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Chef Michael Ayoub, Fornino

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:46:00 +0000

Randy Duchaine We’ve been big fans of the brick oven pizza at Williamsburg’s Fornino for years, having co-hosted a series of wild pizza parties at the establishment. So it was with great enthusiasm that we welcomed chef/owner Michael Ayoub back to Park Slope, where he recently opened another Fornino in the exact same space where operated one of his first restaurants back in the ’90s. But this is not your grandhipster’s Fornino: The menu is expansive , boasting a wide array of antipasti, pasta, and entrées, all under $20. Highlights include the Caramelized Onion Tart with Hudson Valley goat cheese and black olive; the Three Cheese Ravioli; and the Roasted Duck Breast with cherries, white balsamic vinegar and spinach. And then there’s the pizza: Unlike the first Fornino’s brick oven Neapolitan pies, the pizza here is grilled. Yes, grilled. This is a radical departure from what put Fornino on the map when it opened back in 2004, and we got Ayoub on the phone last week to grill him about the changes. I guess the first question is the obvious question, which is why grilled pizza? I started the first Fornino with Neapolitan pizza. You know, been there, done that. As a chef, I try not to continually repeat myself. I like to push the envelope a little. When I did write this menu, it was to create a neighborhood restaurant that would be a place where you could go for dinner frequently. Going out to dinner, to me, is not such a special occasion anymore. I do it fairly often. So I didn’t want this to be such a special occasion type of place. I wanted this place to be a neighborhood restaurant. How does the grilled pizza fit into that? The grilled pizza was simply—I’ve done Neapolitan pizza, you know. I very rarely write the same menu twice for a different restaurant, in fact I’ve never written the same menu for a different restaurant. I always like to push the envelope a little, and in the envelope I like to push myself a little. Grilled pizza isn’t new in New York, but it’s new to a lot of people. How did you decide to start doing grilled pizza? The grilled pizza, they’ve been doing it in Italy and actually in Argentina for centuries, you know. This is something that’s been done for a very long time, and I’ve always loved it. Actually, Vinnie Scotto was the first one to introduce me to it, and I fell in love with it. For the last five years I’ve been teaching a pro-bono course at CTNY on grilled pizza. And what’s their reaction to it? The first question I always get from people doing it on a barbecue is, how come it doesn’t fall through the cracks? They can’t understand how it goes onto a grill. It actually doesn’t go through at all. [Laughs] It’s super thin, and when you put it onto the grill, it cooks and you’d be very surprised how long it stays on the grill. It’s not an excruciating, high-fire, charcoal grill shooting flames from the bottom of it. It’s a medium heat grill, and the dough cooks wonderfully. Randy Duchaine Now there’s a lot of other stuff to choose from on this menu. It’s huge. What do you recommend? It’s like my children, I love them all. But when I write the menu, it’s really like the way how I like to eat. Nothing on the menu is a huge portion, and the menu is not set up like appetizer and entrée. So you can have, there’s quite a large selection of antipasto, a large selection of pizzas, a large selection of pastas, and some odd items. The combinations of the mix and match is successful. One night I would have more serious dinner, maybe I would have antipasto and a steak. Another night I would have antipasto and maybe a salad. Maybe I’ll just have a pizza and a glass of water one night. The idea was that there would be much more availability for a diner to create their own dining experience, as opposed to going into a restaurant where there are eight appetizers and eight entrées. Was it a tough finding a team for the kitchen who could handle that kind of versatility? It’s always a challenge finding people that know how to cook. We put so much into the idea these days that chefs are celebrities now, so a lot of people are under this misconception that they’re going to probably be the next Iron Chef, or Food Network star, or the next Emeril Lagasse. Cooking isn’t something where you just read the words on a page, and study, and know all the recipes. Cooking comes from the heart. You gotta be born with that. I could teach you all the recipes in the world, but just think about it, there’s thousands and thousands of cookbooks out there. How many four-star chefs are there? Cooking has to come from the heart—it’s a passion and you’re either born with it or you don’t have it. So it’s really frustrating looking for people with passion. How did you get into cooking and where are you from originally? There’s pictures of me before even my modern memory when I was two years old, rolling cookies with one of my aunts, always in the kitchen with my grandmother. I started professionally cooking at 13, you know, once you were able to get working papers. I was working in the deli. My next door neighbor was in the business. By the time I was 17, doing summer jobs, I was working out in Sag Harbor, and I was the sous chef at one of these very large places where we probably invented the rubber chicken and seafood combo. But at one point I became the chef there, after a couple of years. Cooking was never really meant to be my profession. I was going to school to be a veterinarian at the time and how I got into the restaurant business is, I was the chef of a very popular restaurant and the owners were fighting. I was 20 years old, and when one of the owners said they wanted this other restaurant, I said I would buy it. I came back with a lawyer and $5,000, and bought half the restaurant and half the building in 1977. And where was this? The restaurant was Skaffles. Randy Duchaine So you’re from Brooklyn originally? Yeah. I was Brooklyn before Brooklyn was cool. So how did you settle on the location of Williamsburg? I went to this place called Planet Thailand about seven years ago, and I remember going there and it was a Monday night at nine o’clock, Monday night being when chefs go to eat. And we got there and at nine o’clock, at a 10,000 square-foot restaurant, I had to wait an hour. I said I can’t believe this. Something’s going on with this neighborhood. It took me about a year to find my space. It took me another four months to build it up, and I opened Fornino in Williamsburg in October of ‘04. And now, Planet Thailand is closed, and you’re still there. I’m still there. [Laughs] Williamsburg is a very distinct interesting area. I often tell people if you have a tattoo or piercing, you probably have to show your passport. When I ride on the L train—I’m over 50 years old—people just look at me and figure I’m lost. [Laughs] So how is it doing in Williamsburg? Williamsburg is fantastic. Every year we do a little better than the year before. We have a very loyal following. Pizza has almost a cult following. If you open a Chicken Parmesan place, I don’t think you’d have such a cult following as pizza does. Pizza’s the great common denominator of people. Everybody is satisfied by pizza. There’s been a huge sort of boom in what you might call upscale pizza restaurants, which started long after you opened. It actually was long after me, and I kind of feel that I helped start it all, with all this new and improved artisanal pizza. Still to this day—I’m not trying to be pompous, but there’s been no chef of my caliber that has gone into the pizza game. Pizza has become a very serious game in New York. Have you checked out the pizzas at any of these new places that have opened up that have gotten so much attention? I’ve eaten at every one of them. What are your favorites? Mine. I say mine because these newer places would be, they always quote it in the Times, about this new “authentic, authentic, authentic.” The only thing they haven’t brought in is polluted Bay of Naples water. I particularly prefer my style, which is a little bit of a combination of that authentic Neapolitan style, but it’s a little more crispy, a little more the American style. The classic form of Neapolitan pizza would enable you to fold it, which is how you would eat it in the street in Naples. You would be able to fold it in four, and it’s not supposed to crack. Currently that is not my favorite pizza. My pizza I like a little crisper, I like the bottom to be thinner, and I don’t like it to be so doughy.

