Glad-family products
Not to be confused with: Next Food Network Star, Next Iron Chef
In short: Arguably the most respected of the cooking competition shows, as even its runners-up appear to get a boost from competing.

The show: Top Chef Masters (Bravo)
The gimmick: 24 professional chefs are narrowed down in a bracket competition based on "quick fire" challenges from the original Top Chef and new "elimination" challenges.
Seasons: One (2009)
Hosted by: Kelly Choi
Recurring judges: Gael Greene, James Oseland, Jay Rayner
Guest judges: Girl Scouts, Neil Patrick Harris, Top Chef winners
Previous winners: Rick Bayless
Sample challenge: Create offal-based street food to serve at Universal Studios
Prize: Cash donations for the chef's charities of choice, acclaim
Not to be confused with: Top Chef
In short: Similar to the original Top Chef, but without the desperation, backstabbing and Padma.

Meet Joe Doe

BuzzEditor — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:58:00 GMT

Joe Dobias

photo: courtesy of the restaurant

His battles with bloggers may have branded him New York’s new bad boy chef, but Joe Dobias, chef and owner of East Village eatery Joe Doe, just wants people to enjoy good food, even if they think he has an attitude. Fans of the Food Network’s Chopped will see if his “aggressive American” fare comes on just as strong as his personality when he steps up to the block on October 27. In the meantime, he talked openly with the Buzz about his restaurant, the trouble with food trends, the state of dining in New York and how most cooking shows don't teach you to cook.

Zagat Buzz: What’s Joe Doe’s role in today’s dining scene?

Joe Dobias: It’s a consistent approach to cooking that doesn’t need to be precious. That’s why we call the whole style “aggressive American.” It’s a little bit in your face, kinda unapologetic, and really, really honestly American.

ZB: Sounds a lot like the chef...

JD: I cook for diners, not eaters, and I do everything to accommodate the whims of people at this point. Yet I don’t think that some people have approached me with that same respect just because I have a big mouth and sometimes I stick my foot in it.

ZB: What’s the difference between an eater and a diner?

JD: Diners are leaders and the leaders have come in despite the fact that I have an attitude. They understand that I’m doing an honest person’s cooking. It’s supposed to be a convivial process where we are all getting together and we are all doing something that we enjoy, both on my side and on the diner’s side. An eater is someone who is used to following the tail of the person in front of them, the kind of people who follow overall dining trends that are pushed on them. Eaters don’t necessarily care to understand what the purpose of the restaurant is, they are there for the scene or that this is the hot thing. I opened a restaurant for diners, not for eaters – for the shepherds, not for the sheep – and if that pisses people off, too bad really. There are plenty of restaurants out there, so go somewhere else, it’s ok with me. Eaters are a big part of what’s wrong with the dining scene in New York.

ZB: If the NY dining scene is broken, how should it be fixed?

JD: It needs to be an honest approach again as opposed to just the money-making approach. Empire building is very popular right now and I am not against someone making their money but there’s a point where restaurants are losing identity, even if they are owned by celebrity chefs. There seems to be a slowing down of the whole idea that once you have one restaurant you need to have five in order to be successful. But you can still make money just off of one place. I have a very small place and at one point when we actually get the consistent business, it will be very easy for me to make money because I didn’t spend a lot of money to open it. But look at DBGB down the block from me... If you need to make $4 million a year, and you’re ok with saying that to people, then people need to be ok with the fact that they are just having money made on them. In fact, that kind of restaurant has nothing to do with giving you the best possible product at the fairest price. It has to do with profit and loss margins, it has to do with fulfilling salaries of management and an exorbitant amount of line cooks. I never opened a restaurant thinking I’m going to make millions of dollars, I never would try to do that. That system is not really devoted to customers, it is devoted to their wallets.

ZB: Who do you look up to in the culinary world?

JD: That’s a tough question. I don’t really have a lot of people that I look up to, to be honest with you, because I haven’t really worked with a lot of people in that respect. But at Savoy I worked with Matt Weingarten (Inside Park at St. Bart’s). I model a lot of my cooking after what he does because it’s an honest approach to cooking. It would taste good and he didn’t do it with a lot of pretense.

ZB: Did you enjoy the Chopped experience?

JD: I did, because a lot of it is about who is not afraid to put themselves out there. And that shows the most confidence in what you are doing in a restaurant kitchen too. I’m not afraid of anybody’s kitchen.

ZB: Some say that the cooking-competition shows focus too much on the personalities as opposed to cooking or the actual technique. Do you agree or disagree?

