Hottest Club in the Hamptons Run by CheesemongersChelsea: Izakaya Ten now serves weekend brunch featuring shrimp-fried-rice omelettes, wasabi Bloody Marys, and “Chu-Hais” made with shochu and citrus juices. [NYS]
Southampton: The owners of a Murray Hill fondue parlor are behind the Hamptons’ hottest new club. [Down by the Hipster]
Lower East Side: Spitzer’s Corner, having been spurned by Sam Talbot, has finally gotten around to installing a chef: Le Bernardin veteran Michael Cooperman. [Restaurant Girl]
Union Square: Reserve a spot for Italian Wine Merchants’ Saturday wine tasting dedicated to women winemakers; Batali-approved antipasti are sure to be served. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Upper West Side: The ten-year-old dining room at Jean Georges will close for renovations August 20 through 28. [NYT]
Mediavore
Provence Chef Pink-Slipped; Pichet Ong to Open Cupcake ShopChef Lynn McNeely has been handed a pink slip after mixed reviews at the new Provence; no word on who the next chef might be. [Eater]
Related: Provence Redux [NYM]
Pichet Ong is opening a cupcake store next to P*ONG. “Vanilla, chocolate, yuzu and cinnamon will be my staples,” he says. “I want to add a little salt & spice to my take on them.” [Restaurant Girl]
A tale of two bakeries under Health Department scrutiny: one, Magnolia, plays nice; the other, Delices de Paris in Park Slope, kicks back. Guess which one ends up closing. [NYO]
Openings
Five Points Owners to Transform Provence (But Still Serve Bouillabaisse)It’s always a sad day for Francophiles and nostalgists when yet another beloved old-school French restaurant shutters its doors, but in the case of Provence — which served its last bowl of bouillabaisse on Saturday — it could be a lot worse.
Vicki Freeman and Marc Meyer, the owners of Cookshop and Five Points, have taken over the space with plans to completely gut the kitchen, redo the dining room, put in a raw bar, and reopen by January as — guess what? — a nice French restaurant called Provence.