A First Look at Studio B’s New Rooftop BarStudio B’s rooftop was getting complaints from the neighbors even before it opened, but it was up and running this Friday when Brazilian Girls performed.
NewsFeed
Cluckin’ Bell Gets the DOH Treatment in GTA IVEarlier, Serious Eats revealed that Nathan’s makes an appearance in Grand Theft Auto IV (hardly a surprise), as Johnson’s, “Home of the Weiner,” and today brings something truly hilarious.
Ask a Waiter
Bernard Patten of Peter Luger Has a Strict ‘No Touching’ Rule (Even
Last night at Peter Luger, around 9 p.m., Lindsay Lohan dined with a large party, sporting black patent-leather quilted ankle boots with black semi-opaque tights and a black crushed velvet jacket that came to mid-thigh. One man who wasn’t fazed by this? Waiter Bernard Patten. Since moving from his native Dublin in 1985, he’s seen it all, first at the Waldorf-Astoria and then, for the past eighteen years, at Luger. The Williamsburg bastion of dependability has been going through some changes lately — a new steak on the menu, an expanded kitchen, and a new dining room (seen here) that Patten tells us has eased waiting times. In about six months, there will also be an upstairs lounge and bar with an adjoining private-party space. We asked Patten how he’s been weathering the changes.
Neighborhood Watch
Cipriani Downtown Having a Bit of Work Done; Cupcake Glut Still Centered in theAstoria: La Guli Bakery at 29-15 Ditmars Boulevard serves gelato throughout the winter if you get an irrational craving in this blistery weather. [Joey in Astoria]
East Village: La Palapa is offering Super Bowl catering packages if you decide to pass on the Tostitos and Chi-Chi’s salsa this year. [Grub Street]
Forest Hills: Rouge Bistro has closed. [Grub Street]
Hell’s Kitchen: Newish restaurants like Cooper’s Tavern and Go!Go! Curry mean you can finally find something to eat in the garment district. [NYT]
Midtown East: “I could live — and dine out nightly — for more than 100 years, and I still don’t think I’d come to understand restaurants like Il Nido,” says Bruni about the expensive, hit-or-miss Italian. But over 1,000 words later, he’s explained the survival of old-school inconsistent restaurants quite well. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Soho: Cipriani Downtown will be closed most of this week for renovations to the floor and bar area. [Eater]
West Village: A cupcake bar called Sweet Revenge is opening this spring at 62 Carmine Street near Bedford Street, and the owner’s goal is to sex up the revered city sweets. [Crain’s NY via Eater]
Neighborhood Watch
Tribeca’s 66 Turning Japanese in MayBedford-Stuyvesant: The list of what to drink at Thursday’s Wine & Cocktail Tasting fund-raiser includes Cockspur Rum and Beam Wines. [Bed-Stuy Gateway]
Chelsea: The Frying Pan, the vessel recovered from the bottom of the ocean and turned into a bar in the eighties, has moved over a couple of piers and requires some work. [NewYorkology]
Chinatown: Highgate Holdings will transform the Baxter Street Holiday Inn into a boutique hotel with a “hip” restaurant possibly from Tao’s Marc Packer or Richard Wolf of Stanton Social. [NYP]
East Village: The new Cooper Square hotel may get an outlet of L.A.’s Table 8. [Down by the Hipster]
Harlem: Arlene Weston’s Southern-Jamaican Maroon’s is expanding uptown to West 145th Street and may be open by June. [Uptown Flavor]
Tribeca: 66 will be turning Japanese in May. [Eater]
Williamsburg: The Brooklyn Kitchen will host a cupcake cook-off tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.; you may get handouts if bakers decide to bring more than the required six contenders. [Gothamist]
Openings
You Bring the Booze, ‘Izakaya’ Brings the Grilled Ox TongueWe like our yakitoris with Sapporo-splattered floors and burnt tinfoil walls, but the owner of this Ludlow Street newcomer ain’t having it. A designer who has also worked with Banana Republic outfitted the narrow space with dark wood paneling, mirror inlays of sakura flowers, and comfortable brown-leather bar stools. The opening menu is limited to grilled skewers like a heavily peppered black Angus beef in teriyaki sauce, capelin fish stuffed with roe, and kurobuta sausage, a baby bratwurst made from corn-fed pig and topped with mayonnaise dotted with fish roe. A dessert special consists of Jell-O stars made from osmanthus petals. Expect the chef to get still more fanciful when a full izakaya menu kicks in later this month. The restaurant has been awaiting a liquor license for eight months, and it may be a while longer before 30 types of sake are on offer; in the meantime, September Wine & Spirits is just across the street. — Daniel MaurerYozakura Kushiyaki Bar, 168 Ludlow St., nr. Stanton St.; 212-226-2066
