"nyc restaurants" news and stories

Motivated by the new rotisserie and fried chicken takeout spot from Alison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing (formerly of Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar) called Dirty Bird To Go, the Village Voice did a blind taste test to see if Dirty Bird's claims of "an exciting alternative to conventional fast food to satisfy families and foodies alike" were accurate. Dirty Bird went up against the real dirty birds, KFC and Popeye's.

Dirty Bird won for surviving travel, maintaining its crunch, and having the moistest, best tasting meat. However, taste-testers were disappointed with seasonings.

KFC was found to be the greasiest and least crispy of the three. Popeye's was reported as "trashy, delicious chicken. The flesh is shiny with fat, the fried shell puffy and golden brown." One of the taste-testers hypothesized that perhaps there was some sort of addictive chemical added to the chicken.

Who cares about the chicken? I could eat a dozen of Popeye's buttermilk biscuits, which I am quite certain they deep fry right alongside their chicken.

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.

Mark Bittman debunks the myth that rice should never stick to the bottom of the pot and gives us a few recipes for stuck-pot rice with yogurt, lentils, or potatoes. Hey, I've been eating the stuff for years. In Korea (as Bittman has also explained), it's called noo-roong-jee and tastes great after dolsot (stone pot) bibimbahp.

Sarah Gilbert has already pointed to the Times' taste test of "alternative" breakfast cereals. The article seems to lean toward the opinion that they don't taste good at all and may not last against the big brands, but Sarah and her family enjoy them.

Frank Bruni first whines a little about stealth charges in NY's restaurants, wagging his finger mostly in the direction of Gilt, where the average price of red wine is $246 for a glass. Then he shuttles off to Brooklyn to give two stars (**) to Italian gem, Al di La.

We go for dip in the sea with some suggestions for sardines, oysters, and the best thing to drink with oysters other than their own liqueur, muscadet.