We have a new addition to the world of Tumblr: Empellon by Alex Stupak! The ex-pastry WD-50 pastry chef runs his fine duo of Mexican restaurants (Taqueria & Cocina) in Manhattan’s East and West Villages. So far, the team has been blogging about recipes (here’s one for pistachio guacamole), barman Matt Resler’s Agave Studies in Mexico, and other fun stuff. Adjust your feeds accordingly. 

We have a new addition to the world of Tumblr: Empellon by Alex Stupak! The ex-pastry WD-50 pastry chef runs his fine duo of Mexican restaurants (Taqueria & Cocina) in Manhattan’s East and West Villages. So far, the team has been blogging about recipes (here’s one for pistachio guacamole), barman Matt Resler’s Agave Studies in Mexico, and other fun stuff. Adjust your feeds accordingly. 

Momofuku's David Chang Will Cook at Meadowood. Tickets Go on Sale Tuesday Morning.

The Restaurant at Meadowood’s “Twelve Days of Christmas” series of collaborative charity dinners continues into its sixth year, with tickets going on sale Tuesday morning. My good colleague Patrick Cole and I report on this year’s crop of participating chefs over at Bloomberg News. As usual, it’s a SOLID GROUP, which includes Manresa’s David Kinch, Pok Pok Ny’s Andy Ricker, Blanca’s Carlo Mirarchi and Momofuku’s David Chang. 

Christopher Kostow, the chef at the three Michelin-starred Meadowood, will be cooking the last meal of the series, as always. 

Dinners run $395 per person, inclusive of wine pairings. Tax and tip are extra. Chefs counter seats, which also include vino, cost $750 and will involve a more expanded menu. Those splurging for the spendier option will be invited to Meadowood’s “lineup meeting” and will receive a Twelve Days chef’s coat and apron, a VIP visit to that evening’s winery and a gift from the vintner. 

Keep in mind that 20% of the proceeds will go to Napa Emergency Women’s Services, providing aid and shelter to domestic violence victims, as well as toward the Holly Cranston Memorial Fund, which gives scholarships to those preparing for careers in helping children with special needs. And we hear the food is pretty good too! These are, after all, dinners you can’t get elsewhere. Where else will you find a chef like Andy Ricker, the guy behind the super-casual Pok Pok, serving a proper tasting menu at a fancypants joint like Meadowood? Nowhere. We’re stoked about that one.

Yep, it’s a GOOD DEAL. 

Good Thing You Didn't Wait on Orson Welles

Server: Gentlemen, bon appétit. How is everything?

Orson Welles: We’re talking, thank you. [Waiter leaves.] I wish they wouldn’t do that. If I ever own a restaurant, I will never allow the waiters to ask if the diners like their dishes. Particularly when they’re talking.

— From “Conversations between Henry Jaglom and Orson Welles,” excerpted from this week’s New York Magazine. For the record, I like it when waiters ask whether I’m enjoying my food, because sometimes it’s awful and I’d like to send it back. Though back in my waiter days, a manager taught us never to ask “how’s everything,” as such a question might prompt: “Well, my uncle just died, so, everything’s not swell. But I love my heritage pork belly with ramp pesto!“ 

I am not aware of any evidence to support the theory that professional servers are a subclass of humanity who can only do a good job if “incentivized” by tips, like monkeys dancing for peanuts.

Coi’s Daniel Patterson chats with The Price Hike about the debate over tipping and about how he’s now paying his more. 

We’re aware that some readers did not like our attempt to be tongue-in-cheek here. We apologize. We in no way meant to imply that women aren’t just as masterful at the grill.

Bon Appetit responds to criticism over its remarks about women at the grill. 

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The beautiful Camille Becerra, grilling vegetables from The Grilling Book.
(Credit: Nicole Franzen)

So Bon Appetit publishes “six meat-tastic videos of men” grilling meat. And then after some backlash on twitter, we have a ”beautiful” woman grilling vegetables. Because men grill meat, and women grill vegetables? Is that how it works?

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The beautiful Camille Becerra, grilling vegetables from The Grilling Book.

(Credit: Nicole Franzen)

So Bon Appetit publishes “six meat-tastic videos of men” grilling meat. And then after some backlash on twitter, we have a ”beautiful” woman grilling vegetables. Because men grill meat, and women grill vegetables? Is that how it works?

Women like grilling things too, of course, but at this point in history, grilling, like crying about sports and being a Fortune 500 CEO, is firmly located in the domain of Dude.

Something Bon Appetit actually, unironically, really, for real published today. 

Dear Siri: I’m not a fan of current alcohol laws either, but maybe eight years-old is a bit young to start hitting the sauce?

Dear Siri: I’m not a fan of current alcohol laws either, but maybe eight years-old is a bit young to start hitting the sauce?

Prime Meats Isn't a Steakhouse.

We should be eating fewer steaks and we should be eating in fewer steakhouses. It kills me when I see a place serving bad beef like Del Frisco’s packed, while a venue serving creative small plates founders. Just think of all the collective good that would come if expense account auditors across the city stopped reimbursing for client dinners at steakhouses. Probably would save our health care system a few bucks as well. 

So kudos to Prime Meats in Brooklyn, the subject of my 2.5 star Bloomberg News re-review this week, which now serves its $142 cote de boeuf on Fridays and Saturday nights only. That means your classic client dinner option is no longer on the table here. Right on. Guests seeking the livery tang of the dry aging room on a more daily basis can instead indulge in a dry-aged sausage for $16. And maybe you’ll pair it with a carrot salad. Or not. 

The lesson is this: If you’re going to serve good beef, better to be a brasserie than a chophouse, and while Prime Meats has always walked the fine line between those two concepts, it’s finally in the more ambitious and affordable camp (i.e. not the chophouse camp). During the fact-checking process for my review, co-owner Frank Falcinelli was kind enough to chat about his decision to stop serving steaks seven days a week. Here’s what he had to say: 

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Dear Siri! Tashkent is NOT the capital of France. It’s the capital of Uzbekistan, though I suppose “Who’s Becky Stand” is a good effort. Many Uzbek Jews, or Bukharians, emigrated to Rego Park in Queens, where they have tons of delicious restaurants on Bukharian Broadway.

We don’t expect you to understand all that, but we do expect you to know there’s a place called Uzbekistan, and that place exists somewhere in Central Asia, not Europe. That would solve a lot of our problems. 

At least with priority boarding on airplanes everyone gets to China at the same time. Line cutting at amusement parks is like the rich guy bumping the poor guy off the flight to Beijing and shouting, “Wait for the next one!

The Price Hike’s Ryan Sutton is outraged over Universal Studios’ line-cutting passes, which run $150-$300, and which he calls legalized bribery.  

Siri, when you grow up, you’re going to have to learn to think for yourself and stop relying on Yelp. Also, vegan burgers aren’t burgers.

“Hey Jim, let’s go down to the harbor during low tide and dredge up some vegan marina sauce. We’ll sell it on Living Social!”

NYC's Sushi Yasuda Eliminates Tipping. Waiters Get Salaries. Everyone Wins.

Our sister site The Price Hike breaks the good news about Sushi Yasuda no longer accepting gratuities. Recall that we were talking with Manresa’s David Kinch just last week about how American-style tipping can hurt both diners and servers. Here’s hoping that more U.S. restaurants follow; Eater’s Raphel Brion tells us Black Star Co-op in Austin has a similar policy. Check it out.

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