Neighborhood Watch

Vinegar Hill House Is Giving Four & Twenty Blackbirds a Run for Its Pie; Marlow & Sons Holiday Bazaar

Hoboken: On December 20, Chef Michael Colletti, of Le Cirque and Mai House, is hosting a one-night pop-up at Dozzinos, focusing on local, rustic Italian food all coming from the restaurant’s fired oven. Reservations can be made directly through the chef at mcolletti@vb3online.com. The dinner runs $40 per person; red and white wine and seasonal Bellinis are included. [Grub Street]
Lower East Side: If you’re planning on doing some holiday shopping on the LES this weekend, be sure to stop by the Mark Miller Gallery at 92 Orchard Street, which will be transformed into a Holiday Oasis Lounge, hosted by the Lower East Side Business Improvement District. When finding that elusive perfect gift for a parent or significant other is stressing you out, the lounge is here to help calm your nerves with complimentary gift bags for the first 50 guests, free Blue Bottle drip coffee (provided courtesy of Lost Weekend NYC), Hint Water, free gift wrapping, and even massages! All you need to do is show a receipt from an LES store to get access to the goodies in the lounge, which will be open December 17 and 18 from noon to 8 p.m. [Grub Street]

Midtown: This holiday season, Chef Alain Ducasse has designed a “Patisserie a Porter” program at Benoit where holiday hosts and shoppers alike can order classic French desserts such as tarte tatin, tarte Tropézienne (a pastry made with brioche and filled with vanilla pastry cream), pear tart, and, naturally, a büche de noël. Benoit pastry chef Jerome Husson can whip up these confections with only 24-hour notice, but the last day to place orders for Christmas is December 23. [Grub Street]
Soho: Boqueria is offering a traditional Catalan Holiday Lunch from December 19 to 23 between 1 and 3 p.m. Chef Marc Vidal’s menu features escudella y carn d’olla (a hearty stew served in two parts that includes a shell pasta soup and stewed chicken, black sausage, pork and beef meatballs, and vegetables), ensalada de col y calabaza (a kale salad served with squash, poached egg, and warm anchovy vinaigrette) as well as a traditional Catalan fish stew and churros with chocolate. The lunch runs at $25 per person and is also available at their Flatiron location. [Grub Street]
Tribeca: Sound the trumpets: A Chipotle has opened in Tribeca! But seriously, the popular Mexican chain that recently opened on Broadway (between Chambers and Reade) will be a boon to hungry financial district workers craving a massive burrito (not to mention a post-lunch nap). [Midtown Lunch]
Upper West Side: Coinciding with the run of Hansel & Gretel at the Metropolitan Opera, the Grand Tier Restaurant will be serving a family prix fixe menu with seatings corresponding to the opera’s showtimes. The German-inspired adult menu runs at $55 per person and includes roasted weisswurst, lingonberry glazed duck, and a German almond torte, while the $25 children’s menu features a chicken wiener schnitzel and gingerbread, linzer tart, and almond butter cupcakes. [Grub Street]
Vinegar Hill: Perennial favorite Vinegar Hill House is now offering holiday pies and cakes this season with a choice of Classic Apple Lattice ($32), Grizzly Bear (honey, walnuts, and cream, $34), Dark Chocolate ($36), and Gingerbread Cake with sour cream frosting ($36). To place orders (and be the holiday-season envy of your friends), e-mail pies@vinegarhillhouse.com or call 718-522-1018. All orders must be placed by 6 p.m. this Friday, December 16. [Grub Street]
West Village: Empellón will start serving oysters next week, offering a rotating selection of one East Coast variety and one West Coast at market price (likely $3 per oyster). Kicking things up a notch, they’ll forgo a typical vinegar-based mignonette for a bottle of their sangrita, spiked with a hint of horseradish. [Fork in the Road/VV]
Williamsburg: The Marlow Family (Marlow & Sons, Diner, Roman’s) is hosting a Holiday Bazaar this Friday, December 16 from 1 to 7 p.m. on the third floor of their gallery space at 81 Broadway. They’ll have “warm cider, HOT DEALS!” in addition to jewelry, wreaths, clothing, natural skin care, moccasins, and more. [Grub Street]

Vinegar Hill House Is Giving Four & Twenty Blackbirds a Run for Its Pie; Marlow