In our final report on the veritable Ferran-mania that surrounded the El Bulli chef’s visit to the Culinary Institute of America and NYC this week, we have a dispatch from the Augie Awards. Never heard of the Augies? Neither had we, frankly, until last year. Named for father of fine dining August Escoffier, the awards have been given by CIA to honorees such as Wolfgang Puck and the Brennan family since 2007. This year’s chef recipients are some of the most avant-garde in food today: In addition to Adrià, Alinea’s Grant Achatz walked away with one of the Oscar look-alikes for being the CIA alumnus of the year. Read more »

The James Beard Award nominees went live this morning, and boy did NYC represent. Hometown heroes Drew Nieporent (outstanding restaurateur), Dan Barber (outstanding chef), David Chang and Scott Conant (both for best new restaurant) are all accounted for. Pichet Ong gets some too-little-too-late acknowledgment for P*ong in the outstanding pastry chef category, and Gabrielle Hamilton (Prune), Wylie Dufresne (WD-50), Michael Anthony (Gramercy Tavern), Terrance Brennan (Picholine) and Gabriel Kreuther (The Modern) are all up for best chef NYC.

Nods to Ruth Reichel and Alan Richman, who cleaned up with a handful of noms each, and to 2008 winner Grant Achatz, who could score again this year for his gorgeous cookbook, Alinea. (Of note: He’s up against his mentor, Thomas Keller, for Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide.)

For the full list of nominees, click here.

The Atlantic launched a dedicated food-and-drink site today and it’s a beaut. We’re a bit stultified by the sheer magnitude of content for a noob, but a few highlights: Grant Achatz pens a story about Spanish gastronomic summit Madrid Fusion 2009; a lesson on proper cupcake-eating techniques (“Slice the [usually vapid] cake horizontally, and use the bottom as a top layer for a sandwich”); and Larry David abusing a waiter in Washington. Welcome to the fold, folks.

If you’ve yet to enjoy Inside Alinea—Michael Cirino’s play in one, two, three acts—read up. Then check out this slide show, with a bonus video after the jump.

Photos and video by Michael Cirino.

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Prep meeting for the next day's service. (Photo: Michael Cirino)

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Michael Cirino. The frontman of traveling supper club A Razor A Shiny Knife got some serious ink this winter for his re-creation of chefs Grant Achatz and Thomas Keller’s 20-course bacchanal. Last month, in preparation for his Chicago dinner, Cirino was invited to stage at Achatz’s molecular temple, Alinea. See part one of this series here; part two you’ll find here. For the third and final installment, click on through: Read more »

Here Chef Andrew puts the finishing touches on the sea bass. Feel the whimsy. (Photo: Michael Cirino)

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Michael Cirino. The frontman of traveling supper club A Razor A Shiny Knife got some serious ink this winter for his re-creation of chefs Grant Achatz and Thomas Keller’s 20-course bacchanal. Last month, in preparation for his Chicago dinner, Cirino was invited to stage at Achatz’s molecular temple, Alinea. See part one of this three-part series here. For part two, read on: Read more »

The grill line at Alinea (Photo: Michael Cirino)

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Michael Cirino. The frontman of traveling supper club A Razor A Shiny Knife got some serious ink this winter for his ambitious undertaking—a re-creation of chefs Grant Achatz and Thomas Keller’s 20-course bacchanal (read all about it here and here). Last month, in preparation for his Chicago dinner, Cirino was invited to stage at Achatz’s molecular temple, Alinea. We figured you’d want a peek behind that swinging door. Take it away, Mike: Read more »

A Razor, A Shiny Knife’s much talked-about Grant Achatz and Thomas Keller tribute dinner unfolded this weekend. The 20-course experiment (a “bargain” at $300) was inspired by the superchefs’ $1,500-a-head bacchanal at Per Se last month. (Later in the post, we check in with half of the evening’s inspiration—Grant Achatz himself—to get his take on the proceedings.) Sure, aping the works of two of the country’s most lauded toques requires a certain level of cockiness confidence. But ARASK’s attempt felt more deferential than presumptuous, particularly when presented by ringleader Mike Cirino, whose jocular trips over French menu descriptions were received warmly by this young, willing crowd. Read more »