'New York Times' Dining Roundup
How to live a less meat-centric life: Mark Bittman writes, "The arguments for eating less meat are myriad and well-publicized, but at the moment they’re irrelevant, because what I want to address here is (almost) purely pragmatic: How do you do it?" His answers are pretty simple: buy less meat, buy more vegetables.
Ago is a mess: Frank Bruni visits the self-proclaimed "hot spot" Ago, an Agostino Sciandri and Robert DeNiro venture in the new Greenwich Hotel in TriBeCa. It gets zero stars and some artful prose detailing Bruni's multiple meals gone awry.
Gardening as economic strategy: There hasn't been such an interest in growing food at home since the 1970s. Marian Burros points to higher grocery costs and a stumbling economy.
The man behind many a spectacular food event: Lee Schrager is a master event planner with a gift for using celebrity chefs to pull off big festivals that make big money.
25 wines under 25 bucks: Argentinean malbecs are not just reasonably priced; they are versatile, amicable, and balanced.
Scorpions for breakfast, snails for dinner: Matthew Forney lives with his family in Beijing. He gives his children's hometown and their Italian mom credit for their adventurous eating habits and open-minded food attitude.
Authenticity can be overrated: Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine on West 40th Street has a few strikes against it: it is part of a chain, the owners are Peruvian, not Cuban, and it is too bright and clean for proper grunge. But the place delivers "authentic sandwich bliss," and soft, melting roast turkey "worth eating far, far more often than once a year."
Falafel from a can: Melissa Clark adds lamb to her canned-chickpea falafels. She tags them a success, although her husband doubts their status as falafel.
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3 Comments:
That Bruni review of Ago is a gem - truly. A waiter now known as "the Bucatini Houdini" - talk about living in infamy. But after reading that review I'd love to know how it warrants 1 star.
phaelon56 at 2:52PM on 06/11/08
Phaelon, I believe Bruni gave Ago zero stars. Ouch! But, as you say, not as ouch as his review.
Hannah Howard at 3:19PM on 06/11/08
Oops - my mistake. I was reading the "reader's reviews" ratings at the bottom of the NYT review. That was a 1 star but Bruni's review of Ago was indeed "Poor" which was appropriate.
phaelon56 at 4:36PM on 06/11/08