Socialista Doorman Jeffrey Trunell Wants to Let You In But Sometimes Can’t
Jeffrey Trunell was an actor who did commercial work in L.A. before moving here. He was a doorman at La Esquina when Armin Amiri asked him to help open his new club. (Amiri must have reconsidered once turning Trunell away from Bungalow 8.) In the time Trunell’s worked the door at Socialista, he’s been spat on by at least one person he turned away, something he says was “exciting in a disgusting way” — all part of the “fluid experience” of his equally enviable and unenviable position.
Neighborhood Watch
Massive Pop Burger Opens in Midtown; Bowery Hotel Boys Considering Jane Street?Cobble Hill: Looking for a classic cocktail at an old-school price? Sam’s Pizzeria on Court Street in Brooklyn offers “not just the Martini and Manhattan, but the Side Car, Rob Roy, Pink Lady, Black Russian, Stinger, Rusty Nail, and Singapore Sling,” for only $6.50 a pop, though keep in mind “if you order one of these, there’s no telling what kind of drink you’ll get.” [Lost City]
East Village: Patricio Sandoval has returned from a trip to Oaxaca with a cache of recipes he’s now serving in a $30 prix fixe at Mercadito East and West. (Try the chile pasilla stuffed with pork picadillo.) [Grub Street]
Midtown East: A massive new Pop Burger opened this morning at 11 a.m. [Eater]
Midtown West: The Houses of Pita at 32 West 48th Street and 24 West 46th Street have both closed, though the owner is looking to reopen in new spaces. [Grub Street]
West Village: Could Eric Goode and Sean Macpherson’s new project be a boutique renovation of the Riverview Hotel, and, if so, could downstairs tenant Armin Amiri and his club Socialista be in cahoots with the baller duo? Just a few rumors to whet your hip-hotel appetite. [Down by the Hipster]
Mediavore
Theater-District Restaurants Saved; Bobby Van, Tragic Steak Man, DiesWith the Broadway strike officially settled, area restaurants breathe a collective sigh of relief. [NYT]
Related: Theater Strike Could Drop Curtain on Midtown Restaurants
Bobby Van, “who had unhealthy appetite for booze and cocaine” and was forced out of his own steakhouse business years ago, died on Tuesday as an obscure taxi driver out in Long Island. [NYP]
After a few paparazzi sneaked into Socialista to confront Penélope Cruz & Co., Armin Amiri confiscated their memory cards and returned them to the sultry star. [NYP]
NewsFeed
Bungalow Renovates While Neighbors Go to Pieces
What you see here is a construction Dumpster containing the disco detritus (everything from LPs to bar stools to the happy-happy drink tickets pictured) from defunct clubs Spirit and BED — a metaphor for the death of West 27th Street if ever there was one. Also spotted on the block yesterday, a posting on Bungalow’s door: “Bungalow 8 will be closed Saturday, July 7th until Tuesday, July 10th for renovations.”
The New York Diet
Socialista Co-owner Armin Amiri Takes His Guilt Trips to the Juicer
Ever wonder how alpha doormen spend the eighteen hours of their lives during which they’re mere mortals? Granted, Armin Amiri is now the co-owner and face of hot spot Socialista and a budding actor soon to appear with Joaquin Phoenix in Terry George’s Reservation Road — but those of us whose egos have not yet healed from being turned away at Bungalow 8 will always remember him as the place’s dapper doorman. So what does the “Prince of the Night” eat when he’s not hobnobbing with the stars?
Openings
Exclusive Boîte Will Soon Get Inclusive Downstairs
Former Bungalow 8 doorman Armin Amiri is still choosing a chef for the downstairs restaurant in his new lounge Socialista — “We should make a reality show,” he quips, “Who’s Going to Be the Next Socialista Chef” — but he expects it to open no later than July 9, at which time diners can chow down on light Cuban food with Spanish and Argentine touches, not to mention cocktails by a bar manager who was trained by Sascha Petraske when he worked at Double Seven. Seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, assuming you can get into Socialista in the first place via the secret reservation number (you may know it if you’re buddy-buddy with investors Sting and wife Trudie Styler or Harvey Weinstein, Giuseppe Cipriani, and Ben Silverman). Though Amiri says the furniture was salvaged from a forties Boston courthouse, he wasn’t going for anything too fancy. “The upstairs is a sophisticated, glamorous woman, and the downstairs is an older boxer who likes his red meat and gets into fights — hopefully one of these days he’ll clean up his act so he can meet the girl upstairs.” And hopefully one day you’ll clean up your act so you can get by the little-person doorman.
Socialista Downstairs, 505 West St., nr. Jane St.; 212-929-4303.
Neighborhood Watch
Closing of East Village Pork Store Causes Polish Homemaker to Clutch BosomDumbo: Not only will cookbook author and multiple James Beard Award winner Rozanne Gold be a guest host at Tuesday night’s food benefit for the American Cancer Society, there’ll also be lots of New York brews. [American Cancer Society]
East Village: Fifty-year-old Kurowycky Meat Products Inc., known for its sausages and internal smokehouse, closes, and a Polish homemaker, dismayed, clutches her bosom. [NYT]
Midtown West: Appreciating modern art just got easier: MoMA’s got a brand-new (seasonal) bar. [NewYorkology]
Park Slope: Store owner harassed for putting the word “arena” in the name of his new bagel shop, as suggested by his teenage children. [NYT]
Red Hook: 360 should reopen structurally upgraded, but mostly unchanged, though even the owner’s not sure when. [VV]
Neighborhood Watch
Whole Foods Blamed for Beetle Infestation on the Lower East SideBushwick: Too hard to keep organic? Resident and Blue Hill at Stone Barns alum Kelly Geary will purchase your share of produce from Community Supported Agriculture, turn it into weekly meals (and pies), then deliver it (citywide). Just join by the first week in June. [DailyCandy]
Long Island City: New Greek restaurant Agnanti opens Memorial Day near the Astoria pool. [LICNYC]
Lower East Side: Bowery Whole Foods blamed for beetle infestation in apartments at Avalon Christie Place. [Racked] Rumor mill set a-cranking with speculation that Keith McNally might turn an empty space on Essex and Canal into a Parisian brasserie. [Eater]
Red Hook: The Added Value farm that employs South Brooklyn teenagers will be featured on a PBS series dedicated to sustainable food. [Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn]
Times Square: You know that neon sign for Virgil’s? It’s a bowl of Chinese noodles. [Lost City]
West Village: A photo ode to Blue Ribbon Bakery’s indulgent sandwiches. [Gothamist] Former fab Bungalow 8 bouncer Armin Amiri’s new club, Socialista, will have a little person named Anthony manning the door. [NYP]
