"drew nieporent" news and stories

There's yet another player in the reality television food competition: Food Network is set to premiere 24 Hour Restaurant Battle on Wednesday, July 21. The show features two teams of two who have to conceive, plan and open a restaurant in 24 hours -- one team member takes the front-of-house duties like décor and service, the other is in charge of menu design, shopping and cooking. The winning team takes home a $10,000 prize and most likely, exhaustion.

Chef Scott Conant -- a past guest judge on Top Chef and Chopped -- will host. Each week will feature a rotating cast of judges joining Conant; regular appearances will be made by Time Out New York food critic Gabriella Gershenson, restaurant marketing and PR expert Alison Brod, Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, Myriad Restaurant Group's Drew Nieporent, Iron Chef America judge Karine Bakhoum and Chef Marcus Samuelsson. Together, the panel of judges offers three areas of expertise: restaurant marketer, restaurant reviewer, and restaurant investor.

The first season is scheduled for 8 episodes, and, from the descriptions, it seems like it's a family affair: mother/daughter teams, father/son teams, brothers, and couples make up the bulk of the contestants. Some have restaurant experience, some are pursuing a dream, like brothers Gary "Skip" Klavans (a writer) and Alan "Buzz" Klavans (a paramedic and musician), who are striving to open their childhood fantasy joint -- a caveman-themed restaurant.

Las Vegas has oversaturated its high-end restaurant scene, according to a prominent restaurateur.

Drew Nieporent, president of the Myriad Restaurant Group which owns Nobu, believes Las Vegas' new City Center development and its top restaurants may kill other eateries in this gaming town.

"Las Vegas is a fantastic place now for restaurants except it seems to me they've oversaturated," Nieporent tells Bloomberg. "This new City Center has approximately, I think it's close to two dozen new establishments, all pretty high end, and what that's going to is it's going to -- I think they'll do well because it's new -- but a lot of the other places in Las Vegas are going to feel the impact because they don't have the mass audience like we do in New York."

Nieporent says the current economic crisis hasn't affected New York's high-end dining scene too badly because "New York is 365 days of business."

By Alexis Korman

Is lamb replacing bacon as the go-to fetish object for meat lovers? Recipes for the succulent spring meat have recently popped up on Seriously Good, Bitten and Market Manila, but lamb is also making an appearance on the competitive cook-off circuit.

This weekend, lamb was the star of New York City's Taste of Tribeca food festival, featured in an "Iron Chef"-style showdown between two well-known toques, "Top Chef" Season Five alum Leah Cohen (remembered not just for her cooking skills, but also for her scandalous make-out session with winner Hosea Rosenberg) and Austrian wunderkind Kurt Gutenbrunner of New Yorks Wallsé.

Read more about the heated competition after the jump.

By Alex Van Buren with reporting by Sarah De Heer

Elaborate eats -- despite the recession -- continue to make cameos nationwide, often in the strangest of places.

At Citi Field, Gotham's new Mets stadium, culinary stars Danny Meyer (Blue Smoke; Eleven Madison; Tabla), Dave Pasternack (Esca) and Drew Nieporent (Nobu; Tribeca Grill) will hawk their wares alongside the hot-dog vendors and pint-pourers.

It's quite a change from the scene at that beloved old warhorse, Shea Stadium, and an unusual step for what one 24-year-old lifelong fan calls "the blue-collar team in a city where the Yankees are kings." Is he looking forward to it? "Well, my dad is all in a huff -- 'Whatever happened to peanuts and crackerjacks?' -- but uh, I think it's gonna be cool."

The famously tasty Shake Shack burger has that effect on city denizens. Slashfood dropped by a press event to sample it and the rest of the grub.

Get a first taste and see photos after the jump.

The James Beard Foundation has just announced their nominees for the 2006 James Beard Foundation Awards. The awards are the most prestigious in the industry and honor the top culinary professionals in every category, from journalists to cookbooks to chefs. There are 62 awards in all this year. Nominees include:

Best General Cookbooks

• Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks by Linda Carucci; The Cook's Book by Jill Norman; The Instant Cook by Donna Hay

Internet writing on Restaurant, Food, Beverage or Nutrition

• "Reserve Wines Score, by at What Price?"; "Down with Gloves: Why Chefs Shouldn't Have to Wear Them"; "Star Wars: Did Michelin Lower the Bar for New York?"

Best Internet Website for Food

• AliceFeiring.com; Epicurious.com; LeitesCulinaria.com

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