Plus, Stephanie Izard debuts event space, test kitchen in Chicago
Each week, Restaurant Hospitality gathers five stories that impact independent restaurant operations that you may have missed.
Here’s your list for the week of April 19:
35% of restaurants across the country didn’t pay rent in March
Restaurant operators’ ability to pay rent is improving, according to the small-business network Alignable. A monthly poll indicated 35% wouldn’t pay rent versus 63% unable to meet lease terms in March. However, the Boston-based referral network said Friday that more than half of surveyed minorities that own small businesses could not afford to pay April rent on time.
Top Chef Winners: Where Are They Now?
By Samantha Leffler of US Weekly |
Top Chefhas crowned 17 winners since it debuted in March 2006, including
Ilan Hall,
However,
Top Chef has changed and evolved over the years. As diehard fans may recall, the first season of the reality TV staple was different from the show viewers know and love today. For starters, while Padma Lakshmiwas nowhere in sight. Instead, the inaugural season was hosted by
“There was a moment of us not really knowing where this would take us and thank goodness it resonated. We worked really hard to make something that everyone is proud of,” Simmons told
Eddie Sanchez
In some much-needed good news for Nashville, Charleston-favorite Xiao Bao Biscuit is headed for Nashville (East Nashville, specifically). Set for 830 Meridian Street, just across from Roxy Theater and just a stone’s throw away from East Nashville favorites Folk, Redheaded Stranger, and Sean Brock’s upcoming restaurant Audrey, Xiao Bao hopes to open later this year or early 2022.
The name is shortened to Xiao Bao with the expansion (as they did for a new Charlotte, NC location in food hall Optimist Hall), but Nashville diners can expect the same menu of rotating specials and crowd favorites like okonomiyaki crowned with pork candy, pad kra pow, and mapo tofu.
Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for NYCWFF
A fellow Chicago chef is once again accusing
Top Chef alum Stephanie Izard (Girl & the Goat, Duck Duck Goat, Cabra) of irresponsible cultural appropriation after she posted a recipe for bibimbap earlier this week on Instagram. A photo posted Thursday using Izard’s social media handle showed a bowl with beef and topped with cilantro and mint. The post which has since been edited was sponsored content created for New Zealand Beef & Lamb. Izard issued an apology Friday morning.
The dish, full of green herbs, looked more like a Thai or Vietnamese dish; at best, it’s Pan Asian, Korean-American chef Won Kim (Kimski) tells Eater Chicago. But it was not originally described as fusion the post only called it “bibimbap” without any cultural context or sign of the dish’s hallmarks including the crispy, charred rice from a stone pot produced by one of the dish’s variants.
Holiday dinner: area restaurants offering Christmas, NYE meal options suntimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from suntimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.