Matilda the Cat Hosting a Cocktail Party in Midtown WestAstoria: Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden will screen the Czech film Holiday Makers at 8 p.m. on Sunday. [Joey in Astoria]
East Village: Mercat has a downstairs lounge, which they may or may not be calling by a different name, with an even smaller menu. [Eater] Simone is definitely open. [Down by the Hipster]
Lower East Side: Russ & Daughters has taken down its neon sign, but only for temporary refurbishing. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Midtown West: A birthday party held on August 8 at the Algonquin honoring Matilda, the hotel’s house cat, will feature a cat fashion show, live music, and lots and lots of cocktails. [NewYorkology]
West Village: The little owl’s celebrated meatball sliders made it onto the cover of Bon Appetit. [Gothamist]
obit
Kurt Vonnegut at the AlgonquinAt the end of 2000, New York did a “My New York” issue. For it, 50-odd New Yorkers told us about their favorite places in the city, and Kurt Vonnegut, who died yesterday, spoke fondly of the lobby of the Algonquin Hotel. Growing up, he told contributing editor Logan Hill, he’d never been to New York but knew the legend of the Algonquin. When he arrived here for the first time to meet his sister, she asked him where they should meet. Not knowing anywhere else, he told her to meet him there, by the grandfather clock he’d seen in pictures — and in subsequent years that’s where he would always meet friends. After the jump, his reminiscence as printed in the magazine.
