The Pantry Is Open Again And It's Time To Eat Out!!!!

Welcome, welcome welcome as John Oliver opens his show. Foodie Pantry is back in business and it has been an interesting two months off. We  open up with the New York Times Fall Restaurant guide along with some odds and ends that happened over the summer.

First of all I had to recover from a hysterectomy which was really no big deal .I am cured (only a very early form of endometrial cancer was found and expertly cut out) I missed the Great British Baking Show controversy where Mary , Mel and Sue were replaced by Sandi, and Noel as the new hosts and South African chef/baker Prue Leith as Paul Hollywood's critic in crime. It turns out that the Brits actually like this new trio  however they're don't like the move to the commercial driven BBC1. Now the question is whether PBS will buy this new format and continue to delight Americans. The past one was a fun ride although I was rooting for the other two finalists, Jane and Andrew as opposed to the creative cutie  Candice. She did some amazing bakes like the marzipan peacock show stopped for the Tudor episode,along with the Episode 2 biscuit bake where she created a family pub - complete with a gummy green rug - for the showstopper and the Finals show stopper.  which won her the title - the Queen's picnic. I loved her little piggy sausage rolls., which had porcine puff pastry gobbling herb sausage.

On a more local level, the New York Times Wednesday Food section released their restaurant edition. There are some interesting eateries opening up for the fall, including ones that haven closed and now are being reopened. Trendy staples such as La Goulue and L'Atelier are reopening their doors  - although not at their original locations. Famed chef, Jean Georges Vongerichten's JoJo which was an upper East side staple for quarter of a century closed and now is back, with a lighter, airier look. Some ,like Eleven Madison Ave temporarily moved to the Hamptons for the summer while their Manhattan location was being fixed up.  LA chef Alvin Calain, will open up Paper Plane,a kind of  noveau deli and restaurant while chef Sunny Lee will bring Korean  home cooking to her restaurant Banchan. Diners can also go across the George Washington Bridge to try the Closter , NJ The Hill, run by former Oceana chef Ben Pollinger. Trend setting Jersey City will welcome the Piggyback Bar that features such quick noshes as yellow curry crab cakes and mapo chili dogs.  Staten Island has three new restaurants, Surf , Seppe, and  Vinum while Long Island has 2 Spring in the posh village of Oyster Bay.Other new restaurants from Italian to Eastern Mediterranean are opening up in Park Slope and Dumb.Another trend?More steakhouses are popping up throughout Manhattan and its' boroughs.

It feels soooo good to be back! I;m looking forward to reviews , and recipes .The Pantry is open and it's a welcoming feeling.