Astor Place Update: Beard Papa Up, Cold Stone Creamery Down
In a bit of Astor Place musical chairs, Beard Papa has reopened as promised while its neighbor around the corner, Cold Stone Creamery, is taking a week off. Beard Papa has added pre-made Japanese-style cakes and pastries from Gateaux bakery (we cracked open the plastic on a croissant filled with ham and half of a hard-boiled egg and also sampled some tapioca balls). Cold Stone, which had to seek approval from Landmarks for construction, is promising Original Soup Man products when it reopens November 1. Because it’s getting cold and all.
Related: Beard Papa Returning Downtown, May Hit the Slope
Neighborhood Watch
Former Clinton Hill Porn Store to Become Euro EateryClinton Hill: A former porn shop on Myrtle Avenue will become a European-style cafe, a term open to interpretation. The only notable physical change to the space is an exterior paint job. [Clinton Hill Blog]
East Village: Ramen Setagaya at 141 First Avenue will be ready to open when Con Edison turns the gas on. [VV] Former captain at Gramercy Tavern and Picholine Rob Ziser has opened his own restaurant out of a subleased kitchen at Company bar. [The Strong Buzz]
Gramercy: Delayed high-end Asian restaurant Wakiya in the Gramercy Park Hotel is coming and hiring. [Eater]
Harlem: A Coldstone Creamery on 125th Street could give Mister Softee an ice-cream headache. [Uptown Flavor]
Park Slope: Michael Hearst recorded Songs for Ice Cream Trucks in his converted one-bedroom, but it looks like his jingles won’t make it to the big time. [Brooklyn Record]
Tribeca: Brandy Library is hosting a free cognac tasting tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. And afterward begin the piano stylings of Joel Forrester. [Brandy Library]
The New York Diet
Model Missy Rayder Drinks Garlic and Eats ‘Dragon Bowls’Missy Rayder, currently featured in Gap’s khaki ads, isn’t sweating the whole “skinny models” thing: She grew up in Wisconsin eating McDonald’s and microwaveable cheese-filled hot dogs. Her tastes were refined after she moved to New York City at the age of 16: “I switched a long time ago from my days of drugs to food.” Of course, that doesn’t mean she’s staying home cooking. “My stove doesn’t even work. I don’t think I’d be a very good wife.” Nevertheless we let her seduce us with tales of superlative brisket (fed to her while Terry Richardson photographed her for Uniqlo) and the best French fries in the city.