NewYorkRestaurants

D'Artagnan Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary with a 32 Star Progressive Dinner

Filed under: Dining

True foodies think nothing of spending exorbitant sums on their passion. Fine wines, and four star meals, often in foreign countries, are their version of luxury. The names they drop are not Prada or Manolo but Keller and Ripert. Twenty-five years ago Ariane Daguin from France and her partner George Faisan started D'Artagnan. It was really the first company to focus on providing consumers in the United States with food products from Ariane's native region of France, Gascony. It has become the premier supplier of specialty food products from the foie gras to truffles to high end American restaurants and gourmet shops.

This February the company celebrates its 25th anniversary with a week long celebration in New York starting on February 17, 2010. The highlight of the festivities is a "32 Star Progressive Dinner" on Saturday February 21rst. The special event features celebrated chefs from the Gascon region of France in various four star kitchens around Manhattan. The evening kicks off with cocktails at 5pm after which the participants will board the "Armagnac-fueled" bus to experience each course at a different 4 star restaurant.

Participating chefs include:

Daniel Boulud with Jean-Marie Gautier, M.O.F. of Hotel du Palais, Biarritz
Jean-Georges Vongeritchen with Michel Trama of Aubergade, Puymirol
Daniel Humm with Jacques & Laurent Pourcel of Le Jardin des Sens, Montpellier
Thomas Keller with Hélène Darroze of Restaurant Hélène Darroze, Paris
Eric Ripert with Thierry Marx of Cordeillan-Bages, Pauillac and Philippe Urraca, M.O.F.

The above list is just for the main course! There are others chefs cooking their native cuisine for the other courses. Wines from top producers including Chateau Lynch Bages will be featured and Trou Gascon Armagnac will be served on the bus between courses.

The finale occurs at Le Bernadin where all the chefs will celebrate after dessert. Seating is limited and costs $600 per person for the evening.

Tags: 25th anniversary, 25thAnniversary, Armagnac, celebrity chef, celebrity chefs, CelebrityChef, CelebrityChefs, Daniel Boulud, DanielBoulud, DArtagnan, Eric Ripert, EricRipert, fine dining, FineDining, french food, FrenchFood, new york restaurants, NewYorkRestaurants, thomas keller, ThomasKeller

Must-Haves from the Tavern on the Green Auction

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Sadly, iconic New York restaurant Tavern on the Green has shut its doors for good. The owners filed for bankruptcy and next week auction house Guernsey's will be selling the Central Park restaurant's glitzy contents to the highest bidder (including the entrance tent, above) during a three-day auction.

This Wednesday potential bidders began previewing the goods and will continue to every day from now until Tuesday, from noon until 8 p.m. The auction begins Wednesday, Jan. 13 although some items can be bid on early online.

With more than 25,000 auction items - the front-entrance sign and Baccarat-crystal chandeliers alike - and values anywhere from $100 to $1.2 million, bidders are likely to need a little guidance. That's why we consulted New York antiques appraiser Helaine Fendelman to see what items are worth bidding on and what's just kitsch.

A long-time New Yorker, Fendelman calls dining at Tavern a "quintessential New York experience." But she says, memorabilia from the restaurant will only hold its value if the restaurant's name continues to be recognizable.

Brand-name items are safe bets, she says. "A Waterford chandelier will retain its value and it will have the added cache of being from Tavern on the Green."

As for Tavern memorabilia, Fendelman advises picking "the iconic items that are identified with the restaurant" and always get a letter of authenticity from the auction house. She also says to beware of items that are common. If there are too many of a certain item, like the place settings, for example, they won't be worth anything. Also stay away from items that have been reproduced often. "Collectors shy away from things that have been imitated over and over again."

See the slide show below for 25 must-have picks. Then see and bid on the full list of auction items here.

Gallery: Tavern on the Green Auction Items

32-Light George III-Style Waterford Chandelier

Tags: central park, CentralPark, guernseys, new york, new york restaurants, NewYork, NewYorkRestaurants, tavern on the green, tavern on the green auction, TavernOnTheGreen, TavernOnTheGreenAuction

Madison Avenue Restaurant Files For Bankruptcy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

A restaurant on New York's Madison Avenue has filed for bankruptcy. Frederick's Madison restaurant, which serves French fare, filed for Chapter 11 in order to avoid eviction. Crains New York reports that the restaurant has been unable to pay its rent for the past four months and owes its landlord $261,187 as well as owing more than $145,000 in unpaid taxes to New York state and carrying thousands in outstanding debt with vendors.

The owner, Frederick Lesort, who also runs Opia and Frederick's Downtown believes that he can turn this business around in six months and emerge from Chapter 11. He has reduced menu prices by thirty percent (steak au poivre will cost you $36 according to a dinner menu on their website. Also a competing restaurant in the neighborhood, La Goulue, is set to close in June so Lesort feels he has a clearer shot at keeping Frederick's Madison alive.

Source

Tags: chapter 11, Chapter11, fredericks madison, FredericksMadison, madison avenue, MadisonAvenue, new york restaurants, NewYorkRestaurants