Grub Street

As we’ve already mentioned, this is the height of cold-noodle season, and connoisseurs might want to stick around town this steamy weekend to experience perhaps the rarest variety: kuzukiri, the chilled noodle dessert made from kudzu and water and served with black sugar syrup. The arguably most famous version can be found at Kagizen, a nearly three-centuries-old confectionery shop in Kyoto. For the first time, the venerable shop will be preparing it off-site, at Kajitsu in Murray Hill, from Saturday, July 26, through Wednesday, July 30 (closed Monday), from 1 to 4:30 p.m. This is very big news for the expat community and all lovers of esoteric Asian desserts. More details here. [Official site, Related]

Someone who's been put in charge of the official account of Cupcake Crew, a one-time Vendy Award finalist that proclaims it "bakes with love daily" and may or may not be a defunct business, seemingly has an itchy Twitter finger and lots of hateful opinions. At least since January, the business has been firing off rantlike messages fairly regularly, and this week it delved right into the Israel-Palestine conflict, instead of sticking to topics like, say, red velvet or buttercream. "Ironically what the Zionist pigs are doing to Palestinian Arabs today is exactly what Hitler and the Nazi's did to them #FreePalestine," read one tweet, since deleted, but there are more.

Outposts of Parm and Umami Burger are already opening at North 4th Street and Bedford Avenue, and this morning, word started to spread that Danny Meyer's Shake Shack had signed for a space at North 4th Street and Berry, a residential building that will have at least three commercial tenants on the ground floor. (Starbucks opened nearby this week, chain-wise, but no one seems at all excited about that.) Specifically, the "head construction guy" at the site told Free Williamsburg that Shake Shack was moving in.

The dimly lit and grungy Ding Dong Lounge, which has for 13 years been home to several generations of punk rock show flyers plastered to the walls, a vintage Ms. Pac-Man console, and $2 happy hour cans of Genesee Cream Ale, will close on July 31. The bar, once described by Gothamist as the only dive bar "doing its best to create the kind of crappy atmosphere we desperately desire in our watering holes," is planning to relocate, and is shutting down despite a steady influx of customers. "The Ding has lost its lease. Victim to landlord greed, avarice, and douchebaggery," writes Linda Rizzo, a DJ at the space.

Last night, Gabriel Stulman opened Bar Sardine on West 10th Street — the former home to Chez Sardine. As part of this restaurant redo, Stulman has ditched the Japanese concept in favor of a classic, all-American bar. Chef Mehdi Brunet-Benkritly's menu includes a nice mix of hearty and healthy foods: Cod fritters, arctic-char tartare, Gruyère grilled cheese with beer mustard, and, notably, a $10 burger with smoked Cheddar and barbecue mayo. Renovations include a bigger bar in the center of the room and a drink rail along the windows, where you can order cocktails like Supply & Demand Julep (with rye, peach, lemon, and mint), or choose from four different bottles of rosé. Take a look, straight ahead.

Master sommelier Laura Maniec opens her second location of Corkbuzz tonight in Chelsea Market — specifically, near the 15th Street entrance. It's a wine bar, first and foremost, but the food menu is quite different from the original Union Square location. A Voce alum Missy Robbins has collaborated with Maniec on dishes like veal tartare with lardo, a foie-gras-and-jelly sandwich, cured sardines with tomato conserva and sesame, and to-go snacks for long walks on the High Line. (Robbins is only onboard temporarily, though.) There's already a third location in the works: Maniec will open Corkbuzz 3.0 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Take a look at a few of the dishes and the space, straight ahead.