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World’s Youngest Sword Swallower Reveals All [BlackBook]
Miss Bunnyhead Darling [LiveJournal]
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Bored by swords.Getty Images
World’s Youngest Sword Swallower Reveals All [BlackBook]
Miss Bunnyhead Darling [LiveJournal]

This is going to be good.Photo: Daniel Maurer
Astoria: Ovelia's added its lunchtime fav, the Kobe Beef slider, to its happy hour menu. [Joey in Astoria]
Chelsea: 1 Oak is hosting a fundraiser tonight for pint-size victims of AIDS in Africa, and one of the raffle prizes is a session with Diddy's stylist. Way to help while keeping it trendy guys. [Down by the Hipster]
Coney Island: The Island is about to get cheesier, but in a bad way, with help from the Hard Rock Cafe, Virgin Records, and Madame Tussaud's. [Brownstoner]
East Village: The American Grill/GoGo Curry hybrid has given up its space to new owners and Asian cuisine, but is there any hope for the next incarnation of the corner spot with a "Kiev Curse?" [Eater]
Lower East Side: A poll of over 100 people concludes the Box has become sort of lame with one commenter noting "I know clubland regulars who get hassled at the door, while friggin Russians and Lithuanians who can barely speak English have bribed their way in." Not cool. [Down by the Hipster]

A Jesus beard deserves a Jesus pose.Photo: New York Times Magazine
Related: The Fusionistas [NYT]
When Chefs Play Dress-Up

The "Jesus beard."Getty Images
The saga of Cordell Lochin, the maybe-sort-of partner in the Box and La Esquina who was convicted of drug-smuggling charges, has finally come to somewhat of a conclusion. According to Guest of a Guest, a judge has sentenced Lochin to 39 months in prison and a $35,000 fine. That doesn’t fare well for partner Serge Becker, who expressed hope in a letter to the court that Lochin be allowed to “continue his work while paying his debt.”
Cordell Lochin Sentenced for 39 Months, Fined $35,000 [Guest of a Guest]
Earlier: La Esquina to Open in Miami; Becker's Right-Hand Man in Legal Limbo
Serge Becker: Drug-Dealing ‘Consultant’ Is Not a Co-Owner of the Box, La Esquina

This letterhead should convince the judge.

It wasn't a celebration at Coffee Shop.Photo: Getty Images
Box owner Simon Hammerstein is happy one of his performers spilled a drink on Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher this week. [NYP]
2008 probably won’t be the year that sees the establishment of a large, indoor public market along the lines of London’s Borough Market or San Francisco’s farmer’s market. [NYT]
Related: Batali Shows a Little Leg to Sex Up New Amsterdam Public
Gael Greene puts forth her list of culinary predictions for the New Year, including this gem: “Jeffrey Chodorow and Frank Bruni will have a food fight in Madison Square Park televised by the Food Network. If Bruni loses he will be required to review restaurants in Des Moines for six months. If Chodorow is the loser he will be forbidden to open a new restaurant for three weeks.” [Insatiable Critic]
Earlier this week we linked to a Daily News item claiming Padma Lakshmi rudely refused complimentary dishes from Fiamma’s chef. A commenter wrote, “I was at Fiamma the night Padma was dining there and it absolutely did NOT go down that way. When the dishes arrived at the table, she thanked them profusely and apologized for being too full to eat any of them!” Whatever happened, Padma was just one of many celebs to chow down (or at least show up) at local restaurants this week, and here’s our gossip-column compendium of just who went where.

She only got in because she knows Javier Bardem.Photo: WireImages

"The downstairs neighbors are a little weird."Photo: Daniel Maurer
Walker Malloy [Official site]

The bar.Courtesy of CW
Cuozzo fantasizes about the possible successes Jeffrey Chodorow could develop if he signs a lease on the enormous space at Broadway and 63rd Street. They include stellar risotto, traditional dim sum, and haute Lebanese — if only he doesn’t “blow it on another howler like Rocco’s or a limping dud like Kobe Club.” [NYP]
A Queens dumpling celebrity, a chef in northern China before transplanting to the U.S., has been persuaded to supply her specialty to TKettle on St. Marks Place. Get there early, though; she’s only agreed to hand-make 1,000 per day for the bubble-tea shop. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Two young female patrons of the Box have been abducted from outside the club and raped on separate occasions in less than a month, and the predator has not been apprehended. [NYP]

