Fresh off the heels of our first wine dinner with Eddie Kurtzman and Morgan Clendenen, we are proud to announce a few notable items... First off, included in this email, our first review. The folks over at NJ Monthly, broke the seal and officially welcomed us to the NJ restaurant landscape! We are more than pleased with the reaction the critics have had to our cuisine and service! Be sure to follow us on the blog, http://uprootrestaurant.blogspot.com, as more exciting news and reviews, regarding NJ's best new restaurant begin to surface! Check out the details on our GM Jonathan Ross, and his band of bar keeps as they usher in the spring/summer season, with some really interesting and fun cocktail classes! Additionally, we will be participating in Autism Awareness's campaign, "Light it up Blue". On both April 1 & 2.
See below for all the details. Our First Review April 2010 There’s much to love about this passionate and perfectionistic restaurant, whose mission, says executive chef Anthony Bucco, is “to sustain local agriculture while feeding the community well.” At Uproot, which took root in Warren in November, culinary zeal and customer service come together in exemplary fashion. The owners, Catherine and Andrew Farro, are longtime Warren residents who are in the construction business. “Somerset County needed a sophisticated, Manhattan-level restaurant,” says Catherine. “Uproot aims for great cooking with informality and affordability, too.” The vibe is young. The Farros’ CIA-trained 26-year-old son, Mark, is sous-chef to Bucco, a New York Restaurant School alum who, at 34, is the old salt on the premises. Uproot is managed by sommelier and mixologist Jonathan Ross, 26, whose toothsome retro cocktails—often based on rye or bourbon—are mixed with finesse by bartender Danny McGill, 29. The chefs and manager are Jersey boys who met at Stage Left in New Brunswick, where Bucco ran the kitchen from 2000 through 2006 and also opened Stage Left’s sister restaurant, Catherine Lombardi. “We shared a vision about serving fresh, natural, delicious cuisine in a feel-good, unstuffy environment,” says Ross. “The vision we had in mind became Uproot to a T.” Located in the Corner Village at Warren, a new single-story retail plaza with subtle signage, stone walkways, and elegant brickwork, Uproot was designed by Riscala Agnese of Manhattan, whose Jersey dossier includes Nicholas in Red Bank and Daryl in New Brunswick. Diners enter through a dramatic red-glass vestibule that opens into a high-ceilinged bar and lounge space. Overhead, a handsome white sculpture of abstract tree branches—an uprooted tree—commands the lounge, with its fifteen-seat granite and mahogany bar, leather club chairs, sofa banquette, and small round tables. This warm and welcoming nook is ideal for savoring a pre-prandial cocktail: perhaps a deftly spiced verjus sour, or the Tree, a Ross cocktail of Plymouth gin, brandy distilled with Douglas fir bark and needles, and house-infused thyme syrup. The seductive bar menu includes Moroccan-style beef meatballs with whole pine nuts, cinnamon, currants, and a mint pesto. Bucco’s generous goat cheese tart (“a nod to the French chefs I’ve worked with, including at Provence in Soho”) should not be missed. It’s a kind of crispy white pizza whose flatbread crust is enriched with Guinness (“I’m half Irish,” he notes) and anointed with French chèvre, caramelized onions, and bits of Niman Ranch smoked pork. (The tart is not served in the dining room except at lunch, along with other lunch-only items like a Vietnamese banh mi-influenced pulled-pork sandwich on baguette and a pasta du jour.) “We’re cooking the kind of full-flavored, honest, earthy food that people love to eat,” Bucco says. “We cook from the heart and don’t overthink or overhandle our food.” Bucco revives the thrill in dishes that have become clichéd. He serves duck-liver foie gras from Quebec with pistachio-studded brioche bread pudding. Or consider his house-smoked-and -cured salmon, which is diced, pressed into cylinder shape, and delectably garnished with caviar, frizzled onions, and sliced pears. Other captivating appetizers include succulent dayboat scallops from Barnegat Bay, scrumptiously paired with earthy, puréed sunchoke root (also known as Jerusalem artichoke) and lush, smoky Canadian wild boar belly. Quail is stuffed with chicken, duck, mushrooms, rosemary, and bits of the quail’s skin. Even better, it’s bedded on a luscious mushroom risotto. Another starter, potato gnocchi, is rendered irresistible with slices of Virginia ham air-cured for over a year. Among entrées, butter-poached lobster is as rich and comforting as it sounds. A kiss of vanilla infuses the Maine crustacean, whose ocean-sweet meat stuffs a quartet of house-made agnolotti that share the plate. Long Island duck is confited