Fat Tuesday in Park Slope; Dining Near the TentsPlus: a $38 eight-course meal to celebrate the Chinese New Year, and the best places to go in Park Slope for Mardi Gras, in our daily roundup of neighborhood food news.
BLT Fish Is Just a Little Tacky; Corn Strippers Now in SoHoAstoria: Tonight is trivia night at Dillinger’s on 30th Avenue, which means $5 pitchers. [Joey in Astoria]
Brooklyn Heights: Uncommon Grounds is closed for renovations, and it looks like the coffee shop’s application to set up outdoor seating will get approved. [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
Coney Island: Since Thor Equities can’t start developing any time soon, the company has handed out leases to eight vendors to keep the fryers operating until next fall. [Lost City]
East Village: Some pork hater tagged the entrance of Vanessa Dumpling with the word “LARD.” [East Village Idiot]
Red Hook: LeNell’s is hosting a bourbon festival on the 23rd with a tasting, discounts, and even alky ice-cream made on the spot. [LeNell’s]
SoHo: Wondering how to get those kernels off the cob? Sur La Table sells a Corn Stripper that actually works. [Serious Eats]
Tribeca: Ceci-Cela may still be cranking out croissants on Chambers Street, but there’s a “Store for Lease” sign in its window. [Grub Street]
Union Square: Bruni extols the virtues of BLT Fish, but warns would-be diners that the upstairs and downstairs spaces differ greatly, and the Laurent-Tourondel cookbook listing on the menu is tacky. [Diner’s Journal]
Neighborhood Watch
Thor Struck Down on the LES; Bruni Rides the Bull in Midtown West?Clinton Hill: Recent openings: Manee Thai from the owners of Myrtle Thai and Nuevo Latino spot Tamboril. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Coney Island: The world’s largest “lollypop” has been installed by an artist to commemorate Philip’s Candy (1930–2001). [Kinetic Carnival]
Long Island City: LIC Bar at 45-58 Vernon Boulevard is hosting a BBQ and free concert with local bands this Sunday from 4 to 7:30 p.m. [Joey in Astoria]
Lower East Side: Thor gets gutted with no warning. [Eater]
Midtown West: Frank Bruni contemplated riding the bull at Johnny Utah’s. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Prospect Heights: Rye with fresh blackberries, mint, and ginger beer, and gin with peaches and homemade thyme syrup are among cocktails available at Flatbush Farm Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. during a farmer’s-market tasting event. [A Brooklyn Life]
Ask a Waiter
Frank Gluska of Ruby’s Won’t Be Making You a Fuzzy Navel
Fourteen years ago, Frank Gluska was kicking back at Coney Island institution Ruby’s, our Best Throwback Bar of 2006, when the manager (whose sister Frank had been dating for twelve years) told him, “Can’t you see we’re busy? Get behind the bar.” “I got behind the bar,” says Gluska, “and that was the beginning of the end.” Since then, he has learned the truth of late owner Ruby Jacobs’s favorite saying, “Once you get the sand of Coney Island between your toes, you’ll never leave.” Because we’ll probably spend the Siren Festival at Ruby’s on Saturday, we asked Gluska to explain his self-described addiction to the place.
