New York Restaurants

Headed home. The Mission Chinese chef will head to Oklahoma City, his hometown, to cook with Jonathon Stranger of Ludivine on Sunday and Monday, News OK reports. Local chefs Kurt Fleischfresser, Chris Becker, and Marc Dunham round out the line for the impromptu pop-up OK Chefs, which will donate 100 percent of its proceeds to the American Red Cross in support of relief efforts. A growing group of New York chefs and food businesses is also raising money for tornado victims. [News OK, Earlier, Related] Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: oklahoma, danny bowien, jonathon stranger, ludivine, mission chinese, new york, new york restaurants, oklahoma city, san francisco

[Back Forty West by Krieger] · A First Look at the Franny's Cookbook [~EN~] · Checking on the Status of Paulaner Brauhaus [BB] · The Gin and Tonic Revival [NYT] · Num Pang's Ben Daitz Talks Wine [FitR] · Sad Sale of the 9th Street Bakery Continues [EV Grieve] · A Chat With Sarah Simmons of City Grit [SENY] · Watch Jimmy McMillan Plug Papaya King Hot Dogs [GS/NYM] · Amy's Baking Cancels Press Conference After Legal Threats From Fox [~EN~]

This is a review of The Cannibal. But it’s also a love letter to the ladies of the world who eat meat. To our female vegetarian friends, we’ve got nothing but respect and admiration. Whether your motivation is health or humanity, we’re all about the animal-free lifestyle if that’s what suits you. But there’s just something magical about a girl who not only craves the occasional steak, but would consume a baby cow’s feelings if they had enough flavor. That’s the girl you’ll find hanging out at The Cannibal. And she’s not as rare as you might think. All you need is the name of this place to understand what kind of restaurant it is. No, The Cannibal doesn’t serve human, but they do serve all kinds of other delicious mammal parts, along with a mind boggling selection of beers. As a result, you’d probably expect to find a certain kind of clientele here: men who look like absolute sh*tbags. You know what I’m talking about. A restaurant like this tends to exclusively attract the oh-so-desirable demographic of dudes who shave every two weeks and sweat while they eat. But that’s not the crowd you’ll find in this place. Every time we’ve been to The Cannibal, we’ve observed plenty of classy looking women in the joint, enjoying a Belgian ale and a plate of something that has pig face meat in it. Those are the women we’re here to honor. We love you. So why the contingent of lady-regulars in a place that you’d otherwise expect to be filled with people who have no regard for their own personal health? The Cannibal attracts a diverse crowd because they do it right. Yes, the menu is full of heavy-duty carnivore feed, like liver mousse and terrines and blood sausage and lamb neck. As a matter of fact, half of the tiny space is occupied by a butcher counter. But everything we’ve eaten here has had a certain touch of refinement that makes it appealing to the causal meat eaters among us – regardless of gender. The pig’s head terrine is less gelatinous and more solid than we expected, and served with an amazing honey-chili paste to bring out the flavor. The beef heart tartare is prepared and spiced so that it tastes more like high-flavor, high-quality meat than squeaky weridness. Even the slow roasted half pig’s head comes with a bunch of pita and fixins so that you can eat it “gyro style” rather than from the end of a knife like some sort of heathen. Add in a freindly staff to walk you through the menu and endless wine and beer options, and you can see why this place is loved by all walks of life. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be in the corner of the bar watching girls eat hot dogs. Respectfully. Food Rundown Pig’s Head TerrineThis is an absolutely fantastic terrine made up of the delicious parts from a pig’s face (all of it). This is almost always a dish we shy away from, just because when it’s bad – it’s bad. But here, the meat is packed in tight so that there’s very little jiggly gelatin holding things together. It’s nice and firm and full of flavor, especially when you spread whatever condiment they’re serving with it on top. On our visits it was a chili-honey paste that was crazy good. Beef Heart TartareEat it, even if you don’t want to. You’ll be very surprised at how tame this tartare is, even though it’s made up almost entirely of a f*cking cow’s heart. What you’ll find is a meaty flavor complimented by vinegary things like tobasco and crunchy things like fried shallots. There’s even some parmesan on there for good measure. Oh, and you’ll appreciate the relatively small portion size so that you don’t feel like a Komodo dragon after eating it. Cannibal Dogs, “Coney Style”Two delicious hot dogs, covered in a beef and beef heart ragu “chili,” and then topped with mustar

