Bradley and Freitag Planning a ‘Lusty’ Menu for the Harrison; HotAstoria: Bar 36 at 36-05 30th Avenue hosts Martini Thursdays, where it’s “$2 off every martini on their menu (or create your own). Can’t beat the free snacks, too!” [Joey in Astoria]
East Village: You’d be hard-pressed find a better, more satisfying “fantastic when it was hot but … made for a mean late night snack as well” deal than bär-bo-ne’s nightly five-course fresh pasta tasting menu. [Gluttoness]
Flatiron: Eisenberg’s has been serving tater tots as latkes, but “the owner talked about getting in some big latkes soon. Let’s hope so … A place like Eisenberg’s deserves to have the best latkes.” [Lost City]
Midtown West: Norma’s has added new breakfast items to its menu, including hot chestnut pancakes and a chocolate waffle with peanut-butter-toffee-crunch filling, but don’t expect to get in and try them until the tourist exodus in January. [Eater]
Tribeca: With chef Amanda Freitag at the helm, Jimmy Bradley plans to strive “for a bold, lusty, soulful menu at the Harrison.” Saucy! [Restaurant Girl]
Upper East Side: On weekdays through December, Zoë Townhouse at 135 East 62nd Street is offering a 15 percent discount off bottles of wine from noon to 7 p.m. [Grub Street]
Williamsburg: From these pictures, the opening of the Peter Luger annex, which would significantly expand the restaurant, seems imminent. [Eater]
NewsFeed
Let No Scone Go UnclottedAre we in the midst of a clotted-cream crisis? Nicky Perry, owner of Tea & Sympathy, believes so. She just learned from her supplier, Epicure, that an entire shipping container of clotted cream — made from unpasteurized milk and used in baked goods — was destroyed by the FDA a few weeks ago. The reason: more foot-and-mouth disease in the U.K. She panicked. “Help!” she wrote back to friends in England. “What’s happening?”
What to Eat Tonight
Spring’s First Veal Short Ribs at Bär-Bo-Ne
The East Village’s Bär-Bo-Ne is known mostly for its regional wines, but the food has been getting consistently more interesting since former chef John Baron departed and was replaced by the owner, Alberto Ibrahimi. The latter incorporates pointed, strong flavors into light, understated dishes such as tonight’s special of veal short ribs braised in white wine, served over parsnip purée with celery leaves ($20). “You see beef short ribs all the time,” Ibrahimi says. “But spring is here and veal is softer and lighter.” The celery leaves give some needed texture and bitterness to the soft sweetness of the meat and parsnips; Ibrahimi suggests pairing the dish with a $12 quartino of Benuara, a blend of red Nero d’Avola and Syrah grapes that he says is “rustic but elegant, like the ribs.”
What to Eat Tonight
Obscure Italian Grapes Debut at Bar-bo-ne Tonight
When Alberto Ibrahimi, the owner of Bar-bo-ne, talks to us about wine, he never says anything about bottles, vineyards, or even regions. Everything is about “the grape.” He’s bent on introducing his customers to regional wines made from indigenous Italian grapes. Two more debut tonight: Massaretta, a Tuscan variety which grows only around the city of Massa and which he describes, lovingly, as having “a deep red, ruby color, with ripe plums and prunes” (order the Cima Massaretta); and asprinio, a white Campagna grape (Villa Carafa Asprinio di Aversa). He says the latter is “very rare, almost unknown here.” The unknown is becoming Ibrahimi’s trademark: “Regulars don’t even look at the list anymore.”