Music: PFFR Night: Members of PFFR, creators of Wonder Showzen and Xavier: Renegade Angel, will present a selection of their video work, from music videos to clips from shows.
In 1815, Paris had 3,000 restaurants; New York had none. (In fact, the word itself wouldn’t enter the American lexicon until the middle of the 19th century.) Those forced to eat out could choose between “a slab of beef or mutton with potatoes and gravy” at a boardinghouse or chophouse, reports William Grimes, a New York Times domestic correspondent and formerly the newspaper’s restaurant critic, whose latest book is a chronicle of New York’s transformation from a Dutch village at the edge of the wilderness to what he sees as the most diverse restaurant city in the world.
In the 1820s, Grimes reminds us, time spent eating was time taken away “from the serious business of making money,” and Manhattanites were distinctly lacking in culinary sophistication. Even at the best hotels, the notion of courses didn’t exist: everything was set out at once, squab compote jostling with cream puffs. At the sound of a gong, the American guests stampeded the dining room where, to the surprise of their European counterparts, they set about “gobbling down” their meals “in silence.” So it was quietly revolutionary when, in 1827, two Swiss brothers named Delmonico brought “a whiff of Paris” onto William Street with their “little French confectionery and café.” Delmonico’s, Grimes writes, “established the tone for fine dining in New York almost overnight, and it would remain pre-eminent until the 1890s.”
This has been quite a week for former New York Times restaurant critics. Frank Bruni, their most recent critic, was here earlier in the week to talk about his career at the Times, as well as his own book, Born Round. Only days later, we learned yesterday from New York‘s Grub Street that he recently signed a deal to turn the book into a movie.
This is causing us to have a future case of Déjà vu, as William Grimes is coming to 92YTribeca on Dec 8 for a discussion on his book, “an extended historical tour of the city’s hash houses, oyster cellars and four-star restaurants, from the days of the Delmonico’s to the era of Per Se and the superstar TV chef.” And if you find yourself hungry, our Cafe makes wonderful foods!
So now the question is, who will be the first to report on his book to movie deal, should it materialize?
Upcoming talks at 92YTribeca:
How to Break In: Culinary Careers with Dorothy Hamilton and David Bouley Nov 11
Feasting with Edith Wharton: Foods of the Gilded Age: Nov 12
We’ve done an extensive numbers crunch for you. Counting number of shows, most frequents guests, and more—including esoteric stats, such as the number of Foursquare Check-ins (203 as of 11/3/09) most requested beer (PBR) and the number of hits on our New York Timesparody video on YouTube (110,337 as of 11/3/09).
Talks: On Stage with Next to Normal: Join us for an evening of music from the Tony-winning Broadway musical Next to Normal, featuring members of the cast and creative team in this one-night only event.
New York City Opera‘s new General Manager and Artistic Director George Steel is opening his first season there with Hugo Weisgall’s final opera, Esther. Esther was a Jewish prophet and queen of the Persian Empire in the Hebrew Bible, and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her. In a podcast here, Charles Kondek, librettist of Esther, talks with New York City Opera about the origins and roots of the operatic piece.
For further deconstruction, on Sunday, Oct 25, New York City Opera and 92YTribeca will join together for an afternoon with spiritual leaders, scholars and creative and performing artists for an afternoon discussion, multimedia, and exploration of Hugo Weisgall’s Esther. Tickets can be purchased online here.
On Oct 22 at 92YTribeca, Kritzler will be on hand to reveal the Jewish pirates, conquistadors and merchant adventurers who battled the Inquisition and initiated international trade.
Talk: Toxic Friends: Gender expert Susan Shapiro Barash explores the intricacies of women’s friendships and shares insights on how women can extricate themselves from damaging friendships to create more fulfilling ones.
Film: Streetwise FREE. with a 16mm film print from the archive of the New York Public Library, and director Martin Bell and photographer Mary Ellen Mark in person for Q&A. Read more on the 92Y Blog.
Moon Saloon: An open-mic session led by luminaries of the NYC poetry and music circles. FREE. Part of the Live at 92YTribeca Cafe series.
Film: Short Slam #1: Bring your under-twelve-minute film (on DVD only), get it shown and pad the house with your friends–audience vote determines the winner.
Film: Freeheld: New Jersey police Lieutenant Laurel Hester’s battle to leave her pension to her life partner. Co-presented by Chicken & Egg Pictures and Working Films with Judith Helfand in person along with other guest speakers.
Comedy Below Canal™: Some Folks Hosted by Wyatt Cenac with John Oliver, Hannibal Buress, Music from Che Grand and DJ Car Stereo (Wars)
Talks: Boulevard of Dreams: The Bronx’s Grand Concourse: Constance Rosenblum unearths the colorful history of the grand street, its interlinked neighborhoods and landmarks.
Walking Tours: Tribeca: New Diversity from an Industrial Past: Illuminating the vast changes that have defined this historic neighborhood, joyce Gold explores the history of the streets around 92YTribeca.
Talks: Honeybee: Talk and Tasting : Find out everything you need to know about bees—arguably nature’s most perfect creatures—and taste the variety in the fruits of their labor.
Film: All the Way from Michigan Not Mars: Often raising more questions than answers, the film is a lyrical examination of Rosie Thomas’ quest for an expression of truth and her unique brand of performance. Thomas will appear in person for post-screening Q&A and to perform some songs.
