In the Year Two Thousand and Four

Remember 2004?  Lance Armstrong won his 6th Tour de France, fox hunting got outlawed in the UK, Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison, Janet Jackson's nipple fell out of her shirt, and David Chang opened Momofuku Noodle Bar.  To celebrate the latter, Bed-Stuy's Do or Dine chef Justin Warner is recreating the original menu from when Noodle Bar opened in the summer of '04.

Do or Dine turns one on Sunday, June 3rd, and Justin will be recreating DC's original Noodle Bar menu for the occasion.  Chang doesn't have anything to do with the event, but it'll still be worth the trek out to 1108 Bedford Ave for $7 shredded pork ramen and $3 cans of PBR.  Happy Birthday, Noodle Dine.

Pete Wells has Two More for Perla

Pete Wells gives two stars to Gabe Stulman's two-month old Perla in today's review.  Chef Toscano's savory part of the menu is right up Pete's alley.  He finds the veal in one of the anitpasti "thrillingly pink," while a tartare made from a Piedmontese breed of cow is "suave."

When it comes to desserts, it may be in chef Mr. Toscano's interest to hire a pastry chef, "Rustic desserts like chocolate crostata or date cheesecake looked as if they had been dropped on the floor, and fennel cookies showed up one night so underdone that they might have been made in an Easy-Bake oven."

Wells is none too pleased about some of the policies instilled at the restaurant, as he finds "Dining at Perla takes a significant commitment of time and money. The restaurant should make a reciprocal commitment, rather than force customers to stand around near the bar — not at the bar (stools are reserved for dining at peak hours), but near the bar."  "Better values would be welcome and so would reservations."

Littleneck Guys Adding The Pines to their Roster

Construction is well underway at 284 3rd Avenue in Gowanus.  The address is going to be home to The Pines, the new project from Aaron Lefkove and Andy Curtin of Littleneck, two doors down at 288 3rd Ave.  Their chef, Alan Harding, is working with them on The Pines menu but will ultimately stay in the kitchen at Littleneck.  Roberta's/Lupa/Masten Lake (RIP) alum Angelo Romano will be heading the stoves at The Pines when it opens sometime in July.

Apparently, you can only work with the Littleneck team if your name starts with the letter "A".  Maybe that's why Littleneck is so "Awesome".

Either You're Slingin' Tom Kha or You Got a Wicked Jump Shot

"I had dreams and aspirations of being a ball player, then I topped out at 5'5. I have completely flat feet and every time there's a crack in the sidewalk, I turn my ankle. But one thing I've got is a jump shot." - Dale Talde on basketball.

If he was any taller than 5'5, we might not be enjoying the culinary fixings from Park Slope's much buzzed about chef.  Talde is busy every night of the week and Pork Slope, the team's next project, is set to open sometime this summer, bringing cheap eats and pitchers of beer to 247 5th Avenue (@ Carroll Street).

As a full-time resident of Brooklyn, Dale has a few places he likes to go on his days off.  David Koon and Jamison Blankenship are Dale's pals from when they worked together at Morimoto, and Chef Talde loves their ramen at little Prospect Heights gem Chuko.

Adam Platt, in the Parlour Room, with the Chicken for Two

Adam Platt recently visited The NoMad and left it with a two-star review.  He enjoys the "flawlessly executed egg appetizer" and "best of all" are the "snow peas, flavored with mint, Pecorino, and little hidden nuggets of pancetta."  He finds "the weakest part of the menu are the snacks, but after that Humm’s cooking begins to click into high gear, like a well-engineered European sedan."

Due to the restaurant's hotel location, and the responsibilities that go with it, "room service and a whole host of high-volume party events, there’s a vague assembly-line feel to the proceedings that is compounded by the prices."  Price is the recurring theme and while "the main courses at NoMad are accomplished, none of them are cheap."  At $39, Platt pins the cracked lobster dish as "extravagantly priced."  "If you don't mind paying $20 for those carrots (and some at my table did mind), I recommend you order them with the duck ($32)."

Daniel Humm and Will Guardia have set the bar pretty high with Eleven Madison Park.  According to Platt, the efforts that have gone into EMP have resulted in "the finest restaurant in the city."  Its success is somewhat of a double edged sword as he seemed challenged to be blown away at The NoMad.  While he refers to other entrees as "pricey barnyard creations," he finds none to be "as satisfying as the chicken for two ($78)," but that hasn't left the dish out of public crosshairs.

Bicycling is the Way, Bicycling is the Way

This video was posted over the weekend via Eater New York Editor Greg Morabito.  The clip stars Bill Meier, a veteran bike messanger and the delivery guy for Roberta's pizza offshoot Best Pizza on Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg.

If you have headphones, plug them in.  Your co-workers probably don't want to hear about "quarter-pound lunger's."

Tertulia: The Weekend Warrior

Last Friday, May 11th, marked the start of Tertulia's late night bar service.  The bar will now be open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.  The restaurant has also opened their outdoor space and welcomes guests for lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner.

Chef Seamus Mullen spent the afternoon last Friday at 92Y, talking about his new cookbook, Hero Food.  The book is a candid look at Chef Mullen's life living with rheumatoid arthritis, which he was diagnosed with five years ago.  The book focuses on 18 ingredients that he calls "hero foods" that help maintain a healthier lifestyle.

"Seamus's "heroes" are real food, elemental things like good meat, good birds, eggs, greens, grains, and berries. He cares about how his vegetables are grown, how his fruit is treated, and about the freshness and sustainability of the fish he uses. His hope is that you will eventually forget about why these recipes are good for you, and that you'll make them just because they taste good."

In other Seamus Mullen news, Tertulia is now part of the Extra Mooga ticket for this weekends Googa Mooga event.

Garden Dinners at Roberta's

Perennial Bushwick hotspot Roberta's is introducing their Garden Dinner Series on Monday, May 21st.  The dinners are going to run for four months with each month feature a tasting menu based exclusively around one animal.  Lamb is on the menu for the month of May.  June will be seafood, there will be goat (not a Daniel Day-Lewis sequel) in July, and pig in August.

The five-course tasting menu of lamb is $95 and includes spring legume soup, fried lambs tongue and watercress, lamb shank, purgatory beans, and a spit-roasted leg of lamb with grilled rapini and Roberta's Flatbread.  Booze is included in the ticket price and the dinners will take place from 7pm-10pm in Roberta's garden.