i'm ryan sutton, the new york food critic for bloomberg news.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
![Here’s Something We Haven’t Seen Before: The bartenders at Manon, a tri-level Meatpacking District restaurant run by the people behind the failed Brasserie Pushkin (RIP), want you to drink, but they don’t tell you what your drinking, just like that shady guy wearing sandals at a December frat party back when you were a freshman at SUNY Binghamton. Not only do you not get the brand name of the base spirit at Manon, you don’t get the name of the base spirit itself. Gin? Rye? Bourbon? Who knows.
Imagine going to a steakhouse where, instead of dry-aged ribeye, the menu reads, “flavors of grass, corn, notes of varsity high school locker room funk.” Guess what? Most people would prefer the former description, even if the latter description is more accurate.
Why? Because we like to know what we’re putting in our moufs.*
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This all goes against the prevailing zeitgeist that suggests we learn more about what we consume, where it comes from, and the hardworking people who make it. Instead, at Manon, we have descriptions like “salty ocean breeze, light banana notes, and sunshine,” and drinks with names like “Marshmallow Clouds” and “Love to Turn You On.”
How are the drinks? We tried two and we won’t lie they’re pretty decent. Who knows, maybe this is what it takes to get Meatpackers to drink something that’s not vodka (and the waiter will tell you what’s in it upon request). But still, there’s gotta be a better way.
*moufs is Ludacris spelling for the word mouths.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/db0aeffe81c674d844d5adc70196099b/tumblr_mmwigeV3Ac1qlsrcmo1_r1_500.png)
Here’s Something We Haven’t Seen Before: The bartenders at Manon, a tri-level Meatpacking District restaurant run by the people behind the failed Brasserie Pushkin (RIP), want you to drink, but they don’t tell you what your drinking, just like that shady guy wearing sandals at a December frat party back when you were a freshman at SUNY Binghamton. Not only do you not get the brand name of the base spirit at Manon, you don’t get the name of the base spirit itself. Gin? Rye? Bourbon? Who knows.
Imagine going to a steakhouse where, instead of dry-aged ribeye, the menu reads, “flavors of grass, corn, notes of varsity high school locker room funk.” Guess what? Most people would prefer the former description, even if the latter description is more accurate.
Why? Because we like to know what we’re putting in our moufs.*
Corton is where DADDY goes to fill up on FLAVOR. That’s the gist of my four star Bloomberg News review of Paul Liebrandt & Drew Nieporent’s outstanding Tribeca restaurant. Click through for a course-by-course slideshow of the entire $155 tasting menu (real cost: $400 for two), with gorgeous photos by Evan Sung.
Pictured here (my photo) is a Violet Hill Farm poussin, slowly poached in its natural casing, with flavors of ramps, green garlic, broccoli and French sorrel. It’s poultry to the power of 10, and on the side (not pictured) is a bangin old school chicken royal, which is poultry to the power of 100. There you have it, one of New York’s best restaurants.
Chris Noth is watching you me.
after what seems like an eternity, it’s finally happened, we have secured our liquor license! we still have a few tweaks here and there and a few things to iron out, so we will remain BYOB until memorial day (may 27). we will be closed on memorial day and will begin selling beer & wine on tuesday, may 28th!
thank you in advance for your support this past year and for your continued support while we make this transition. we understand that many of you enjoyed being able to BYO at our restaurant, and we hope that you understand the necessity of a liquor license for our continued success. thank you thank you thank you. we cannot say it enough. we will be posting the menu as soon as we finalize it!
if you have any questions, please email us at thirtyacresrestaurant@gmail.com.
so much love,
alex & kevin
We at The Bad Deal look forward to this transition, as one of the nice things about going to a restaurant is trying beers, wines and booze that you can’t normally find at your neighborhood liquor shop (which quite frankly is usually the stuff we brought to Thirty Acres). Sure, this will cost the consumer a few more dollars, but we think it’ll be worth it.
Here’s a pop quiz for aspiring “social media marketers.” Would you rather:
a) Save “$698” by taking a $99 course on how to use Twitter.
b) Save “$3,798” by taking a $199 course on how to use Twitter.
c) Use Twitter for free.
Throw computer out window to reveal correct answer.
The James Beard Foundation judges could have given its best group food blog award to a publication like Eater, known for its diligent reporting about how New York restaurants recovered from Hurricane Sandy, the biggest storm to hit our city in a generation.
But last night, The Beard Committee gave that award to Dark Rye, whose content includes this “ten tiny houses we love” feature, which Dark Rye posted FIVE TIMES on its tumblr in the past week. So next time you think about taking the Beard Awards seriously, think about this one long and hard.
