at the sign of The Pink Pig

Look For The Silver Lining: 2008 In Review

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 29, 2008]

As the Year of the Ox approaches, wearing heavy boots and a furious expression, we look forward with considerable trepidation to what the quiet days of January and February might bring, and backward with qualified enthusiasm on what may as well have been the Year of the Pork Belly.

Ten Years Ago: Bumper Holiday Edition

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  December 29, 2008]

A double edition of the diary this week, speeding through the holiday season in New York and London ten years ago.

It hardly seems ten years ago that Douglas Rodriguez was creating a stir with his refined Nuevo Latino cooking at Patria on Park Avenue.

Published every Monday morning: an online magazine of eating, drinking, arts and the city.

Bouley Redux

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 22, 2008]

Like a bird on a tree; like a diner on  a spree; I have tried, in my way...

...to cover all the important, often costly openings of the season:  Corton, The Oak Room, Vermilion, Momofuku Ko (earlier in the year) and Grégory Pugin's Veritas (a very different culinary proposition than Scott Bryan's).   As 2008 draws ominously to a close, we come finally to the latest incarnation of Bouley.

A Love Letter To Gilbert And George (BMA)

[New York Peasant by Wilfrid:  December 22, 2008]

I ran to the Gilbert & George show at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, I think the day after it opened.  I've re-visited since then, but have been struggling to convince myself I could do any justice to their art in a review.  So, consider this a love letter.

The Sombre Humanism Of Marlene Dumas (MOMA)

[New York Peasant by Wilfrid:  December 22, 2008]

One way to re-balance your sensibility if you over-indulge in seasonal cheer, is to devote a quiet hour to Marlene Dumas's sombre two-part show at MOMA.

Around, Near, Or At (The) Vermilion

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 15, 2008]

A restaurant of many propositions, and indeed prepositions. "At Vermilion" appears to be the official name, although the website address mentions "The Vermilion Restaurant". Open Table will pull At Vermilion out of the hat if you search for "Vermilion", but Menupages recognizes "Vermilion" only, and has no truck with any prefixes.

So what?  Well, dining (at) At Vermilion itself is, to be kind, a many-faceted experience.

A Philly Trip: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  December 15, 2008]

In a bid to shake off the winter doldrums, I scheduled a weekend at the Four Seasons in Philadelphia, a city I had yet to visit.  First, though, a work week in New York to get through.

Putting The Buena In Yerba

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  December 8, 2008]

Yerba Buena is the good herb - or at least a kind of mint.  It's also a good New York-based band.  And it's now a good small restaurant in a formerly doomed space near the bottom of Avenue A.

I praised chef Julian Medina's Toloache, last year.  He has not been involved in the Yerba Buena project from day one, but he's now firmly at the helm of this kitchen as well as that of his theater district flagship.

Quick Bites: Allegretti Evolves

[Pigging by Wilfrid: December 8, 2008]

I praised Allegretti warmly when it opened, not least for its courage in bucking some of the more infantile dining trends around town, which now seem to be with us for the long haul.

Call me old-school, but Allegretti strongly resembles a grown-up restaurant, and I am pleased to repeat that the menu has evolved with the seasons and offers some new delights.