"newyorkcity" news and stories

New York's Tavern on the Green. Photo: Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images

New York's historic Tavern on the Green has filed for bankruptcy just days after New York City awarded a new restaurateur the license to operate the Central Park eatery.

Jennifer Oz LeRoy, the chief executive of the restaurant, said the Chapter 11 filing is "our only alternative given the current situation." On Aug. 28, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation awarded Dean Poll a 20-year operating license for the space on the west side of Central Park. The LeRoy family has run the restaurant since the 1970s.

But will Tavern on the Green remain open in the interim?

New York's Tavern on the Green. Photo: Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images

New York's historic Tavern on the Green may get a name change now that a new restaurateur will be running the space.

Dean Poll, who on Friday won a 20-year lease for the historic Central Park restaurant, says he may change the name of the iconic restaurant rather than lease the name from the previous restaurateur, Jennifer Oz LeRoy. Poll has said that while the name "has history," a new one would be "fresh," according to the Associated Press.

Shelley Clark, a spokeswoman for the LeRoy family, told Slashfood on Monday that "anything in this world is possible" in regards to the leasing of the name and that "the family is committed to the brand and determined it will have a future."

François Payard. Photo: Alex Van Buren

"It's OK," François Payard told the assembled schoolchildren, many of whom looked suspicious. "The first time my girlfriend made me this pizza I tried to run out the door."

A world-renowned chef consoling kids about the charms of pizza? There's a role reversal. But many of them had folded their arms and were eyeing the pastry czar as he basted a whole wheat pita with sauce, lentils and -- gasp -- tofu. New Yorkers, even young ones up, know their pizza pies. Tofu is not usually part of the bargain.

The reaction to those pizzas and soy chocolate mousse, after the jump.

A New York food cart. Photo: jasonlam/Flickr

Call it the Summer of the Street Vendor: Food trucks and carts are, it seems, this season's version of artisanal pickles or pastured meats. Whether you live in Los Angeles, Portland or New York, each day seems to spawn a new vendor -- and they're not selling your granddad's dirty-water dogs.

Words like "organic," "natural" and "handmade" are being slapped on everything from burritos to burgers, giving street meat an almost saintly aura and the occupation of street vendor a previously unheard of cachet. Street cart fever has spawned all sorts of coverage, from city-specific blogs to nationwide podcasts like VendrTV.

As with other low-profile aspects of the food industry that have suddenly found themselves ready for their close-ups, the sudden glamour of the street vendor trade obscures the everyday challenges -- some small, some overwhelming -- that come with selling food (no matter how pedigreed) from a big metal box on wheels.

Interviews with two vendors and a call to Slashfoodies to help us find great American street vendors after the jump.

Why aren't egg creams more popular? They're easy, they're cheap and they're one of the less hazardous methods of getting one's chocolate fix (low-carb fans take note). In New York City, they're practically an official beverage, with such august practitioners as Gem Spa on Second Avenue, Ray's on Avenue A and, of course, Junior's out in Brooklyn. You can even buy an egg cream kit!

This delightful beverage is hard to find beyond Gotham, however, and the few bottled varieties out there simply don't measure up. No, best to mix it up yourself: All you need is about one-half cup of milk, a few tablespoons of chocolate syrup (many swear by Fox's U-Bet, but Hershey's will do in a pinch) and about a cup of seltzer. There is some dispute as to whether to pour the syrup or the milk into your glass first, but mix them up with a long-handled spoon, then add the seltzer straight down the middle. Other flavors can be made by changing up the syrup, although again, the purists would squawk. Don't even go into the squabbles of who invented it or how -- the only thing egg cream fans can agree upon is that we'll have another.