We at The Bad Deal would like to give a Friday SHOUT OUT to all our hard-working, number-crunching, slim-toned, bikini-clad, caviar-consuming brothers and sisters at The Price Hike for this feature, which we think you’ll appreciate if you’re pinching your pennies like we are! Just to be clear, there are no actual brothers and sisters at The Price Hike, just Ryan Sutton, who happens to be the editor of The Bad Deal, and who happens to be me. We (ahem) just thought that sounded cooler. Check it out.
TACO BELL SAYS WORKING ON NEW LOW-END MENU
Actual, literal, for real, unironic Bloomberg News headline.
![What we don’t need from a restaurant’s Twitter/Tumblr/Facebook feed:
Links to your appearance on the Today show, making prosciutto melon balls (“if you can’t find prosciutto at your local 7-11, Vienna sausages work fine.”)
Photos of that marlin you caught off the coast of Madagascar.
“We’re one follower away from the 550 on Twitter help us get there!”
RT-ing every single single gosh darn positive guest experience.
The same fuzzy Instagram photo (without a price), published on your Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook feed simultaneously.
How excited you are about your sixth cookbook.
Crowdsourcing things only a kindergarten teacher would ask: “And what did YOU have for breakfast today?”
This word, or any of its synonyms: YOGA.
What we need from a restaurant’s social media feed:
Links to the latest menus, with prices.
Food pictures, particularly specials, with prices.
24-hour advance notice if you’re closed for a private event. All the more important if you’re a walk-ins-only joint that doesn’t answer phones.
Last minute availability, with prices if you’re tasting-menu-only.
Unexpected wines you’re opening up by the glass, with prices.
What philanthropic event you’re cooking at, with ticket prices.
When you’re cooking at an out-of-town-pop-up, with prices.
When you’re sold out of a popular special for the evening.
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These may seem like bromides to some, but trust me, I wish I had a dollar for every time I showed up a restaurant that was closed for a private event that wasn’t announced on Twitter. And as for photos — we’ve said this before and we’ll say it again — a la carte restaurants that don’t publish prices with their Instagrammed or Twit-pic food specials are like old-school waiters who don’t include prices in their oral spiel. Are you really gonna make us ask to find out if we can afford it?
Now I’m sure there’s a chef out there saying, “Well, you know, the people who follow our account, they’re familiar with our prices, and we don’t want to clog up our feed with numbers.” Great, so why don’t you just remove all the prices from your dinner menus and wine lists, since all of your guests are up to speed?
As for positive guest experiences, please don’t clog up our twitter-verse with an RT from every single diner who writes ”can’t stop thinking about our meal at SQUID last night, it was my boyfriend’s birthday and he loved the squid four ways in cuttlefish ink.” So be judicious with the RTs. Or try a simple reply instead. Social media is about building a sense of community by engaging people. RT-ing every guest compliment isn’t engaging people, it’s just spamming our feeds with a locust plague of mini press releases.
So let’s make a deal. If you can work on the important stuff, like prices, we at The Bad Deal will let you get away with the tweeting photos of your vacations in Bora Bora, and yes, even your Saturday yoga routine, because we know being cool on social media is about being human and not a press machine. We get it.
For what it’s worth, our favorite restaurant social media accounts are Thirty Acres (which posts its menu every day), Dirt Candy (which uses its feed to show table availability), and Next/Alinea, the two tasting menu restaurants by Chicago’s Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas. They use their twitters to give out last minute tables, and they always tweet the price of those tables. And the Next Facebook community is probably the most transparent dialogue you’ll ever see between a restaurant and its clientele. Very cool indeed.
Who needs to be better? Virtually everyone else. Especially the three-Michelin-starred venues. Anything to add? Let us know in the comments, or — heave forbid — in the “reblogs.”](http://24.media.tumblr.com/b08e30ee80901de9c362a3671756b708/tumblr_mm4mzscFth1qlsrcmo1_500.png)
What we don’t need from a restaurant’s Twitter/Tumblr/Facebook feed:
- Links to your appearance on the Today show, making prosciutto melon balls (“if you can’t find prosciutto at your local 7-11, Vienna sausages work fine.”)
- Photos of that marlin you caught off the coast of Madagascar.
- “We’re one follower away from the 550 on Twitter help us get there!”
- RT-ing every single single gosh darn positive guest experience.
- The same fuzzy Instagram photo (without a price), published on your Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook feed simultaneously.
- How excited you are about your sixth cookbook.
- Crowdsourcing things only a kindergarten teacher would ask: “And what did YOU have for breakfast today?”
- This word, or any of its synonyms: YOGA.
What we need from a restaurant’s social media feed:
- Links to the latest menus, with prices.
- Food pictures, particularly specials, with prices.
- 24-hour advance notice if you’re closed for a private event. All the more important if you’re a walk-ins-only joint that doesn’t answer phones.
- Last minute availability, with prices if you’re tasting-menu-only.
- Unexpected wines you’re opening up by the glass, with prices.
- What philanthropic event you’re cooking at, with ticket prices.
