Ready, Set … Start Trying to Book the Six Columbus RoofColumbus Circle: You can start booking private events for the Six Columbus rooftop now. [Down by the Hipster]
East Village: Black and White and Central Bar are among the establishments facing a crackdown on liquor licensing. [Eater]
Harlem: Unemployment rather than piety may lure you to the Broadway Presbyterian Church, where Starbucks will hold an open call for its new store. [Uptown Flavor]
Hell’s Kitchen: Kyotofu now serves tofu and soy-milk ice cream. [Grub Street]
Meatpacking District: The previously unnamed concrete garden on Little West 12th Street has reemerged as Revel after a manicure and a menu from the owner of Barolo and I Tre Merli. [Restaurant Girl]
Midtown West: This close-up of Carnegie John’s burger explains exactly why we picked it in our rundown of street-food favorites. [A Hamburger Today]
Neighborhood Watch
Brothers Bromberg Bringing Japanese Barbecue to Columbus CircleAstoria: Bistro 33 on Ditmars at 21st Street has opened its outdoor seating and launched a weekend brunch featuring apple-Brie omelettes and blueberry pancakes. [Joey in Astoria]
Battery Park City: Former Thor chef Kevin Pomplun is the director of operations for Will Goldfarb’s kiosk, Picnick, and there are more details about what will be on offer. [Gothamist]
Columbus Circle: The Blue Ribbon coming to new hotel Six Columbus will transcend sushi by offering both a raw bar and Japanese barbecue. [Down by the Hipster]
Harlem: Legendary soul-food destination Copeland’s Restaurant will close on Monday after 50 years and one last Sunday brunch. [NYT]
Lower East Side: The herring at Russ & Daughters builds “manly strength.” [Eat for Victory/VV]
Red Hook: DeFonte’s owner can’t go on vacation without spurring concern that the mom-and-pop sandwich shop has closed for good. [Lost City]
Sagaponack: Townline BBQ is up and running as of Monday, hoping to succeed where four other restaurants have failed. [NYT]
The Other Critics
Perilla Found to be Basically Okay; Richman Loves Balthazar Even More Than ThePerilla tried to be sober and sane, and what was the result? One star from Frank Bruni. But that’s still pretty good for a first-time effort, even by a ‘Top Chef.’ [NYT]
It’s no surprise Alan Richman approves of Balthazar, given his fondness for insouciance in restaurants. He all but opens the floodgates of his enthusiasm for Keith McNally’s flagship. [Bloomberg]
Related: Why Is Alan Richman So in Love With Brooklyn?
In an apparent effort to differentiate the two once and for all, Andrea Thompson considers both the Farm on Adderley and Flatbush Farm in one column. But read closer, and only one entrée is mentioned at each place, a disservice to both. [NYer]
Neighborhood Watch
Cheesesteak Sliders Coming to the Lower East SideBedford-Stuyvesant: The hippie operation at eight-year-old Doctor’s Cave Cafe still beats out the coffee at new spot Common Grounds, though the later has chess. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Flatiron: The crime rate in West Chelsea’s clubland may have dropped more than 30 percent over the last month, but Eugene’s, duvet and Avalon seem to have just dragged the debauchery east. [NYP]
Harlem: There’s a new greenmarket at East 99th Street between Madison and Park that will be open Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through mid-November. [Uptown Flavor]
Lower East Side: Get ready to dig into the menu of oysters, double-cut pork chops, and “cheesesteak sliders” at the sports bar coming to the old Tenement space, the Blue Seats. [Eater]
Nolita: The petite, new Noble Food and Wine on Spring Street, near Sweet & Vicious, will open to the public on Wednesday. [Down by the Hipster]
Neighborhood Watch
Blue Ribbon to Conquer Columbus Circle by Mid-AugustBrooklyn Heights: Montero’s earned “duty watch bar” status from the British Royal Navy when its seamen passed through Brooklyn last week. [NYT]
Columbus Circle: Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill should open simultaneously with Thompson Hotel’s new Six Columbus by the middle of August. [Down by the Hipster]
Elmhurst: Always wanted your tacos open-face, deep-fried, and splattered with crema? Try the memelitas from Taqueria Coatzingo at 40-18 82 Street. [Gothamist]
