Two Bucks for Ice at Bowery Hotel!? Register Your Customer Complaints HereEver wonder why cocktails are so pricey in this town? Maybe part of that $17 tab covers health insurance in case the barkeep gets a wrist injury from squeezing fresh pomegranate juice? According to an e-mail from a reader who actually asked why he was being charged extra for drinks at the Bowery Hotel’s bar, that’s not it at all — it’s actually because of the precious ice that goes into the drink! Read on for her tale of woe, and if you have one that’s equally horrifying, do use our nifty new comments feature to let it all out.
Neighborhood Watch
Oh, Baby, Bay Ridge Likes It RawBay Ridge: People desperate for raw milk have launched a black-market dairy ring. [Brooklyn Paper]
Boerum Hill: Donna da Vine garden, not being pruned, set to open April 20. [Eater]
East Village: Carne Vale churrascaria has just opened an outdoor patio and started serving lighter fish options to ease anxiety over impending spandex-legging separation syndrome. [Restaurant Girl] Where will heroin enthusiasts linger once Alt coffee becomes kid-friendly Hopscotch? [Gothamist] A knife fight in front of the Bowery Hotel part of that “Old New York experience,” according to hotelier-owner Sean MacPherson. [NYM]
Prospect-Lefferts-Gardens: “Whole in the wall” [sic] Lenny’s has bitten the dust. [across the park]
Soho: The Neoprene booze tote at Sur La Table can keep a bottle cold for hours! [Gothamist]
Upper East Side: Brian Young debuted his menu at Tavern on the Green Sunday; his à la carte creations will be available in June. [Upper East Side Informer]
West Village: Tea shops, cutesy stores flourish; sex shops get no respect. [Manhattan Offender]
Neighborhood Watch
Three Words: Chelsea Cupcake ControversyBedford-Stuyvesant: Next Thursday’s cocktail fund-raiser at Carver Savings bank benefits Fulton-Nostrand United Merchants Association, Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, and if you’re still reading this, congratulations. [Bed-Stuy Gateway]
Chelsea: The pink cupcake — you know the one — inspires reactions from diabolical blogger rants to posters defending the pretty cake. [Blog Chelsea] Ronnybrook Dairy will be converted into a milk bar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner — with special lactose twists. [Eater]
Clinton Hill: Olivino is hosting an Italian wine tasting tonight starting at 6:30 p.m.; you’ve got three hours to “taste” as much as your liver can stand. [Clinton Hill Blog]
East Village: The Bowery Hotel lobby may be getting a tepid response, but the 10,000-square-foot bar space on the second floor should impress, assuming the weather warms up sometime. [Down by the Hipster]
Tribeca: Patsy’s Pizza coming to the former Dominic spot; booze a sure thing. [Eater]
West Village: Chumley’s won’t be torn down — not yet, anyway. [Gawker] The Spotted Pig has updated their menu. [Grub Street]