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| June 2002 |
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ATLANTA |
| Atlantans are raving
about the newest jewel in The Buckhead Life Group's crown -
Kyma which features authentic Greek flavors from the executive
chef's homeland. It is a contemporary Greek seafood restaurant
with a spectacular décor. Pano I. Karatassos, son of
I. Pano Karatassos, owner of The Buckhead Life Group, is the
executive chef. He is one of Atlanta's hottest young talents
and has worked at several prestigious restaurants around the
country including the Mobil 5-Star French Laundry, the New York
Times 4-Star Jean-Georges, and the New York Times 4-Star Le
Bernardin. *** Emeril Lagasse has recently announced plans to
open Emeril's Restaurant Atlanta next summer in Buckhead. ***
There has been a switch of sorts in the maitre d' position at
two of Atlanta's most prestigious restaurants. Peter Krehan,
previously the maitre d' at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead and with
the restaurant since its opening 18 years ago is now with Seegers,
the Mobil 5- Star restaurant owned by Chef Guenter Seeger. Claude
Guillame, previously the maitre d' at Seeger's is now the maitre
d' at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead which sets the standard for
service in Atlanta. The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead
was recently nominated for the 2002 James Beard Foundation outstanding
service award and has also been named best for décor
and service in the 2002-2003 Zagat.
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BOSTON |
| Another top flight restaurant
adds to the already buzzing restaurant scene in Boston. Via
Matta is opening in Bostons Back Bay area in June 2002.
Christopher Myers and Michael Schlow, the team who created the
Mobil 4-star restaurant Radius, will be serving authentic Italian
cuisine primarily from the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany,
and Piedmont. The restaurant includes an outdoor patio for al
fresco dining. | Jody Adams of
Rialto in Cambridge, hosts a special Fathers Day themed
cooking class on Saturday, June 15 titled Rialto Knows
Best Dads Favorite Dishes. |
Room returns. The Dining Room at The Ritz-Carlton, Boston, once
the epitome of elegant dining in Boston, will be revived. It
closed last fall and diners were sent to the Jer-Ne restaurant
at the new Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common. But management has decided
the city can embrace both restaurants, so The Dining Room will
be restored "to its original splendor," said spokeswoman
Caron LeBrun. The search is now on for a chef |
High-end bakery G. Case Baking Co. has opened its first retail
shop on Medford Street in Somerville. Owner Greg Case is a former
pastry chef at Hamersley's Bistro |
Cindy Eid has opened Gallia in the old Blackstone's space on
Washington Street in the South End. Chef Stefan Zimei comes
from The Federalist and will serve rustic Mediter-ranean foods
| Kathleen Howard-Fleming has unpacked
her pastry bag at Icarus in the South End |
A Moroccan/ Mediterranean restaurant called Argana has opened
in Inman Square, the former site of Le Bistro |
From the kitchens of Oleana, Casablanca, and El Pelon comes
Adrie Kornasiewicz, newly appointed sous-chef at The Independent
in Union Square | After spending
a year running a barbecue joint in Fort Lauderdale, Jim Faye
has returned to Boston to take charge of the kitchen at BBWolf's
near Fenway Park. This is welcome news to those of us who remember
him from Mexican Cuisine near Porter Square in Cambridge, as
well as the Porter Square BBQ.
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CHICAGO |
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HOUSTON |
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LONDON |
| The thyme has come. A-Z
Restaurants (Aubergine, Zafferano, etc.) have opened Timo ("thyme"
in Italian) in Kensington, the perfect stop after a walk in
Holland Park. Chef Valerio Daros trained in the Zafferano kitchen
| Henry Harris (ex-Harvey Nichols,
Hush) is set to open Club des Cents, his own French restaurant
in Knightsbridge, serving Parisian bistro staples as well as
such trademark dishes as kidneys with choucroute and juniper
sauce | Nico Ladenis (cheznico)
has taken over the former FireBird restaurant in Mayfair and
is turning it into a 75-seat French brasserie named Au Père
Nico | Hugh O'Neil, one of the
original owners of Brasserie St. Quentin, has re-acquired the
restaurant.
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LOS ANGELES |
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The Bice is back. Bice, the Tuscan restaurant that opened
in Beverly Hills with Patrick Clark in 1989, then shuttered
in 1994, has been reborn in Pasadena's Paseo Colorado complex.