Neighborhood Watch
Latin Flavor to Bring Spice Back to the Porn Emporium in Clinton HillClinton Hill: Residents glad to see Tamboril Latin restaurant replacing a porn emporium, assuming the space is properly sanitized. [Clinton Hill Blog] An Italian restaurant with an exposed-brick interior will open in the space next to Joseph Tyler Salon on Myrtle Avenue. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Coney Island: Not all attendees of Nathan’s hot-dog binge yesterday were there to bask in the gluttony of the contest; costumed protesters encouraged meat eaters to “Give Peas a Chance.” [Gowanus Lounge]
Flatiron: Pixar’s latest film got you hungry? Borough Food & Drink is among the city’s restaurants now serving ratatouille, and its version is topped with cheese from Joe’s Dairy. [NYDN]
Gowanus: The 60-year-old Italian-foods market on President Street has closed and may make way for a café from the owners of neighboring Canal Bar. [Gowanus Lounge]
Gramercy: Ian Schrager’s high-end Asian restaurant Wakiya in the Gramercy Park Hotel is now taking reservations from July 24 onward. [Eater]
Harlem: From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, Uptown Vets will host this month’s man-and-beast coffee mingle at St. Nick’s Dog Park. [Uptown Flavor]
Prospect Park: The Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket accepts credit cards. [NYT]
Ask a Waiter
Tamica Gazson Serves Hot Dogs to Freaks at Nathan’s FamousWith the annual battle for the Mustard Belt (well, the fake Mustard Belt, anyway) set for tomorrow, our thoughts turn once again to Coney Island, which poet Federico García Lorca called “The Landscape of the Vomiting Multitudes.” We hope there will be no urges contrary to swallowing (as the Major League Eating rulebook puts it) tomorrow, and you’ll want to hit the original Nathan’s Famous stand on Surf and Stillwell — in which case nursing student and trusty counterperson Tamica Gazson will be there to dog you.
Openings
Because Coney Island–Goers Can’t Live on Corn Dogs AloneLast time we went to Coney Island we got oysters from a clam shack right before it closed. And oh, we also got Hepatitis A. Now we’re immune, but nonetheless we’re grateful that the newly opened, spick-and-span Coney Island Surf & Turf Grill offers plenty of options that won’t destroy our liver — aside from the offerings at the tiki bar (our poison of choice: Shmaltz Brewing Company’s newly released Coney Island Lager). In the back of the garagelike space, decorated with pics of old and contemporary Coney-baloney (as our sword-swallower friend Heather Holliday likes to call it) is a custom-built brick oven dispensing thin-crust pizzas. Yes, there are oysters, and should the cheesy plastic crab decorations move you to order the real thing, you can hammer snow crabs, blue crabs, and angry crabs with a mallet. Meatheads, meanwhile, can indulge in ribs and chicken smoked in-house. And here we thought smoking only occurred under the boardwalk.
Coney Island Surf & Turf Grill, 1315 Surf Ave., nr. Stillwell Ave., Coney Island, Brooklyn; 718-513-6491.
Surf & Turf Grill menu
NewsFeed
Hot-Dog-Eating Champ Struck With Jaw Arthritis Determined to Gulp OnThe 2007 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest should have been one for the ages – the Ali-Foreman of competitive eating. After an uninterrupted six-year run, Japan’s Takeru Kobayashi was about to meet his match in American Joey Chestnut, who broke “The Tsunami”’s world record earlier this month in Phoenix. But as you may know, Kobayashi came down with jaw arthritis and can barely open his mouth — and, to make matters worse, the trophy the two nations are jousting for, the Mustard Yellow Belt, has been lost.
Neighborhood Watch
Gertel’s Baked Goods Still to Be Had on the Lower East SideAstoria: Greek restaurant Stamatis’s expansion across the street finally looks near completion, and the place looks nice. [Joey in Astoria]
Coney Island: Takeru Kobayashi may have lockjaw, but you can still show your support on July 4 by wearing one of these Kobayashi T-shirts inspired by the Nathan’s and Bob’s Big Boy logos. [The Food Section]
Hell’s Kitchen: Rumor has it that Dunkin’ Donuts on Eighth Avenue near 36th Street is giving away free coffee and doughnuts while training its new staff today. [Grub Street]
Lower East Side: You can still get Gertel’s pastries at Flicker’s Coffee and Tea Shop around the corner. [Lost City]
Tribeca: Blue Crab Mondays are back at the Hideaway. [Gastro Chic]
Upper East Side: Park Avenue Summer now boasts a create-your-own-cocktail bar. [Restaurant Girl]
Mediavore
Delis Are Dying, But Not Katz’s; Per Se Staff Is on the ClockThe classic New York deli is on the way out, thanks to aging owners, waistline-conscious eaters, and general apathy — but, we learn, Katz’s should stick around. An owner, as we predicted he might, goes on record saying, “If we did sell, we’d want to somehow tie in keeping the place — they could literally build on top of us.” [TONY]
Related: Mother of Mercy! Is This the End of Katz’s?
