(photos by Dominick Mastrangelo)
Sometime around Christmas, I learned what a buche de noel was as I watched the Food Network’s Robert Irvine mess one up on an episode of Iron Chef. A few days later, I trekked from Bushwick all the way down to Sunset Park (about an hour on the subway) to my friend Eleanor Whitney’s apartment for a lovely New Year’s Eve party (with cupcakes in hand). When I arrived, she was pulling a thin sheet of cake out of the oven. After letting it cool, she covered it in chocolate maple buttercream frosting, and then I watched her roll it into a buche that put Irvine’s to shame.

In 2009, Eleanor and her boyfriend Sharif launched 2 Cooks in the Kitchen, a blog of yummy and practical recipes, like the aforementioned buche de noel and veggie stock. Eleanor also plays guitar and sings in the indiepop band Corita, and she writes about music. Basically, she is awesome.

ON THE WEB
2 Cooks in the Kitchen
Corita
@killerfemme

I asked Eleanor about her cooking and eating habits, and what Corita would taste like if they were a food. Interview below!
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(Photo by Ryan Thatcher via Flickr)

Working in the music biz sometimes means eating out a lot — whether it’s meetings with others in the industry or taking artists out before their shows. Andrew Steinthal and Chris Stang are the music-industry dudes behind the NYC restaurant reviews site Immaculate Infatuation. (Steinthal does publicity at Warner Bros. and Stang is the director of marketing at Atlantic Records.) The site is great for anyone in the city looking for a new restaurant, but it’s especially awesome for those wanting to grab a bite before checking out a show: You can search reviews by neighborhood or cuisine, but you can also check what restaurants are closest to the music venue you’re headed to.

ON THE WEB
Immaculate Infatuation
@ImmaculateInfat

I chatted with the guys about where their site’s name comes from, where to eat on Valentine’s Day, and what music you should be listening to right now.

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