Walking Tours: Market Strategy: A Chef’s Guide to the Farmer’s Market: Join Ken Goodman at the Union Square Farmer’s Market for an insider’s guide to filling your basket.
Food: SoHo Chocolate Tour with Francine Segan. Visit SoHo’s most innovative chocolate shops, taste samples and learn about the fascinating world of chocolate.
BabyCakes: Vegan Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery
Chef Erin McKenna and her beloved shop Babycakes NYC was featured on Tasting Table last week. More specifically, a new line of donuts she has added to her shop were featured. What’s so special about a donut you ask? Well, McKenna was diagnosed with wheat and dairy allergies in 2004. Not willing to forgo cupcakes and cookies in her life, she opened BabyCakes NYC, a vegan, gluten-free bakery. Tasting Table was respectfully suspect about just how good these donuts could be. But with the Lower East Side’s Donut Plant closed for vacation, maybe they decided to go give Babycakes NYC a try. They write:
Who said it’s impossible to make a healthy doughnut that tastes as good as the real (fried) thing? We did--and were then proven wrong.
[...]
Using texture as her guide, she created a base recipe that can be adapted to all manner of flavors. She was so pleased with the results that she’s permanently adding a rotating array of doughnuts ($3 to $3.50) to the bakery’s menu, including maple-glazed, raspberry-glazed, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar and lemon-coconut, as well as a chocolate-dipped variety that is so dead-on in its sinfully rich texture that BabyCakes’s daily stock often disappears before noon.
With the internetbuzzing today about the latest hidden camera video (warning! not a fun video to watch!) to be produced inside of an industrial poultry processing plant, we imagine a number of people might be making the switch to an vegan diet.
On Dec 7, McKenna will be visiting 92YTribeca to talk about how she creates vegan and gluten-free apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, gingerbread and those award-winning cupcakes. And now donuts!
UPDATE: An enthused reader from Ottawa, Canada wrote in via the comments, exclaiming, “What a GRRRRREAT!!!!! idea.” Gluten-free deserts, it seems, brings out Tony the Tiger in some. But the commenter also wondered if the bakery ships to Canada. We just called BabyCakes to find out, and unfortunately they do not ship to Canada at this time, but do ship in the United States.
Sheila Lukins, author of The Silver Palate, a series of four food guides on French, Southern and Eastern European cooking techniques and ingredients, passed away on Sunday. Sheila was also co-founder of New York City’s Silver Palate gourmet shop, “one of the best-known purveyors of packaged specialty foods in the United States,” according to the New York Times.
From the obituary in the New York Times today, regarding the catering company she and friend Julee Rosso ran:
From a 156-square-foot shop and kitchen at Columbus Avenue and 73rd Street, the women and their recipes — Mediterranean chicken salad, curried butternut squash soup, spicy carrot cake — intrigued, and then guided, the increasingly adventurous palates of New Yorkers.
Sheila came to 92YTribeca late last year for a presentation and talk, and Downtown Express recounted the evening at the time:
The bubbly author rattled the recipes—and quick variations of them—off the top of her head effortlessly, spontaneously, and on demand, as required by the audience in the intimate and friendly Q&A session. As the listeners sampled a refreshingly savory cup of roasted golden beet salad with tangerine vinaigrette, Lukins gave away the simple recipe, which requires roasting beets in aluminum foil, in addition to some useful trade secrets. Glazing chicken with orange marmalade is a crucial step to making the spin-off to her “Chicken Marabella,” the Orange-Ginger-Tomato Glazed Chicken. She shared that it is not necessary to purchase very expensive olive oils for most dishes; she typically cooks with pure Berio olive oil, uses Colavita extra-virgin olive oil for salads and for special dishes, Lerida, a Spanish extra virgin olive oil, for which the author was a Spanish government spokesperson during a two-year-stay in Spain.
As the audience polished off toasted French bread topped with artisinal ricotta from Di Palo’s in Little Italy, Lukins spoke of how her career has evolved. The trend of health-consciousness has caused her to include very few recipes with butter and creams in her recent work. This was not the case in the 80s, Lukins explained. She snickered at the editorial demands that have surfaced because of the current economic downturn. Coming up with 10-minute recipes that can be made with 10 dollars or less are among the types of requests that Lukins receives. The Philadelphia native and Upper-West side denizen enjoys simple tight budget solutions that include a glass of wine and a small plate of pâté or a frisée salad.
UPDATE: Civil Eats, an online publication that “promotes critical thought about sustainable agriculture...” attended the panel, and contributed this thoughtful piece.
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In 1815, Paris had 3,000 restaurants; New York had none. (In fact, the word itself wouldn’t enter the American lexicon until the middle of the 19th century.) Those forced to eat out could choose between “a slab of beef or mutton with potatoes and gravy” at a boardinghouse or chophouse, reports William Grimes, a New York Times domestic correspondent and formerly the newspaper’s restaurant critic, whose latest book is a chronicle of New York’s transformation from a Dutch village at the edge of the wilderness to what he sees as the most diverse restaurant city in the world.
Sheila Lukins, author of The Silver Palate, a series of four food guides on French, Southern and Eastern European cooking techniques and ingredients, passed away on Sunday. Sheila was also co-founder of New York City’s 