to crisp the skin and make the meat creamy. Uproot’s impeccable steak, a 10-ounce New York strip dry-aged 21 days by DeBragga & Spitler, one of the East Coast’s choicest meat purveyors, is juicily cooked in the Wood Stone oven and served with confit potatoes slow-baked with rosemary and duck fat. The venison hails from New Zealand, beyond the 200-mile food-sourcing circle that Bucco tries to maintain. (“It’s simply the best venison I’ve tasted,” he explains.) Its lean, pleasantly gamy meat is set off by tiny huckleberries cooked to an intense sweetness with verjus (tart grape juice) from Ontario. A vegetable cake au gratin with rutabaga and apple adds even more wattage to the plate. Sumptuous almond-crusted pork loin from Niman Ranch is slow-roasted with almond oil and acacia honey. Bucco’s oven-roasted free-range Giannone chicken is from a Quebec farm that air-chills rather than freezes its birds, a flavor-enhancing process similar to dry-aging. This deeply chickeny chicken is companionably paired with savory root vegetables and carrot purée. Bucco finds rewarding ways to add excitement to fish while still showcasing the meat’s delicate flavors. He dusts arctic char with black trumpet mushroom powder for an earthy note; steams snapper in green tea and serves it with beet-hazelnut tapenade; and does cod with a grapefruit beurre blanc and slices of Venezuelan Cara Cara orange, celeriac, salsify, and Peruvian purple potatoes. Uproot’s desserts, from Bucco and Farro, range from a superlative brownie concocted with Valrhona chocolate to arty, slightly spare sweets like a Twinkie-homage carrot-parsnip cake that could use more frosting. There’s a nice, light pineapple semifreddo; and a cheesecake caressed with thyme honey. Ice creams, made daily in-house, are spellbinding. Rotating flavors include Valrhona chocolate with airy, crackly chocolate chips; chunky peanut butter; spearmint chocolate chip; and caramelly dulce de leche. Au courant sorbets cover lavender, basil, and fruit essences like kaffir lime and Cara Cara orange. I’m not completely sold on Uproot’s name (“Everything we use comes straight from the earth,” Ross explains) but I’m interpreting it this way: You will not want to uproot yourself from the table. --------------------- Uproot Cocktail Classes/The Define your Drink Series A new series of cocktail classes for the Uproot barflies! We’ll be featuring special ingredients, fun spirits and a lot of technique. Shake, muddle and stir along side the barmen of Uproot as we Define Your Drink! Inaugural Class: Thursday, April 8th @ 6:30pm Bar Necessities How to stock the home bar, fresh juices and recipes that will make your house the new hot-spot! We’ll be starting with the basics. Manhattans, Martinis, Sours and Margaritas Class #2: Thursday, May 6th @ 6:30 Cocktails from the Garden Incorporate all of those fresh herbs and flowers in your garden. Sip in the Spirit of Spring. We’ll be doing a lot of muddling here! Mojitos, make herbed sodas for mixing and incorporate many of the gardens fine herbs into great cocktails. Class # 3: Thursday, June 3rd @ 6:30 pm (outside?!) Give me a triple shot of that stuff Celebrate the upcoming final race of the Triple crown. Each Race has its own cocktail. The Mint Julep, The Belmont Breeze, and the Black-Eyed Susan. We’ll revive the original Belmont cocktail, the White Carnation, and make up some of our own racy libations! Class # 4 Thursday, July first @ 6:30 Cocktails for the beach, backyard, and the kids. The forth of July cocktail you really want to serve, a cocktail to sneak onto the beach, some non-alcoholic cocktails for kids and the expecting! Here will focus on refreshing crushed ice cocktails, making our own adult juice boxes for the beach and create non-alcoholic cocktails using fresh juices, made from scratch grenadine and real ginger ale! Cocktail Classes will last for approximately 1 ½ hours. Each participant will be provided all of the necessary ingredients and equipment to make each cocktail. Light fare will be provided in addition to parting gifts. $40.00 per person/$125 for the series. Classes are by reservation only and can be made via phone 908.834.8194, or via email to jonathan@uprootrestaurant.com --------------- Join Uproot in raising Awareness for Autism To commemorate the third World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) on April 2 and Autism Awareness Month, Autism Speaks has asked businesses everywhere to do something “blue” on April 1 and 2. Here at Uproot restaurant, we will be printing on blue paper and featuring a "Blue" cocktail at our bar, because we want to shine a bright light on autism. Uproot restaurant supports Autism Speaks in its efforts to raise worldwide awareness of autism spectrum disorders which now affect 1 in 110 children. Learn more at www.AutismSpeaks.org.
