Free Gelato at Grom; Dollar Oysters at BoboPlus: Tequila shots for moms at Rodeo Bar in Gramercy, and a lecture on stir-fry at the Museum of Chinese in America in Soho, all in our daily roundup of neighborhood news.
‘Page Six’ Manages to Not Revel in Sarah Jessica Parker’s Failure Sarah Jessica Parker is not confident that her unreleased movie, Spinning Into Butter, will ever see the light of day. Barack Obama and his wife are slated to attend the opening of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Oprah on Thursday. Cosmetics heir Olivia Chantecaille got engaged to banker boyfriend Ren Grady. Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively took a bunch of friends shopping to Armani Exchange on Fifth Avenue. Shake Shack is opening a location on the Upper West Side! Sting, Diddy, and Josh Hartnett all hung out at Half Nelson producer Charlie Corwin’s birthday at Socialista, which is now back open after the hepatitis scare. Michael Musto will appear on the cover of The Village Voice spoofing this magazine’s Lindsay Lohan shoot.
Neighborhood Watch
‘Times’ Releases Ethnic Grocery List; Porter House Looking for aAstoria: McLoughlin’s on Broadway at 31st Street is featuring the German lager Spaten through February. [Joey in Astoria]
Chelsea: Morimoto’s $24.07 prix fixe lunch deal is more filling and generous than you might expect. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Clinton Hill: If you’re too “bored by the fresh produce, too cold/lazy to trek to Fairway” to cook for yourself in winter like this blogger, here are some of the nabe’s good takeout options, including Luz and Bombay Masala. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Columbus Circle: Porter House New York is looking for a new wine director now that veteran in the biz Beth Von Benz has moved on to new projects. [Grub Street]
Lower East Side: This list of ethnic groceries includes Pueblo Deli at 129-135 Ridge Street where you’ll find “brittle, tasteless cassabe (a yuca bread Dominicans find neither brittle nor tasteless)” but also “‘merengue’ flavored Country Club soda, Induveca salami, Bay Rum Constanza antiseptic, and candles dedicated to saints or those who may become them.” [NYT via Serious Eats]
Times Square: Cafe Edison has replaced its peachy-pink paint job with a nice soft tan color, and it’s “swell.” [Lost City]
Upper East Side: Bardolino at 78th Street and Second Avenue suffered interior and exterior damage caused by a fire last week, but they’ll reopen this weekend. [Upper East Side Informer]
Neighborhood Watch
Bruni Down With Lunch at Craft; Blue Ribbon to Open This Week in Columbus CircleClinton Hill: A Nigerian restaurant, EN of Africa, is opening on the corner of Cumberland and Lafayette, and there’s relief that it’s not another French spot. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Flatiron: Frank Bruni finds the newly instated lunch at Craft a good, logical fit, in that “Craft doesn’t project the kind of fussiness — on the plate or in terms of décor — that can feel more stilted and constraining at lunch than at dinner.” [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Hell’s Kitchen: Xai Xai, a new wine bar, has opened up. [Endless Simmer]
Murray Hill/Kips Bay: From November 7 to 10, the Champagne room at Country will be transformed into a bonbon shop where you can pair pastry chef Hsing Chen’s house-made chocolates with specialty cocktails or order a chocolate tasting menu as part of a collaboration with the upcoming Chocolate Show. [Grub Street]
Park Slope: Katina’s seems to have been taken over by super Greek diner Purity and may now be called Little Purity. [Grub Street]
Upper West Side: Blue Ribbon Six Columbus is poised to open this week, and here’s a sneak peak of the interior. [Zagat]
West Village: Mary’s Dairy has closed both of its locations supposedly because the shops weren’t making enough money. Can ice-cream-only stores no longer cut it? Mary’s comes on the heels of Emack & Bolio’s Seventh Avenue closure and Ben & Jerry’s Bleecker Street failure. [Eater]
Williamsburg: Three of the ten-plus restaurants that serve sushi in the nabe made the cut in this Brooklyn raw-fish roundup. [Gridskipper]
Openings
Blue Ribbon Sushi at Columbus Circle Will Open in October
A reader wrote us today:
I was walking past the soon-to-be-open since this summer Blue Ribbon Sushi at 6 Columbus Circle on my way back from lunch. A guy who looked like he was in charge (headset and all) was talking to a bunch of construction workers who were working on it so I figured I’d ask when it was suppose to (FINALLY) open … his answer: October 1st.
