[Some highlights from the NYCWFF Flickr Pool]
And thus concludes Eater's nonstop blogging extravaganza from the Eater Lounge at the Standard Hotel. The last chefs have come and gone, the interns have been unchained from their laptops, we've closed the tab, and it's time to present some final tidbits that didn't make it on the prime time coverage. A big thanks to the staff at the Standard, Lee Schrager, and his crack team of organizers at the NYCWFF.
Dan Silverman of The Standard Grill talked about his reactions to Frank Bruni's one-spot of his restaurant: "I think it was fair. What we're trying to do is make really nice food, and try and push the envelope as far as covers are concerned, and I think we're consistent...People tell me that it read like a two. The takeaway is that there is still work to do."
Scarpetta's Jeffery Tascarella had this to say about the ever present Guy Fieri: "My fiance was at the Burger Bash the other night and said Guy Fieri was drinking out of a flask. And I respect him for that."
Joe Campanale of L'Artusi and dell'anima dished on what's new at his restaurants: "Well, we have a bunch of winemaker dinners coming up at L'Artusi. We have crazy producers from Sicily coming. We're doing a sake dinner. The producer just loves L'Artusi so much he wanted to have a sake dinner. We have a new venison that’s served with a polenta cake. It’s killer.
Motorino's Matthieu Palombino talked about opening a restaurant: "The warning is to expect to have your life taken away. But that's just the business. If you don't want to do that, be a mailman. But for the people who don't know, there are a lot of folks that from the outside it looks like the perfect thing. It'll be easy, there will be nice waitresses around, there will be wine."
Gilt executive chef Justin Bogle described what it was like to recently be awarded two Michelin stars: "With the Michelin stars, yeah, we've been working way harder—that's automatic. We know what we have to push for, we know what the next step is and that's where we are at right now. We have a kitchen with a bunch of young cooks—it's good, we're just going to push forward."
Dovetail chef and proprietor John Fraser was happy to announce that his restaurant will finally be expanding a bit: "There'll be a new 18-seat bar, as was originally planned when we first built the restaurant, and it should be up and running the first week of November. Also, there will be added dining space."
Sam Demarco of First Bar & Grill in Las Vegas told us about one of his favorite places to eat in New York: "I always grab a slice at Joe's Pizzeria. It's fantastic."
· All NYCWFF 2009 Coverage [~ENY~]
