The Air Up There

The Nomad Rooftop opened to the public last week and operates with a same-day reservation policy.  The decision to serve the $125 five-course tasting menu is dependent on the weather.  To purchase tickets, you have to create an account or log in to the restaurants website.

Unfortunately, TNR will not be open tonight, but Eater hints its downstairs brethren might be getting the Pete treatment in this weeks Times review.  Maybe Daniel Humm is the "those guys" Pete mentions in yesterday's tweet.

Sam Sifton Had a Date With Blanca, a Bluefin Tuna Head, and Our Friend Paul

Former New York Times restaurant critic Sam Sifton sheds some light on Blanca, the new project from the Roberta's team that, compared to Roberta's, approaches eating from the other end of the food spectrum.

Sifton draws comparisons to Momofuku Ko and Brooklyn Fare, restaurants that share a similar vision.  At all three restaurants, Blanca included, the chefs only offer a tasting menu.  The dishes get served to guests seated around the kitchen, where they're able to watch chefs prepare a series of plates that get placed in front of them.  At Blanca, this happens around 20 times, at a pace Sifton defines as "measured and relentless."

Blanca is serving their $180 tasting menu four nights a week, Wednesday through Satruday, with one seating each night at 6pm.  It's an exclusive affair, one Mr. Mirarchi hopes to eventually expand to include a fifth night and two seatings.  Part of the price tag allows you to choose the soundtrack to your meal.  Records brought in from some of the owner's collections are on hand with a turntable, allowing guests to play what they want to hear.  The food, though, is all Mirarchi.

Our good friend Paul Tortora was there Saturday with his brother Jonathan.  Paul's the guy with the ponytail pictured under the tuna head, he's a (brilliant) wine rep for Rare Wine Co.  We asked him about dinner: "The meal, in a word, was dialed-in."

The New WD-50 Tasting Menu

It was announced earlier in the week that culinary wizard Wylie Dufresne was overhauling his tasting menu.  He has created an entirely new menu at his 50 Clinton Street restaurant WD-50 and it will become available to the public starting next Thursday, May 10th.

At $155, the tasting runs thirteen courses.  An optional wine pairing is available for $85 and includes booze from France, Germany, Japan, Greece, Italy, and Spain.

The Times has a slideshow featuring some of the new dishes, which include sole with black licorice-pil-pil, lobster roe with charred lemon, root beer ribs, and an amaro soaked egg yolk that comes with peas 'n carrots, kind of.  The 'peas' are tiny balls of carrots that have been rolled in pea powder, obviously.

Wylie Dufresne is Giving WD-50 a Food Lift

Wylie Dufresne is one of the city's great chefs.  His restaurant WD-50 on the Lower East Side is an atelier for his truly unique, gifted set of culinary ideals.

An article published in The Times yesterday reveals that, "Starting on May 10, every item on the restaurant’s current menu will, as if subjected to a chemistry experiment, evaporate."

There will be an a la carte option available only at the bar.  In the dining room, there will be the option of two tasting menus.  For $75, you can work your way through what Wylie is calling the "From the Vault" menu, which offers past dishes made famous in the nine years WD-50 has operated.  The other choice will be the $155, 12-course menu, featuring entirely new dishes.

"Mr. Dufresne is an intrinsically American pioneer, so it makes sense that, in the language of the menu, many of the new creations sound like stolid heartland fare (crab cakes, brisket, root-beer ribs, fried green tomatoes, Key lime pie, even what you might describe as an elevated twist on a TV dinner). On the plate, though, they psychedelically thwart what your eyes, teeth and taste buds expect."

“I want people to think,” he said. “And it has to be delicious, too. Let’s not forget that.”

Wylie Dufresne's whimsical, experimental approach to life is further explored in this article explaining the bathroom situation at WD-50.

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.

Brooklyn Fare Soon to be Manhattan Fare

Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare opened three years ago.  Since it's inception the restaurant has earned 3 Michelin stars and is the only one in Brooklyn to do so.  Cesar Ramirez's $225, 20-plus tasting menu is one of the most expensive and most difficult to land a seat at.

Moe Issa is the owner and he has decided it's the right move to open at a space in Hell's Kitchen, on 39th Street between 9th and 10th.  The chef's table at the Manhattan location will be downstairs in a wine room, with only 10 seats.  The restaurant itself will be 60 seats and have an a la carte menu.

Manhattan could see an interpretation of Chef Ramirez's food as early as June.

Price Hike on Del Posto's Lunch Prix Fixe, From $29 - $39

Del Posto's three-course lunch prix fixe used to be $29.  Those days are gone.  The price went up to $39.  So now it's just about $10 for every star the restaurant has.  It's still a steal.