JD: I agree and I disagree. Just to get on a show like that has zero to do with your cooking capacity. They are casting personalities, but I think at the same time they have brought in plenty of talented people. Top Chef is now attracting heavier talent, very talented people who have been, or could be, swallowed up by the big restaurants. A lot of those guys and girls don’t want to just be the chef de cuisine in someone else’s kitchen anymore. Even if they are making $100,000 in a Mario Batali restaurant, they are not going to be able to touch any of the food and not going to be able to influence the concept. It’s already laid out, they get a spreadsheet every week and a conference call from Vegas. To a lot of people today that is not appealing. They want to see themselves in the spotlight right away and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. The good thing about these cooking competitions are that they really expose people who can’t cook! Even though they are set up to give you twists and turns, if you can really cook you will be able to adapt to whatever is thrown your way, and I think that shows a lot more prowess than someone who can regurgitate something they have learned over a 13-year apprenticeship. I mean, people don’t recognize the difference. Look at that Star Chefs event. I mean, how can every person who is a “rising star” in the culinary world right now be the chef de cuisine for someone else? And how is that fair for someone to judge only multimillion dollar restaurants as being fitting of a “rising star”? I think it’s all a bunch of horseshit, because when it comes down to it, the only people who are doing really honest stuff are the people who are still there on the ground doing it.

ZB: If you had your own show, what would the format be like?

JD: I would definitely incorporate some stand-up cooking. The Food Network is like the anti–Martha Stewart Network now. Cooking on a budget and $10 a day – they are all stupid ideas because they are about how to do things the easiest way possible and pass it off as your own. No one is showing people how to actually cook! People don’t know how to chop an onion for example. My cooking show would have that with a little bit of Alton Brown thrown in, where it’s educational. I’ll tell people why bread rises, for example.

ZB: What can diners expect from you this season at Joe Doe?

JD: I’ll tell you what not to expect – mac 'n' cheese or a fried chicken dinner. Why does everyone need to be the same? I’ve had enough of it already, these trends where everything spirals out of control because people are more interested in being written about as opposed to just doing what they are doing. I don’t think that’s what really drives business. What does drive business is continuing to do the same kind of cooking every day and getting better at it and more effective at giving the customer what they want. But to answer your question, I like this time of year – I’ll be working with beans and offal, and doing a lot of braising.

ZB: What’s next for you?

JD: We’ve been throwing around the idea of doing a sandwich shop where we would bring back a real Jewish-style bagel. We are a city full of Jews but there’s not that many good bagel places left. I came up with the name “Joe Dough” for it.

– Kathleen Squires

The Many Hats of Michael "Bao" Huynh

BuzzEditor — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:50:00 GMT

Michael "Bao" Huynh

Michael “Bao” Huynh snags the award for most prolific NYC chef of 2009, with an empire that includes three Baoguettes, plus BarBao and Bia Garden. And coming soon are several more Baoguettes; O Bao, a noodle bar; B Clinton, a prix fixe concept; Spot, a snack and dessert cafe with Pichet Ong; and a Southeast Asian seafooder in Williamsburg. A jack of several trades, chef Huynh is also a trained architect and savvy businessman. The Buzz was able to grab him for a few minutes between projects to discuss his plan for citywide domination.

Zagat Buzz: You are not only busy creating concepts and menus—you are designing your spaces. How is designing a space similar to designing a menu?

Michael “Bao” Huynh: I feel that architecture is art and cooking is an art. And they both make people happy. They are something beautiful and creative, so they reflect each other. I am a one-man operation in terms of design, so I can move a lot faster than other restaurateurs, and I also save a lot of money by designing the spaces myself. This helps me to give more money to the quality of the kitchen.

ZB: Your mother was also a chef and cookbook author. What are some of the most important lessons she taught you?

MH: She taught me how to cook when I was very young, so cooking is something that has always been a part of me. But I think mostly she taught me the real flavors of the Vietnamese, which is the most important thing that I have, and which has driven my career.

ZB: How is Vietnamese cuisine changing in New York?

MH: I think in New York, a lot of Asian cooking is on the rise – especially Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese – because of the recession. Because this is not expensive food, it is becoming more popular. I hope to be an influence to keep the quality consistent as the cuisine becomes more popular. And I feel that we are doing something that the market needs now – good food at a low price.

ZB: What's the secret to consistency at a chain like Baoguette?

MH: We have a formula for sauces, and a base. In a higher-end restaurant, it is harder to control quality, but in lower-end restaurants when you sell something for $5–$7, you must have a formula to work – just like McDonald’s. I’m not saying we’re like McDonald’s, but we create a consistency within the recipes.

ZB: Are you afraid of spreading yourself too thin?

MH: No, because now a lot of young American chefs love Vietnamese cuisine. I took 30 students and 15 chefs to Vietnam and everybody fell in love with the cuisine, and many of them came back to work for me – good people like Spike Mendelsohn of Top Chef. So with a good staff, I have to give up something to make them happy. Basically at every restaurant we give up a percentage of ownership to the people working there, and it motivates them to keep it good. It’s about not being afraid to pass the torch to someone else – it doesn’t mean that I stand away. But I’m not doing a three-star restaurant in the case of Baoguette, and it’s easier to train people for the lower end.

ZB: Are there any plans for you to expand beyond New York?

MH: We are staying in town for now, but we are looking into bringing concepts to Miami, Atlantic City and other cities.