Toby’s Estate New West Village Location

December 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Toby’s Estate has opened its newest Cafe and Brew School in the West Village at 44 Charles Street and 7th Avenue. The Cafe is appropriately housed within a landmarked 1920s artist studio in a typical West Village brownstones. The first permanent Brew School can be found at this location, named The Brew Parlour, that offers a variety of educational opportunities for guests of the coffee house, as well as for coffee enthusiasts and aficionados.

Classes include one-on-one espresso and latte lessons as well as a new cupping series and Home Brew Methods class. The Toby’s Estate Coffee Educators will help participants to master techniques on different brewing equipment such as the Chemex and V60. The cafe’s menu includes a wide selection of single origin pour-overs and espresso from the Toby’s Estate team’s recent travels to Colombia, Honduras, Ethiopia and Panama. The Cafe will also have a larger food menu including homemade brunch and breakfast items as opposed to other outposts that provide pastries from Brooklyn and New York based rotating “residency” programs.

To check out photos of the new Toby’s Estate in the West Village and to learn more, click here

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Doughnut Plant Opens Brooklyn Outpost

December 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Early yesterday morning Doughnut Plant opened its first Brooklyn outpost, right in time for the holidays! There were already guests waiting at the door before the shop’s bright and early opening at 6:30AM. This outpost will be offering all the signature Doughnut Plant flavor of doghnuts, such as peanut butter and jelly and tres leches, as well as some seasonal flavors. The holiday doughnuts include marzipan-glazed yeast doughnuts in the shape of stars, gingerbread and panettone cake doughnuts.

Doughnut Plant serves coffee from Toby’s Estate, Intelligentsia and is also currently serving from City of Saints, a guest roaster. There is a considerable amount of seating available at this Brooklyn location which is larger in size to the Lower East Side location and more comparable to the Chelsea outpost. Mark Israel, the owner, has decorated the shop with a lining of doughnut-shaped terra cotta tiles that were made by his father.

To see photos of the new Doughnut Plant outpost in Brooklyn, click here

The shop is located at 245 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, New York.

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Mu Ramen Opened in LIC

December 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Owners Joshua and Heidy Smookler opened their new permanent brick and mortar ramen restaurant yesterday in Long Island City. There was a long delay in opening as they waited for Con Ed to connect their gas, but opening day is finally here! Joshua previously worked at Per Se, and Heidy at Buddakan before they decided to open up a pop-up ramen shop that gathered a rather large and loyal following. In the Spring of last year, New York Times food critic Pete Wells wrote that when he, “made a list of my favorite bowls of ramen in the city, I put it in first place.”

The new Mu Ramen can be found at 1209 Jackson Avenue (48th Avenue) in Long Island City, Queens. The new space features an open kitchen, dark-wood finishes and brick walls. The counter can seat up to 22 people and the cooks also double as waiters because as Joshua says, “I like the personal interaction you get at sushi bars.” Enough about decor and service, the menu is what makes people crave Mu Ramen! Up to 120 lbs of pork bones are boiled in a 24inch diameter pot at the highest heat for over 20 hours. Each bowl of Mu ramen is extracted from about 24oz of the pork marrow bone. According to Joshua and Heidy, “Time, no MSG and great effort are the key ingredients to Mu Ramen.” The menu also offers fried chicken wings stuffed with brioche and foie gras, and plenty of truffles.

To read more about the opening of Mu Ramen in Long Island City, click here

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First New York Lyfe Kitchen

November 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Lyfe Kitchen (Love Your Food Everyday) is a fresh-casual chain that originated in California and was founded by some of McDonald’s longtime veterans. McDonald’s successes with large-scale operations is what can be brought to Lyfe Kitchen, giving the healthy-fast-food an important new competitor. There are 13 existing locations, and the first in New York City will be opening soon on W 55th Street near 8th Avenue.

Also appealing to the masses, Lyfe Kitchen’s menu was devised by Art Smith, personal chef to celebrity Oprah Winfrey and Tal Ronnen, known for being a vegan cooking “guru.” Whole grains, vegetables and low fat proteins take center stage on the menu to appeal to a variety of trendy diets (including gluten-free, paleo, etc.) and the dishes do not go beyond 600 calories per portion. As for beverages there will be no soda to keep with the healthy pattern, there will be however , wine and beer. Superfood-enhanced cocktails will also be part of the menu. The design is also “fresh” as furnishings are sustainable and recyclable.

To read more about the opening of Lyfe Kitchen, click here

Filed Under: Openings

Pier A Harbor House in Battery Park City

November 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Harry and Peter Poulakakos have opened their project that has been in the works for three years: the restaurant mega-complex Pier A Harbor House. The restaurant complex is in Battery Park City, where Harry and Poulakakos already have a stake in most restaurants. They took control of the landmark in 2011 and had plans to build a large multi-level restaurant with everything from private dining rooms to picnic tables.

The first floor of the restaurant had it’s soft opening a few days ago and will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. The menu consists of pub fare with a particular emphasis on seafood. The second floor of the space will be more of a fine dining space and will be opening at some point in 2015. To read more about the opening of the restaurant mega-complex in Battery Park City and to see photos of the space, click here

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New Shake Shack in Midtown East

November 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Shake Shack opened yet another outpost yesterday in eastern midtown on the corner of 40th St and 3rd Ave, just a short walk from Grand Central Station. This location will be the seventh outpost opened by Danny Meyer and his team in New York city. This location was in the works for about a year, and it seems the next outpost will be Herald Square to open soon after this. The popular burger chain is known for adding some location-specific concretes to the custard menus at their different outposts.