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Kiss My Bundt Bakery owner Chrysta Wilson always stocks her fridge with Tecate. Not because she craves the light Mexican beer but because she bakes with it. Her Tecate cake is moist, light and crumbly. It's the carbonation, she says.
Now that beer culture is exploding in popularity in Southern California, beer is even finding its way into desserts, as pastry chefs use it to make dishes that are not only sweet but also have layered textures and flavors that wouldn't be possible otherwise. What started with quirky beer and ice cream floats has now spread to shakes, cakes, gelato, fritters and even candy. Jason Bernstein started making beer and ice cream floats more than a decade ago, just for fun, while he was in college. Now, at the Golden State, the beer-forward Fairfax Avenue cafe that Bernstein co-owns with James Starr, he's forged a symbiotic relationship with Scoops gelato mad scientist Tai Kim. Their signature collaboration is a float that pairs North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout and "brown bread ice cream" — vanilla ice cream streaked with caramel and loaded with caramelized Grape-Nuts. "Grape-Nuts are like a wheat berry," says Bernstein. "It was bringing out very grainy qualities that were present but latent in the Rasputin." Wine has long been part of European cooking traditions. Now, local pastry chefs are discovering beer's even more diverse flavor spectrum, which includes citrusy wheat beers, tangy sours and bitter India Pale Ales, plus stouts and porters with chocolate and coffee notes. Beer is frequently used in batters for savory fried foods, and it can help to lighten cakes as well. Floats, shakes and popsicles are also benefiting from beer's contrasting flavors. Initially, the Golden Staters focused on earthy flavors, such as chocolate and coffee, but recently started pairing sour beers with tangy, fruit-forward gelatos, matching New Belgium Brewing Co.'s Fall Wild Ale with black currant-mango. "In some ways it works better," says Bernstein. "With sour beers, you can play into more fruit-based aromatics." The Golden State was just the start of the L.A. beer float revolution. BottleRock-Downtown LA currently scoops vanilla ice cream into Allagash Curieux, a Belgian-style tripel aged in bourbon barrels, which imparts added vanilla flavor. In Hollywood, Essex Public House co-owner Greg Link has developed two beer floats: the Espresso Biru with Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout, vanilla ice cream and crumbled Oreos, and the Blueberry Bomber with chocolate ice cream and Sea Dog Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale, which Link insists "tastes like a blueberry pancake." Essex serves each float with the bottle, so diners can customize the richness. Other restaurants offer beer shakes, in which beer and ice cream are blended. For example, Simmzy's gastropub in Manhattan Beach blends vanilla ice cream with Port Brewing's Old Viscosity, a dark chocolatey ale. By Joshua Lurie, Special to the Los Angeles Times --Deal on Abortion Puts Biggest Change in Decades Over Top; Democrats Rejoice, but Republicans Predict Electoral Gains--
WASHINGTON—The biggest transformation of the U.S. health system in decades won approval on Capitol Hill late Sunday, the culmination of efforts by generations of Democrats to achieve near-universal health coverage. Facing voters' judgment in the fall, Democrats bet they could overcome public misgivings on a bill that reshapes one-sixth of the U.S. economy. The final battle on the House floor exposed again the divisions that have riven Congress and the nation over the past year. The House gave final passage to the Senate's health legislation on a climactic 219-to-212 vote, as Democrats muscled the measure through on the strength of the party's big majority. In the final roll call, no House Republican voted for the bill, and 34 Democrats voted no, many of them representing Republican-leaning districts. A short while later, the House, voting 220 to 211, approved a companion bill making changes to the Senate bill, a measure necessary to attract support in the House. Those changes now head to the Senate, where action is expected this week. All Republicans voted against the companion bill, as did 33 Democrats. President Barack Obama, who staked his presidency on the health-care overhaul, helped