"ny restaurants" news and stories

I'm a big fan of the new law requiring some NY restaurants to post calorie counts. However, posting calorie counts is only helpful if they are clear and accurate.

Midtown Lunch points out that Chipotle's implementation of the law is neither.

Chipotle uses calorie ranges so the consumer is left to guess what add-ons make the meal more or less caloric. Midtown Lunch does some math using calorie counts buried in Chipotle's website and determines that, "If you want a burrito on the low range of the calorie scale (420), you will be ordering a flour tortilla, filled with vegetarian black beans. No salsa. No sour cream. No rice. No cheese." That's one boring burrito. Midtown Lunch questions whether you could even call it a burrito.

What do you think? Are these calorie counts better than nothing or are they too confusing to be useful?

Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin in mid-town Manhattan will be opening two new restaurants in the Caribbean. The two, to be called Blue and Periwinkle at the new Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, will be seafood restaurants, like Le Bernardin. Blue will be fine-dining and Periwinkle will be a casual restaurant.

The new $440 million Ritz-Carlton will be a 144-acre luxury resort that is scheduled to open in late fall. Ripert has asked Le Bernardin's sous chef, Richard Brower to serve as chef de cuisine for both restaurants. In order to ensure quality standards, Ripert also plans to fly to the restaurants in the Caribbean with a whole team every month. From Manhattan to the Caribbean once a month? What a life!

Next week Monday through Friday, January 23 to 27, and the following Monday through Friday, January 30 to February 3, New York City hosts its two week run of Restaurant Week.

The event is organized by the city's official tourism group, and sponsored by Amex and Coca Cola, but it's not all just about commercial interests. For every reservation made via OpenTable for either of the $24.07 prix fixe lunch or $35.00 prix fixe dinner, a donation is made to CityHarvest, a charitable organization that rescues leftover food from the food industry and distributes it to New York's hungry.

The website is organized well so you can find restaurants by cuisine, neighborhood, and name.

Between NYC Restaurant Week and SF's Dine About Town, January is looking like a great time to spend your holidays gifts of cash.