Mission Chinese Founder Takes Surprise Gig at Buddakan
Nearly two decades after pan-Asian clubstaurant Buddakan made its flashy Meatpacking District debut, Starr Restaurant Group is turning to a big-name chef to reinvent it.
Mega-restaurateur Stephen Starr tapped Danny Bowien, of Mission Chinese Food fame, 'to revitalize the menu at Buddakan and give it a fresh look,' a Starr rep tells Eater. The team declined to say whether Bowien is a newly named co-owner or partner, as 'it's still in extremely early development stages.' The Substack Feed Me first flagged Bowien's incoming involvement this week.
Bowien is best known for his San Francisco-born smash hit Mission Chinese, which expanded to New York in 2012 to instant acclaim. Subsequent locations followed on the Lower East Side and Bushwick. The restaurant group's reputation took a turn after employees repeatedly alleged a range of misconduct at the LES location, including racial discrimination as well as physical and verbal abuse. In 2022, Mission Chinese pulled out of NY completely.
Bowien's neon-lit millennial magnet made a surprise NY comeback last spring, this time in the heart of Chinatown, as a nighttime residency inside Cha Kee (43 Mott Street, at Bayard Street). What started as a pop-up is now a permanent operation, complete with longstanding Mission Chinese favorites like chile-blasted Chongqing chicken wings, kung pao pastrami, and other inventive takes on Sichuan cuisine through his Chinese American lens. The 15-year-old original in San Francisco's Mission District is still open today (though under new ownership).
It remains unclear how Bowien plans to zhuzh Buddakan's existing menu full of dim sum, sizzling short ribs, and Beijing duck. Choosing to align with a cash-cow conglomerate of a company like Starr is relatively surprising, considering Bowien's keep-it-tight approach to the restaurant world. Like Mission Chinese, Buddakan has also dealt with past allegations of discrimination and a toxic work culture.
Starting as a single location in Philadelphia in 1988, Buddakan grew into a mini empire at its height, with locations in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. The Meatpacking District location opened in 2006 and, backed by an early two-star review from the New York Times , was an immediate hit. In Manhattan at that time, Buddakan was 'a hipper, younger, clubbier analogue to older, expensive, white tablecloth venues,' former Eater critic Ryan Sutton wrote in a 2015 review. See More: Coming Attractions
NYC Restaurant News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
23 minutes ago
In the Arizona desert, a farm raising fish raises questions about water use
DATELAND, Ariz. -- Storks scatter, white against blue water, as Dan Mohring's pickup truck rumbles down the dirt road. He's towing a trailer full of ground-up beef, chicken, fish and nutrient bits behind him, ready to be shot out of a cannon into the ponds below. It's time to feed the fish. Mohring fires up the machine and the food flies out in a rainbow arc. Then the water comes alive. Hundreds of thrashing, gobbling barramundi wiggle their way to the surface, all fighting for a piece. Until, in a few months, they will become food themselves. In the desert of landlocked Arizona, where the Colorado River crisis has put water use under a microscope, Mainstream Aquaculture has a fish farm where it's growing the tropical species barramundi, also known as Asian sea bass, for American restaurants. Mainstream sees it as a sustainable alternative to ocean-caught seafood. They say chefs and conscious consumers like that the food has a shorter distance to travel, eliminating some of the pollution that comes from massive ships that move products around the world. And they and some aquaculture experts argue it's efficient to use the water twice, since the nutrient-rich leftovers can irrigate crops like Bermuda grass sold for livestock feed. 'We're in the business of water,' said Matt Mangan, head of Australia-based Mainstream's American business. 'We want to be here in 20 years', 30 years' time.' But some experts question whether growing fish on a large scale in an arid region can work without high environmental costs. That question comes down to what people collectively decide is a good use of water. In Arizona, some places manage water more aggressively than others. But the whole state is dealing with the impacts of climate change, which is making the region drier and water only more precious. The farm uses groundwater, not Colorado River water. It's a nonrenewable resource, and like mining, different people and industries have different philosophies about whether it should be extracted. 'As long as groundwater is treated as an open resource in these rural parts of Arizona, they're susceptible to new industries coming in and using the groundwater for that industry,' said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University's Morrison Institute. Some scientists believe aquaculture can play a role in protecting wild ocean ecosystems from overfishing. And it might play at least a small role in smoothing any supply problems that result from the Trump administration's tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, including those that send the U.S. about 80% of its seafood, per the United States Department of Agriculture. In the greenhouses at University of Arizona professor Kevin Fitzsimmons' lab in Tucson, tilapia circle idly in tanks that filter down into tubs full of mussels and floating patches of collard greens and lettuce. Fitzsimmons mentored the student who started the tilapia farm eventually bought by Mainstream about three years ago where they now raise barramundi. 'I don't think desert agriculture is going away," he said. 'Obviously, we want to do it as water-efficient as possible." But not everyone agrees it's possible. 