push it toward passage with a last-minute promise to issue an executive order making clear that no money dispensed under the $940 billion bill would pay for abortions. That persuaded Rep. Bart Stupak, a holdout Michigan Democrat, to vote yes and bring at least seven colleagues with him. President Obama spoke just before midnight at the White House. "At a time when the pundits said it was no longer possible, we rose above the weight of our politics," he said in hailing the vote. "We proved that this government … still works for the people." It was a tumultuous sprint to the finish for legislation that has brought Washington many dramas over the last year, ranging from a Christmas Eve Senate vote to the surprise January election of Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown that upended Democrats' plans. "You will be joining those who established Medicare and Social Security and now, tonight, health care for all Americans," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), urging Democrats to pull together. "This is an American proposal that honors the tradition of our country." Minority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio) condemned the legislation, and said Democrats are moving against the will of the public. "Shame on this body. Shame on each and every one of you who substitutes your will and your desire above your fellow countrymen," he said. "By our actions today we disgrace their value." Republicans hope to use the health overhaul to drive Democrats into the minority, citing polls that show a plurality of Americans oppose it, while Democrats believe the immediate benefits brought by the bill will work to their credit. The legislation will extend health coverage to 32 million Americans now without insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It will mandate that almost every American carry health insurance—a provision that opponents are set to challenge in the courts. To help people get covered, the legislation expands Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor, and gives subsidies to families making as much as $88,000 a year. Democrats are highlighting popular provisions, such as one that requires insurance companies to accept all comers, even people who are already sick. Republican critics are stressing new taxes in the bill and trims to Medicare spending needed to fund the subsidies. The broad Senate bill was set to become law quickly following House passage. Some uncertainty remained over the package of changes now headed to the Senate. Democratic leaders there said they had the votes to approve it, but Republican efforts to torpedo it or change it could complicate passage. The changes would boost the value of the subsidies and nullify special deals for some senators that caused a storm of protest. The CBO estimates the package will hold the federal budget deficit $143 billion lower over 10 years than it would otherwise be. Republicans called the estimate unrealistic. The CBO also estimated that 95% of legal U.S. residents would have insurance by 2019, up from 83% today. The march toward action Sunday was greeted by protests from hundreds of Tea Party activists, who filled the Capitol grounds, and Republican complaints about the last-minute bargaining among Democrats. "Where has the transparency been? Why all the back-room deals?" asked Rep. Jack Kingston (R., Ga.). The legislation, nearly left for dead in January after Democrats lost the 60-vote majority in the Senate needed to overcome Republican filibusters, fueled grass-roots anger. Tea Party activists chanted "kill the bill" at Democratic lawmakers as they walked through the hallways of Congress. The focus Sunday was largely on resolving the abortion dispute. Several Democrats, led by Rep. Stupak, had been withholding support, saying the legislation didn't go far enough to keep federal funds from being used to pay for abortions. They praised Mr. Obama's executive order, while Roman Catholic bishops and other antiabortion groups said it wasn't good enough. Someone from the Republican side of the House floor called out, "Baby killer!" at Mr. Stupak late Sunday as he defended the bill on the House floor. A large swath of the business community opposed the changes, arguing the legislation was too broad and had too many taxes. "This will make us one of the highest-taxed regions in the world, and that's going to have