Village Voice

Your Favorite Chain Restaurants
dining out

Let's Dish: What Chain Restaurants Do You Eat At?

A question in the Village Voice's Ask the Critics column has got me thinking about chain restaurants.
by

A question in the Village Voice's Ask the Critics column has got me thinking about chain restaurants. Do you eat at a lot of chains?

Although there's the occasional time I find myself at a chain restaurant, I generally avoid them. The large portions, standardized decor, and generic food don't appeal to me. If I'm going to spend money on a meal out, I want it to be delicious and original!

That being said, the chains I make an exception for are BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse and Hillstone. I've eaten at both more than once and wasn't disappointed. Hillstone's artichoke dip is one of the best I've tasted! How about you? What chain restaurants do you eat at?

Source: Flickr User QuesterMark

Eyeball Tacos From Staten Island's Taqueria Puebla
Poll

Would You Eat Eyeball Tacos?

If you've got your eyes on the offal trend these days, then take a look at Village Voice reviewer Robert Sietsema's latest New York find: ojo tacos.
by

If you've got your eyes on the offal trend these days, then take a look at Village Voice reviewer Robert Sietsema's latest New York find: ojo tacos. Yep, you heard me right: that's ojo, as in eyeballs — specifically, goat eyeballs.

Sietsema didn't actually catch sight of anything staring back at him but writes of the taste: "There were clods of gooey yellowish stuff . . . the eyeball goo had a texture somewhere between gristle and grape jelly and had to be chewed, with each chew breaking down more of the congealed vitreous humor."

I've got a pretty standout stomach, but I don't think I could lay eyes on this one. And you?

Source

New York City's Butch Bakery Offers Cupcakes for Guys
Love It or Hate It

Cupcakes For Dudes: Love It or Hate It?

Like it or not, the cupcake craze is still so, so far from over.
by

Like it or not, the cupcake craze is still so, so far from over. On the heels of frozen frosting shots, cupcake cars, and Twilight cupcakes, a new concept emerges: Cupcakes for dudes.The Village Voice tipped us off to New York's Butch Bakery, which refers to itself as "where butch meets buttercream." Here, devil's food-fanatical alpha males can choose from flavors like Jackhammer and Driller. And while there are no football-themed cupcakes, Butch Bakery offers plenty of patterns — from houndstooth to Woodland camo. Can you imagine the guy in your life going for these testosterone-themed treats?

Source

Village Voice Article: Foie Gras Humanely Produced
Eco

Foie Gras May Be Humanely Produced After All

When it comes to culinary controversy, there are few things more divisive than the fatty duck liver known as foie gras.
by

When it comes to culinary controversy, there are few things more divisive than the fatty duck liver known as foie gras. The reason? The allegedly inhumane "gavage," or force-feeding process, which involves placing a metal tube down a duck's throat to deliver large amounts of food. In fact, the 5,000-year-old French delicacy has had such a bad reputation that it was once banned in Chicago, and will be banned in California by 2012.But in a recent investigative piece, Village Voice contributor Sarah DiGregorio visits the nation's biggest foie gras farm, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, and finds the process to be relatively inoffensive. She writes:

The sights could not have been more different from the horrifying images I'd seen on the Internet . . . the actual process with the tube didn't seem to bother them . . . Each waddled calmly away, looking unfazed: no breathing problems, no vomiting, and no trouble walking. Their feathers were fairly clean, and I didn't see any lesions on their feet or bodies . . . If I had seen with my own eyes that Hudson Valley produced foie gras by abusing ducks, this article would have turned out very differently. But that just wasn't the case.

I found myself relieved to read at least one perspective demonstrating that the production of foie gras was far less harmful than PETA and its opponents have portrayed it. Were you surprised by DiGregorio's investigation? What impact do you think this will have on the foie gras industry?

Source

Wall Street Journal Fashion Bureau: No Longer
the wall street journal

Wall Street Journal Fashion Bureau: No Longer

>> Even icons aren't safe anymore.  In late December, Village Voice laid off 30-year veteran and fashion writer Lynn Yaeger — she's since been picked up to blog for New York magazine during Fashion Week — and now, the Wall Street Journal has dismissed 23-year veteran Teri Agins as part of a decision to close its fashion and retail bureau.The number of staffers has been reduced from nine to five — currently retained are columnist Christina Binkley and editor Lisa Bannon; the seven other employees — including Teri Agins, Rachel Dodes, and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, who generally writes the newspaper's must-read Heard on the Runway blog — have all been let go effective at the end of March and asked to reapply for the three remaining positions in the bureau.
by

>> Even icons aren't safe anymore.  In late December, Village Voice laid off 30-year veteran and fashion writer Lynn Yaeger — she's since been picked up to blog for New York magazine during Fashion Week — and now, the Wall Street Journal has dismissed 23-year veteran Teri Agins as part of a decision to close its fashion and retail bureau.

The number of staffers has been reduced from nine to five — currently retained are columnist Christina Binkley and editor Lisa Bannon; the seven other employees — including Teri Agins, Rachel Dodes, and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, who generally writes the newspaper's must-read Heard on the Runway blog — have all been let go effective at the end of March and asked to reapply for the three remaining positions in the bureau.

All WSJ.'s fault? »

Lynn Yaeger Laid Off From Village Voice
lifestyle

Lynn Yaeger Laid Off From Village Voice

We know, it's madness--sad but true, Lynn Yaeger was reportedly laid off from the Village Voice at some point yesterday.
by coutorture
Lynn Yaeger Laid Off From Village Voice

We know, it's madness--sad but true, Lynn Yaeger was reportedly laid off from the Village Voice at some point yesterday. A New York mainstay, Yaeger is one of the most well-known journalists in the fashion industry. Her column in the Voice is always not only entertaining but educated--possibly because she's been with the paper for over thirty years. As Refinery 29 rightly points out...that's longer than we've been alive. Below, check out a gallery of Yaeger at the shows. 

View 10 Photos