'Artificial ponds in the desert are stupid,' said Jay Famiglietti, a professor at ASU and director of science for the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative. He worried about heavy water losses to evaporation. Mangan says that evaporation hasn't been an issue so much as the loss of heat in the wintertime. That has required pumping more water since its warmth when it arrives at the surface helps keep the barramundi cozy. But Mangan says they've been improving pond design to retain heat better and have found, after the last year of research and development, that they can cut their water requirement by about half as a result. Plus, he argues, the water coming out of the fish ponds is "essentially liquid fertilizer," and though it's slightly salty, they use it for crops that can tolerate it, like Bermuda grass dairy cows can eat. But that's supporting the cattle industry, which contributes more than its share of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, Famiglietti said. 'Doing two suboptimal things doesn't make it better,' he said. Purple flowers sprout alongside paddle wheels. Fish bones crunch underfoot. The faint odor of brackish water and ammonia catches in the breeze. Without groundwater, none of it would be possible. Some farmers in Arizona rely on water from the Colorado River, but many others use well water to irrigate crops like alfalfa for the dairy industry or the lettuce, cucumbers and melons shipped nationwide year-round. Arizona has seven areas around the state where groundwater is rigorously managed. Dateland doesn't fall into one of those, so the only rule that really governs it is a law saying if you land own there, you can pump a 'reasonable' amount of groundwater, said Rhett Larson, who teaches water law at ASU. What might be considered 'reasonable' depends from crop to crop, and there's really no precedent for aquaculture, an industry that hasn't yet spread commercially statewide. Using numbers provided by Mainstream, Porter calculated that the fish farm would demand a 'very large amount' of water, on par with a big ranch or potentially even more than some suburbs of Phoenix. And she noted that although the water use is being maximized by using it twice, it's still depleting the aquifer. When the company scoped out Arizona to expand, Mangan said they didn't see nearly the same kinds of regulations as back in Australia. As part of its growth strategy, Mainstream is also hoping to work with other farmers in the area so more can use nutrient-rich fish pond wastewater to produce hay. They say a few have expressed interest. The seafood industry needs to reduce its reliance on catching small wild fish to feed bigger farmed ones that humans eat, said Pallab Sarker, an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who studies sustainability in the aquaculture industry. He said seabirds and mammals rely on small species like anchovies and mackerel commonly used in fish meal. 'We should not rely on ocean fish to grow fish for aquaculture to meet the demand for humans,' Sarker said. Mainstream gets its fish feed from two suppliers, Skretting and Star Milling, but Mangan and Mohring said they didn't know for certain where those suppliers got their base ingredients from. Fitzsimmons, of the University of Arizona, also pointed out that between pollution, overfishing and oceanfront development for recreation, the commercial fishing industry had already been facing problems. He doesn't think that Trump's moves this spring to open up marine protected areas for commercial fishing will improve that situation the way aquaculture could. 'We can't keep hunting and gathering from the ocean,' Fitzsimmons said. ___ ___
Forbes
43 minutes ago
- Forbes
Will Adobe Stock See Higher Levels?
CHONGQING, CHINA - JUNE 08: In this photo illustration, the logo of Adobe Inc. is displayed on a ... More smartphone screen, with the company's latest stock market chart visible in the background, reflecting investor sentiment and recent trading activity, on June 08, 2025, in Chongqing, China. (Photo Illustration by) Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) recently revealed its Q2 results (fiscal year ending in November), exceeding analyst expectations. The firm reported earnings of $5.06 per share on revenues of $5.9 billion, surpassing the consensus estimates of $4.97 per share and $5.8 billion, respectively. Moreover, Adobe raised its full-year guidance. Despite these encouraging results, the stock experienced a modest reaction in after-hours trading, falling by 1%. This response, or lack of it, calls for a deeper analysis of the company's financial performance and its present stock valuation. If you seek an upside with a more stable experience than individual stocks, consider the High-Quality portfolio, which has outperformed the S&P 500, achieving over 91% returns since inception. In a different context, check out – Boeing Stock Faces Fresh Crisis After 787 Dreamliner Crash. Adobe's revenue rose by 11% year-over-year, totaling $5.87 billion in Q2 (fiscal year ending in November). This increase was fueled by its main segments: Adobe is presently benefitting from clients transitioning to its premium subscription plans, which are generating a stable revenue flow. Adobe's Firefly, an innovative AI tool that allows users to create, modify, and enhance images and videos through simple text commands, has broadened Adobe's suite of AI-driven creative tools, aimed at accelerating the ideation and content creation processes. Furthermore, Adobe recently announced that it is incorporating image-generation AI models from OpenAI and Google directly into the Firefly application, further enhancing its capabilities. Adobe's adjusted operating margin of 45.5% in Q2'25 was slightly lower than the 46% figure reported in the same quarter last year. The company also repurchased 8.6 million shares during the quarter. Increased revenues, a small drop in operating margins, and a reduced number of shares outstanding led to the company reporting a bottom line of $5.06 compared