AIRPORT DINING — A branch of Bobby Van's Steakhouse just opened in American Airlines Terminal 8 at JFK. It will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with takeout and sandwiches as well as a porterhouses, filet mignons, and a full bar. [EaterWire] EAST VILLAGE — Kasadela, which closed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy but was a vendor at this year's Great GoogaMooga fest, is hosting a pop-up tonight to try to sell off all the Tebasaki they have left over from Sunday's washout. They'll be at Vol De Nuit from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. tonight working their way through all those leftover chicken wings. [EaterWire] EXPANSIONS — Kuma Snow Cream, a shaved ice/ice cream mashup based in Los Angeles is looking to expand to Manhattan soon. The owner, Jet Tila, is already set to open a branch of the restaurant in Las Vegas this week, and says that NYC is high on his list of places to go next. [EaterLA] PARK SLOPE — Fort Reno BBQ will have live bluegrass music and $2 beers this Sunday, May 26. The bluegrass will last from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and the $2 pints will last all day. [EaterWire]

Double-breaking super-hot lobster deal alert: In addition to the cheap-o lobster rolls the truck was selling today, the team at Red Hook Lobster Pound is selling Maine lobster salad at half price, so $25 a pound instead of $50. The deal's available from the truck, the Madison Square Eats stand, and the Red Hook brick-and-mortar. [EaterWire]

• On Saturday, May 25, Hester Street Fair will feature a brand-new vendor, Ducks Eatery. There will also be a ping-pong tournament — with prizes! [Grub Street] • The Windsor is providing another reason to stay in town this Memorial Day. The West Village gastropub will be open on Monday, May 27, serving peach barbecue chicken wings and other specials. [Grub Street] • In honor of the Bluth Family’s triumphant return, Three Letters is serving up an Arrested Development tasting menu, appropriately titled the Final Countdown. On Sunday, May 26, there will be a $45 per person dinner with cornballs, Ika and Tina Tuna, and frozen bananas, of course. [Grub Street] • Brooklyn Label is hosting Bourbon & Belly, an event on May 23 that will showcase sliced pancetta, braised cured belly, and smoked flank bacon. Tickets are $30, and you'll get a flight of cocktails and beer, too. [Grub Street] • Starting May 31, DGBG is celebrating those employees blessed with Summer Fridays. From 1 to 6 p.m., guests can pick from a selection of seafood plateaus that each come with two pints of draft beer on the house. [Grub Street] • Over 50 restaurants are coming out for the eighth annual Taste of LIC. The Chocolate Factory will host food and drink by the likes of Alobar, Brooklyn Grange, and M. Wells Dinette. Grab your tickets here. [Grub Street] • On Thursday, May 23, Elastic City will host a benefit featuring the crowd-sourced creation of signature cocktails, to be mixed by Dave Nurmi (The JakeWalk) and Brad Farran (Death and Company). Tickets are $40 for the open bar. [Grub Street] • The EMM Group is teaming up with Common Ground to raise money for the homeless. A portion of proceeds from the cereal-encrusted doughnuts at the General will go toward the charity. [Grub Street] Filed Under: leftovers, arrested development, brooklyn label, dbgb, elastic city, emm group, hester street fair, taste of lic, the general, the windsor, three letters

Apologize to your crab and praise the universe, then get on with it.

[Krieger] Pete Wells had one good meal and several bad ones at Graydon Carter's The Beatrice Inn. The good dinner was cooked by Brian Nasworthy, who left the restaurant in January. Now the menu is full of clunkers: There was nothing to say about a stack of carrots that came with a braised and roasted veal breast except that it shouldn't be possible for vegetables to be both charred and raw. Apparently it is, though, because a steak turned up in the company of blackened and crunchy hen-of-the-woods mushrooms. The desperately undercooked sunchokes with sautéed trout were something of a relief. They were awful, but they were not even a little bit burned.Wells gives the restaurant a zero star "satisfactory" rating. And in case you're wondering, Brian Nasworthy is now at Picholine. · The View From West 12th [NYT] · All Coverage of The Beatrice Inn [~ENY~]

Apparently, Pete Wells is a master of disguise. From fellow critic Ryan Sutton: "Sat near @nytdining critic @pete_wells recently. Was totally unaware of his presence until he let me know a few days later. Dude blends in." [Twitter]

This week, a parade of treats for summer, outdoor markets, a set of frosty blue glasses and more.