Meet the NYC-based Top Chef contestants
The newest season of Top Chef debuting on Thursday features three chefs from New York City, and amNY does Q&A’s with all of them, asking them about their background in New York and what to expect from their time on the show. Upper East Sider Fatima Ali, who once had a Smorgasburg stall, says she hopes to bring exposure to Pakistani cuisine, while Harlem resident Adrienne Cheatham wants to spotlight minority chefs. Chris Scott, who owns Butterfunk Kitchen in Windsor Terrace with his wife, says he applied to be on the show four times.
Former Po space will become Drunken Munkey
The former space of longtime West Village Italian restaurant Po has a tenant in the works — Drunken Munkey, the bar and restaurant inspired by India when it was colonized by Britain. Partners Arun Mirchandani, Raju Mirchandani, and Chirag Chaman own a location of the restaurant on the Upper East Side. According to the website, the menu “reflects the rich heritage of Indian cooking influenced by the frontiers of the royal Northwest down to the fishing villages of the coastal south.” They have signed a lease for 12 years at the 31 Cornelia Street space.
A new wine bar for the West Village
Yet another wine bar opens in the West Village today, this time from a chef from a Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris. St Tropez, manned by chef Gérald Barthélémy, is inspired by the south of France, with a focus on wines from around Saint Tropez. Dishes include a truffle mac and cheese, tomatoes stuffed with ground beef, beef meatballs, and mushroom risotto. Standard wine bar far like cheese and charcuterie are also available. It opens tonight at 304 West Fourth Street; see the full menu below.
Ramen joins Chinatown hotel offerings, and other openings and closings
The glassy, 18-story Wyndham Garden Hotel on Bowery in Chinatown just added another restaurant, a ramen spot called Shinka Ramen & Sake. Meanwhile in the East Village, Hot Pot Central on 2nd Avenue has closed its doors. The owners have previously closed two other concepts in the space. In closings, the Two-Bit’s Retro Arcade remains shuttered due to a paperwork issue. Ownership hopes to reopen within the next week.
Mikkeller, Ivan Ramen, and Upland team up for dinner
Ivan Ramen is hosting a dinner created by its chef Ivan Orkin and Upland chef Justin Smillie on December 10th that will include four courses and special beers that are rare elsewhere in the U.S. An art director from Mikkeller, a Danish gypsy brewery with a cult following, will be on hand selling prints. Tickets cost $85 and are available here. For a look at how prolific ramen company Sun Noodle makes ramen, take a look here:
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