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Chef Michael Ayoub, Fornino

Photos: Ca Va, Todd English’s Flashy New French Brasserie

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:37:22 +0000

Todd English can’t stop, won’t stop. Having just slapped his celebrated name on the new fancy food court in the Plaza Hotel , the chef/restaurateur is opening Ca Va , a shiny new brasserie adjacent to the new Intercontinental Times Square hotel on West 44th Street. It’s also right by the new Shake Shack , so if you tire of the line you can always pop in here for a $21 sirloin burger. (It opens Monday, which IS ALREADY AUGUST, WTF?!) The sleek establishment, designed by Jeffrey Beers , consists of a dining room seating 80, a private dining room with room for 56 swells, and a swish lounge. Starting next week, Ca Va will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, serving signature dishes such as Tuna Nicoise with haricots vert, fingerling potatoes, tomato confit, black olives, cucumbers, chopped egg, avocado dressing ($26). For dinner there are options like the Todd’s Cassoulet: duck confit, pork sausage, braised lamb, spring beans, and frisée salad ($29). Or perhaps you’d prefer the Rabbit Wellington: puff pastry wrapped loin, spinach, mushrooms, braised leg, and carrot purée ($26)? According to Zagat Buzz , “the cocktail list is heavy on the French offerings—numerous drinks feature St. Germain and Mathilde’s fruit liqueurs. Libations like the A’labsinthe—a mix of pear vodka, limoncello, Pernod and housemade sweet-and-sour mix—are available for $14.” 310 West 44th Street, (212) 803-4545

