Violet, You're Turning Violet, Violet

[elizabeth d. herman for the ny times]The world has turned a watchful eye to food and the people who cook it. Now more than ever, food cultures thrive like mother starters and chefs/restaurateurs with solo projects are a dying breed. The guys from Battersby are expanding, Alex Stupak cooks some of the city's best Mexican in two different neighborhoods, and while Danny Bowien's business model thrives on two coasts, chefs like Mario Batali and Michael White seem to be chasing world domination. As chefs grow their restaurant empires, and grow them they will, it gives New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells plenty to eat, but might come at the cost of a diluted vision.

Wells took the forth star away from Daniel recently and hinted that it was due, in large part, to the idea that Daniel Boulud might be spreading himself thin. With a global empire that includes seven restaurants in New York, Boulud's task to maintain perfection at Daniel, his flagship, is exponentially more difficult with so many cooks in the kitchen.

The same might be said of today's review, in which Wells files on Costata, Michael White's return to 206 Spring Street where he started cooking in New York more than a decade ago. Costata, like the Elm and the Marrow, seemed to us as a concept that was chasing three New York Times stars. The Marrow fell two short, we patiently await Wells' thoughts on the Elm, and find Costata coming up one star shy.

"All those Foreigner and Stone Temple Pilots songs aren’t helping to set the mood," Wells writes, even though the loud rock thing worked for Babbo in 2004 when Frank Bruni awarded the restaurant three stars. Wells isn't a fan of the decor, a facet of the restaurant Adam Platt focused on for 80% of his short-winded review of Costata recently. Wells comments on "flame-shaped light bulbs programmed to flicker on and off." To Costata's defense, there's little else you can do without an open flame permit. But enough about that. On to the food.

Wells loves the pasta, "For a minute, we’re wondering if he’s laying it on a bit thick, showering shredded fontina over the oxtail ragù with cavatelli," he writes. "Then we take another bite and decide that when somebody makes pasta as wonderful as this, there are some questions you just don’t ask."

Pointing to a couple of the entrees, the critic writes, "Some of these dishes have a coarseness that wasn’t there when we first met," referring to White's time spent at Convivio and Alto before imploding with his Altamarea Group. Since the group's inception, Michael White's (exceptional) cooking and ensuing success has spawned projects in Hong Kong, London, New Jersey and New York, where he has opened six restaurants, three of which this year alone.

Few do it better than Michael White, and when a chef of his calibar falls short of the third star, it solidifies what we wrote about two weeks ago – two is the new three – and brings us to this question: If Costata were a standalone concept, or even White's second or third restaurant, would the likelihood of a three-star review be higher? [NYTimes]

Show Me a Sign: Costata

Signage has gone up recently at Costata, Michael White's three-story Italian steakhouse opening tomorrow night in the former Fiamma space. White got his New York City start in Fiamma's kitchen as the executive chef when the restaurant opened in 2002. Ahmass Fakahany, who is now White's partner in the Altamarea Group, was a regular there. His favorite thing on Fiamma's menu was a pasta with truffle cream, peas, prosciutto, and parm. That's why you'll find "Garganelli alla Fiamma" on the Costata menu.

PJ Calapa, who also runs the kitchen at White's Ai Fiori in midtown, is Costata's executive chef. In addition to pasta, crudo, and seafood, the steakhouse menu will have filet cuts, strips, ribeye (boneless and bone-in), porter house, porter house for two, and tomahawk for two in addition to lamb and veal. Seven sauces are available to pair with the array of steak options.

Eben Freeman, who will also run the cocktail program at Altamarea Group's Tribeca project the Butterfly when that opens in the coming weeks, is in charge of the bar program at Costata. Hristo Zisovski, who joined the Altamarea Group in 2010 after seven years at Jean Georges, is the beverage director.

Costata's three floors seat around 170. A small standing bar and 35 seats make up the first. The second has an eight person bar, lounge, and 65 seats, and the top floor is a private event space that can accomodate up to 60 guests.

Costata opens tomorrow night.

Thank You 2012

Last year was an exciting year for food. Mission Chinese and Pok Pok both opened East Coast outposts, two new chef's counters opened via Atera and Blanca, Pete Wells a) became the New York Times food critic and b) wrote a historically scathing review of Guy Fieri's Times Square restaurant, Dinosaur BBQ announced 604 Union Street in Brooklyn as its next home, Andrew Carmellini opened The Library with work on his French resto Lafayette getting well underway, Gabe Stulman's Little Wisco Empire grew by two via Perla and Chez Sardine (Montmarte, Stulman's next project, will open this year in Chelsea), April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman opened Salvation Taco, The Nomad happened, so did a culinary swap between Eleven Madison Park and Alinea, Italian cuisine invaded SoHo via Principessa, Angelo SoHo, Galli, and Isola Trattoria e Crudo Bar, Great Googa Mooga attracted over 30,000 people to Prospect Park in May, and the entire industry came together after devestation swept through the city in the winds of Hurricane Sandy.

Also in 2012, Brooklyn's Gowanus neighborhood got its first wine store via Gowanus Wine Merchants, and Third Avenue in the same Brooklyn neighborhood saw the opening of The Pines (our 2012 favorite) and Runner & Stone on the same stretch between Carroll and President Streets (Littleneck is on the same block), creating a culinary nucleus of sorts. Fletcher's Brooklyn Barbecue gave Third Ave a boost a few blocks south when it opened between 7th and 8th Streets last fall. Generally speaking, 2012 was a big year for the borough of Brooklyn. Josh Ozersky wrote 2,000 words to the contrary last year, but the quality of food and number of dining options in Kings County seemed to increase tenfold. Last year alone the borough welcomed Reynard, Gwynnett Street, Aska came and Frej went, Ganso, Talde, Pork Slope, Dassara, Hunter's, Red Gravy, Governor, Gran Electrica, La Vara, Lulu & Po, The Wallace, Dear Bushwick, and Bristket Town. Speedy Romeo, Krescendo, and Brooklyn Central gave pizza fenatics a handful of new options and there was the whole Grimaldi's/Juliana debacle to boot.

