NYC Chicken Wings, Scarpetta, Hundred Acres

// This Week on Savory New York //

This week Elizabeth S. Bennett visits Bar Masa to round out her 'Best Chicken Wings' Destination Dish series. Find out whether or not master sushi chef Masa Takayama has the chops to turn out some of NYC's best wings.

The 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards are coming up in three weeks and will be hosted by none other than Sex and The City star Kim Cattrall. The awards ceremony will be held at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center on Sunday, June 8th. See the full list of award nominees here and watch Savory Cities videos of nominated chefs. Tickets are $450 for the general public and $400 for James Beard Foundation members.

Through a special arrangement with the James Beard Foundation we have a pair of tickets to give away to the awards. To be entered into a random drawing to win,  sign up for a Savory Cities account between now and May 31st. The winner will be announced on June 1st.

// Recently Opened //

• Scarpetta - Scott Conant, former executive chef and co-owner of Alto and L'Impero, has opened this sleek new Italian restaurant in the Meatpacking District.
• Hundred Acres - If at first you don't succeed, try try again. That's the motto of Cookshop and Five Points owners Vicki Freeman and Mark Meyers. They closed their recently revived Provence and reinvented it in a much more familiar format--homey seasonal American.
  

//This Week's Restaurant Reviews //

• NY Times: Frank Bruni gives 2 of 4 stars to Upper West Sider, Eighty-One. "Call it ego food -- that may speak less to the satisfaction of customers than to the self-regard of proprietors, who want you to marvel at the effort-per-bite ratio and the variety of techniques at play." Peter Meehan visits East Village low ambiance all-stars Punjab and Polish G. I Delicatessen for the delicious curries and homemade soups, respectively.
• New York Magazine: Adam Platt visits Olana and Mia Dona and gives both restaurants 2 of 5 stars. About Olana, "The location might be a killer, and the décor is slightly overwrought. But we'll give one star for the ambitious cooking and another for the desserts." About Mia Dona, "One star for the hearty Italian food, executed with flair. Another for the reasonable prices."
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams dines at Duane Park and notes some Southern touches that the chef brings to the cuisine as well as some unevenness in the execution.
• Bloomberg: Ryan Sutton visits Bar Q and I Sodi for cheap post-shopping eats.
• The New York Daily News: RG gives 1 of 5 stars to Ago. "But the pasta dishes - a bellwether of any worthwhile Italian restaurant - charted a much bumpier course. The veal-stuffed spinach cappelletti arrived in a greasy puddle of butter-sage sauce; the gnocchi tossed in a lamb ragu tasted like Play-Doh pelted with gravel; a bowl of spaghetti with clams and broccoli rabe was horribly oversalted."

// Blogs and Newsletters //

• NY Journal checks out the new BBQ joint, Wildwood Barbecue
• The Girl Who Ate Everything throws her opinion into the ring on Momofuku Ko (great pictures included).
• Midtown Lunch looks into the free McDonald's Chicken sandwich.

// In Other News //

May 14th was a big day in Chicago - Laurent Gras' much anticipated restaurant, L2O opened in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and the ban on foie gras was lifted. Champion of civil disobedience, Doug Sohn of Hot Doug's can resume sale of his foie gras dog without fear of $500 penalty (related: Sohn pays fine).

Over here at Savory, we're big fans of The Paupered Chef. While it's not a blog that covers restaurants, per se, we like to give them a shout out whenever they post something that tickles or fascinates us. This week, Blake takes us through curing his own guanciale. It's not something we're likely to do at home but it's definitely worth a quick read.

// Upcoming Events //

Prune is hosting a special dinner Thursday May 22nd honoring and celebrating wine importer Neal Rosenthal on his recently published book, "Reflections of a Wine Merchant." There will be two seatings; 6:30 and 9:30pm. Enjoy "delicious dinner, lots of excellent wine, a signed copy of the book, and conversation with Neal." Cost: $150. Call 212-677-6221 for reservations.

The lineup for this year's Big Apple BBQ Block Party was just announced and it looks like it'll be another great year. The event will be held, as always, in Madison Square Park and will run from noon to 6pm on Saturday, June 7th and Sunday, June 8. Get more details and watch our video interviews from last year featuring several of this year's pitmasters, including crowd favorites Mike Mills and Ed Mitchell.