Ferry Crash Victim Gets $500K To Make Up For Dating Life

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:25:10 +0000

Flickr user AllWaysNY A federal judge awarded a victim of the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash $500K yesterday because apparently the ladies don’t love men who can eat only pureed food. Though the judge tossed out all of Michael Grynberg’s other claims—depression, post traumatic stress disorder, brain damage and lost wages—his heartstrings tugged at Grynberg’s claim that his engagement ended because of his injuries, and that he stopped dating two years ago because of all the embarrassments. The judge said , “He would actually order ‘liquid stuff like soup’ to avoid jaw discomfort.” Man who eats soup for dinner? Dealbreaker! The city has already paid over $67 million to settle lawsuits stemming from the 2003 Andrew J. Barberi crash , which killed 11 passengers. The same ship was responsible for a crash in May , but returned to the water in late June . However, Grynberg’s tale seems a bit fishy; he has filed five different lawsuits since 1991 over various accidents and claims of job discrimination. All that’s left for him is to cash in by signing a Jared-esque ad deal with Jamba Juice.

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Ferry Crash Victim Gets $500K To Make Up For Dating Life

Flashback: Swimming In The City

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:10:09 +0000

Last year we looked at some photos of New Yorkers sweating through summers of the past —images which included plenty of open fire hydrants and man shorts. Today we’re taking a look at where locals used to swim in the city: public pools, Coney Island, water fountains in parks, and of course, jumping in to the rivers!

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Flashback: Swimming In The City

Daily News Describes Clinton Wedding as "Practical"

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:55:48 +0000

Rhinebeck, NY (AP Photo/Mike Groll) What does a now-estimated $3 million budget get a bride these days? $15,000 porta-potties , and modesty. That’s what the Daily News attempts to argue by comparing Chelsea Clinton’s upcoming wedding to other outlandish celebrity weddings. Ok so she doesn’t have a “Swarovski-crystal-encrusted tuxedo made for a pet Chihuahua” like Carrie Underwood did, nor will she stuff “magnolia trees with white roses” like Fergie. She’ll just reserve part of the budget for shutting down all the airspace above Rhinebeck, NY. Totally low-key. Speaking of Rhinebeck, those residents not standing to make a fortune off the event are angry that nobody is telling them what’s going on. Nobody has officially said that the Hudson Valley town will be the location of the wedding, though all signs point to Astor Courts . Mayor Jim Reardon complained , “No one has given us a straight answer. The whole town has been kept out of the loop.” Though they have allotted $2,500 for extra police force, local barber Bob Gioffi says it’s ridiculous. “This wedding is so secret that even the people who are supposed to know don’t know. You have a better chance of figuring out who shot JFK.” Watch out, Gioffi. They’re listening. One thing seems certain: Chelsea Clinton will be getting her dress from Vera Wang. The former first daughter was seen entering the designer’s showroom wearing the brilliant disguise of an oversized sun hat . Her refusal to comment to reporters serves as a reminder that, up until this wedding, the younger Clinton has typically stayed out of the spotlight.

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Daily News Describes Clinton Wedding as "Practical"

