The “New” New York City Restaurant Scene
In my quest to support restaurants in New York, I came across a clever new meal distribution platform developed by a super smart entrepreneur. Robert Chen is passionate about New York City restaurants and wanted to find a way to create a new revenue stream for restaurants, while providing an innovative way to dine at home. Tracking the explosion of meal kit deliveries due to the pandemic and home cooking, Robert created a hybrid business.
Enter, Mise. (The name comes from the French culinary term, “mise en place.”) With Mise, you can order a signature dish from one of your favorite restaurants but cook it at home at your convenience. The dish is prepped and seasoned by the chef, utilizing restaurant-grade quality ingredients and comes with the recipe and instructions. It is delivered to you to cook and is ready to serve in about ten minutes. A twist on ordering in from a restaurant, Mise is a great way to enjoy a meal for one, for a family or a dinner party. As Mise is in a beta phase, delivery is to midtown Manhattan only, but Robert intends to expand to other neighborhoods and boroughs, and eventually, to be able to ship these signature New York restaurant dishes to other parts of the country. www.eatmise.com
And some good restaurant news! Tony’s di Napoli has just re-opened its landmark Times Square location for indoor dining. The home of the spectacular Broadway Wall of Fame, Tony’s on West 43 Street is now open for lunch and dinner, small gatherings and take out. Tony’s Times Square (as well as its Upper East Side location) boasts a large, open dining room, and with reduced capacity, is a comfortable place to dine indoors. www.tonysnyc.com
To hear Robert Chen talk about Mise and how it works, restaurant news, conversations with theatre producers, performers and more, listen to “Bagels and Broadway with Valerie Smaldone” on WNYM Radio. Now at a new day and time…Sundays from 2-3 PM on AM970, online, Alexa and podcast.
Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market on 106.7 Life-FM, an iHeart station. She has hosted, produced, and created several award-winning nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with stars like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John and Mariah Carey among others. Her radio talk show "Bagels and Broadway" highlighted theatre and food personalities. She is an accomplished interviewer and voice artist heard on commercials, narrations, promos and audiobooks, as well as a sought after live announcer.
Most recently, Valerie produced and directed a film, The Thursday Night Club, featuring pop diva Gloria Gaynor in her movie acting debut. She is one of the creators and producers of a docu-series, Divine Renovation, starring Erik Estrada, on streaming networks soon.
