Tom Colicchio Opens His First New Restaurant in 2 Years on Long Island

December 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio is set to open his first new restaurant in more than two years, this time on Long Island. Small Batch, opening tomorrow, will serve American fare made from locally sourced ingredients in a rustic, 180-seat space at Roosevelt Field in Garden City.

The space, modeled after a farmhouse, will feature an open kitchen and wood-fire grill churning out an American menu with an emphasis on Long Island regional products. Starters include honeycrisp apple and delicata squash with honey, smoked chile, and country ham. There will be a raw bar and seafood mains, like grilled swordfish, roasted cod, and braised tuna.

The Top Chef judge also has four kinds of pasta on the menu, along with meaty mains like braised pork belly, Long Island duck, smoked short rib, and grilled lamb sausage. A portion of the menu is dedicated to the wood-fire grill, with offerings like a half chicken, bone-in lamb loin, and a dry-aged New York strip.

See more here.

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Poultry and Pork Prices Expected to Fall in 2014

November 14, 2013 by 2 Comments

Poultry and pork prices are expected to fall 5-9% and 4-13% next year, respectively. The decrease in chicken breast meat prices could result in cheaper menus at fast casual and fast food retailers including McDonald’s, who recently abolished the Dollar Menu. The price of pork reached a record high this year, so the dramatic price cut will come as a relief. Bloomberg News attributes the price decrease of poultry to the 20% decrease in the price of corn, a dietary staple for chickens. On the contrary, beef costs will most likely not decrease until mid-2015 at the earliest, according to a report by purchasing co-op SpenDifference LLC.

Here are some tips for controlling costs:

  • Because of the predicted drop in wheat prices, look at breads and identify savings.
  • Both canola and soy oil are forecast to increase in 2014. If possible, take coverage at today’s levels to add price protection.
  • Take coverage in the front half of 2014 to protect from seasonal increases in the back half of the year for cheese.
  • Draft a food-cost purchasing forecast to identify areas of savings and potential cost increases.
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Prosciutto Born and Bred in Iowa

August 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Herb and Kathy Eckhouse began producing much-lauded La Quercia Prosciutto Americano eight years ago just south of Des Moines, Iowa. They joke that some of their friends weren’t sure what prosciutto was, at the time. The meat has made its way to the menus of upscale restaurants and shops across the US, into Whole Foods Markets and Costco, but the owners are still dubious of their own product at times.

The New York Times features them and La Quercia in this week’s Dining Section. Their story has romance and practicality. They dared to dream and it became a successful reality.

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Cochon 555 Kicks Off in New York February 10th

February 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Cochon 555 will take place this Sunday, February 10th, at Pier Sixty. The traveling culinary competition and tasting event is coming to town and marking a culinary milestone with its 5th Anniversary Tour. Created to promote a national conversation around the sustainable farming of heritage-breed pigs, each event challenges local chefs (this year all female) to prepare a menu from the entirety of one 200 pound family-raised heritage breed of pig, nose-to-tail. Twenty judges and 400 guests help decide the winning chef by voting on the “best bite of the day”. The winner will be crowned the Princess of Porc and will compete at Grand Cochon event at the Classic in Aspen on Sunday, June 16.

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