Midweek Special: NYC Restaurant Reviews

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:20:19 +0000

In his most well-written review to date, Times dining critic Sam Sifton files a nuanced one star review on The Lion , a see-and-be-seen restaurant from chef John DeLucie, formerly of the Waverly Inn. This place is so disgustingly fashionable you might assume the food’s an afterthought, but Sifton says DeLucie’s still got it, and the critic has a fine time despite “a shouty crowd with corkscrew necks looking to see who will be next into the dining room, who next on the stairs… Only a Berkshire pork chop with fermented black garlic and what the menu calls ‘applewood smoke’ really disappoints. It arrives at the table on a wooden cutting board, beneath a glass dome filled with acrid smoke. The flavor it imparts seems to be that which might have been achieved if someone had simply stubbed out a glowing Marlboro on the meat.” New York ’s Adam Platt also reviews The Lion, and he’s not having it. “The service on my visits was generally exemplary,” Platt opines , “But the wait between courses routinely stretched on for too long, during which time the noise bouncing around the little Hobbit Hall dining room grew from a low murmur to a hysterical din. ‘Put it in your article: This is the most obnoxious restaurant in America,’ shouted one of my debonair uptown guests as she took possession of her $25 Amish chicken, which consisted of a single well-prepared breast cut in half to make it look slightly larger than it actually was.” The “most off-the-wall thing” on the menu at Buka, a Nigerian restaurant in Clinton Hill, is isiewu ($14), “a goat-head stew typical of the cooking of the Igbo tribe of eastern Nigeria,” writes Robert Sietsema at the Village Voice. “Strips of face flesh are mired in a thick, brown sauce at once creamy and spicy, flavored with onions, lemon, palm oil, and utazi leaves, which are dark green and bitter; one can buy them dried in most West African groceries here. The dish is unspeakably rich, and you can play a game with the rest of your table trying to identify each individual facial feature. ‘Here’s a piece of lip,’ crowed a dining companion. ‘I think this must be forehead,’ roared another. But I won the prize when I pulled an eyeball out of the sand-colored goo.” Sietsema’s Voice colleague Sarah DiGregorio reviews Korean-esque restaurant Mrs. Kim’s in Greenpoint. “At Mrs. Kim’s, if you want banchan—the array of small dishes that usually come complimentary at Korean restaurants—you must order and pay for them,” reprots DiGregorio. “This momentary annoyance is quickly assuaged by the quantity and quality of its kimchi selection. For $6, you receive a stone slab bearing five different kinds of pickled and cured vegetables that vary day to day, save the always available napa cabbage classic. We particularly admired the sesame leaves softened in an incendiary chile-garlic paste, tasting herbal and faintly of cinnamon.” The Commodore Oliver Strand at the Times likes Williamsburg’s The Commodore , which “feels like the bar next to the bus station, only without the daytime drinkers and sticky floor. Instead, there are skinny young things wedged between the bar stools ordering blender drinks like the Commodore ($9), a piña colada with an Amaretto float. Most important, there’s a kitchen that turns out a vaguely Southern array of crunchy, spicy, greasy, gooey and salty dishes that push all the right buttons when you’re rolling through your third drink of the night.” The New Yorker’s Lila Byock says Torrisi Italian Specialties, the instantly popular little Italian-American restaurant in Little Italy, “offers a convincing diorama of the dwindling neighborhood. Salamis dangle in the window, Coke comes in miniature glass bottles, and men in paper hats slice lunch meat behind a counter… The entrées… displayed excessive force: a skate filet was so drenched in butter as to obviate any other flavor; a pork chop tasted mostly of vinegar from the marinated peppers heaped on top. As for the pastry course, it recalled the ubiquitous parcel of sweets left behind at a wake. You might nibble absently at a rainbow cookie before waddling out to join the other mourners on Mulberry Street. Little Italy is dead. Long live Little Italy.” And Time Out’s Jay Cheshes gives four out of five stars to Bay Ridge’s Tanoreen and its “almost-narcotic” Middle Eastern fare: “Palestinian-born Rawia Bishara, who runs the restaurant with her daughter Jumana, prowls the dining room nightly, a maternal hostess generously handing out hugs, handshakes, and big party platters lavishly garnished in tomatoes, parsley and za’atar dust. Her cooking—Middle Eastern soul food, you might call it—is based on tradition but not enslaved by it. While many dishes are just like what her mother made, plenty of others chart their own course. Attention to detail distinguishes all of them.”

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Midweek Special: NYC Restaurant Reviews

Williamsburg’s Great Diner/Bar Relish Closed?

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:12:33 +0000

Relish exterior courtesy Clementine Gallot ; the yard photo Jen Carlson/Gothamist Relish, a classic chrome railcar-style diner which Forgotten New York says dates back to the early 1950s, has abruptly closed, according to numerous online reports. If true, this is a certified bummer, because everything was really good at Relish, from the food to the cocktails to the spacious side yard—and without any of the attitude you find at Diner, the neighborhood’s other vintage diner. A call to Relish was fielded by an employee who declined to give his name, but who told us, “We’re closed today for a photo shoot.” When asked about rumors that Relish had closed permanently, the employee replied, “Ummmmm…” and declined to say anything more. But according to the Facebook pages of two employees , Relish’s owners have shut it down. The diner’s website is currently down, and a tipster tells us “last night was the last night.” Oh well, we could always use another Duane Reade .

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Williamsburg’s Great Diner/Bar Relish Closed?

