Brooklyn (and Harlem) Vegans Get a Restaurant Week
Non-meat-eaters know how to travel to eat well (the half-day schlep to Flatbush’s Veggie Castle, a converted White Castle, is a right of passage). So, we predict the path through the city’s first-ever Vegetarian Restaurant Week, taking place in Harlem and Brooklyn through October 27, will be well worn. The week’s itinerary is filled with some proselytizing info sessions for those looking to go raw or from veggie to vegan. But we’re focusing on the free tastings and prix fixe meals.
Neighborhood Watch
Last Weekend at Red Hook Ball Fields; RUB Introduces Frito Pie to ChelseaAstoria: You can ask the chefs from Bistro 33, at 19-33 Ditmars Boulevard, to prepare a special tasting menu — but be sure to request the chocolate-espresso-stout ice cream served on a warm fudge brownie for dessert. [Joey in Astoria]
Chelsea: RUB has introduced the “open-face” and “sloppy” grease fest that is Frito pie to its menu and it’s best inhaled with a kindred Texas brew. [Gothamist]
East Village: David Chang is looking for one experienced cook to join his team for Momofuku Ko, “a very unique operation, with the possibility of no servers.” [Eat for Victory/VV]
Greenwich Village: Anita Lo has released a recipe for Rickshaw Dumpling Bar’s kimchee-and-tofu dumplings. [Restaurant Girl]
Red Hook: This is the last Sunday of the season for the ball-fields vendors. [Eat for Victory/VV]
NewsFeed
Beatrice Currently Closed to Everyone, Not Just YouGawker reported earlier today that the Beatrice was closed last night, though “no one knew why.” Co-owner Matt Abramcyk fills us in. In order to address noise complaints, Abramcyk was doing renovations to facilitate quick entry and exit to and from the club. However, someone failed to apply for a permit to do some plumbing work. “When [the mayor’s task force] shut construction down,” Abramcyk says, “they left us with our pants half down, since we were doing it to satisfy them.” He’s working with his lawyers to get his pants back up in time to open tonight — not that it matters to the 99.9 percent of the city that can’t get in anyway.
Paul Sevigny’s Beatrice Inn Shut Down Last Night [Gawker]
NewsFeed
Aspen Has a New Chef and a New Sustainable MenuAn overtime lawsuit isn’t the only shake-up happening in Aspen’s kitchen — Greg Brier’s lodge-themed spot has a new head chef. Robert Betanzos formerly cooked at Pacific East, the Hamptons eatery that Diddy was rumored to be buying from feuding owners Aram Sabet and Michael Castino (disco broker Steven Kamali is now shopping Pacific East at $6.5 million). As you can see from the new menu, Chef Betanzos is moving from small plates (though the bison sliders stay) to entrées such as wild salmon with beluga lentils and beets — many of them made with ingredients from Hope Farmyard, which practices sustainable agriculture. What a reputation improver!
Aspen menu
Related: Workers Lodge Complaint Against Aspen