Resy sold, Kaya closed, Ruta back, Red Hen thriving, and more...

Family Meal - Friday, May 17th, 2019

Hello Friday,

Let’s get to it…

Reservation Wars – Headline in NYT DealBook: “American Express to Buy Resy, a Restaurant Booking Service.”

Fun context from Michael J. de la Merced: “American Express is hoping that the deal works out better than Booking Holdings’ $2.6 billion takeover of OpenTable in 2014 — which was followed by a $941 million write-down of the acquisition two years later.”

Laughable subhed on Eater: “Is this the end of the online reservation wars?”

Smart context from Jaya Saxena: “The Resy acquisition fits into AmEx’s campaign to reclaim its place in the hearts (and wallets) of power diners since the launch of Chase’s Sapphire Reserve, which became the overwhelmingly preferred credit card of millennials… Last year, AmEx launched a revived (rose) gold card that offered quadruple points on dining, and a $120 credit toward meals at Shake Shack or via GrubHub and Seamless.”

Not mentioned in any of the pieces I read about this: Tock. Which is why I imagine Nick Kokonas is furiously pounding out a new Medium post as you read this. Working headline: “HEY, LOOK OVER HERE!!!”

The OpEd – What happens to a restaurant that takes a(n inadvertently very public) political stand? Stephanie Wilkinson writes from experience in the Washington Post: “I own the Red Hen restaurant that asked Sarah Sanders to leave…. The blowback was swift and aggressive. Within 24 hours, the restaurant’s phone line was hacked, my staff and I were doxxed, and threats to our lives, families and property were pouring in through every available channel. Protesters colonized the streets around the restaurant. Thousands of fake Yelp reviews torpedoed our ratings, and dozens of people attempted to lock up our tables with reservations they had no intention of honoring…. When we opened after a 10-day hiatus, our dining room was full… After nearly a year, I’m happy to say that business is still good. Better than good, actually… to everyone who might be fearful about taking a stand, I say don’t be. Resistance is not futile, for you or your business.”

The Close – In SF, Kaya “has closed after 16 months of business in Mid-Market. Kaya was a joint venture between Oakland chef Nigel Jones and restaurateur Daniel Patterson.” Per Justin Phillips in the Chronicle, “Jones has also ended his partnership with Patterson.”

The Departure – “And just like that, Tien Ho is done with his first NYC project in years. The acclaimed former Momofuku chef has split with Rhubarb, the London-based hospitality company in charge of Hudson Yards restaurant Wild Ink. The relationship will officially end in two weeks, according to a Rhubarb spokesperson, saying that it ‘just wasn’t the right fit long term.’” Details via Serena Dai in Eater NY.

The Good Get – Eater DC’s Tierney Plumb reports, “Frank Ruta, the decorated former White House chef who won a James Beard award at Palena and opened Mirabelle to rave reviews in 2017, is returning to work in D.C. Prolific restaurateur Ashok Bajaj has hired Ruta to work for his Knightsbridge Restaurant Group, reviving Ruta’s career after nearly a year off.”

The Profile Treatment – Do you need close to 7k words on Alon Shaya in the Bitter Southerner? There’s a section called “Hirsute and Humiliated” so… maybe you do? Wendell Brock has that longread here.

The Profile Treatment Too – For the Somm: Apropos of nothing, here’s Lauren Friel, who is running her wine bar against some grain in Boston, as profiled by Meghan Nesmith in Bon Appétit this week: “‘There were a lot of people who were like, Do you really need that “Donate to Planned Parenthood” jar on the bar?’ She wasn’t deterred. ‘I wanted to build something in my city that I can be proud of. I knew in my heart of hearts that if I want it, other people probably want it, too.’ She was right: Rebel Rebel has been reliably packed since its opening in late 2018.”

The Critics – Should restaurant reviews have star ratings? In an LA Times debate this week, Bill Addison is fir em; Patricia Escárcega is agin em. The arguments are worth a read from various angles – my heart breaks on the writers-desperately-hoping-someone-actually-reads-their-work side of things – but this from Addison was the standout graph for me: “In a moment of evolution, newspaper critics risk being left out of some restaurant discussions altogether. There is not a single daily or weekly publication in Southern California, nor in the Bay Area, currently publishing starred restaurant reviews. Which brings the debate back to Michelin: The tire company comes out with a guide covering the entire state on June 3. There will be stars. People will be talking. Local critics’ coverage will be entirely reactionary; we’ve ceded ownership about which restaurants earn how many stars to interlopers.” I’m still undecided on his argument there, but like that despite moving to LA maybe seven months ago, Addison has fully embraced the party line on outsiders.

Michelin Season – In Japan, “The Michelin Guide Aichi-Gifu-Mie 2019 has just been released. This is the first edition of the guide to be launched in Tokai region of Japan and encompasses the Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures. A total of 68 restaurants received Michelin stars, with three among them… three-Michelin-star status.” The press release names those three-stars as Sushi Ueda, Hijikata, and Komada. Joining them are 14 new two-stars (“most of which offer Japanese cuisine” – neat!), and 51 singles.

For Design Fans – Two quick follow ups: First, here are Rico Cruz’s pictures from the big opening party of that TWA hotel on the JFK airport grounds in New York. As feared, it’s a very, very cool space, but when there’s a lull in action it definitely looks like it gives off a not unexpected waiting-in-an-old-airport-terminal vibe…

And second (and last but not least), A few weeks ago, I asked for more pics of The Fulton, the new seafood restaurant from Jean-Georges Vongerichten in NYC’s South Street Seaport. Alex Staniloff delivered with a perfect full spread in Eater on Tuesday, which is how I saw this duck / goose / dino / man wandering the walls. If you understand its origins, please explain them to me. I am as lost as it looks. Thank you.

And that’s it for today!

Here’s hoping your bar jars overfloweth this weekend.

I’ll see you here Tuesday for next Family Meal.

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