Per Se’s notoriously high-pressure kitchen apparently works under the shadow of a clock with Paul Bocuse’s name on its center and the words “Sense of Urgency” underneath. [Gawker]
Coney Island has its own beer, and while we’ve never tasted a bottle, it has what may be the greatest label of all time. [NYDN]
Neighborhood Watch
Coney Island War Escalates; Ice Cream Ruined in Tragic MeltingBoerum Hill: One Girl Cookies will show you how to bake bread, then have you eat it with cheese. It’s all part of a two-part course slated for March 26 and 27. [eating for brooklyn]
Coney Island: The corn-dogs-versus-condos battle escalates as a new opposition group unites against Thor Equities in Coney Island. [Gowanus Lounge]
Harlem: Tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m. East Harlem Cafe will host a Central and South American coffee tasting. The tippling’s free if you show up on a burro (or show up at all). [UPTOWN flavor]
Midtown East: French-Moroccan restaurant-lounge Azza opens tomorrow in the space that formerly held Fizz, a club so private it went out of business. [NYT]
Soho: A former sous-chef for Pearl Oyster Bar will open Ed’s Lobster Bar Friday. And yes, his name is in fact Ed. [NYT]
West Village: Eater boys “live-blog” Jody Williams whipping up her first lunch at Morandi. [Eater]
Williamsburg: Isn’t it ironic … A fire damaged a garage full of Koolman ice-cream trucks last night. [i’m not sayin, i’m just sayin]
Neighborhood Watch
BondSt Sushi Burns; Coffee Shop Closing Averts Bad DateConey Island: Surf Avenue LLC has just purchased nearly 16,000 square feet across from the Cyclone, possibly on which to build a chain restaurant, maintain a parking lot, or create another “Shoot the Freak.” [Gowanus Lounge]
East Elmhurst: La Guardia gets fancy with Michael Navarro’s Deluge. Getting drunk before a flight finally gets a classy gloss. [Gayot]
East Village: Photos of the electrical fire that scorched BondSt sushi at dawn. [Eater] $500,000 in damages predicted. [Gothamist]
Midtown West: Italian, Asian, French, and Latin cuisine coming together at 4Fusion on West 58th Street. We suggest the burger. [Gayot]
Park Slope: Former Oceana chef Jared King no longer involved with Alchemy, but the menu’s holding steady. [Gothamist]
Tribeca: Will a fancy new bus stop at the entrance of Bouley spur the rich people’s interest in public transportation? [Curbed]
Union Square: Coffee Shop’s closing saves pretty waitress from a date with sleazy customer. [NYS]
Neighborhood Watch
Williamsburg: Subway Out, Silent H InConey Island : Having evicted and demolished the neighboring mini-golf course, Thor Equities neglects to renew the lease for beachside fave the Grill House. Where else are we supposed to get pretzels on hot dogs? [Gowanus Lounge]
East Village: Just in time for the 50-plus-degree weather, a Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory alum has opened a haute creamery on Avenue B near 14th Street. [DailyCandy]
Harlem: Gospel jazz comes to the Harlem Tea Room Friday night. Sure to be a wild evening. [Uptown Flavor]
Midtown East: Local prisons and the United Nations share a controversial food supplier, Aramark. Also, you’re allowed to smoke in the U.N. dining room. [Gridskipper]
West Village: Locals find a creative outlet to cope with fears of rat infestation: unchecked pun-making. [NewYorkology]
Williamsburg: Controversial Subway franchise on Bedford now up for sale. Comes with free trapper hat. [Curbed] Vinh Nguyen fulfills his dream of bringing good Vietnamese to New York, helping people pronounce his name with the opening of Silent H. (His dream of serving alcohol, on the other hand … ) [i’m not sayin, i’m just sayin]