Showing posts with label Pravda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pravda. Show all posts

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Keith McNally Closing Pulino




Keith McNally To Close Pulino's
A New Restuarant "Cherche Midi"
Will Be Opened in Its Place By McNally





Mr. McNally Will Be Doing What He Does Best
"FRENCH BISTROS"
Great Idea Keith



The Master of New York Restaurants "Keith McNally," forget it Drew "You Are Way Behind Keith," (Drew Nierporent), Mr. McNally will for the first time be shuttering a restaurant. Word has it that Keith McNally will be closing his Pizza Inspire Restaurant on the corner of Bowery and Houston "Pulino's" this January. McNally who has been a hugely sucessful restuarantuer since his opening of The ODEON in 1981, along with Cafe Luxenbourg, Nell's, Lucky Strike, Pravda, Balthazar, Schiller's, Pastis, Morandi, Minetta Tavern (my favorite for the past 3 years), and now we guess the unsucessful Pulino. Hey Keith, we love you, and I have been one of your biggest advocates, "Your a Genius" of the business, but lets face it, despite Morandi (which I never go to unless dragged there), "Italian Is Not Your Bag." Yes, Morandi is highly sucessful, but for me, a Italian-AMerican and someone who has been to Italy some 14 times, Morandi reminds me of a Italian Restaurant that would be in Disneyland, in-other-words, "Fake Faux Italian," and for me or anyone to say that about a Kieth McNally Restaurant, is not good. Morandi is for "non-Italian" Folllowers, and so too was and is "Pulino's." Lets get back to what mr. McNally is "Great" at, and that is French Bistros, which he does so well, brillantly in fact. From the Grand Bistro Brasserie Balthazar, to Pastis, and Luck Strike and soon to be Cherche Midi which we are sure will be wonderfu. "We're hoping anyway."
I's like to just mention someone who helped Keith McNally become the famed restaurantuer he is today. Let's remeber the Great Patrick Clarke who in my opinion was one of the Greates Chefs to ever don a Toque (Chefs Hat) in the great city of New York. Patrick Clarke was Keith McNally's first chef at his first restaurant The Odeon down on West Broadway in Tribeca. His food was marvelous, I know, I worked at Odeon and Luxenbourg for the man when I was a cook just starting out, a few years before I became a chef myself. Patrick was a black kid from Brooklyn who followed in hsi fathers and uncles footsteps as a chef. He attended New york Technical College Food & Restaurant program (as did I .. His uncle was 1 of my professors and cosuin one of my classmates). Patrick went on to study and work with Michel Guerard. Patrick came back to New York and was the Chef at the famed nightclub Regine's before being scoffed-up by McNally to head the kitchen at Odeon.  He was one of the Greatest Chefs in the history of New York, noone ever talks about him, so just wanted to give one of my idols a nod that he way more than deserves. Patrick Clarke passed away a few years ago at the age of 42 .. R.I.P. For those who really know about food and aren't one of the followers who go to places like Morandi, or watch thos "Horrible Food Host on The Aweful Food Network," they know of the Great Patrick Clarke, a "Real Chef" in every sense of the word.
So, yes Keith McNally is a master of the restaurant business and especially at creating wonderful French Bistros in New York. H e has great concepts, picks great locations, he actually creates neighborhoods like Tribeca and The Meatpacking District which were both dessolate and not very cool neighborhoods until McNally opened restaurants in Tribecca and the Meatpacking District. We look foward to Mr. McNally's Cherche Midi and wish him well. Bravo Keith!





Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

HOW KEITH McNALLY CREATED THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT







Keith McNally created the Meatpacking District? Yes Boys and Girls, I've been saying this for years. Never heard anyone else make this statement that I've been saying for the past 10, 11 years or so (remember where you hear this FIRST, Me! Daniel B Z), Keith McNally created the Meatpacking District! Well pretty much to what it is today, the booming, hip neighborhood of Trendy Restaurants, Trendy Designer Boutiques, Clubs, Hip and Cool Boutique Hotels, an Apple Store, The Chelsea Market, this that and every other thing, Keith did it. Well with a little help from Eric Goode and the Maritime Hotel which sprung up around the same time. The Maritme Hotel a Hip and Cool Boutique Hotel created by nightclub empressario Eric Goode of Area, on of New York's coolest and longest lived Night Clubs (I had many a great time there), MK, and The Bowery Bar, Eric is now partner in The Bowery Hotel, The Maritime, and other projects. Yes Eric helped create "The Meatpacking" but it was mostly Keith McNally once he opened the doors of the venerable restaurant Brasserie/ Bistro "Pastis" Even before, as Keith always gets 12 to 18 months advance publicity, once he obtains a space, has a concept and before "Bolt # 1" goes into the place, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Daily News, the Post, Time Out, and the entire restaurant, food, and social press are all over the story, "Keith McNally's Latest Restaurant" (place). 
    I've said it befor, and I'll say it again, "Keith McNally makes neighborhoods. He made two neighborhoods that were previously nondescript, boom, spring trendy restaurants and shops, increase real estate values, and spark "The Cool Set" to move in. Yes he has, first with Tribeca and his opening and huge success of the Odeon way make in the early 80's, and now in the 21st Century, Mr. McNally Created and Made The Meatpacking District of New York Hot, Cool, trendy, the "Place to Be and Be Seen In." The neighborhood is booming. Since McNally opened Pastis way back in 1999, the neighborhood has seen tremendous growth, spawning the Hugely Sucessful "Hignline," The Ganesvoort Hotel, Soho House, The Standard Hotel, an Apple Store, other hot and hip restaurants, Nightclubs, and a slew of expensive designer boutiques like; Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and others, "Everyone wants to be in the Meatpacking District and it's largely due to Keith McNally and his fine French Bistro/Brasserie "Pastis."
    Yes, there were others before Keith, but the neighborhood did not explode until McNally's arrival. Florent was the first great pioneer, way back in 1985, a good 13 years or so before McNally opened Pastis. Florent  Morellet was a wonderful 24 Hour Bistro (Diner)  "Florent" on Ganesvoort. Yes Florent was way ahead of Keith in terms of when they opened their respective restaurants in the Meatpacking District of New York which was just that, New York's Meatpacking District filled with a hundred or so commercial Meat Purveyors. Floent operated for a dozen years or so before any restaurant of great substance moved into the area. Florent was the King of The Meatpacking District and had no competition in terms of any other hip restaurants in the area. Relatively anyway. But the district never boomed under Florent's rule of the district, that happened after Keith Mcnally moved in with the opening of Pastis in 1999. Eventually, after more than 20 wonderful years in operation of "Florent" Florent Morelett lost his lease to another "Greedy Landlord" wanting insanely high over-inflated rates for their properties. The Original King of The Meatpacking District Florent Morelett was booted out. And now Keith. What? Yes, Keith Mcnally and his Bistro Pastis that created the boom of the Meatpacking Distric, The Highline, The Standard and Soho House Hotels, an Apple Store, Alexander McQueen, and Stella McCartney, this man may lose his lease, and New York and the Red-Hot Meatpacking District may lose the man and the place (Pastis) that made the neighborhood. "We may lose Pastis."
   Yes Keith McNally creates Neighborhoods. he makes them boom, and makes them Hip and Cool simply by opening one of his great restaurants in a floundering un-hip hood. Case in point, Mr. Mcnally made Tribeca "hip" with the opening of the ODEON way back in the early 80's with The late great Patrick Clarke at the helm of the Odeon Kitchen (1 of New York's most talented Chefs of All-Time), and Keith McNally made The Meatpacking District what it is today with the opening of "Pastis." What's next Keith?







Daniel Bellino Zwicke