Celebrity-Chef ‘Pop-Up’ Café Open in Midtown; Halloween RecipeAstoria: Freeze Peach is hosting a costume party Saturday at 8 p.m. and it’s BYO. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: Balsamic vinegar is available as a topping at the new ecofriendly ice-cream parlor Blue Marble, on Atlantic Avenue near Bond Street. [Bergen Carroll]
Chelsea: Tekserv is hosting a Mac OS X Leopard release party tonight with free food and live jazz, and the winner of the leopard-themed costume contest gets an iPod. [Blog Chelsea]
Clinton Hill: New restaurant Mariam at 975 Fulton Street features cuisine from Senegal, Kenya, and Guinea, but even though okra was “cooked down to an indiscernible sludge,” it doesn’t feel overextended; the spot will soon add Jamaican food to the menu. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Flatiron: The Manhattan branch of Boerum Hill restaurant Lunetta opens Monday on Broadway at 21st Street. [Grub Street]
Lower East Side: Essex Street’s newest Shamalian bar may have opened for a night this week, but it’s closed now. [Eater] Just in time for Halloween house parties, the Stanton Social has provided a simple recipe for pumpkin croquettes. [Restaurant Girl]
Meatpacking District: The communal table at Los Dados is supposedly a hot singles scene. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Midtown West: Bon Appétit’s “Pop-Up” café opened yesterday and features sandwiches and salads designed by Emeril, Giada, Govind, and Pichet Ong, plus desserts from Will Goldfarb. [Midtown Lunch]
Related: Celebrity Chefs Flock to Former Home of Cheesy Celebrity Restaurant
Prospect-Lefferts-Gardens: Papas & Sons market was busted Wednesday. “Word on the street is that someone in there was running numbers,” but no one’s talking. [Across the Park]
Neighborhood Watch
U.S. Open Stadium Eats; Red Hook Vendors’ Bread and Butter in JeopardyAstoria: Get your feet rubbed while eating ice cream at Freeze Peach this Saturday — or maybe just stick to sampling the variety of flavors at this $9 tasting event that will also feature reflexology and tarot-card reading. [Joey in Astoria]
Flushing: New reasons not to fill up before a match: Five serious restaurants including a steakhouse, seafood restaurant, and Cuban café flank the U.S. Open stadium, all under the supervision of Charlie Palmer–trained chef Michael Lockard. [NYDN]
Hell’s Kitchen: Mitchel London Pizza from the owners of Burgers & Cupcakes has been open for a couple of weeks, but they’re still working on good char. [Slice]
Lower East Side: Whole Foods’ beer room, which stocks over 200 international, domestic, and local beers, opened this morning. [Gridskipper]
Meatpacking District: Los Dados from Sueños chef Sue Torres opens Monday. [Eater]
Red Hook: Department of Health inspectors are now turning a critical eye to restaurants associated with the ball-field vendors. Honduras Maya is already closed. [Brooklyn Eagle]
Neighborhood Watch
Healthier Hot Dogs Coming Soon to TribecaAstoria: Freeze Peach at 22-00 29th Street has introduced tea-based ice creams including butterfly sencha and black currant to its repertoire. Plus, a man with a real French-sounding name has installed a new crêperie in the old Lil Bistro 33 space. [Joey in Astoria]
Clinton Hill: Two new Italian restaurants slated to join the nabe, and one might have an outdoor space. [Clinton Hill Blog] Tough luck if you want to taste the source of those great bakery smells near Washington at Atlantic. The Hasidic bakers probably won’t let you in. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Flatiron: Otto investor Jason Denton, after stepping away from Otto, will open an “Otto-like restaurant.” [Eater]
Midtown West: A sly janitor at Penn Station will find a go-to solution if you spill your soda. [East Village Idiot]
Park Slope: Kara Zuaro will be signing her rocker cookbook tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble; live music from Maplewood is also in-store. [Brooklyn Record]
Times Square: The only view from Above restaurant at the Hilton is the back of a giant creepy hand. [NewYorkology]
Tribeca: The New York City Hot Dog Company on Church Street at Chambers that promises healthier options and myriad toppings looks closer to an opening now that a big picture of a hot dog is in place. [Grub Street]