Spam wontons, poutine cupcakes, butter beer, and deep-fried everything. This is what we ate in 2009, and this is what you voted Eater of the Year, beating out such culinary luminaries as Michelle Obama, Jose Garces and Meryl Streep. Congrats to TIWYF and better luck next year, Flexitarians.
The Smörg has been bringing you the latest celebrity food news since this past April, so this week we take a look at the best and most interesting stories from each month.
– April: You have to wonder how much pride-swallowing was involved in Anthony Bourdain giving some props to Rachael Ray.
– May: I guess that being President means you get some slack, but ordering a burger well-done is darn near inexcusable.
– June: We found out that it’s actually possible to bet on The Next Food Network Star and that you could have picked up a little bit of walking-around money had you laid a bet down on Melissa.
– July: TVFF engaged in a little idle speculation about hometown chef Jose Garces and came up looking like a foodie Nostradamus.
After the jump…check out the rest of the run-down.
Read More›
Yay! It’s lazy editors week on ES! Which is a perfect time for you to catch up on any simmer you might have missed this year. Our Top 10 most-read posts of 2009:
Cute kids and dessert. Two things that never get old.
Brooklyn’s chocolate god shows us how it’s done.
A strong showing from Primanti Brothers leads Iron City into the Endless Eaters Hall of Fame.
Keep frying, America. Keep frying.
Read More›
I really hate when things are such cliches, but also so, so true. I’m not sure of one event that is as joked about, but yet is so strikingly correct as a Jewish person’s day on Christmas. There’s two ultimate truths: going to the movies and eating Chinese food. I don’t know how this happened. But these are the only two options for out-of-the-house entertainment in the Northeast (I’m sure Jews in warmer climates are sunning themselves or golfing.)
My family has been going to the movies for 20 years on Christmas. A number we recently calculated by remembering our first film together on Jesus’ birthday: The Little Mermaid.
This year we saw The Blind Side and I wanted to dismiss it as a cheesy, feel good, predicable sports movie. And in many ways it was that, but it was also really fulfilling and fun and sad to watch. And I cried. And I loved it.
But in unpredictability, the Family Gansie did not chow down on lo mein. We ventured to another continent.
Read More›
Ah, New Year’s Eve dinner at a fancy Manhattan restaurant. Always sounds like such a perfect, romantic idea. That is, until you start calling around and discover that every eatery this side of Applebee’s is offering a “special” NYE menu at a not-so-special price of something like $250 a plate. WTF! Why is it considered OK for New Year’s dinners to cost five times as much as what they cost every other night of the year? Fine, add a special item to the menu or jack up the prices a little, but eating out on New Year’s shouldn’t be more expensive than, say, getting on a plane and flying to another city.
So we scoured the city to find four classy restaurants that that are offering tempting, high-end New Year’s Eve dinners at (relatively) reasonable prices. Here are our recommendations:
Brasserie 8 1/2: At $59 a head, the three-course prix fixe at this Midtown hotspot isn’t exactly bottom-of-the-barrel pricing, but if you simply must eat at a trendy NYC dining palace, this is about as cheap as you’re gonna get on the big night. And for fluke tartare, rack of lamb, and chocolate-chesnut profiteroles, the deal is actually pretty reasonable. Plus you can saunter down 57th Street afterward and get a (somewhat-distant) view of the Times Square ball drop. 9 West 57th St.
Telepan: This high-end Upper West Side eatery has the standard overpriced NYE prix fixe ($165), but they also make a nod to the cheapskates. The catch is that you have to be willing to eat a la grandma — the regular menu is on offer from 5:00 to 6:30 only. This includes a four-course prix fixe, which costs $55 and includes items like foie gras torchon and braised grass-fed beef brisket, or you can order a la carte. Either option leaves plenty of night left for drinking. 72 West 69th St.
Read More› |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The 2009 Eater of the Year contest is shaping up to be the closest race yet, with This is Why You’re Fat clinging to a narrow 2-percent lead over Michelle Obama. Can Meryl Streep, Jose Garces, or someone from the back of the pack make a last-minute move?
It’s up to you! Cast your vote now!