Raffaelle Ruggeri, son of the original Milanese family, is
in charge. Julian Baker, the company's European corporate
chef, will personally supervise the new restaurant for its
first year, creating such specialties as tagliatelle with
fava beans, prosciutto, and Parmesan; filet of beef with foie
gras and Barolo wine; and oven-roasted sea bass on crispy
rice cake with horseradish and shrimp sauce |
The Sky Room, unlike many survive-on-the-view restaurants,
has brought serious food to Long Beach as Don Dickman (ex-Ocean
Trails Golf Club, The Grill on The Alley in San Jose) adds
to the dining and dancing romance of the restaurant atop the
historic 1926 Breakers Hotel |
Fred Iwasaki (ex-Chinois On Main) has brought "Tapanese"
foodJapanese flavors served tapas styleto The
Loggia in The Highlands nightclub complex atop the Hollywood
& Highland shopping center |
Michite Katsu has re-opened and renamed his Studio City sushi
bar. It's now called Tama, after his wife and partner. The
place had been closed by a fire |
Gabriel Morales is now chef/partner at Caffe Citron, a rustic
Italian spot in Old Town Monrovia, departing the red-hot Balboa
at the Sunset Strip's Grafton Hotel |
David Slatkin, tyro at Mojo (at Westwood's W), then ash-stirrer
the ashes at Fenix (at the Argyle), has landed at Morton's
in WeHo to add a touch of nuevo Latino zest to Morton's classic
menu | There's a new master chef
of France in West L.A. Jean-François Méteigner
has been inducted into the association of Maîtres Cuisiniers,
one of only 50 in the United States.
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MIAMI |
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NEW ORLEANS |
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Frenchman Street in the Marigny area is hot now that chef
Phat Nguy of Rock-N-Sake on Fulton Street has opened Wasabi.
He dishes out noodle bowls, soup, and sushi late at night
| Joe Sterling (ex-Commander's
Palace, Victor's) and Ryan Knight (ex-The Grill Room) join
executive chef Emmanuel Loubier at Dante's Kitchen now that
the restaurant is open seven days a week.
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NEW YORK |
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At long last, the Euro. No, not the new European currency,
but the very American Euro pastry"it's a croissant-Danish-strudel-cupcake
kind of thing," says the tongue-in-cheek W. R. Tish,
whose company, Oddibles, came up with it. Well, if Cosi can
make square bagels, what the hell, right? Actually, this Euro
is just a joke! What the press release REALLY plugs is Oddibles'
collection of off-beat food-humor note cards. Check out www.oddibles.com
for more information and a few foodie laughs |
Fans of David Liederman's famous roast chicken mourn the passing
of his Midtown restaurant Louis (formerly Chez Louis) |
Matthew Lake, who used to cook at the late 27 Standard, can
now be found in Plainview, Long Island, at the town's new
fine-dining spot, Areca. The menu features seasonal American
food and desserts from Judy Schmidt, previously in charge
of sweets at '21' Club | That
which we call a rose...C3, the Washington Square Park mainstay
located in the Washington Square Hotel, has changed names,
but not chefs. Now called North Square, it will remain a New
York bistro, with chef Yoel Cruz behind the stoves. The renaming
coincides with the restaurant's 10th anniversary, and owner
Judy Paul points out that North Square will be easier to find
in the phone book | Chango, a
modern Mexican restaurant, has opened on Park Avenue South.
The restaurant's design is "Nuevo Mexican" and the
menu is billed as "fresh Mex." It features dishes
like ahi tuna margarita and dry-rubbed gaucho steak prepared
by Joseph Cacace | Another Mexican
is coming to Park Avenue South this summerDos Caminos,
which will inhabit the former Globe space. Steve Hanson, owner
of Blue Water Grill, Ruby Foo's, and many other restaurants,
is running the show there | Get
your French fix on June 11 at the Loire Valley Road Show,
a trade show put on by the Loire Valley Wine Bureau, offering
tastes of the region's best wines within the context of its
rich history. Planned as the first of a series of annual events,
the show will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea.
For more information go to www.loirevalleywine.com |
Descend below Herald Square, and you will now find the new
Macy's Cellar Bar & Grill. The restaurant offers American
food and cocktails along with a museum exhibit covering the
100-year history of New York's largest department store |
Sara Jenkins, who cooked at I Coppi and Il Buco, has opened
Patio Dining, her own restaurant in the East Village. The
menu is Italian; dishes include flounder with ramps and tagliatelle
with butter and Parmesan | Brian
Bistrong, who has worked with David Bouley, has been named
the new chef of Citarella, The Restaurant |
Vincent Scotto, chef at Scopa and Scopa-To-Go, has left to
open Gonzo on 13th Street, around the corner from the Beard
House, in the former Antonio space. The restaurant, slated
to open in early June, will serve trattoria fare, including
his signature pizzas and cicchetti (little plates).
