NY Drinks NY: Trade and Media Preview
February 16, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The New York Wine & Grape Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation promoting all wineries and grape-growers in New York State. The Foundation’s strategic goal is to have the New York grape and wine industry recognized as a world leader in quality, productivity, and social responsibility. New York ranks third in wine production nation-wide and the wine industry contributes $4.8 billion annually to the state’s economy.
The New York Wine & Grape Foundation organizes NY Drinks NY which celebrates wines from across the state during the month of March . The signature event of NY Drinks NY is the Grand Tasting at Astor Center, the largest annual collection of local wines from the Finger Lakes, Long Island, and beyond. The fourth annual Grand Tasting will take place on Tuesday, March 10 from 12 pm to 4 pm for trade and media; the event will be open to the public from 6 pm to 8 pm. For trade and media information, please contact: Kayt Mathers First Press Public Relations & Consulting kayt@firstpresspr.com 212-867-5516.
Astor Center, 399 Lafayette St
The Elm In Williamsburg Is Closing
February 13, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Elm in Williamsburg has been open for nearly three years and unfortunately will be officially closing this coming Sunday. When the restaurant originally opened in August 2013 inside the King & Grove Williamsburg hotel, chef Paul Liebrandt believed the restaurant would serve as a ‘gateway’ for a clientele dissimilar to that of Corton.
The food and coffee at The Elm were highly praised including a three star rating from Adam Platt, however there was something about the atmosphere that never really jived. Chef Paul Liebrandt has mentioned that he would like to undertake another fine-dining restaurant project, so perhaps this may be the push to do so. For more information on the closing of The Elm in Williamsburg, click here.
Chocolate Will Cost More This V-Day
February 13, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Cocoa prices increased significantly in the past year which will make this year’s Valentine’s Day chocolate gifts that much pricier. There has been in increase in demand for darker chocolates (mainly in Asian markets) which require more cocoa that could explain the cause of the spike in the commodity. Edward George, head of soft commodities research at EcoBank states,“What’s driving up the price, really, is rising demand for cocoa in Asia, though it also was pretty strong in North America and Europe.”
Environmental factors could also have been another factor affecting the rise; a dusty wind known as the harmattan began to sweep the big players in cocoa production this December (mostly West African countries) right at the beginning of the prime harvesting season. Many of the cocoa trees were also attacked by fungi that contributed to the decrease in production. Hershey’s has raised prices across all its products this year to offset the high cocoa prices. Sylvia Kälin, head of Lindt & Sprüngli’s corporate communications states,”L&S, like other companies in the chocolate industry, had to make occasional price adjustments on selected products in 2014 to absorb some of the raw material cost challenges — even if at first we always try to counter these challenges with increases in efficiency and volume.”
To read more about the rising cost of chocolate, click here, and on that note, Happy Valentine’s Day from TPG!
Baz Bagel & Restaurant: Single Product Enterprise
February 12, 2015 by Leave a Comment
181 Grand Street (NoLita) Tel. 212.335.0609
Their Success…Baz Bagel offers hand-rolled bagels made in small batches with smoked fish, fresh seasonal spreads and other Jewish comfort fare in a laid back atmosphere full of fun retro touches. Former General Manager at Rubirosa Bari Musacchio and Barney Greengrass veteran David Heffernan partnered together to bring Nolita/Chinatown a great bagel store and daytime café hangout. The large Barbara Streisand portrait, tile floors, fun lunch counter and palm tree wallpaper give the space a very beachy, Floridian-Jewish vibe.
The menu is not 100% bagel centric, which allows room for Jewish comfort fare favorites such a latkes, matzoh brei and pizza bagels! There is also a portion of the menu dedicated solely to the egg: America’s favorite breakfast go-to. The Eggs à la Baz, for example, consists of two latkes with two poached eggs, nova and chive; what else do you need for breakfast? The bagels themselves are hand-rolled with malt, boiled and baked on wood boards the old-fashioned way in the back kitchen daily. Flagels and gluten free bagels are also available for the health conscious guest.
The menu is concise, focused and includes distinctive bagel sandwiches with amusing names such as the Rainbow Kitty, Pretty In Pink, Mooch and Art’s Ark Tuna Melt. The menu also has a sweet side including enjoyable ‘fountain favorites’ such as malted milk shakes and soda floats. Other desserts include a house-made chocolate babka, key lime pie and self-proclaimed world famous blintzes! The house-made items on the menu from bagels to babka contribute to the homey, comfortable ambiance.
