In 2001, Paul Liebrandt—whose story is told in A Matter of Taste: Serving Paul Liebrandt, on now at the TIFF Bell Lightbox—was one of New York’s most promising chefs. At 24, after working in some of Europe’s most accomplished kitchens, the British expat moved to New York to make a name for himself. He practised a high-concept, experimental style of cooking—chocolate-covered scallops, crystallized violets—that was lauded by critics but commercially unviable during the ascendancy of comfort food. Soon enough, Liebrandt found himself flipping burgers and making seven different kinds of french fries, just to keep his restless mind occupied.
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Frank Bruni on the food world’s big fat double standard
In today’s New York Times, former food critic Frank Bruni weighs in on the food fight between everyone’s favourite loudmouth food writer and former chef, Anthony Bourdain, and the undisputed queen of southern fried cooking, Paula Deen (Bourdain told TV Guide last week that Deen is “the worst, most dangerous person to America” for “telling an already obese nation that it’s okay to eat food that is killing us”). After noting that Bourdain himself used to serve some pretty unhealthy fare at Les Halles (duck confit, pâté), Bruni points to a double standard in how many in the food world talk about fatty foods. “When Deen fries a chicken, many of us balk. When the Manhattan chefs David Chang or Andrew Carmellini do, we grovel for reservations and swoon over the homey exhilaration of it all. Her strips of bacon, skirting pancakes, represent heedless gluttony. Chang’s dominoes of pork belly, swaddled in an Asian bun, signify high art.” While we reserve the right to poke fun at novelty fatty foods, Bruni’s got a point. Read the whole story [New York Times] »
Pierre Gagnaire’s new restaurant, more Canadians eating out, International Bacon Day
Happy International Bacon Day to all (Image by Mandy Jouan)
• Why wait until September 5 when you can start International Bacon Day shopping now? Bacon-flavoured lip gloss and bacon-scented soap make excellent stocking stuffers, and bacon cupcakes from Yummy Stuff (topped with bacon ice cream, of course) make the perfect holiday dessert. The Globe’s Sarah Boesveld highlights these and other perks of the bacon craze, just in time for the pig day. [Globe and Mail]
• Restaurant traffic in the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and the U.K. fell significantly in the first quarter. Canada was the only country in the NPD Group study to see a rise in the number of meals consumed. It was only a 0.1 per cent rise, and the fastest growing sector is the “evening snack.” Good show, Taco Bell; good luck, everyone else. [NDP Group]
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Frank Bruni loves Toronto’s Asian food, Loblaws trumpets local produce, the Food Network is recession-proof
• The retired critic Frank Bruni told the Globe and Mail that his complicated history with food actually had an effect on the language he used in his reviews. The former sleep eater, “faster” and childhood bulimic says he specifically avoided the words “guilty pleasure” and “sinful.” The writer also spread a little butter on our muffin, saying he used to trek up to T.O. for Asian food when he lived in Detroit. [Globe and Mail]
• American specialty channel the Food Network is celebrating a 20 per cent rise in ratings this July over last. Real estate shows have tanked since the bubble burst, while food shows have become more popular because they “take away the pain,” says TV analyst Shari Anne Brill. The Food Network’s audience was growing long before the recent uptick, with a total increase of 55 per cent since 2004. [Bloomberg]
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Beer sales down, thief swipes grease, Frank Bruni passes fork to new critic
Hot commodity: vegetable oil makes a biofuel good enough to steal (Photo by schrislloyd)
• A man was arrested in Britain after allegedly stealing 8,200 gallons of vegetable oil from restaurants all over the city of York, including the chip stand and the Dairy Queen. The grease is a valuable biofuel that can power any car engine. We have to wonder if he’s a Simpsons fan. [Seacost]
• Sam Sifton will be replacing legendary New York Times food critic Frank Bruni. Sifton, who starts the job in October, established his gourmet cred through editing the Dining section, writing a food column for the New York Press and making meatloaf for Nora Ephron. Also changing at the Times is the tradition of concealing the appearance of food critics. The Observer illustrates this today by publishing an enormous photo of Mr. Sifton. [New York Observer]
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Robert Pattinson cheaps out, forks outsell knives, measuring restaurant pretension
Tipple over tipping: Robert Pattinson leaves a meagre 14 per cent (Photo by twilight foxdie)
• Twilight star Robert Pattinson has outraged New York waiters by leaving a 14 per cent tip. The English actor munched on caprese salad while downing chianti and beer until well past midnight this week, and when he offered just $50 on his $350 bill, the aghast wait staff at Il Cantinori felt compelled to leak his penny-pinching to the media. Fans defended Pattinson’s faux pas as a simple cultural misunderstanding (tipping isn’t customary in Britain), but no one seems to have asked if the service was bad. [New York Daily News]
• The British are buying half as many knives as forks, according to a study by Debenham’s department store. Marketers have come to the conclusion that more meals than ever–like burgers, fries and salad–don’t require cutting. In bustling London, full of time-strapped urbanites wolfing down their dinner, the fork-to-knife gap is even wider (three forks sold per knife). [Independent]
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Susur Lee brings his New York menu to Toronto
Two weeks only: Susur's back on King Street (Photo by aser)
After making news—some good, some bad—with his new restaurant, Shang, over the past four months, Susur Lee is bringing the menu of his Manhattan venture to Toronto for a brief cameo. The celebrity chef will offer his newest creations at both of his satellite restaurants, Lee and Madeline’s, with a special prix fixe menu. For the first two weeks in April, Torontonians will be able to sample a three-course Shang offering from Monday to Wednesday for $35 and $1 corkage, as well as a five-course Shang menu from Monday to Saturday for $60.
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Charging for tap water, ATM-style coffee, the return of Jamie Oliver
The Naked Chef outsells Harry Potter (Photo by Really Short)
• Though he’s been in Britain’s bad books often over the past decade, Naked Chef Jamie Oliver is back. He became the country’s best-selling author when his latest cookbook, Ministry of Food, sold a record 11.7 million copies, surpassing the sales of even J.K. Rowling. [The Guardian]
• Some Toronto restaurants are now charging $1 for the city’s piped water. This is not the next trend in water snobbery: funds raised go to a UNICEF project that provides clean drinking water to children in developing countries. [Toronto Star]
• Things got heated in the kitchen when New York Times foodies staged a dinner duel. Critics Kim Severson and Julia Moskin each cooked up a lavish meal on the shoestring budget of $8.50 a head. Heavyweight critic Frank Bruni settled the score. [New York Times] Read the rest of this entry »
Recessionary gratuities: Is 2009 the year of lousy tips?
Thanks for the tip (Photo by Wade from Oklahoma)
What to tip at recession time? This is the latest question in the never-ending gratuity debate; and since the market went south, it appears to be striking a nerve in Toronto and elsewhere. The New York Times‘ etiquette authority, Frank Bruni, wrote about it on his blog recently, sparking chatter about servers getting stiffed during hard times. Apparently diners are not just ordering less food, but they are then dialling down the percentage of their cheques left for gratuity. The recession effect—Bruni calls it a “double whammy”—is being felt closer to home, too. Toronto servers have been reporting paltry pourboire during the downturn. “Before the crisis, money was getting thrown around, but now people are more careful,” says France Salmon, who has been serving for over 10 years at celeb sanctuary Bistro 990. It seems even stars can be guilty of skimpy tipping (we’re looking at you, Madonna). With everyone else getting their bonuses trimmed and salaries frozen, is it all right to be less generous with the gratuity? Read the rest of this entry »
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