Flatiron: Tabla and Tamarind are only a few of the restaurants extending their Summer Restaurant Week menus through Labor Day. [GoNYC via NewYorkology]
Fort Greene: Former Top Chef contestant Josie Smith-Malave has left Island restaurant to prepare for a fall opening of her next project, the Speakeasy. [Eater]
Harlem: Gentrification is apparently a lesser evil than filth: A Taste of Seafood restaurant relocates from dingy to spiffy new digs. [Uptown Flavor]
Midtown East: Two sake masters from Japan will host a tasting that also features shochu and snacks at Sakagura next Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. [Eat for Victory/VV]
West Village: Centro Vinoteca won’t be opening until the 20th or 21st at the earliest, the restaurant’s representatives say. [Grub Street]
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]
Neighborhood Watch
Goldfarb’s Kiosks to Invade Battery Park in SeptemberAstoria: Hellgate Community Supported Agriculture is distributing some very fine cherries, chives, and beets today. [Joey in Astoria]
Battery Park: Will Goldfarb’s high-concept kiosks should open around Labor Day. [NYS]
Greenwich Village: Lassi now sells packets of their freshly ground spices, including musky mango powder and tandoori masala. [NYT]
Harlem: Sample exotic desserts and wine this evening at Make My Cake; beats provided by 90.3 WHCR. [Uptown Flavor]
Morningside Heights: The owners of Clinton St. Baking Company plan to open a green restaurant on Broadway near 112th Street by the end of August. [NYT]
Shelter Island: The Pridwin Beach Hotel & Cottages hosts all-you-can-eat cookouts every Wednesday night beginning July 4. [Hamptons.com]
Upper East Side: Food historian and cookbook author Francine Segan will discuss the aphrodisiacal history of various foods from ginseng to rhinoceros horns at the 92nd Street Y tonight at 6:30 p.m. Samples will be notably more tame and will probably involve chocolate. [92nd Street Y]
Williamsburg: U.K.-based TMI Food Group, whose packaged products include cooked sandwich bacon, opened its new food-manufacturing facility today at 7 Bushwick Place. [Bridal Blog/NYO]
Neighborhood Watch
Ramen Rivalry About to Boil Over in the East Village?Astoria: All pints of Lagunitas beer will be $4 tonight at Sunswick on 35th Avenue at 35th Street. The bar food is supposedly pretty good, too. [Joey in Astoria]
Clinton Hill: Don’t get too excited over that fancy new organic market going up on Lexington Avenue near Grand Avenue; it’s part of a set for a Steve Martin flick. [Clinton Hill Blog]
East Village: Momofuku responds to Setagaya’s claims that its ramen is more authentic… [Eater] And the Tokyo-based chain has already lured crowds of diners — and impressed them. [Eat for Victory/VV] The Sunday Greenmarket now has a Hamptons-based fishmonger. [Gothamist]
Harlem: Fishers of Men has expanded to 125th Street, and rather than oust Papaya King from the space, the seafood restaurant has opted to share it. [Uptown Flavor]
McCarren Park: JellyNYC’s summer pool parties kicked off the series this weekend with dodgeball, Slip ‘n Slide, Brooklyn Beer, and grilled grub (and we have video). [Down by the Hipster]
Midwood: DiFara is once again up and running. [Slice]
Park Slope: Union Market will bring its fresh produce to a long-empty storefront on Seventh Avenue, but there’s concern over nearby mom-and-pop grocers. [The Brooklyn Paper]
Ridgewood: Butcher Karl Ehmer inspired such love of meat in a young girl that she now sells meat-inspired pillows to “hipsters, artists and Western Europeans.” [The Food Section]
Neighborhood Watch
Carroll Gardens Has Its Own Empanada LadyCarroll Gardens: The nabe has an Empanada Lady. [A Brooklyn Life]
Clinton Hill: Pillow Cafe, known for its peanut-butter smoothies, is serving alcohol, but, let’s hope, not PB shooters. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Harlem: Twenty blocks is an unheard-of trek for a Venti Caramel Macchiato; residents near the impending Starbucks at 145th Street wait with bated breath for the opening. [Uptown Flavor]
Morningside Heights: Columbia students have gained a Chipotle at 110th and Broadway, and it will kick off its opening on Wednesday, June 27, with a fund-raiser for the university’s athletics. [Grub Street]