Our photographer, Melissa Hom, went up for a look and confirmed the date. Click on the headline to see a larger version of the photo.
neighborhood watch
Retail Deaths ‘Happen’ Sporadically, and So Do Subway RenovationsBrooklyn: Brownstone enthusiasts have begun to weigh in on one of the most serious questions of renovation – round toilet bowls or oval? [Brownstoner]
Brooklyn Heights: Uncommon Grounds coffee shop has closed for renovations – and will soon feature a full kitchen and expanded menu. They’ll also host private coffee parties! That’s so Brooklyn we could die. [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
Chelsea: The Noose, on 19th Street, is closing because its owner died. The gentleman behind the counter of the shop told a customer that she died in her sleep. “She wasn’t old,” he said. “These things just happen.” Whoa. [Blog Chelsea]
Columbus Circle: Progress is slow and unsure at the big station under the Time Warner Center. But the tiling, you know, looks nice. [Second Avenue Sagas]
Dumbo: The price of the penthouse of One Main has been slashed by nearly a million, bringing it down to $7.8 million. Call this service journalism. [Curbed]
Staten Island: Friends and neighbors remember fallen Bravest member who fought this weekend’s World Trade Center fire. [Staten Island Advance]
Neighborhood Watch
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]
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
Heatherette Classes Up Columbus CircleBoerum Hill: Smell a rat around here? Gee, maybe it’s that dead one that’s been peeping out of someone’s garbage can for several days. [Gowanus Lounge]
Chelsea: They were filming some dance movie on the High Line yesterday. Starring, uh, Craig. You know Craig, right? [BlogChelsea]
Clinton Hill: Did someone around here really lose a “mangy looking” pigeon with “black bits”? (Ooh, what are those?) Or is this sign some kind of birdbrained bluff? [Clinton Hill Blog]
Columbus Circle: It’s the Heatherette statute of a sneaker we’ve all been waiting for. [Copyranter]
Graniteville: Here on Staten Island, cops raided a home harboring 2,500 pounds of explosive materials. The owner was selling them over the Internet. [Staten Island Advance via Gothamist]
Harlem: They’ll be replenishing those wood chips in the dog run at St. Nick’s Park tomorrow … and they need your help! [Harlem Fur]
Park Slope: Grand Army Plaza could become safer, more serene, and more pedestrian-friendly. Really? [Brooklyn Paper]
photo op
Hot Dog
Sometimes, like when it’s 90-plus degrees at the Columbus Circle fountain, it’s good to be a pooch.
Neighborhood Watch
Brian Young Storms Tavern on the Green; Chipotle Challenger Comes to TownColumbus Circle–Lincoln Center: Brian Young, formerly of Le Bernardin and now-closed Mainland, has been named executive chef of Tavern on the Green. [NYT]
East Village: Sorry, no video: The Department of Health shuts down Blue 9 Burger, citing them for mice. [east village idiot]
Midtown East: Colorado-based burrito chain Qdoba Mexican Grill opens its first NYC location on East 34th Street between Second and Third Avenues. Chipotle unphased. [NYS]
Williamsburg: Too soon to start that Saint Patrick’s Day bender? Brooklyn Brewery debuts new Belgian-style ale, Brooklyn Local 1, that packs 9 percent alcohol. [The Food Section]
vu.
Time Warner Center Jacks Up Apartment CostsYears after Time Warner Center put an expensive sheen on Columbus Circle, properties nearby are still basking in its reflected glory. Many apartments on the open-house list below reference the project as a not-so-subtle reminder to buyers that the area deserves as much asking-price respect as its neighbors, the increasingly posh Upper West Side and the trendy but unpolished Hell’s Kitchen. Still, deals exist in pockets, especially in no-frills walk-ups, though glitzy condos marble baths, concierge service, you name it can be had here, too. In fact, a few of them are going up within the shadow of the billion-dollar Time Warner Center itself. S. Jhoanna Robledo