an impact on the appetite for people to invest in medical innovation," said Bill Hawkins, chief executive of Medtronic Inc., which makes medical devices. He said his company could cut at least 1,000 jobs to absorb a new 2.3% excise tax on medical-device makers. Insurers will see the heaviest regulations, with new rules that dictate how much they can reap in profit and whom they must cover. Hospitals, doctors, drug makers and the seniors group AARP backed the overhaul, saying it will reduce the growth of health costs and make sure no one goes without care. "This is not about health care," said Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the House Democratic whip. "It's about trying to extend a basic fundamental right to people who are less powerful." Francee Levin, a 57-year-old artist in Columbia, S.C., said she couldn't get health insurance after she was hit by a drunk driver. "I think I'll be able to get some kind of health insurance, which would be a godsend," she said. But Catherine Calhoun of Saint Francisville, La., said she worried her husband's employer might drop coverage and force the family to go into newly created health-insurance exchanges to get coverage. That might force her to find new doctors for her 7-year-old son, Billy, who has a rare bone disease, she said. "I might end up having to negotiate with someone who doesn't have any idea what he needs just to get out of bed in the morning,'' said Ms. Calhoun. In the run-up to the vote, Mr. Obama urged House Democrats to focus on those helped by the bill and not worry about the difficult politics. "Good policy is good politics," he said. Republicans said they expect big gains in the fall. "I'd rather be a Republican running against his bill and saying, 'Let's start over,'" said Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "This will be the defining issue in November 2010, and if it passes, in 2012 when the president runs for re-election." Under the legislation, consumers will see changes within months. Insurers won't be able to place lifetime limits on coverage. Children will be able to stay on their parents' insurance policies until their 26th birthday. The changes could be bumpy, because insurers warn they won't be able to make them so quickly. The bulk of the legislation wouldn't take effect until 2014. Once the tax credits and Medicaid expansion are in place, most Americans will be required to carry health insurance or pay a fee, topping out at either $695 a year or 2.5% of income. Employers would have to provide affordable insurance or pay a penalty of up to $3,000 per worker. Those figures assume the Senate ultimately adopts the package of changes the House approved. Tax increases needed to finance the program would hit a range of industries, from insurers to tanning services. Over the next decade, $108 billion in new fees will fall on insurers, drug makers and medical-device companies. Families earning more than $250,000 a year will pay a higher Medicare payroll tax, and see that tax expanded to investment income such as dividends. High-value insurance plans would be hit with a 40% tax starting in 2018. As part of the second bill, headed to the Senate, Mr. Obama was poised to accomplish another big goal: overhauling the federal student-loan program. It would end subsidies to banks and shift lending responsibilities to the federal government. That is part of the package of changes still requiring Senate approval. Corrections & Amplifications: The House's health legislation imposes a 2.3% excise tax on the sale of medical devices. A previous version of this article incorrectly said the tax was 2.9%. —Louise Radnofsky and Amy Dockser Marcus contributed to this article. Write to Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com and Greg Hitt at greg.hitt@wsj.com [PRESS RELEASE] (Chicago) Shake it up... or stir it! Step out from behind the bar and into the national spotlight by entering the Star of the Bar competition on YouTubeTM - a nationwide search for the country's most creative mixologist at the National Restaurant Association's 2010 International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB). Professional mixologists and amateur "bar chefs" are encouraged to submit a ninety-second video of themselves preparing their original signature cocktail - utilizing at least one Bacardi product - along with its written recipe by April 26, 2010.