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PHILADELPHIA |
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PITTSBURGH |
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After 30 years in Tokyo and New York, Japanese chef Fumio
Yasuzawa has opened Chaya, his own small spot in Squirrel
Hill. He serves a traditional kaiseki (haute Japanese) menu
| Globe-trotting Alan Kubler
takes on executive chef responsibilities at the Hyatt Regency
Pittsburgh International Airport, including the fine-dining
restaurant Olive Press. His new menu updates the Mediterranean
theme that was introduced by departed opening chef David Sparkman
| Pittsburgh restaurateurs Alain
and Susan Pizzutti (Le Perroquet, Bellini) have opened Le
Clown Bistro Français in Manhattan |
Michael Clark has relocated from Florida to open Donovan's
seafood restaurant | Buck's,
An American Grill in Aspinwall has closed |
Executive chef Chris O'Brien has moved from Hyeholde, in Moon
Township, to The Brass Elephant, in Baltimore. Until Hyeholde
owner Barbara McKenna finds a replacement for him, sous-chefs
Kara Szymanski and Matthew Cedre will share executive chef
duties | Houston-based Landry's
Seafood Restaurants has purchased the 500-seat Grand Concourse
seafood restaurant in the restored Pittsburgh & Lake Erie
Railroad Station in Pittsburgh |
Bayona, which is under new ownership, has been remodeled and
renamed SoHo. The downtown restaurant has a new menu, still
New American, by Eric Gitzen (ex-Igloo Club) |
Gary Simpson (ex-Seventh Street Grill) is cooking American
regional cuisine at the new Jackson's Restaurant-Rotisserie-Bar
in the Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe in Canonsburg.
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PHOENIX |
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SAN DIEGO |
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SAN FRANCISCO |
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SEATTLE |
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Lifesaver. Salty's on Alki general manager Cooper Mills took
less than 60 seconds to roust lunch patrons out the door.
Overhead, an ailing Boeing Stratoliner 307 was headed straight
for the dining room. Instead, thanks to pilot Richard Nelson,
the plane plummeted into Elliott Bay, 100 yards from the restaurant.
Restaurateur Gerry Kingen gave Nelson an award for saving
all of the lives aboard and on the ground |
Youthful owners Dan Anderson and Bart Evans have opened another
BluWater Bistro in the Greenlake District space formerly occupied
by Six Degrees. Peter Levine is dividing himself between the
kitchens, serving as co-owner as well as chef |
Asian food expert Judy Lew, along with chef/partner Rut Poladitmontri,
has opened Harbor Place restaurant down from the Pike Place
Market. Anthony Hubbard, previously executive chef on the
American Orient Express, is also in the kitchen |
Gary Allen (ex-Olympic Four Seasons) is now general manager
of Sorrento Hotel's Hunt Club |
After five years at Christine Keff's Flying Fish in Belltown,
pastry chef Pandora de Green has moved on to a job as bakery
manager of Roosevelt district's Whole Foods Market. Czech
native Iska Pallis is replacing her.
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TORONTO |
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Got a crush on you. Wine consultant Jamieson Kerr has opened
the stylish Crush Wine Bar on King Street West, the latest
cool zone. Masayuki Tamaru (ex-Rouge, The Fifth) is doing
a menu of French classics like quail leg confit to complement
the 30 wines by the glass | Brad
Moore (ex-Monsoon) has returned to Toronto from the Turks
and Caicos to man the kitchens at hip Xacutti on College Street.
Owner Lesle Gibson transformed the former Ellipsis space into
an upscale Indian restaurant, with flights of wine to pair
with such dishes as cardamom-smoked lamb and tandoori cod
rolls | Oliver-Bonacini restaurants
(Auberge du Pommier, Canoe, Jump) have opened Steakfrites
in the former Pronto space on Mt. Pleasant Avenue. With just
one steak on the menu, it's more global cooking than bistro.
The group is also transforming the former Max's Deli spot
in Bayview Village into a New York loft setting serving value
meals | Barbecue proselytizer
Philip Hyman of Dipamo's Barbecue has opened a second location
on Eglinton Avenue West, serving the same heavenly smoked
beef brisket.
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VANCOUVER |
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WASHINGTON D.C. |
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The Lebanese Taverna empire continues to expand. The Abi-Najm
siblings, plus longtime partner Henrik Suhr, are expanding
with a new location at Annapolis Harbour Center. Expansion
of the quick-service cafes is next |
Caesar Ledezma (La Fiesta, Las Panchos) has inked a deal to
open Toritos in Bethesda at the former Fairmont Bar &
Dining location | Shaffi Kahn
is opening a second Pines of Florence restaurant, this one
in downtown Leesburg, where Legends used to be |
The Thai empire of Oy Changsila gets another boost when he
opens his third Sala Thai in Cleveland Park, previously the
home of Desert Moon | David Scribner
has joined Smith Point in Georgetown to revamp the decor and
menu along the lines of a casual Nantucket eatery.
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OTHER OUTPOSTS |
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AUSTIN, TEXASBrio Vista
alumni Stewart Scruggs and Mark Paul have opened Wink Restaurant
on North Lamar Street, serving seasonal food and light sauces.
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