Nolita: Protest notices have been posted in response to the opening of burlesque club Forty Deuce in the former Little Charlie’s Clam Bar space. [Eater]
Williamsburg: Monkey Town’s new chef Ryan Jaronik, from three-star restaurant Masa in Boston, debuts his menu next week. [Grub Street]
Neighborhood Watch
Po Opens This Week in Carroll GardensCarroll Gardens: The Brooklyn outlet of Po in the West Village is opening this Thursday. [The Gowanus Lounge]
Chelsea: Del Posto spared from further hassles by the Related Companies, who’ve just purchased the property and will honor the restaurant’s original lease. [Newsday]
Fort Greene: Smoke Joint barbecue spearheads a mysterious expansion that looks more promising than mere extra seating. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Harlem: New Asian-influenced Mexican restaurant China de Puebla has launched weekend brunch. [Grub Street]
Prospect Park: Those looking for free-range dinner should keep their eyes peeled; a rogue chicken on the loose has not yet been apprehended. [The Gowanus Lounge]
Tribeca: The menu’s posted, the griddle’s fired up: The New York City Hot Dog Company on Chambers and Church is open! [Grub Street]
Neighborhood Watch
Union Square to Host Top Chef Cook-off TomorrowHarlem: A plea goes out to identify that colorful “newish-looking” frankfurter stand on 125th Street; locals fear it’s just a case of mistaken papaya. [Harlem Flavor]
Nolita: Barcelona-based hard-candy maker Papabubble plans to open its first New York store this summer. [Down by the Hipster]
Prospect-Lefferts Gardens: Caribbean Sweet Hand opening on Washington Avenue, possibly a roti shop, possibly sells babies. [across the park]
Roosevelt Island: Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation slapping restaurants with so much red tape that there are only two left on the island. [NYC Nosh]
Union Square: To launch the new Top Chef season, the show is doing a big outdoor rematch cook-off between Ilan Hall and Sam Talbot from noon to 1:30 p.m. [Grub Street]
Neighborhood Watch
Brighton Beach Restaurant Manager Fights Thief, and LosesBrighton Beach: Manager of Little Odessa restaurant Tatiana wrestled a thief with gun, but the intruder got away with holiday-weekend earnings of $100,000 after brandishing a knife. [NYDN]
Chelsea: There’s speculation that Little Seoul has closed, but it sounds like the restaurant just took a long weekend. [Blog Chelsea]
Greenwich Village: Hopes that Cedar Tavern would return from the condo-development grave seem dashed, though neighbors don’t seem too disappointed. [Gothamist]
Park Slope: Bierkraft’s free “Bizarro” beer tasting at 7 p.m. tonight includes cheese pairings. [Brooklyn Record]
Prospect-Lefferts-Gardens: Met Foods open! [Across the Park]
Mediavore
Nello Buys ‘Page Six’ on the Cheap; Jody Williams Trying Not toNello’s Nello Ballan gives Richard Johnson a $1,000 gift, and fifteen “Page Six” mentions of Ballan’s restaurant later, the embattled gossip column has the devil to pay. [NYT]
Jody Williams claims not to have read Frank Bruni’s review of Morandi, though she knows that people are laying odds on the date of her departure. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
Related: Not So Bene [NYM]
Restaurant-industry lobbyists express a not-unexpected disappointment with the federal minimum-wage increase passed by Congress, finding it “entirely out of place” in a war-spending bill. [Nation’s Restaurant News]
The New York Diet
Minister and Hip-Hop Pioneer Kurtis Blow Downs Burgers Two at a Time
Harlem-born Kurtis Blow was one of the first rappers to hit the mainstream when he worked with Grandmaster Flash, Reverend Run, and Russell Simmons in the early eighties. Indeed his bio describes him as “rap’s first millionaire.” These days he’s a hip-hop minister (he has churches in New York, L.A., and Miami) and tours the country performing his groundbreaking hits as well as new cuts such as “God Bless Ya Ma.” So what does the author of “The Breaks” eat on his snack breaks? “I love my Nutter Butters,” he says, “and candy bars like PayDay and Butterfingers.” We asked him what else he ate during the week leading up to a rare hometown club appearance tonight.