Youths Bringing Back Ancient Craft of Moonshine Distilling

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:50:02 +0000

This recession is getting more ridiculous than we thought. Wooed by the trends of financial crises past, the nation’s youths are looking to the 20s and 30s for lifestyle inspiration. And as if the raccoon hats and speakeasies weren’t enough, the latest trend brings speakeasies right into the convenience of your own kitchen. According to BBC News , the kids are making moonshine. Prohibition historian Max Watman says, “The stigma has gone. It’s become cool.” However, it’s just as dangerous as ever. Anyone found guilty of distilling alcohol without a license faces up to a $15,000 fine and up to five years in prison. There’s also that whole risk of your kitchen exploding. But the “hipster kids, foodie enthusiasts and hobbyists on America’s coasts” say it’s worth the risk. One Brooklyn distiller says, “Growing up, me and my brothers watched our dad make moonshine in the bathtub. Now we do it.” Not even the city’s watering holes are immune to the secretive allure. Chef Sam Mason tells Metromix that he sometimes offers the homemade liquor at Lady Jay’s . But he can’t guarantee it every night, saying, “You can’t cross the BQE with that stuff.” The anonymous Brooklyn distiller says she bought her still online for several hundred dollars, though for just $245 you can invest in this one that says making whiskey will be “almost as easy as making coffee.” And if you’re worried about the long arm of the law keeping you from that sweet grain alcohol, Colonel Wilson of Copper Moonshine Stills has a whole web page dedicated to how to “beat the law.” (Hint: drag out the case!) This all seems a bit too complicated for the pleasure of getting a buzz. We can’t wait until going to regular, non-hidden bars becomes retro-chic.

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Youths Bringing Back Ancient Craft of Moonshine Distilling

See Red at Nuela, the New Pan-Latin Restaurant, Ceviche Bar

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:15:34 +0000

After a long two years of preparation and anticipation, Nuela, a giant new South American restaurant and ceviche bar, has finally opened on West 24th Street. And now we know why it took so long; all that red doesn’t just fall from the sky. As you can see, the former Sapa space has been transformed into a cushy, 200-seat eatery by world-renowned designer Angel Sanchez. The centerpiece is the 50-seat cevicheria, which, according to the press release, “showcases the beating heart of Chef Adam Schop’s menu.” The menu’s broken up into empanadas, composed entrées [platos] and large plates to share [para la mesa], and the cuisine culls from the culinary traditions of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. (Schop comes to Manhattan by way of Chicago, where he earned three stars from The Chicago Tribune for his work at De La Costa.) The menu also features smoked brisket arepas with plantains and black beans and pork; rock shrimp empanadas, and more than fifteen types of ceviche. After a visit during Nuela ’s soft opening, William Haseltine, writing for the Atlantic , declared the menu nothing less than “a statement of South American unity and fashion.” Of course, he’s a biotech entrepreneur, not a dining critic, so do with that what you will. Nuela’s open for dinner now, with brunch on the near horizon. And in the future, Schop plans to throw whole-animal feasts, starring such lucky beasts as a guava-covered suckling pig. 43 West 24th Street; (212) 929-1200

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See Red at Nuela, the New Pan-Latin Restaurant, Ceviche Bar

Di Fara Progeny Opening Pizza Chain in Vegas

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:32:52 +0000

Flickr user tud5000 “I miss the way [Di Fara] used to be before all the hype occurred,” said Dominick DeMarco Jr ., son of pizza mecca Di Fara founder Dominick DeMarco. So to get away from all the glitz and glamor of Midwood, DeMarco Jr. has decided to open his own pizza shop in a quiet town called Las Vegas. Dom DeMarco’s Pizzeria & Bar is set to open Vegas by the end of the year, and if it’s successful he’ll expand to Arizona, Texas and California. But could the pizza ever taste as good? Though he’ll be using a gas-fired Wood Stone pizza oven instead of the Baker’s Pride oven, he insists on using all the same ingredients. Even the water. DeMarco Jr. has sent New York tap water samples to a lab for “analysis,” though we’re not sure how he’ll use the data to make Nevada tap taste more like New York’s. But will the move be enough to keep away the fanatical New York pizza hunters? Whatever the outcome, DeMarco Jr. seems to be done with Brooklyn, and intends to bring back old Di Fara dishes like fresh pasta and salads, which were favorites before the pizza became famous. He said, “Now everyone wants to take photos. I remember when it was about the food.” Vegas: You’ll come for the weather, and stay for the authenticity.

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Di Fara Progeny Opening Pizza Chain in Vegas