From the October issue: Like a truly recession-weary New Yorker, this year restaurant mogul
Steve Hanson has opted to swap foie gras for burgers and fries. In January, Hanson, founder of the B.R. Guest restaurant empire,
stunned foodies by shutting down his three-star Italian gem Fiamma, a
Soho spot famous for its $92 prix fixe menu laden with indulgent foods
like foie gras and quail eggs. In published reports, Hanson blamed the recession’s decimation of Wall Streeters’ dining dollars. Now he’s firing up the grill for a far more modest American culinary staple: burgers. Hanson has leased the former home of barbeque joint the Hog Pit at 22
Ninth Avenue at 13th Street in the Meatpacking District for Bill’s Bar
& Burger. It’s slated to open later this month, serving up turkey
burgers and perhaps even spiked milkshakes.