News Bites: Top Chef the Cruise Ship, Too Many Wolfgangs, Robin Uncorked

Pack Your Knives and … Enter. Broadcasting & Cable has the scoop on the mega-blitz Bravo is launching to capitalize on all things Top Chef:

Bravo Media is striking new partnerships to sell everything from cruises to cookbooks tied to its shows, in an effort to take its brand name beyond television. The deals, which include a Top Chef cruise, calendar and cooking class. For “Chef”, the network will launch a 20-city mobile tour with an 18-wheel semi-truck branded with show graphics and staffed with former contestants. The truck makes its first appearance at the upcoming NCTA cable show in New Orleans. Separately, Bravo has paired with Jazz Cruises for a Top Chef cruise in May 2009. The boat will hit Mediterranean cities, with former contestants presenting how food is made in each one.

Bravo has also paired with the Culinary Institute of America on Top Chef-branded classes, and with Rizzoli to create “Top Chef: The 2009 Calendar” with fan-favorite chefs and a monthly cooking challenge. A Top Chef cookbook published by Chronicle Books has sold more than 65,000 copies since launching this spring and has been in the top 10 cookbooks on Amazon.com. It is also selling well at Costco, Target and other retailers, and has been ordered for a reprint. Separately, the network has paired with Calphalon to package the book with cookware at retail outlets.

Amadeus, Amadeus. That’s right TMZ broke this one. And man someone is going to get pucked up big time. Seems that down the street for Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, someone has opened up a restaurant called Wolfgan’s Steakhouse. Thing is, yes, Wolfgang does have a chain of steakhouses and they are called Cut, but folks certainly do (search Google if you don’t believe me) often call them Wolfgang’s Steakhouse. According to TMZ: “The most common reaction is, ‘It says Wolfgang’s Steakhouse and you are Wolfgang.’ […] The lawsuit claims trademark infringement and unfair competition. Wolfie wants an injunction.

Robin Uncorks Vegas. I’ve commented before how Robin Leach’s Luxe Life blog is the most amazing chronicle of everything-Vegas any where. Check out today’s for a textural and photographic wrap-up of last week’s Vegas Uncorked F&WF. Yeah we did a good job telling you what to expect, now go to Robin’s and find out how it actually went off.

Vegas Uncorked Bon Appétit Food and Wine Festival Begins Thursday

We haven’t mentioned the Vegas Uncorked F&WF in a while and, well, seems like a blink of the eye and it’s here already! Well, two days away: running May 8 thru 11, and featuring tons of chefs and myriad food tastings and competitions The event, officially the Second Annual Vegas Uncork’d: A Bon Appétit Epicurean Experience is billed as “a delicious and inspiring star-studded weekend is guaranteed to satisfy every craving when it comes to providing access to world-class chefs, sommeliers, great restaurant design, and Bon Appétit editors and contributors” and looking over the attendees and events it’s hard to disagree with that.

Among the celebrity chefs and foodies are event co-chair Wolfgang Puck who has six restaurants in Vegas, Bon Appétit Executive Chef and Iron Chef Cat Cora, Daniel Boulud, actress and vineyard owner Lorraine Bracco, Daniel Burke, Todd English, Hubert Keller, Michael Mina, Joel Robuchon, Guy Savoy, Kerry Simon, Susan Spicer, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and many others.

Among the many event highlights are: Shop Like a Chef workshop in which Wolfgang von Wieser and “Cat Cora share their expertise on how to get the most out of your organic markets.” Editor Lunch Series, one of which is “an intimate lunch with Barbara Fairchild and Sirio Maccioni, the famed restaurateur behind Osterio del Circo and the legendary Le Cirque in New York City, one of the world’s most celebrated destinations for luxurious dining. Meet the man behind the legend.”

One of the four Masters vs Rookies, Pro-Ams features Cat Cora emceeing, Barbara Fairchild, Alan Richman, Andrew Knowlton, and Bruce Seidel judging. Lorraine Bracco as honary sous chef and competing chefs Todd English and John Church. Or how about the Five Chef gala at the Bellagio where in five master chefs will be in one kitchen serving up the evening’s five-course banquet: Julian Serrano from Picasso, Todd English of Olives, Jean-Georges Vongerichten of Prime, star chef Michael Mina, and desserts by Jean-Philippe Maury.

And those are just three of dozens of inventive events during the four days here. Among others which we can’t even go into detail it would take up too much room here: the intimate Bellagio Editors-at-Lunch Series at Picasso, Le Cirque and Sensi, Cocktail Smackdowns, a decadent Grand Tasting at Caesars Palace, editor-hosted Star Chef Luncheon series at Wynn Las Vegas, A Tale of Five Chefs Gala at Bellagio, Midnight Blackjack and Midnight Poker at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Mother’s Day Brunch at Wynn.