to $4.48 in the prior-year quarter. Looking forward, Adobe has revised its full-year revenue forecast to a range between $23.5 billion and $23.6 billion, an increase from the previous estimate of $23.3 billion to $23.55 billion. The firm also expects adjusted earnings per share to range from $20.50 to $20.70, up from the earlier estimate of $20.20 to $20.50. ADBE stock has declined 6% this year, trailing behind the broader indices, with the S&P 500 index up 3%. Overall, ADBE stock has shown considerable volatility compared to the index over recent years. The stock's returns were 13% in 2021, -41% in 2022, 77% in 2023, and -25% in 2024. In contrast, the S&P 500's returns were 27% in 2021, -19% in 2022, 24% in 2023, and 23% in 2024 — indicating that ADBE underperformed the S&P in 2021, 2022, and 2024. On the other hand, the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, which comprises 30 stocks, has effectively outperformed the S&P 500 during the last four-year span. Why is this? Collectively, HQ Portfolio stocks yielded superior returns with diminished risk compared to the benchmark index, providing a less turbulent experience, as shown in HQ Portfolio performance metrics. Considering the current unpredictable macroeconomic landscape, amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions, could ADBE encounter a situation akin to those in 2021, 2022, and 2024, resulting in underperformance relative to the S&P over the next 12 months — or will it bounce back? While we will soon refresh our model to incorporate the latest results and guidance for ADBE, the stock appears undervalued. At its current price of $410, ADBE stock is trading at 20x the anticipated adjusted earnings of $20.35, based on the mid-point of the provided guidance, compared to the stock's average P/E ratio of 25x over the past three years. In fact, we currently estimate Adobe's Valuation to be $550 per share, indicating more than 30% upside potential from current levels. Nevertheless, it is crucial to acknowledge potential risks. Investors may moderate their valuation of Adobe due to a slower-than-expected pace of growth driven by AI. Furthermore, the stock has historically lagged behind the S&P 500 during recent market downturns, as outlined in our 'Buy or Sell Adobe Stock' dashboard. Therefore, investors should cautiously consider these risks before investing in Adobe stock. While ADBE stock seems to have the potential for growth, it is beneficial to examine how Adobe's Peers perform on relevant metrics. You will find more valuable comparisons for companies across various industries at Peer Comparisons.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oil prices surge, Europe's markets open lower on Israel Iran strikes
European indexes took a hit on Friday, following a dip in Asian markets, on news that Israel had attacked Iran's capital. The strikes came amid the ramping up of tensions over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. Oil prices, on the other hand, soared — linked to concerns that the conflict could restrict supply. US benchmark crude oil had risen 5.3% to around $71.7 per barrel as of 9.30 CEST. Brent crude, the international standard, increased by 5.15% to $72.93 per barrel. In share trading, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.37% to 5.287,11, while the broader STOXX 600 fell 0.95% 544,64. Germany's DAX dropped 1.3% to 23.463,56 and Italy's FTSE MIB slipped 1.53% to 39,315.48. Spain's IBEX 35 fell 1.56% to 13,869.00 and France's CAC 40 dropped 1.03% to 7,682.33. In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.89% to 37,834.25 at close, while the Kospi in Seoul edged 0.87% lower to 2,894.62. Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.91% to 23.817,36 and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.75% to 3,377.00. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 drifted 0.21% lower to 8.547,40. An Israeli attack on Iran is in "our top ten of global risks', but 'Asian markets are expected to recover quickly as they have relatively limited exposure to the conflict and growing ties to unaffected Saudi Arabia and the UAE', said Xu Tiachen of The Economist Intelligence. Following the strikes on Iran, S&P 500 futures dropped 1.38%, Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.46%% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 1.29% by around 3.45am ET. Related Oil prices jump in response to Trump's Venezuela tariff threats Israel strikes Iran, wiping out top military commanders and nuclear scientists On Thursday, US stock indexes had ticked higher following another encouraging update on inflation across the country. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 6,045.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 42,967.62, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2% to 19,662.48. Oracle pushed upward on the market after jumping 13.3%. The tech giant delivered stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and CEO Safra Catz said it expects revenue growth 'will be dramatically higher' in its upcoming fiscal year. That helped offset a 4.8% loss for Boeing after Air India said a London-bound flight crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday with 242 passengers and crew onboard. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a residential area near the airport five minutes after taking off. Stocks broadly got some help from easing Treasury yields in the bond market following the latest update on inflation. Thursday's update said inflation at the wholesale level wasn't as bad last month as economists expected. Wall Street took it as a signal that the Federal Reserve will have more leeway to cut interest rates later this year in order to give the economy a boost. The Fed's next meeting on interest rates is scheduled for next week, but the nearly unanimous expectation on Wall Street is that officials won't cut. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
