Grub Street

Ootoya, the popular Tokyo chain, is set to open it's first Manhattan branch at 8 West 18th Street next Wednesday, April 5th. The 72-seat restaurant, which features high ceilings, an open kitchen, a long bar, and shoji screen, will feature a variation on Izakaya cuisine. Grub got an early look at the lunch menu (which is pending last-minute approval from Tokyo) and saw entrees — which are served with rice, miso soup, homemade pickles, and egg custard — such as grilled chicken and vegetables with black vinegar sauce, grilled pork loin in a cinnamon sauce, grilled washu beef tongue, grilled mackerel and homemade yukon-potato-and-cheese croquettes. Sushi, soba noodles, and homemade tofu are among the other menu offerings.

Just the other week, Grub Street had the pleasure of sampling the cooking Francis Derby (a veteran of Momofuku and wd~50) has been doing at King: fare like pig's-head terrine, beer-battered snails, and a darn good burger. So it's a shocker to learn today via Gael Greene that the toque has left the restaurant — "walked out," as she puts it (and right after her positive review dropped). The toque told Greene, "I never got the support I needed for the kind of food I do.” Derby and his talent are reportedly at large with no immediate plans, so keep your eye on this one. [Insatiable Critic]

A huge European food hall, possibly called "All Good Things," is opening in Tribeca and the Tribeca Citizen says that it could, hypothetically, feature Blue Bottle Coffee, Dickson’s Farmstand Meats, Cavaniola Cheese, Blue Marble Ice Cream, Nunu Chocolates, and Orwasher’s Bakery, plus fish mongers, restaurants, shops and flower stands. No confirmations yet but it sounds like Tribeca-utopia. [Tribeca Citizen]

This week's New York Magazine feature about youthful foodies didn't have anybody quite this young in mind: Fork in the Road brings word that 12-year-old critic David Pines has published a restaurant guide. Dubbed Pines Picks: A Kid's Guide to the Best Things to Eat and Drink in New York City, the handbook reviews favorite dishes at short-set-friendly places like Pommes Frites, Chinatown Brasserie, and Baked by Melissa. Not exactly sophisticated, but hey, isn't that the point? However, underage foodie-ism does have a few drawbacks: If you want to know about restaurant wine lists, probably better to consult Zagat. Also, we wonder how David Fishman, the other kid critic (who has to be 14 or 15 by now) feels about this. [Fork in the Road/VV]

Gael Greene breaks the news that Jeffrey Chodorow's Bar Basque is out of Eventi and Jimmy Haber's ESquared Hospitality is in, explaining that "the lively young bar crowd never did quite mesh with the gourmand aspiration on the dining terrace. And serious eaters, me included, complained about the monster television screen across the courtyard intruding in our great mackeral moments." Basque's last day is April 29th, with Haber's new project sliding in May 1. [Insatiable Critic]

Lovers of Doughnut Plant's sublimely pillowy rounds know it as a tiny hole of a shop — but no longer: Bowery Boogie brings the happy news that the original LES location has moved into the next-door (larger) space at 377 Grand Street. The blog reports that the new shop is more "cafe-like," with seating, although sadly it doesn't sound like the line out the door is any shorter. In other sweet news, Girl Scout Cookie season is upon us, and if you don't feel like stalking area elementary schools, the Post tips us off to this handy cookie-locator app for iPhones, available for free on iTunes. Could someone please score us some Thin Mints? [Bowery Boogie, NYP]