Momofuku Milkbar Invades Carroll Gardens

The fifth branch of Momofuku Milkbar opened in Carroll Gardens over the weekend.  As of last Saturday, the 360 Smith Street location is offering up jugs of pretzel milk, cornflake-marshmallow cookies, and a slew of other sugary sweet snacks.  

This location is open from 7am - 10pm everyday.

4, 3, 2, 1, 0 Stars for La Mar Cebicheria

Gaston Acurio is something like Peru's Mario Batali.  His restaurant chain La Mar Cebicheria has locations in San Francisco, Bogota, and Mexico City.  The eighth location opened in the former Tabla space on Madison Square Park last September and it seems like Pete Wells wished it never happened.  Amongst plenty of complaints is the fact that "nearly every chair had a winter coat draped over it, giving the room all the elegance of a church-basement bingo game."

Joe's Red Shanghai Farm

It wasn't so long ago when Chinatown was the best option for Xiao Long Bao, aka soup dumplings.  You would turn off Canal onto Mott Street and then walk until you came to that movie-set, ripped-right-from-Hong Kong street named Pell.  You turn left and find Joe's Shanghai halfway down the block.

Restaurateur Ed Schoenfeld and chef Joe Ng have introduced a detour to that Chinatown route.  You'll find their soup dumplings a bit further north at RedFarm in the West Village.  The newish restaurant on Hudson Street has "green market sensabilities" and two stars from Pete Wells.  Their dumplings are like the ones at Joe's, but with a suit jacket on.  Here's a slideshow of how they're made.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Tonight, the night after Mad Men aired its season premiere following a 17-month hiatus, The Nomad opens its doors for dinner and feeds the buzz around Madison Avenue.

The NoMad comes to us via Daniel Humm, the chef at Eleven Madison Park, and Will Guidara, who is EMP's manager.  The restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it all looks pretty damn good.

You can't smoke there but you'll likely get one hell of an old fashioned if you want to stop in after a day at the office.

Throw Your Hands Up and Gout

Frank Bruni was the New York Times restaurant critic for five years.  He was diagnosed with Gout last November.  It is said to be the "disease of kings," as it results from diets with surplus amounts of red meat and alcohol.

Bruni says his diet was something he always meant to get around to adjusting, he just "lacked the proper motivation" to do so.  His blog brings us this insightful article and explains how "illness and the threat of extreme pain" have lead to a healthier lifestyle.

San Sebastian, Meet Frank. Frank, Meet San Sebastian.

The Lower East Side outpost of Frankies shut their doors earlier this week for a quick makeover.  They will reopen tonight as Francesca, a Basque-style restaurant headed by chef Ryan Bartlow.  He made the move from Frankies 570, on Hudson Street, to the new-old location at 17 Clinton Street.  His experience working at Akelarre, a three-Michellin-star restaurant in San Sebastian, shows on Francesca's menu.  There's an attached glossary that will conveniently save the servers the hassle of answering the same question 7,318 times a night.  Good move.

Katie O'Donnell, formerly of Esca, has taken over at 570.

Good Food Will Soon Take Flight at LaGuardia

There's some changes going on over at LaGuardia Airport.  Delta Air Lines is taking over Terminal C and there's a serious list of restauranteurs moving in.  Andrew Carmellini, Michael White, and folks from Balthazar are all involved.  The list reads a bit like an abridged version of The Great Googa Mooga lineup.

Maybe that will change peoples attitudes about D.E.L.T.A. (Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport)

A Quick Economy Lesson with Torrisi

In high school economics they teach you about elastic and inelastic demand.  Gas is a prime example of inelastic demand.  So is dinner at Torrisi Italian Specialties.  Regardless of the price, people are going to pay to eat at Torrisi.

The original price of the 4-course tasting menu was $50.  It's now $65.  The 20-course tasting is making a 20% jump, from $125 to $150.

The duo behind Torrisi and Parm, the red-hot Italian outfits on Mulberry Street, are heavily inspired by the city in which they operate.  Another price hike brings the MTA to mind.  The difference at Torrisi??  There's never any train traffic.