Take Aways…The menu at Baz Bagel and restaurant was cleverly crafted to include high demand breakfast items, important Jewish comfort foods, a star product (the bagel), and unique variations of the star product (creative bagel sandwiches). The Floridian atmosphere from the palm tree wallpaper and flamingo accents down to the 70’s classics playlists has not been done before on the Lower East Side, which lends a very special charm to this bagel shop and café. The lunch counter and booths create an old-school atmosphere that is very relaxing and comforting, while the front counter with the beautifully displayed bagel baskets and shmears allows for a quick bagel and coffee pick up on the go.
New Dinner Menu At El Rey Luncheonette
February 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Nicholas Morgenstern’s El Rey Coffee Bar and Luncheonette on the Lower East Side has started serving dinner! The small space’s kitchen is run by executive chef Gerardo Gonzalez who is known for his ‘SoCal, neo-hippie, veggie-centric-but-not-vegetarian’ style. The new dinner menu includes vegan chicharrones with hot sauce, cashew crema and chamoy sauce, octopus salad with black salsa, charred radicchios with ricotta, hazelnut and mint and papas bravas with pickled pineapple hot sauce.
Morgenstern was inspired by the tapas style service of Bar Jamón. El Rey Luncheonette is also pushing toward organic and biodynamic wines. For more information on the new dinner menu including photos of the new dishes, click here
Kosher Burger Concept Opens In Crown Heights
February 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment
A new Kosher burger concept, named Boeuf & Bun, has opened in Crown Heights at 217 Kingston Avenue. The new spot has been self-proclaimed as an “artisanal burger lab” serving high-end gourmet burger options. The main focus lays in quality, which is why all burgers are ground in house, nothing is premade or prepackaged (including the custom sauces). After a long, unsuccessful search for the best Kosher bun on the market, Australian owner Tzemach Woolstone decided to make his own.
One burger, called ‘The New Yorker,’ is topped with pastrami, cabbage slaw, and horseradish. There is also a lamb burger with olive tapenade and cumin garlic aioli. There are a few non-burger options such as seasonal soups, tacos, and a slow-cooked beef sandwich. For more information and photos of Boeuf & Bun, check out their Facebook page here
Gansevoort Market Foodstand Spotlight
February 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment
On Monday February 23rd, Foodstand and Slow Money NYC will host an evening where five new food entrepreneurs will take the stage to share their work, get advice from a panel of exerts (investors, marketers, and innovators), and get feedback from the audience. This will be an opportunity for the experts to showcase their product or business to a diverse panel of experts and audience collaborators who’ve all shown up with one mission: to help good food ventures be the best they can be.
Below is the schedule for the event:
- 6:30PM: Doors open and drinks
- 7:00PM: Community Annoucements + Keynote
- 7:20PM: Expert Roundtable Introductions
- 7:30PM: Each presenter gets 5 minutes to showcase their product. Experts share thoughts in the next 5. Audience vote on live-text questions Entrepreneur wants feedback on.
- 8:30PM: Drinks and Networking
Tickets will be $15 and will take place at Gansevoort Market – 52 Gansevoort Street; for more information on how to get involved either as an expert or to attend as part of the audience, click here
Melt Shop & The Little Beet To Expand In LI
February 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Roosevelt Field Shopping Mall in Long Island will be welcoming two newcomers this week: Melt Shop and The Little Beet. Melt Shop has a few outposts in New York City and one in the works in Washington D.C. set to open this week, so this is not a new feat for owner Spencer Rubin. This will be a new endeavor however for Franklin Becker’s The Little Beet. A few months ago Becker opened the sit-down version, Little Beet Table, on Park Avenue between 23rd and 24th St.
Both brands are moving into the large shopping mall outlet at Roosevelt Field as a way to expand the brands. Becker is also currently working on a steakhouse concept. The foot traffic at Roosevelt Fields Mall is very heavy, and the current chains at the mall such as Houston’s and Seasons 52 do very well. These two fast casual concepts will surely soon become go-to’s for shoppers looking to grab a quick bite at a fair price. To read more, click here.
Cracker Barrel To Work On Fast Casual Concept
February 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Cracker Barrel, the Tennessee-based restaurant chain, is working on transforming their concept into a new fast casual format as a strategy to extend the overall brand. Interestingly enough, there are few concepts that are similar to the Cracker Barrel brand of country cooking in the fast casual market space. The restaurant chain consists of a large barn-feel full service restaurant with an attached general stores selling everything from Adirondack chairs to clothing to toys.
The chain will be working on delivering a new approach to the guest experience. Currently the Cracker Barrel restaurants do $3.4 millions in sales, and the retail portion of the chain brings in another $900,000. Cracker Barrel will be keeping us guessing on what kind of menu they will be implementing in the fast casual concept, the service type and whether or not the Old Country Store will still be making an appearance. To read more about Cracker Barrel’s future plans to extend the brand, click here.
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