Etcetera | Friday Fanfare, 2012.08.24

Another round-up here on Four Tines! I hope to get a couple more posts up by the time the weekend is over, so keep your eyes peeled. In the mean time, I'm heading up to Hudson Valley for the weekend and finally checking out one of the restaurants at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park -- cannot wait! I'll be sure to report back next week! Until then, happy Friday to you!!

View of the Williamsburg Bridge from Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Some noteworthy eats from this week:

• inaugural three-course Friday Feasts dinner at Bouchon Bakery in Time Warner Center
• brunch at Friend of a Farmer with Jess (brunch bunch round-up coming in the next few days!)
• drinks and small plates at El Almacén
• miso ramen (to die for!) at Jin Ramen
• iced Earl Grey hazelnut teappuccino at Argo Tea (recently discovered it can be served chilled!)
• happy hour turned dinner at Mermaid Oyster Bar with Amanda (review in the works!)
• reunited (and it felt so good!) with Morris Grilled Cheese during its scheduled FiDi lunch stop after six weeks of failed attempts -- finally got my fill of the Delicate grilled cheese (truffle cheese with caramelized shallots)
• a couple drinks at Dram Bar before heading to Traif (posts to follow next week!)

This week's list of ruminating reads:

• A lovely piece by Gael Greene of The Insatiable Critic about love and loss.
• A cute blog I stumbled upon -- Charlotte Druckman's The Skirt Steak Files in preparation for her upcoming book Skirt Steak: Woman Chefs on Standing the Heat & Staying in the Kitchen.
• This is the kind of stuff I hope to write one day. Tamar Adler has a beautiful way with prose, and she works her magic again in this piece in The New Yorker on learning how to eat like the late Julia Child.
• Joy the Baker explores the possibilities on what to do with leftover herbs.
• A little on the one-ingredient ice cream recipe by Modernist Cuisine's Nathan Myhrvold featured on Food52 this week.
• Bringing literary dishes to life, quite literally -- bloggers draw inspiration from their favorite books on The Smithsonian's "Food and Think" column this week.
• Observations about small-plate, tapas-style dining by The New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells with a follow-up by Bon Appetit's Andrew Knowlton ("The Foodist").

In case you missed it:

• Whole Foods Midtown East opened on Thursday -- see my review here! Yippee!!
  
• Wise words from Julia Child.

• Photographs from a sixteen course dinner, eleven of which included dishes made using a WHOLE giant tuna (maguro), on Grab Your Fork.
• Grub Street New York features bartenders' predictions for the next big drink trends in the city, mezcal included, as well as great late-night dining spots.
• Food 52's renovated kitchen -- for those design-savvy and culinary-inclinced, it is drool-inducing indeed.
• This visual coffee chart by my favorite printmakers at Pop Chart Lab. If I didn't already have four of their original prints, this would be hanging on my wall with no question.
• Must-watch video of Chef Thomas Keller paying homage to Julia Child on Wine Spectator (via Streaming Gourmet).
• Planning one last picnic before summer's over? Here's what every picnic basket needs.
• Martin Kastner of Crucial Detail's cocktail infuser, The Porthole, for Chef Grant Achatz bar, The Aviary, is now available for sale.
• Loving these Manhattan placemats and serviceware by Josef Frank and these seasonal produce calendars by Chasing Delicious.
• Cool concept for casual dining establishments -- DipJar for using credit cards to leave tips!
• Eating through Barcelona on EAT Boutique.
• Thomas Jefferson, a founding foodie?!
• A cookbook you can really eat out of.

A round-up of drool-worthy recipes:

• Joel Palmer House's wild mushroom risotto recipe from Wayfare magazine
• Alison Anselot's "Pantone-inspired" recipes featured in Acquired Taste magazine
• smashed okra from The Bitten Word
• nectarine and pomegranate tarte from Tartelette
• grilled summer squash and peach salad with manchego and white truffles from Roost
• illustrated, visual recipe of fresh and summery tomato pasta from EcoSalon
• Andes mint chip ice cream from Love and Olive Oil
• a round-up of iced tea-lemonade concoctions from Design Crush

On the blotter for upcoming noms:

• Definitely want to check out these ramen places opening up in New York City.
• Line-up of a Fall restaurant previews from New York magazine!
• Chef Jesse Schenker of Recette plans to open up a restaurant in the Flatiron District (my favorite 'hood)!
• Chef Amanda Cohen of Dirt Candy is having a release party for her upcoming graphic cookbook at Housing Works in SoHo! Sign me up!!
• Even more motivation from Serious Eats to get my butt to Maison Premiere in Williamsburg -- gorgeous shots from Alice Gao!
• Another Serious Eats feature on Neta and its bartenders' concept of cocktail pairing with savory drinks -- also need to get here!
• The guys behind Torrisi Italian Specialties talk about their new restaurant, Carbone (named after one of the executive chefs, as Torrisi is!), set to open in November.