The Box, prior to failing a health inspection.Photo: Mike Duva
Related: Restaurant Inspection Information: The Box [DOH]
Earlier: Serge Becker: Drug-Dealing “Consultant” Is Not a Co-Owner of the Box, La Esquina [NYM]
Guest of a Guest broke the story yesterday that Cordell Lochin thought be a partner in Serge Becker’s joints La Esquina, 205, and the Box will be sentenced on October 10 for importing more than 100 kilos of weed and dealing it in New York in 2004 and 2005. There’s been speculation that the August 24 raid of the Box and La Esquina was related to this, and we’ve heard rumors that Cordell was recently arrested again but the Box’s publicist, Nadine Johnson, tells us neither of these things are correct (a check with NYPD turned up no recent arrests). She also describes Cordell as a consultant and not a partner in the Box, as reported in a recent Observer profile and other places: “We had taken the decision to call him a partner, but he isn’t a real partner or employee for the Box or La Esquina.” Serge Becker did not know about Cordell’s past until ten days ago, when his case went to trial, Johnson says. She also issued an emphatic statement to Grub Street on behalf of Becker further disavowing Cordell’s ownership stake.

A sign posted on 205's door last November.Photo: Daniel Maurer

This salad is killer.Photo: Melissa Hom
Todd English may want to get in on the hip parade surrounding La Esquina by opening his own Kenmare spot with nightlife guru Joe Vicari. [NYP]
There’s a rumor that Simon Hammerstein wants to open an international Box and bring his gross anthems to London. [Down by the Hipster]
Related: Narcissistic and Highly Intoxicated Box Patrons Want Totally Gross Anthems, Says Owner
Could Kyotofu and its killer cupcake be expanding with a space downtown? [Eater]
Related: Best Cupcake 2007 [NYM]
Jeffrey Chodorow and Ouest chef Tom Valenti may both open restaurants in the boutique hotel On the Ave at Broadway near 76th Street. [NYP]
Has Gordon Ramsay spread himself too thin? Harden’s annual guide has dethroned Ramsey’s eponymous flagship as its pick for highest overall rating in food, service and ambience. [The Guardian]
Lower East Side neighbors were duped by the Box they believed it was to be a “cultural institution.” Well, sort of depends on your definition of “culture.” [NYDN]
Chelsea: Patricia Yeo is out at Sapa. [Eater]
Lower East Side: Turns out La Esquina’s basement is illegal! [NYP]
Midtown West: Get your Charlie Murphy fix at El Centro; it’s his favorite Mexican restaurant. [Gridskipper]
Soho: Former 66 chef Josh Eden has taken over the kitchen at Goblin Market. [Strong Buzz]
Upper West Side: Yogurt Wars update: Pinkberry takes over Excel Fine Art’s space on Columbus Avenue. [Eat for Victory/VV]
West Village: Something's fishy about the seafood sister restaurant to the Spotted Pig: Diners at the original heard staff chatting about the location opening soon as the 10 Spot. [Down by the Hipster]

What the Box looks like when it's closed. Photos: Mike Duva
Update: Gawker reports it was a noise complaint that drew the cops.
Cops Raid Downtown Hot Spot [NYP]
Related: Narcissistic and Highly Intoxicated Box Patrons Want Totally Gross Anthems, Says Owner

All the young dudes…Photo: Courtesy of Esquire
Related: Bar Veloce GM Moonlights as Raffish Fop
What’s in the Box? [NYM]

Von Von Von: "What do you mean, 'Don't call us…'?"Photo courtesy Von Von Von

“They always ask whether my mustache is fake. I don’t like to talk about it.” Photo: Melissa Hom

The ladies (left) have it a little better than the gents.Photo: Mike Duva

A decade ago those would have been raver pants.Photo: Mike Duva
What’s in the Box? [NYM]
Related: Simon Hammerstein’s Personal Pimpmobile?

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