The individual who creates the most original drink in the most entertaining way will not only have the opportunity to create incredible industry connections and gain bragging rights, but also take home a $5,000 cash prize, have their cocktail featured on the menu at Rockit Bar & Grill through May 2010, and have their recipe included in American Airlines American Way magazine. The Star of the Bar competition is sponsored by Bacardi. "Culinary cocktails and signature drinks are hot trends on restaurant menus this year, highlighting that more mixologists are taking a chef's approach to beverages," said David Gilbert, chief operating officer of the National Restaurant Association. "We are excited to see the submissions for the 2010 Star of the Bar competition and look forward to learn how the contestants showcase their original drink recipes." YouTube users will cast their votes to select six semi-finalists for the Star of the Bar title through April 26, 2010. Those six individuals will be flown to Chicago on American Airlines to mix, stir and shake their signature cocktail live at IWSB on Sunday, May 23. Event attendees will vote to select three finalists who will compete for the title. The three finalists will then compete live that evening at the first-ever IWSB After Party at Rockit Bar & Grill, where an expert panel will select the ultimate Star of the Bar competition winner. Interested mixologists should submit a ninety-second (or less) video demonstrating their cocktail and an original written recipe at www.winespiritsbeer.org by Monday, April 26, 2010. The cocktail recipe must include at least one Bacardi product. No purchase is necessary. Limit one video submission per person. Contest open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, 21 years of age or older. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. See Official Contest Rules at the IWSB Web site. Wide-ranging solutions for more successful and profitable bar programs will be available to restaurant operators during the National Restaurant Association's 2010 International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event at Chicago's McCormick Place, held May 23-24, 2010. In addition to exhibits by established and emerging wine, spirits and beer producers from around the world and exclusive food-alcohol pairing stations, IWSB attendees may attend expert-led education sessions that guide restaurateurs and bar managers to success. IWSB, held in conjunction with the Association's 2010 Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, is the restaurant and hospitality industry's only forum focused exclusively on restaurant and hospitality operator beverage alcohol-related needs. Now in its third year, IWSB will be held in a separate exhibit area of McCormick Place during NRA Show 2010, and gather brewers, vintners and distillers, leading beverage experts, beverage alcohol buyers and more in one exclusive area. The IWSB education sessions and exhibits will take place in Grand Ballroom (McCormick Place South, Level 1). The annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show is the largest single gathering of restaurant, foodservice and lodging professionals. The NRA Show 2010 will be held May 22-25 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The event attracts tens of thousands of attendees and visitors from all 50 states and 100+ countries, and showcases more products, services, innovative ideas and other growth opportunities than any other industry event. For more information, visit the Show Web site at www.restaurant.org/show. Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 945,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of nearly 13 million employees. Together with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to lead America's restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence, and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve. For more information, visit our Web site at www.restaurant.org. http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/video?id=7343896
NEWPORT, RI—Developer Peter de Savary has converted a 1909 mansion here into a 33-suite luxury boutique hotel.
Vanderbilt Hall features private dining and meeting facilities, full-service spa, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and access to a 60-foot yacht. De Savary's previous projects include the St. James Clubs and Skibo Castle. ATLANTA—PKF Hospitality Research announced that U.S. hotels should enjoy double-digit revenue growth by 2012, according to the March 2010 edition of Hotel Horizons.
The company is forecasting hotel rooms revenue to grow 10.5 percent on a per-available-room basis in 2012. Until 2012, however, market conditions will remain relatively soft. For 2010, PKF-HR is forecasting a 1.1 percent decline in RevPAR, the third consecutive year of falling RevPAR for the U.S. lodging industry. However, while PKF-HR is forecasting a 1.1 percent annual decline in 2010 RevPAR, lodging market conditions will turn and improve throughout the year. In fact, the demand for hotel rooms has been greater during the first quarter of 2010 than it was during the same period the prior year. This growth in demand is expected to persist throughout the year and result in an annual increase in rooms occupied of 1.5 percent. SILVER SPRING, MD—The Distrikt Hotel in New York has joined Choice Hotels International's Ascend Collection.
The newly constructed boutique hotel is operated by Mode Hospitality and was designed by NY-based OTTE Architecture and features more than 10,000 photos in collages made by artist Chris Rubino. The lobby of the 155-room property boasts a 14-foot "living wall" of green plants arranged in the shape of Central Park and a hand-carved wooden wall of the city's street grids. The Distrikt Hotel also features a signature restaurant, Collage. MIAMI BEACH, FL—The former residence of the late fashion designer Gianni Versace here has been converted into a small luxury boutique hotel.
Development of The Villa by Barton G., as the property is now known, has been overseen by local restauranteur Barton Weiss. |
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