Competition: Four Master Chefs Pair Food with Both Red and White Wines

Four top chefs — Charlie Trotter, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck and Mario Batali — cooked up a treat at the New York Wine Experience in 2007. Each created a unique dish and paired it with two wines, one white and one red. From the Wine Spectator.

Vegas Restaurants: Celeb Chef Mecca Raking in the Bucks (But Not Beards)

S. Irene Virbila, Restaurant Critic for the LA Times, just did a really nice piece where she reviewed the state of restaurants in Vegas (patrons paying lots of money everywhere) and reviews the new star restaurants, particularly those at “thee” new casino in town, that are causing a lot of fuss.

Beginning with “At $160 for two, it’s easily the most expensive steak I’ve ever eaten, if not the most expensive piece of aged meat in the country.” to how “in a private dining room floating above a state-of-the-art kitchen, six businessmen spend a minimum of $350 each to work their way through the tasting menu at Restaurant Charlie” the article goes on to say:

Though everybody may be pinching pennies at home, Las Vegas seems untouched by the prevailing winds of economic downturn, operating by its own rules and logic. The economy may be contracting elsewhere, but here the casinos are still building. And building [….]

[Where people can] indulge in an opulent multi-course meal from a French chef with three Michelin stars — actually, there are three three-star chefs here — what could possibly be next? Less flash, less gimmickry — and less invention. This time around, menus are more traditional, the design sometimes so conservative you can’t believe you’re in Vegas. They’re luring in crowds with no more than good food, high comfort and great service. And for that, they’re charging enough to give even high rollers indigestion.

The review goes on to highlight the new restaurants at the Palazzo: Mario Batali’s and Joe Bastianich’s Carnevino, Wolfgang Puck’s Cut — whose opening night grabbed even our attention — Charlie Trotter’s Restaurant Charlie, Emeril Lagasse’s Table 10 and — not in a casino and so far off the beaten path as to be difficult to find — maverick chef Louis Osteen’s eaterie called Louis’s Las Vegas.

While they’re having busy restaurants full of foodies tossing the money their way, they’re not — Robin Leach chastises — getting the respect they deserve from this year’s James Beard Awards. Or at least not as much as Leach thinks they should be getting specifically for their Vegas-centered restaurants:

It’s hard to believe but totally true that in the newest list of nominees in 52 different categories for the James Beard Foundation Awards not one Vegas celebrity chef or resort restaurant gets a tip of the toque for food!

Cooling down briefly he says: “In interests of fairness I will point out that some East Coast and West Coast ‘name’ chefs who have restaurants here were recognized for their ‘outstanding talents’ ranging from best cookbook, to best TV show to best new restaurant—but none of their Vegas based operations won any praise whatsoever.”

But then, making some good points, he says back:

So where were our superstars: Michael Mina, Paul Bartolotta, Bradley Ogden, Martin Heirling, David Robins, Julian Serrano, Barry Dakake, Andre Rochat, Alex Stratta, Michael Jordan, Kerry Simon, Steve Martorano — let alone the big VIP names of Joel Robuchon, Guy Savoy, Daniel Boulud, Charlie Palmer, Charlie Trotter, Emeril Lagasse, Thomas Keller, Nobu Matsuhisa, David Burke? I apologize if I’ve omitted any of my chef friends but the smoke is steaming out of my ears and I’m thumping my keyboard way too hard!

Robin’s heated tirade ends with “We are ahead in every respect of so many eateries in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. It’s totally unfair and a case purely of effete New York City foodie snobbism” — and a call for a boycott of the Beards ceremony.

Remind me never to get Mr. Leach annoyed. And I mean that!

Philadelphia’s Chefs, Food, Finally Getting the Attention They Merit

I’ve been working on this article for a week or so now. Funny thing, it started out as talking about two cities, Philadelphia in the US and Vancouver in Canada. Why? Because to me both are excellent food cities and yet both have not gotten the respect they deserve from the culinary world. So while different, they have much in common; additionally, I didn’t think I’d have enough to write on each city by themselves (again, why is that? From being ignored or underplayed in the food press.)

I’m a Philadelphian myself and it’s odd how, writing about this chef, that chef, this city, that city — heck I even did something on Beijing last month — yet I don’t get to write anything about Philly as it gets a bum wrap. So it has been very odd and thrilling to in the last week suddenly see Philly pop up in the press, multiple times and in outstanding ways. There’s Burke being named as one of the Best New Chefs of 2008 last week; and then chef Garces is up for a Beard award. Plus two Vetri eateries are up for Beard’s and then the dramatic development with Philly’s cooking patriarch, Perrier, just yesterday, I’m aflood (is that a word?) with things to write about all of a sudden! Ok, so, Vancouver, you get your own article later this week, for now, it’s Philadelphia’s time to shine.