The 2013 train is already set in motion and looking to bring another exciting year. Ivan Orkin will open his first stateside ramen shop, the boys behind Torrisi will open two spots on Thompson Street via The Lobster Club and Carbone, Michael White will open The Butterfly, Ristorante Morini uptown and possibly something in the former Fiamma space (the building was sold by BR Guest's Steven Hanson at the end of last year and White's Altamarea Group is leasing the space from the new owners), and Andy Ricker will be opening a Brooklyn outpost of his Portland-based Whiskey Soda Lounge half a block north from Pok Pok Ny on Columbia Street in the spring. Even for the superstitious, there's luck to be had in 2013 and it may come in the form of a Battersby expansion.

For both Manhattan and Brooklyn (and the other, lesser explored boroughs by Digest NY), the lists go on and on and will get even longer as the days of 2013 start to come and go. As they do, we'll be here to keep you abreast and athigh of the latest and greatest of all things food in the greatest city there is.

Happy 2013 New York!

Another One for Michael White's Altamarea Group?

In addition to the Butterfly and Ristorante Morini, Michael White and his partner Ahmass Fakahany may have another project in the works. The Post learns that BR Guest's Stephen Hanson sold the building at 206 Spring Street that once housed Fiamma, and that the new owner has leased out the three storys of restaurant space to White's Altamarea Group.

Should White open a restaurant in the former space, it would complete a sort of culinary circle in his career. He was the original chef at Fiamma when the restaurant opened in 2002. White left in 2006 to take Scott Conant's place at L'Impero before going on to build his AMG Empire. "The buyer was Corigin Real Estate Group," the Post notes, and "sources said White has been “in and out” of the Spring Street location."

The possiblilty of another new venture comes just in time. Michael White will be speaking on the topic of restaurant expansion at the Gabarron Foundation December 5th with Danny Bowien and Andy Ricker. Tickets for that event are $50 for non members and $35 for members. [NYPost] [Culintro]

Industry Night at Osteria Morini Going Strong

Back in July, we brought you a look at Osteria Morini's "Industry Night" special.  The promo started May 14th and was originally going to be nixed after Labor Day, but it's been extended through the first two weeks of November.  The deal still stands.  Any pasta on the menu is $10 from 9:30 to close on Monday nights.  Fall is right around the corner, that means there's going to be some new choices.  Bye bye tomatoes (almost) and hello braised anything.  Digest NY had to go back.  Here's a look at two new choices along with the spaghetti alla vongole, because we forgot to order it last time.

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A Taste of Tastes to Come

Summer is (unfortunately) over.  September will sometimes hang on to the warm weather and allude to an endless summer, but the cool breezes of late carry the rigorous truth.  It's time to get back to work.  The last quarter will be a busy one for restaurateurs, many of whom are approaching the remaining months of 2012 with a double-or-nothing attitude.  Michael White has The Butterfly and Ristorante Morini on the horizon, Andrew Carmellini will add The Library in the Public Theater and a yet-to-be-named French place to his resume, and the Torrisi guys will introduce The Lobster Club and Carbone to Thompson Street.  In addition to the double features, a slew of other restaurants are opening by the end of the year and we're excited.  Here's a look at a few storefronts with news about the restaurants moving into them.

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Nicoletta's Goose Egg

If Nicoletta was the first restaurant in Michael White and business partner Ahmass Fakahany's empire there would be no fusilli with octopus and bone marrow.  Nor would there be the rich, delicious Emilia-Romagna-inspired preparations that exist on Lafayette Street at Osteria Morini.  White certainly wouldn't have crossed the Hudson to Jersey and his Altamarea Group's newly signed lease on the Upper East Side would have a John Hancock other than his own.  After reading Pete Wells' goose egg review of Nicoletta, this is the direction it seems Michael White's career would have taken had he not established himself first as the guru of Italian cuisine that he legitimately is.

Nicoletta is the newest addition to White's empire.  It's a pizza place he opened in June on Second Avenue in the East Village that Wells has zero stars for.  As it turns out, the only dishes he recommends are the cucumbers in white balsamic vinegar and the ice cream.  "Mr. White has said he engineered the dough to stand up to the rigors of delivery and reheating with no loss of quality. In that, at least, he has succeeded. Warmed up a day or two later, a Nicoletta crust is just as stiff and bland as when it was fresh from the oven."

Straying from the pizzas doesn't reveal "White’s prodigious talent for cooking Italian food that can make you dizzy with pleasure."  "The insalata mare with clams, mussels, squid and octopus, all as tender as an extension cord, all bathed in a dressing that had no effect on any of it."

White's decade cooking here in New York has found him behind the stoves at six restaurants to be graced by Time's critics.  Fiamma, Alto, L'Impero, Convivio, Marea, and Ai Fiori have tallied 17 stars for the Wisconsin native.  Nicoletta, unfortunately, has none to spare.

$10 Pasta Night at Osteria Morini

The deal with "Industry Night" is any of the pastas on Osteria Morini's menu are $10.  The special may only run an hour and a half but, it turns out, a couple of friends and a craving for gluten is all you need to taste through the pastas, which are all homemade.  The deal runs through August.  Digest NY was there last night.

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