Neighborhood Watch
SushiSamba Manager Opening His Own Restaurant in Midtown WestClinton Hill: A walk-through of the mysterious chocolate bar. [Clinton Hill Blog]
East Village: Gemma in the Bowery Hotel looks set to open but will probably launch with private parties. [Down by the Hipster]
Flatiron: Porky’s nabbed for selling alcohol to minors. [Blog Chelsea]
Gowanus: Whole Foods spearheads construction on contaminated site. [Gowanus Lounge]
Harlem: Manna’s, trying to become the Starbucks of soul food, opens its fourth location. [Uptown Flavor]
Midtown East: Aquavit’s weeklong herring buffet to celebrate the fish’s migration starts June 11. [Grub Street]
Midtown West: A former manager and the chef of SushiSamba on Park will open their own Japanese restaurant near the Ed Sullivan Theater. [Restaurant Girl] The kosher falafel joint House of Pita is opening “another location” two blocks from the original; it’s not clear if this means they’re moving or expanding. [Midtown Lunch]
Soho: The opening of Lola Is Soul restaurant may be further delayed now that the owners have ousted weepy Top Chef alum Dave Martin. [Eater]
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]
Mediavore
Sam Talbot Has a Mystery Suitor; Marco Pierre White Is Still the ManSam Talbot bailed from Spitzer’s Corner because some powerful restaurateur made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, and something big is in the offing. [NYP]
Marco Pierre White’s rags-to-riches memoir continues to inspire struggling cooks on both sides of the Atlantic. [Gothamist]
Related: Batali, Bourdain, and Ramsay Mentor to Finally Take on America? [Grub Street]
A shocking new study reveals that — are you sitting down? — there are more bodegas and fast-food restaurants in Harlem than on the Upper East Side. [NYP]
Openings
New Bourgeoisie Magnet Opens in Harlem
The development of Harlem is old news, but there are still days when it catches you by surprise. The last time we were up on 133rd Street, we were walking off ribs from Dinosaur, and the only thing there was an iffy-looking garage. Now? The 6000-square-feet Hudson River Cafe, a massive outdoor eatery where neighborhood grandees can repose in the sun and eat yellowtail sashimi, caviar, smoked fish mousse, and other upscale treats. The restaurant also offers original cocktails named for local sites (a Grant’s Tomb, anybody?) and a grab bag of local Hudson Valley products. It would be easy to make sport of Hudson River Cafe and say, “There goes the neighborhood.” More likely, it’s where the neighborhood will go to brunch.
