$300,000 Worth of Wine Stolen in Enviable Rob Job
Thomas Keller's French Laundry restaurant suffered a Christmas day wine robbery—certainly, the worst kind of robbery either a three-star Michelin rated restaurant or any old wine fan could suffer.
Picasso Thief Caught, Worked At NYC's Per Se Restaurant
Police have arrested the Picasso Doodle Bandit — who walked into a San Francisco gallery over the July 4th weekend, and walked out with a $200,000 work of art — and surprise! He's from New York. The work has been returned to its rightful owner, and has been unharmed.
• Irving Mill off Union Square is closing its doors on January 1. It will be replaced by a downtown branch of the BBQ restaurant Brother Jimmy's. [GS]
• Table 8 and chef Govind Armstrong are parting ways with the Cooper Square Hotel. Scarpetta's Scott Conant is expected to take over the space. [P6]
• Paul Sevigny,…
Eating & Drinking: Thursday Edition
• Is Thomas Keller opening a new resto in NYC? Depends who you ask. [TFB]
• The animal rights group that staged a foie gras protest outside Momofuku Noodle Bar back in May will return to the scene once again on Sunday. [GS]
• Word has it Rande Gerber's Stone Rose is exiting Time Warner Center. [P6]
• Speaking of…
Eating & Drinking: Monday Edition
• Daniel Boulud unveiled his new DBGB to the press on Saturday. A menu devoted to 14 different kinds of sausage, two dozen beers on tap, and more is coming your way in early June. [Zagat, TONY, Metromix, Eater, TFB]
• A roundup of restaurants scheduled to open this week. [TONY]
• Thomas Keller confirms Jonathan Benno…
Eating & Drinking: Friday Edition
• Sasha Petraske's Dutch Kills opens tonight. [Eater]
• The Sant Ambroeus team is taking over the lease at Lever House. [GS]
• Sumile Sushi, Josh DeChellis's former haunt, has closed its doors. [Eater]
• Hotelier Jason Pomeranc, who recently parted ways with chef Todd English, is now starting his own restaurant…
Eating & Drinking: Monday Edition
• What's that 20% surcharge on your bill? It seems a bunch of restaurants are now secretly adding gratuities to diners' checks even though it's illegal. [NYP]
• Tom Colicchio's latest gimmick: He's calling Craftsteak's front dining room "Halfsteak" and serving half-sized portions for $15 or less. [Eater]
• Drew…
A Chef for Table 8, New York's Cheapest Dinner Dates
♦ Former Country chef Willis Loughhead has signed on as executive chef of Table 8 inside the Cooper Square Hotel. The restaurant is expected to open in January. [The Feedbag, Eater]
♦ The 10 best places to go on a cheap dinner date in NYC. [NYO]
♦ To celebrate ten years in business, Café Boulud is debuting a new…
Tapas at Txikito, More on Momofuku Milk
♦ Alex Raij, the former chef at Tia Pol (left), is opening her 28-seat tapas bar named Txikito (pronounced chee-KEE-toe) tonight. [GS]
♦ A play-by-play of what went down at Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz's $1,500-per-person dinner at Per Se on Tuesday night. [NYT, NYT]
♦ Another look inside David Chang's…
A Pricey Dinner at Per Se, Boqueria SoHo Debuts
♦ Tonight is the night for Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz's 20-course, $1,500 dinner at Per Se, and despite the bad economy, it's completely sold out. [NYT, NYT]
♦ A Q&A with chef Seamus Mullen, whose long-awaited Boqueria Soho finally opened last night. [Metromix, Eater]
♦ Christopher Lee will depart Gilt at the…
Prices at Per Se, Reviews of Five Leaves
♦ Complain about the economy all you want but Thomas Keller has no plans to lower prices at Per Se. [GS]
♦ The early reviews are mixed for Five Leaves, the Williamsburg restaurant that Heath Ledger was planning to open before his death. [Eater]
♦ Django, the Mediterranean restaurant on 46th and Lex, is closing this…
Is A-Rod Going to 15 CPW?
Inside Per Se
A recent diner at Per Se ventured behind Thomas Keller's hallowed kitchen doors and took some photographs that capture the management style of either owner Keller or his notoriously intense chef-de-cuisine Jonathan Benno. Underneath the clock is a plaque reading "Sense of Urgency." Above the threshold of another door…