Old Time meets the New Chefs

Go back just 10 years ago and a list of the top 10 restaurants in the U.S. would often have five in NYC, three in LA and one in Chicago and one in Philly (ususaly it was Georges Perrier’s Le Bec-Fin and probably also Le Circe). If it were a top 20, Philadelphia always had a mininum of three, and in some years 5 restaurants in the list. Now, people dismiss it. It’s like Baltimore’s problem being so close to D.C., except again, New York’s shadow falls deeper upon Philadelphia. And yet, look at the James Beard Awards Semi-Finalists and you’ll see six chefs and several restaurants. Look at the finalists and you see two restaurants and a chef.

What makes things even odder for Philadelphia is that is a big city (the fourth largest in the country) and casts it’s shadown over Atlantic City just sixty-some-odd miles southwest, and so when you put the combination of Philly and AC together, that should make for some mighty haute-cuisine power. Whethere Zagat or the snooty NY Times or whomever looks or overlooks it, the fact is, Philly’s reputation as a fine dining area is as good as ever and getting better.

Ripert’s Restaurant Opens in May

The biggest news is the arrival of superstar French chef Eric Ripert whose 10 Arts will be opening in May (May 10th to be exact) as part of the The Ritz-Carlton Hotel , just footsteps away from both City Hall and the Kimmel Arts Center. Ripert was named Best Chef by the James Beard Foundation and his New York City restaurant, Le Bernardin, has been recognized by the Zagat Guide as Best Food in the U.S. the past four years.

This year Philadelphia’s Osteria (Marc Vetri’s place) is up for Best New Restaurant in the country and another famous venue by the same owners, Vetri, is up for Outstanding Service Award. Jose Garces at Amada is considered one of the best rising-star chefs in the country — and in the running for a Beard Award — and he also has a Basque wine bar: Tinto. There are “destination restaurants” such as Fountain at the Four Seasons Hotel (a perennial Zagat’s number one favorite), Lacroix, Morimoto (opened by the Iron Chef who left it and went to NY and his protege is getting as high or higher marks without him), along with long-time staples as Stephen Starr’s Buddakan and the venerable Striped Bass. Smaller restaurants with up-and-coming chefs include James with chef James Burke — just named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs 2008 — and Xochitl by Dionicio Jimenez reflect only the tip of the fine-dining ‘berg.

And There’s Nearby Atlantic City

Toss in the star restaurants that have been added to Atlantic City’s Borgota Hotel, Casino and Spa between the last eight months and those coming in the next four and you have Bobby Flay’s Flay Steak, Wolfgang Puck’s American Grille, Michael Mina’s SeaBlue and Michael Schulson’s Japanese-pub reimagined, Izakaya, and there’s plenty of four- and five-star eating in and around the City of Brotherly Love.

One last word about Philly and it comes from no other than Food & Wine Editor in Chief, Dana Cowin who once slighted Philadelphia as not being a great food city. When she both re-examined her criteria and actually visited the city, she changed her mind — talking total 180! Two quotes worth noting from that article: “a series of scouting trips to Philadelphia showed her the true meaning of [food] greatness” and

I went to a BYOB called Marigold Kitchen and was amazed at the connection between chef Michael Solomonov (also ex-Vetri) and his customers. He got kisses of gratitude from old women, old men, young men…everyone, in fact. And then it dawned on me: The fantastic restaurants I’d visited had the pizzazz of a Starr production and the intimacy of a BYOB, with significantly more attention to the sophistication of the food and the professionalism of the staff.

These enormously satisfying, small new restaurants made me reconsider everything I’d thought about what makes a great food city. When I looked back at my seven criteria, I realized that Philly performed poorly in many categories, but it’s still an outstanding place to eat. The neighborhood restaurants, better than many of the top restaurants in smaller cities, allow you to have a good meal any day of the week—and to befriend the chef. Would the food scene be better if there were more fabulous destination restaurants? Perhaps. But birthdays and anniversaries come around only a few times a year. I love a city that inspires palates every day and brings a sense of fun to the adventure of eating out. Now, I’m planning to go back to Philadelphia for ravioli stuffed with mashed potatoes, pecorino and leeks at Melograno and a wood-fired pizza at Osteria. And it occurred to me: There are now more places I want to try in Philadelphia than in New York.