Hudson River Cafe, 697 W. 133rd St., nr. Twelfth Ave.; 212-491-9111
The Other Critics
Wild Salmon Starts Its Upstream Journey Strongly; Craftsteak UpgradedAlan Richman has a few qualms about Wild Salmon – its reason for being, for example – but likes both the food (except for the sauces) and the service (when it’s not too friendly). Given how ready Richman is to knock restaurants, owner Jeffrey Chodorow has to feel pretty good about this one. [Bloomberg]
Related: Wild Salmon Swims Into View. Yes, ‘Pun Intended’ [Grub Street]
The newly revamped Craftsteak and Craftbar get rereviewed by Bruni, who awards the less than the white-hot former a much-needed second star, and the latter, “more or less back on track” after earlier troubles, a (borderline) single star. [NYT]
Time Out’s Randall Lane lays four stars (out of six) on Gilt, finding Chris Lee’s cooking admirable all around, if less risky than that of his predecessor, Paul Liebrandt, who still keeps popping up whenever the restaurant is discussed. [TONY]
Related: Gramercy Rehab [NYM]
Mediavore
City Gears Up to Better Police Labor Violations; Beef Threatens Fish at LeCity Council to introduce a bill giving authorities more power to crack down on restaurant labor violations like the alleged ones at Saigon Grill. [MetroNY]
Related: 100 Students to Protest Saigon Grill [Grub Street]
Kobe beef, having once appeared on Le Bernardin’s menu, is taking over and chasing the fish away – a fact chef Eric Ripert is less than thrilled about. [NYP]
Bizarre details of Mr. Chow’s abuse emerge from the lawsuit, including information about one employee who was forced to lie on the floor and be menaced and even kicked by the diminutive restaurateur. [Gawker]
Back of the House
Café Largo Comes Back to Harlem, With Two Sisters In Tow
When Harlem’s Café Largo disappeared in 2003, a good restaurant closed in a neighborhood with too few of them. Three years later, it’s back — with two new places next door: Vinegar Hill, a gourmet store and brick-oven bakery, and Tres Pasos, a Mexican takeout place. All three storefronts are joined in the back by a common kitchen, and a fourth adjacent store, Bella Jo Jane’s Sandwich Box, is slated to open in two to three months. Why the long delay? “We closed for an expansion and renovation that took two years longer than we expected,” says co-owner Stacy Schoenfeld-Calcano. Let’s hope Largo’s new menu, among other things, will make the wait worthwhile.
Beef
Bowery Whole Foods: An Effing Steamroller?Will a splashy new Whole Foods on the Bowery leave a trail of wilted organic markets in its wake? The vegetarian, all-organic, and entirely volunteer-run 4th Street Food Co-op and a handful of other nearby stores now have to compete with the city’s biggest location: The Bowery outpost, which opened last week, clocks in at 71,000 square feet. The Union Square emporium? 51,000. With stores set to open in Brooklyn, Tribeca, and Harlem in the next two years, the Whole Foods backlash is in full swing.
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]
The Other Critics
Everybody Loves Sfoglia; Meehan Loves All BBQBruni two-stars Sfoglia, the latest victory in a series for the Nantucket import, including nods from Adam Platt and Gael Greene in our Best of New York issue. The food is simple and rustic (frittatas, simple pastas), but it works for Bruni. Imagination can get you two stars, as the Ssäm Bar review showed last week, but so can execution, even if it isn’t very elaborate. [NYT]
Peter Meehan surveys nearly all the area’s BBQ restaurants, finding a lot to like: the pulled pork at Pies-N-Thighs and the burnt ends at RUB, to name two. Still, no revelations here. [NYT]
Sietsema hits up a Senegalese restaurant in Harlem: “Predictably, the dibi is awesome.” You said it, Bob! Has Sietsema ever met a foreign lamb dish he didn’t like? [VV]
Three Blocks
Ph.D.’s, M.D.’s Get Casual Eats, Tons of Takeout Around AmsterdamIn the micro-micro neighborhood centered around Amsterdam Avenue and 113th Street, Columbia students cram for exams at coffee shops and bistros while St. Luke’s Hospital workers grab quick bites from specialty delis.