- When you’re cooking at an out-of-town-pop-up, with prices.
- When you’re sold out of a popular special for the evening.
Michelin-Starred Restos in The Global South? ZERO. But Southern Hemisphere Eateries on “World’s 50 Best List”? There Are SIX.
So perhaps there is something to this San Pellegrino list of the so-called “World’s 50 Best Restaurants,” which released its rankings tonight in London. Here’s another fun fact: the number Mexican or South American restaurants on the list EQUALS the number of U.S. restaurants on the list. That’s a strong hat tip to Mexico and the Global South, and it’s especially significant in a world where culinary conversations often revolve around Europe, Japan, and the U.S.
The six restaurants in Mexico or South America are:
- D.O.M. (Sao Paolo)
- Astrid y Gaston (great place, Lima)
- Pujol (Mexico City)
- Biko (Mexico City)
- Mani (Sao Paolo)
- Central (Lima)
We believe that Gustu in Bolivia, which opened this April, will be well-positioned to crack the Top Fifty next year. Also keep in mind that there are a number of South African, Australian, Brazilian and Peruvian spots on the bottom half of the list (51-100). Michelin does not publish guides for restaurants in the Southern Hemisphere.
These Are "The World's 50 Best Restaurants." Commence Your Eye-Rolling.
Click through for the Bloomberg News story, courtesy of Richard Vines, who’s also the UK and Ireland chair for the awards. The big news is that Spain’s El Celler de Can Roca has “ousted” (if such a thing were possible) Noma as the “world’s best restaurant.” Eleven Madison Park, which moved up five spots to fifth, is the only American establishment in the top ten. The most excellent Astrid y Gaston in Lima moved up 21 places, to number 14. For a more critical take on things, check out The Ulterior Epicure’s legitimate gripes with the list.
Here's What's Wrong With The "World's 50 Best Restaurants" List, Which Drops Later Today
Click through for the fine essay by Bonjwing Lee, the “Ulterior Epicure,” who argues against the annual list by San Pellegrino. He writes: “At best, these are the fifty trendiest (or most-publicized) restaurants in the world…And let’s not forget the sponsor of this list is San Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, a company that has much to gain on the tables and in the tumblers of the high-end restaurants that this list seems to favor.”
So The Bad Deal probably shouldn’t link to the list when it drops later today, but alas, we will anyway. Look for whether Noma will lose the top spot to Tokyo’s Narisawa, as Eater’s Raphael Brion suggests might happen.
Bad Grammar is a Bad Deal. So is jingoism. Am honestly curious what type of flags they were trying to get rid of.
Say It Loud: Food Costs What the Market Requires Not What Your Nostalgia Desires.
This week I review Carbone in my Blooomberg column, awarding 3.5 stars to the high-end red sauce joint in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. It isn’t just one of our city’s best new restaurants, it’s one of Manhattan’s best seafood spots, period.
Carbone’s cuisine is the cuisine I ate while growing up on Long Island, at cheap seafood shacks and affordable Italian-American restaurants. Except Carbone isn’t cheap, or affordable, not by Italian-American standards, and not by New York standards. Dinner for two, after wine, tax and tip, can easily cost $350-$400 for two, almost as much as dinner at Jean-Georges.
Fact Checking Carbone: Rigatoni alla Vodka
Hi Jeff,
Here are the final(ish) fact check questions for my Carbone review, running tonight at midnight. The questions pertain to your rigatoni alla vodka dish. I know this is an exhaustive process, but I just want to make sure I get this right.
Here we go:
1. How many martinis worth of vodka are in each order of rigatoni alla vodka? Do people ever complain that there’s not enough vodka in the pasta?
2. What kind of vodka do you use in the rigatoni? Stoli regular or Stoli Ohranj? I ask this because the vodka sauce had an ohranj (i.e. orange) color.
3. Do you infuse the dried pasta in the vodka overnight or do you let it sit for longer? (i.e. 3-4 months).
4. What’s the supplemental charge for upgrading to a premium vodka for the rigatoni alla vodka? Do you get a lot of Belvedere requests from the Meatpacking Crowd? If so, just tell’em that Ketel One is by far the best. Those guys don’t know nothing.
5. I’m kind of a lightweight, will the rigatoni vodka pasta send me over the edge if I do shots at The Joshua Tree beforehand?
6. Is the rigatoni alla vodka still $24 after 11pm, or do you switch to rigatoni alla vodka bottle service?
7. When all the anti-vodka cocktail snobs come in do you have to make a gin version for them? Rigatoni alla Hendricks? Or is it a non-substition deal?
8. Are you getting a lot of 18-year olds who come to the restaurant just to get wasted on rigatoni alla vodka? Or do you card everyone before ordering?
9. How many people have you 86-ed because they ate way too many rigatoni alla vodkas? Tell the truth.