The concretes featured at this new Midtown East Shake Shack include the ‘Murray Hill Malt’, consisting of chocolate custard, marshmallow sauce, malt powder, chocolate truffle cookie dough and Mast Brothers cocoa nibs, the ‘East Slide,” a custard with strawberry, banana and cheesecake blondies, the ‘Jitney’ with Tate’s Bake Shop chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter sauce (5% of sales on this custard benefits an animal welfare organization). The crinkle cut fries and Brooklyn Brewery ShackMeister are also served here along with all the Shake Shack classics, just in case there was the slightest doubt.

To read more about the opening of Danny Meyer’s seventh Shake Shack in Manhattan, click here

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Second Starbucks Open in Williamsburg

November 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The first Starbucks opened in Williamsburg a few months ago and was met with a less than welcoming crowd. Starbucks now opened a second Starbucks Coffee Shop and is making an effort to try and make the outpost blend in with the feel of the neighborhood. This Starbucks location has exposed brick and a large communal table that is intended to be used for coffee seminars. In another effort to fit in with the Williamsburg scene, this Starbucks will host local music bands and showcase artwork from neighborhood artists.

Williamsburg is not the only market where Starbucks is attempting to variegate appearance and activities, they are also experimenting with this in a few other markets. This location also had high hopes to sell wine and beer, however a 500 person petition from local businesses and residents forced a no vote from the Community Board. The decision remains in the hands of the SLA which has yet to make a final decision. The owner and manager of the neighboring The West coffee house took it upon themselves to collect the signatures for the petition. Owner Esther Bell stated, “”They have 255 locations in Manhattan right now, and we would be setting the precedent that Starbucks will not only keep opening up in Brooklyn, block by block, but now take a vital revenue stream from small business. As you know, most restaurants can’t survive without alcohol.”

 To read more about the opening of the new Williamsburg Starbucks location, click here. The Starbucks is located near the L train Bedford Stop at 154 North 7th Street, Williamsburg. 

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Tarry Lodge Opens in New Haven

November 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Mario Batali and Joe Bastanich’s third outpost of Tarry Lodge opened last Friday in New Haven, Connecticut. This outpost is smaller than the other two located in Westport, Connecticut and Port Chester, New York. The menu will consist of wood-fired pizzas, pastas, grilled entrees and a very extensive and comprehensive wine selection. The kitchen equipment is said to be state of the art with a pizza oven that can supposedly cook a pizza in under two minutes.

Due to the proximity to college campuses, predominantly Yale University, the prices will be more “suited to a college student’s budget.” The prices aren’t the only items that will be adjusted to better suit student life, the fare itself will be student-friendly offering menu items such as meatballs and turkey subs. The Batali & Bastianich duo will also be opening another new restaurant later this year in New York City  at the Maritime Hotel. They also have plans to open Eataly in Philadelphia and Los Angeles as well as a Babbo Pizzeria in Boston.

To read more about Batali & Bastianich’s restaurant openings, click here

Filed Under: Openings

José Andrés to Enter Fast Casual Segment in D.C.

October 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment

José Andrés, the Ferran Adrià prodigy who popularized Spanish cuisine in the U.S., will be launching a vegetable-focused fast casual concept. The first location of ‘Beefsteak” (play on the tomato variety), will open on campus at George Washington University in Washington D.C. early next year. José Andrés, aside from having his own course on food at the university, also serves as an advisor on food initiatives and has been testing dishes with his staff for months.

José Andrés would like to clarify that his concept is not “vegetarian,” it is vegetable-centric. As Jose says, “We don’t like to call it vegetarian. We want to call it tasty, fun, sexy, good-looking.” Vegetables has been around forever, so this concept is not about ‘the next big thing,’ so much as it is re-inventing and converting people’s ideas about vegetables. Roy Choi, the Los Angeles food-truck chef, recently posted on his Instagram about the future of vegetables and how he is, “trying to make vegetables relevant to a new generation by just making them fun.” Batali and Bastianich also have a portion of Eataly dedicated solely to dishes prepared with vegetables, and world famous chef Rene Redzepi of Noma is always preaching the virtues of vegetables.

Vegetable restaurants do exist, such as Vedge in Philadelphia, where chef Richard Landau reaffirms that vegetables are beginning to ‘move from the side of the plate to the center.” Jose Andre’s Beefsteak will be the first of its kind in Washington D.C. and if it is successful, will expand and open more locations. Before opening his now wildly successful Jaleo, people had their doubts about tapas and small portions; now small plates are a nationwide phenomenon. José Andrés is confident that despite the doubts about a vegetable-centric fast casual, he will be successful in giving the people “what they don’t know they are craving.”

To read more about the new fast casual concept and other vegetable-focused eateries, click here

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Crumbs Bakery Is Back!

October 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Crumbs filed for bankruptcy earlier this summer upsetting cupcake lovers across the nation. Come next Tuesday Crumbs will be reopening! A grand reopening celebration will be taking place at their 1385 Broadway location in the Garment District which has recently been repainted for the event. There are twenty five over locations including L.A, Chicago and Boston that will be having celebratory opening blowouts over the course of the next 20 days.

One of Crumbs Bakery’s new partners, TV host Marcus Lemonis, is eager for the relaunch to showcase his new bagel-croissant hybrid which is meant to encompass the “new, modern Crumbs experience.” This new fusion pastry coined “baissant” with be found in stores next to the “Crumbnut,” a reinterpretation of the Cronut. The idea of introducing these new pastry mash-ups was to diversify the product mix beyond just the scope of cupcakes. There will also be some new cupcake flavors though such as salted caramel and key lime. A few other new non-cupcake offerings will include frozen desserts, cookies, gluten-free options and Crumbs chocolate bars.

To read more about the reopening of Crumbs and it’s new product mix, click here

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